An international star like Robert Deniro is widely known throughout the world. He is most famous for his amazing performances in gangster classics such as Goodfellas and Casino. Rest assured, when his name comes up in a conversation there would be no need to clarify who he is, right? Well, sort of.
Phonetically speaking, Robert Deniro can be more than Robert Deniro in regards to languages. As the title of this post tries to convey, the actor’s name (second time) is wrote as if a native Spanish speaker were to say it (just roll your “r” and you’ll see what I mean). Naturally, when speakers of a language come across a foreign name, they tend to pronounce it using their own language’s vowel sounds. Can you rightly assume, then, that a native Spanish speaker will comprehend your very American pronunciation of Robert Deniro when speaking Spanish? Maybe. Imagine this scenario: You are with your Spanish friend and the topic is movies. You roll your r’s, put accents where they need to be and try your best to sound as Spanish as you can. But all of a sudden, you get to the name Robert Deniro and find yourself wondering how to pronounce it. Do you follow suit with the Spanish you’re speaking and say Roe-bait Day-knee-row or do you throw a curveball in the conversation and say his name as we do in America?
