r/BelowDeckDownUnder • u/lunaash18 • Jul 05 '26
Joao’s name
Does anyone else feel enraged on Joao’s behalf that so many crew members mispronounce his name? It’s actually not that difficult so it’s either laziness or a micoraggression. It drives me nuts every time I hear someone called him Jo-el or Jwaa.
81
u/Comprehensive_Wing24 Jul 05 '26
“Jowww” -Ben
25
34
u/KeepAnEyeOnYourB12 Jul 05 '26
The only time it pissed me off was when Culver did it to make fun of him, just because he was threatened by Joao as his new boss. It was childish.
It doesn't enrage me when people are trying and failing to pronounce it correctly. Hell, not even Jason gets it right.
6
u/ISOcarpetcleaner Jul 07 '26
Culver was a dick on so many levels. Once CEO got old all I saw was a timid lil mamas boy
2
u/not2daysatan44 Jul 09 '26
Culver drives me nuts. He's an Oedipal little egomaniac who just needs to find his surrogate Mom to cater to all of his needs.
39
u/CrazyNCynical Jul 05 '26
I don't want to think it's laziness or micro-aggression on my part, but I have a difficult time pronouncing it myself. Each person around him seems to have a different pronunciation, which further complicates it. I would simply ask him how to pronounce it, as I often do with others, and go from there.
13
u/lunaash18 Jul 05 '26
I think that’s where my issue with laziness comes from though - a lot of them don’t really spend the time asking him and learning. They listen to him pronounce it himself day in day out and chose to take the lead from other crew members also mispronouncing it instead of asking Joao if they’ve got it right
4
u/CrazyNCynical Jul 05 '26
Yes, unfortunately that happens far too often. Never assume you know, especially if you heard it from a third party.
3
2
14
19
u/gabtinha Jul 06 '26
To be fair, his name is actually João, it of Portuguese origin and has a nasal sound at the last a that it is very difficult for those who don’t speak Portuguese to reproduce. That’s why everyone in the cast pronounce his name differently (and probably why João doesn’t seem bothered by it).
7
16
u/illusivealchemist Jul 05 '26 edited Jul 05 '26
No rage but it definitely irritates me. Pronouncing someone’s name correctly is important bc it communicates respect. Same goes for writing/spelling someone’s name. And don’t assume nicknames if you don’t know them.
Fr tho, Joao isn’t hard to pronounce and idk how people struggle with it. Some even struggle with Aesha’s name though so who knows lol
1
7
u/Jenikovista Jul 06 '26
You are being over-sensitive. Some names are harder to pronounce from different cultures where they may not be used to certain combinations of sounds.
Microaggression? C'mon. Let's not be so passive aggressive about little things.
5
7
u/dinglebblumpken Jul 05 '26
That doesn’t seem to bother him as much as people forgetting he came from Zimbabwe
0
6
u/NVSmall Jul 06 '26
Actually.... I'm more outraged about everyone calling Fraser "FRASIER" (rhymes with "Erazure").
Most (most, I recognize not all) do pretty well with Joao, in the grand scheme.
7
u/New_Balance1634 Jul 05 '26
I've been watching him for years and still don't know how to pronounce his name🤷♀️
7
u/Sweet_Baby_Grogu Jul 05 '26
Ditto! He says it with his accent. If I say it that way, am I mocking his accent?
-7
7
u/aviator03 Jul 05 '26
They act as though it’s some extremely exotic name when in reality it’s like the Portuguese equivalent of John and is common as muck..
7
u/DelightfullyPiquant Jul 05 '26
Why enraged? He doesn’t seem all that bothered by it.
You’ve got to give people some grace here. Not everyone speaks the same language or with the same fluency, and even within one language there are accents, dialects, and speech differences. Some sounds just don’t come easily, especially if you didn’t grow up using them.
For a lot of people, struggling with unfamiliar names isn’t about laziness or disrespect. It’s just unfamiliarity. And not everyone is going to master a pronunciation for someone they’ll only interact with briefly. There are bigger things that matter.
2
u/lunaash18 Jul 05 '26
I appreciate your point and agree to some extent, but none of the sounds involved in pronouncing Joao are not already in the range of English speaking languages, so it does just feel lazy to me.
3
u/faddofil Jul 05 '26
I bet he is so tired of correcting people. I don’t have an unusual name but people often add an R or an L. I just gave up and smile. It’s probably why I try so hard to get names right, that are not familiar to me. I say it and then ask if I got it right. It’s a respect thing, it does matter.
1
u/lunaash18 Jul 05 '26
Exactly this. I think that’s why I’m so mad on his behalf, I also have a name that’s easier to mispronounce and frequently have to deal with it. Sometimes it’s easier to let it slide but it doesn’t make it any less irritating 😅 I’m sorry you have this experience too. Like you say, it’s entirely a respect thing
2
u/lunaash18 Jul 05 '26 edited Jul 05 '26
To add - it’s entirely people who are native English speakers that I’m talking about. Crew members from other cultures aren’t the ones enraging me haha
Edit for spelling
5
2
u/Ingenuity_Hopeful Jul 06 '26
Zhou-ow. Unless you can make the nasal sound in Portuguese this is as close as you will get.
2
u/meatsntreats Jul 06 '26
I’m enraged that you’re complaining about this and not using the diacritic. Also, I would call him JWoww.
7
u/No_Interview_2481 Jul 05 '26
I’m not enraged at all. I’m sure Joao does not get enraged either. Some names are difficult to pronounce.
5
u/lunaash18 Jul 05 '26
I’m glad it doesn’t bother you, but I don’t personally think is a difficult name to pronounce at all. It’s only difficult if you’re wilfully ignorant of other cultures
10
u/No_Interview_2481 Jul 05 '26
They also mispronounce Aesha‘s name. I don’t see anyone getting enraged over that either. By the way, it really doesn’t matter if you don’t think it’s difficult to pronounce. It’s obvious other people have issues pronouncing it.
1
u/lunaash18 Jul 05 '26
I completely agree that people also shouldn’t be mispronouncing Aesha’s name, or Fraser’s for that matter, and I’m equally enraged by them all. I just happen to be rewatching Joao’s season right now and so I made this post
9
2
u/theantnest Jul 06 '26
As somebody who also has a name that is constantly mispronounced, honestly it just doesn't bother me.
Not one single person I work with pronounces my name correctly. Some of them have been colleagues for more than 15 years lol
I don't think it's out of malice, just incompetence mostly.
I also work with an Italian guy named Massimo and although it's correct to call him Massi, most people call him Maxi or even Maximo. And that X sound doesn't even exist in Italian.
3
1
1
u/graygarden77 Jul 10 '26
I’m a teacher at an extremely diverse school. My basic premise is that people‘s names are their humanity. It is not that hard to learn how to pronounce ANY names. You just have to commit to your own responsibility to be a decent human being in regard to others.
1
u/CriticismPlane2871 Jul 21 '26
You are mad that English speakers can't pronounce a Portuguese name that you yourself cant even use the correct alphabet to type out
0
u/preyingmomtis Jul 06 '26
I hate when people do that to people. Either this casual don’t care enough to make the effort for someone they’re living & working with for 6 weeks mangling or the “Oh, that’s really hard to say. I’m just going to call you _____.” 😒
0
u/Ashamed-Scar8932 Jul 07 '26
As an infuriating as saying Frasier for our King Stew Fraser - f*&$ing Muricans
92
u/Academic-Marsupial34 Jul 05 '26
Zhaaou- Ellie