Americans tend to have a bit of difficulty pronouncing foreigners’ names, usually Americanizing them to align with a pronunciation that rolls off the tongue more easily to the average person living in the United States. Well, we’ve been doing the same thing to Jakub Vrana.
After the Caps 5-2 win against the Avalance, in which the 21-year-old scored a goal, Vrana had some very important information to share when asked how his name is pronounced by Tarik El-Bashir.
Apparently we've been saying @JVranaa's name wrong 😳 but don't worry he's cool with it. pic.twitter.com/We8BPvra3m
— NBC Sports Capitals (@NBCSCapitals) December 13, 2017
“You know, so many people ask me that question, but… I’m actually ‘Yak-oob’, but you guys just call me however is comfortable for you. I’m good with everything,” Vrana said.
This isn’t actually that surprising considering Vrana’s Czech, but I’m not gonna lie and say that I haven’t been calling him “Jacob” in my head all this time.
El-Bashir seems a tiny bit offended, saying “I’ve been calling him ‘Jake’ for like two years now and he hasn’t said anything,” to which Vrana sheepishly says “Jake is fine.”
Apparently Vrana has said before that people can just call him “Jacob,” which also isn’t surprising for a new player trying to make a name for himself in the United States.
I was there the day he told @JoeBpXp he wanted it pronounced "Jacob," but whatevs. https://t.co/r6yXtxvLqB
— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) December 13, 2017
Still, just like he said in the interview, it seems that Vrana is pretty okay being called by just about any variation of his name.
Vrana is "cool" with four different variations of his name. Jacob, Jake, Yakub, Yak-oob. 🤦🏻♀️
— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) December 14, 2017
Headline photo: Rob Carr
