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2 months ago
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A Nashville woman realized she didn't know how to pronounce her incredibly rare Croatian surname and sought out the internet for help.
Katie Garapic-York, 27, was watching the Serbian women's basketball game at the Olympics when she realized the ending of her surname Garapic, the -ic, was shared by the majority of the team.
But she became curious when she noticed those last names had a 'dash' above the c.
Garapic said in a TikTok video, posted on August 27, that her family had always pronounced their last name as GAIR-uh-pick, but with the inclusion of the dash, her last name would actually make a -ch sound.
Katie Garapic-York, 27, was watching the Serbian women's basketball game at the Olympics when she realized the ending of her surname Garapic, the -ic, was shared by the majority of the team
Garapic grew confused when she noticed those last names had a 'dash' above the c
She found out from TikTok users the dash over the c in -ic is actually the grapheme Ć
The 27-year-old made the video to ask the internet what her last name would sound like from a Croatian perspective.
One user wrote: 'Gah-tongue roll R almost like a soft “d”-ah-Pitch. Gotta-pitch is the most American way I can describe it.'
Another wrote: 'Croatian here with an ić last name too. The G is pronounced like the g in guitar. All the vowels in your name are short. Stress is on the 1st syllable. Rolled r. Gara-pitch.'
But in the comments, Garapic still was confused on what syllable the verbal emphasis was on.
She did find out the dash over the -ic is actually the grapheme Ć that was adopted by the Croatian linguist Ljudevit Gaj into Serbo-Croatian in the 19th century.
It is the fifth letter of the Latin alphabet in the Serbo-Croatian language.
Garapic (right) told People Magazine that her last name is a significant part of her identity. After marrying her wife Bailey (left) on September 21, the couple decided to hyphenate both their last names
GAH-rah-PITCH was how Croatian natives said it was pronounced Garapic revealed in an update video posted on Friday
Garapic told People Magazine that her last name is a significant part of her identity. After marrying her wife Bailey on September 21, the couple decided to hyphenate both their last names.
The 27-year-old's family lore surrounding her last name originates from when her great-grandfather arrived at Ellis Island to emigrate to the United States.
There supposedly wasn't an exact English letter that would properly convey how the last name was meant to sound like, so it was changed.
The mystery would come to an end on Friday when Garapic posted another TikTok video with news that she finally figured out how to pronounce her last name, when an acquaintance who knew Croatian locals reached out on her behalf.
GAH-rah-PITCH was how Croatian natives said it was pronounced.
English (US)