These names are in the news a lot but what is the correct pronunciation?
Is it STINE or STEEN?
I hear both.
Rod RosenSTEEN and Rod RosenSTINE.
Harvey WeinSTEEN and Harvey WeinSTINE.
Diane FeinSTEEN and Diane FeinSTINE.
However, there never seems to be any confusion with these famous names.
Frankenstein.
Einstein.
They never are mispronounced. We know they end with STINE.
Those of us who lived through the Watergate years also know that Carl Bernstein (STEEN), along with Bob Woodward, broke many of the big stories of that era writing for The Washington Post.
If you really want to get confused, consider legendary New York Philharmonic conductor Leonard Bernstein.
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| Leonard Bernstein Credit: MilkenArchive.org |
Bernstein grew up as Lennie Bernstein (STEEN) in a small town near Boston.
Lennie was not a good name for a symphony conductor so he became Leonard Bernstein (STEEN).
Later on in his career, Bernstein (STEEN) thought he needed to become more classically identified, so he changed the pronunciation of his last name to BernSTINE.
I knew him first as BernSTEEN and had to later come to know him as BernSTINE.
Are you as confused as I am?
However, we both have not had to endure the life confusion that Michael Silverstein (STEEN) has had due to all of this STINE and STEEN business.
Silverstein wrote a humorous blog post on "How To Pronounce My Name" a few years ago. He blames any confusion on how to pronounce his name on Leonard Bernstein.
People used to have no trouble pronouncing my last name, Silverstein, with the last syllable pronounced steen. They also had no trouble with Goldstein, Bernstein, Weinstein, and all the other -steins, which were all pronounced with the same steen ending. The only time anyone used to address me or the other -steins with a stine ending was when they wanted to be offensive; such a pronunciation amounted to a backhanded ethnic slur.
And then Leonard Bernstein came along.
Silverstein then tells the story that I have summarized above.
So, which is it? STINE or STEEN? What is really right? Is there a real rule?
My research indicates that it all depends on an individual's preference.
After all, it is their name and they can choose to be called anything they want to be.
If you want more it seems that the German pronunciation would definitely indicate that -stein would be STINE.
The name Stein by itself also always seems to be pronounced STINE. Never STEEN.
Names ending in -stein in Germany are also always pronounced STINE.
It is in the United States the STEEN has appeared.
Some argue that it was a way to separate themselves from their German heritage.
Some argue that it has something to do with German-Yiddish translation.
Some argue that the STEEN has been used when the name has a hard-sounding first syllable. STEEN is softer sounding than STINE. That may be why WeinSTEEN is preferred over WeinSTINE by Harvey.
Some argue that it is due to confusion at Ellis Island in recording the names of immigrants.
I am not sure what the real reason is.
However, I suggest we raise a stein to anyone that has to deal with the STINE or STEEN question.
Life is hard enough without people mispronouncing your name every other day.
Rod RosenSTINE, Harvey WeinSTEEN and Diane FeinSTINE should all agree.
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| Credit: LonelyPlanet.com, Thomas Sauzedde |
Postscript:
By the way, if you read my last blog post on the reluctance of politicians to retire and leave their name identification behind, there is no better example than Diane Feinstein.
Feinstein is running for re-election to her Senate seat from California. She will be 85 years old next month. She was first elected to political office in 1969. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio were not even born when Feinstein held her first elected position!
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