Nori/Lori

So. Nori. Some of you might be familiar with that word, but many are not. When Nori and I first met, her fur was jet-black with some texture and her name was not Nori. I thought of the black seaweed prepared into thin strips and wrapped around various raw fish, cooked things, and seasoned rice. The name just seemed to fit her. So I changed the name given to her by the rescue organizer and "Nori" was reborn.

Often, when people ask her name, and I say, "Nori", the response is, "oh, hi LORI." A few months into being Nori's human, I would correct the verbal offenders, and say, "No - it's NNNORI, with an 'N'." Now, I rarely bother to correct anyone who butchers her name. It does annoy me that anyone thinks I would name my dog Lori (I mean, come on, have you ever met a dog named Lori?), but I often don't have the energy to do my spiel about what it means and how to pronounce it.

That's another thing: pronunciation. Nori is a Japanese word, so the correct pronunciation involves the rolling of the "r". I find that Spanish speakers (in addition to Japanese speakers, obviously) have the ability to pronounce her name correctly, no problemo. Someone I know actually called her "Nordy", which made me think of the Nordic Track.

In turn, my significant other gets annoyed with yours truly when I anglo-cize "Nori", failing to roll the "r" properly so that it is easier for many to understand. I can understand this point of view. The United States is a nation of immigrants, and I wish people with names like Chan Kong, Eduardo, or Anoushka never felt the need to change their names to Jackie, Ed, or Ann, just because they wanted a name that seemed easier to pronounce properly. However, learning to roll your "r"s isn't always an easy task, and I'm not in the business of teaching people how to do it.

So her name is Nori. Don't wear it out, but you can practice saying it out loud.