Thread by @canokar

"What's your name?"
"Can."
"So like John?"
"A bit but pronounced Can."
"So how is that spelled?"
"C-A-N"
"So "can" then?"
"No, in Turkish the letter c is like a j but harder. Like Jan in January but the a as in hard."
"So your name is spelled J-A-N."
"Are you fucking kidding me?"

Almost every Turk (or indeed person who is not English) has their own version of this Groundhog Day of a conversation about their name.

Especially those with a Ğ in their name - future parents, don't do that to your kids.

I'm loving the car crash of Turkish names appearing beneath in the comments. There has to be a society for Turks with name afflictions whenever they set foot outside Turkey?

Someone has popped up in my mentions named Cihad. I imagine his conversations go like this:

- So what’s your name?
- Chad
- But it says C-I-H-A-D here
- Nope, it’s Chad
- But I thought the C in Turkish was pronounced like a J?
- How are you the only foreigner who knows that?

A non-comprehensive list of names that appear to be causing problems:

Ufuk
Uras
Ufuk Uras
Oral
Bilge
Buğra
Çağrı
Basically anything with a ğ
Cihad
Mert
Berk
Anything with a Can in it
All Irish names

Have I got it?

Final addition to this: of all the likes and retweets, a disproportionate number have come from the Cans, Özgecans, Selcans, Othercans (and our cousins, the Cems and Ceylans) of this world.

We are a brotherhood/sisterhood, forever confusing everyone. Enjoy the weekend!