Speakers at the RNC who have mentioned Kamala Harris by name have routinely mispronounced her first name, which is properly pronounced “comma-la.” Intentional mispronunciation is far from harmless, but that’s what conservative voices like Tucker Carlson have encouraged. Recently on his show, Carlson asked rhetorically whether mispronouncing Harris’s first name was disrespectful and ended dismissively by saying “whatever.” Psychologists argue that actions like routine mispronunciation are microaggressions that particularly affect people of color, and can take a mental toll on them. And such mispronunciations are also an example of what is known as “hyperforeignization” to “other” people or things. In this case, we’re talking about a sitting, notable U.S. senator who is now the vice-presidential nominee of a major political party. It’s not hard to see disrespect in the consistent mispronunciation.
