justTripn wrote:I think it is necessary because certain sounds or sound patterns don't "register" as real words in a language. It's like the name of that new Russian president. No matter how many times I hear it, it's like "what? I didn't catch that." And I remember a Dutch guy who we Americans called "Hueh" whose name in Dutch was pronounced like someone was clearing their throat. When I was in Thailand, I pronouced my (future) husband's name in a Thai-like way when referring to him. It was automatic. It made communication easier.
Exactly, and there's also the weird case when a name is just too close in pronunciation to an insult in another language and you have to alter it for obvious reasons. But most of the time, it's only to make pronunciation easier for people that some names are altered.