During an interview with Business Insider, Paul Krugman pronounced Ayn Rand's first name ain like in pain. The correct pronunciation is ine as in mine.
Krugman, the former Princeton University professor also during the interview gave his thumbs up for President Trump's choice to succeed Janet Yellen at the Fed, Jerome Powell, a graduate of Princeton.
-RW
Today I learned.
ReplyDeleteLike fingernails on a chalk board.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first read her name, I looked up the pronunciation since I'd never seen such a name. Otherwise I'd tend to think it would be like pain.
ReplyDeleteAs the father of an Ayn, I can't tell you how many times I have to correct people when they attempt to pronounce her name. Her mother just avoids this by using her middle name exclusively.
ReplyDeleteLet me guess. Dagny? :)
DeleteNo, Alice. I got to pick the first name, the wife got the middle.
DeleteHer name is pronounced Alisa Zinov'yevna Rosenbaum.
ReplyDelete“Ayn Rand” is a pen name made up so that she seems to be a tall blonde Scandinavian man.
And no, Krugman, Paul Ryan is not an Ayn Rand monetary theorist.
Finally, after all these years, I always find myself 2 years older than Krugman.
Without defending Krugman, I would say the pronunciation game cuts both ways. Over the years, I've encountered a number of Austro-libertarian scholars, economists and experts who consistently mispronounce common names and words in their public talks. Here are a few examples:
ReplyDeleteJeff Herbener: "Caruso" instead of "Crusoe".
Tom DiLorenzo: "MEE-seez" instead of "MEE-zuz" (Mises).
Peter Schiff: "MY-seez" (Mises).
Walter Block: "Bom-ba-VERK" instead of "Bom-BAH-verk" (Böhm-Bawerk).
Robert Wenzel: "Ahn-tray-pru-NUR" instead of "Ahn-tru-pru-NUR".
In every field, some experts are just not linguistically adept. It's best to ignore their verbal tics, however grating they may be, in favor of exploring their message.
My pet peeve is people who say "vet-trens" instead of "vet-er-ans". Like fingernails on a chalkboard.
DeleteI think it's far worse that Krugman has no understanding of or familiarity with Austrian monetary theory or concepts, much less Ayn Rand monetary theory. In fact, no statist has such understanding or familiarity. I submit that this means they know they are wrong. If they had any confidence, they would engage and refute us.
ReplyDeleteJim Bovard Doesn't Know How to Pronounce Ayn Rand's Name:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kb_bc9qo2QQ (at the 4:03 minute mark)
And I thought it was just a speech impediment.
ReplyDelete