LinkedIn will let you record the correct pronunciation of your name
The feature will hopefully prevent people butchering your name.
Pronouncing a name correctly isn’t just polite. It’s a way of recognizing someone’s identity, and it’s key to creating an inclusive workplace. With that in mind, LinkedIn is introducing a new feature that lets members add a 10-second audio recording of their name pronunciation. Other users will be able to hear the clip by pressing a small button on a member’s profile.
“Everyone, including myself, makes mistakes when pronouncing other people’s names,” said Joseph Akoni, a LinkedIn product manager who worked on the feature. “I’ve encountered this personally with my Nigerian middle name—there’s a 99% chance someone won’t pronounce it correctly on the first try.”
To use the feature, you’ll have to record your name on a mobile device (Android or iOS), but you’ll be able to play name pronunciations on mobile or desktop. Detailed instructions can be found here. LinkedIn says it’s rolling the feature out to all of its 690 million members over the next month.
As The Verge points out, Facebook also lets users suggest pronunciations for their first and last names, but the recording option could be especially useful on a networking platform like LinkedIn. The company is also working to add accessibility features that will make this more useful to deaf and hard of hearing users, The Wall Street Journal reports.
