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* This is why Nestov on ''Series/{{Tracker}}'' gave himself that name when he was arrested. He said it sounded better than his long, hard to pronounce Dessarian name.
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* This is why Nestov on ''Series/{{Tracker}}'' ''Series/Tracker2001'' gave himself that name when he was arrested. He said it sounded better than his long, hard to pronounce Dessarian name.
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* On ''Series/BarneyMiller'', newcomers to the squadroom are often stopped in their tracks when they encounter the name plate for Sgt. Wojciehowicz -- he most often gets called "WOJ-ni-witz" and other unlikely variations. His occasional exasperated complaint that it sounds just like it's spelled doesn't help. (His workmates generally call him Wojo, although all can and do pronounce his last name correctly when necessary.)
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* At the time Yugoslavia degenerated into chaos and civil war, a British TV comedy show parodied the style of televised appeals for charitable help. Its advert drew attention to the one thing the former Yugoslavian states clearly lacked and desperately needed. To background film of the letters from many Scrabble sets being poured into a heap, the solemn alpha-male voiceover declared '''Vowels. Yugoslavia needs your vowels.''' The scene then cut to text and road-signs showing consonant-heavy Serbian and Croatian script, with the voiceover making a hash of pronouncing them, and speculation on how much easier it would be if these vowel-poor people got an emergency supply of those missing letters. So send all the vowels you can spare to... and £5 buys a Scrabble set... [[note]]A Running Gag was had about Serbia entering into an exchange deal with Hawaii and trading one side's surplus vowels for the other side's spare consonants...[[/note]]
to:
* At the time Yugoslavia degenerated into chaos and civil war, a British TV comedy show parodied the style of televised appeals for charitable help. Its advert drew attention to the one thing the former Yugoslavian states clearly lacked and desperately needed. To background film of the letters from many Scrabble ''TabletopGame/{{Scrabble}}'' sets being poured into a heap, the solemn alpha-male voiceover declared '''Vowels. Yugoslavia needs your vowels.''' The scene then cut to text and road-signs showing consonant-heavy Serbian and Croatian script, with the voiceover making a hash of pronouncing them, and speculation on how much easier it would be if these vowel-poor people got an emergency supply of those missing letters. So send all the vowels you can spare to... and £5 buys a Scrabble ''Scrabble'' set... [[note]]A Running Gag was had about Serbia entering into an exchange deal with Hawaii and trading one side's surplus vowels for the other side's spare consonants...[[/note]]
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* In ''Series/{{Farscape}}'', Pilot's native language is so complex that one sentence can convey hundreds of ideas. The TranslatorMicrobes can't keep up unless he carefully dumbs down his speech for others. This is probably why we never learn his real name.
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* In ''Series/{{Farscape}}'', ''Series/{{Farscape}}''
** Pilot's native language is so complex that one sentence can convey hundreds of ideas. The TranslatorMicrobes can't keep up unless he carefully dumbs down his speech for others. This is probably why we never learn his real name.
** Pilot's native language is so complex that one sentence can convey hundreds of ideas. The TranslatorMicrobes can't keep up unless he carefully dumbs down his speech for others. This is probably why we never learn his real name.
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** In "The Peacekeeper Wars", the name [[spoiler:Aeryn]] originally wanted to give to her [[spoiler:and John]]'s child sounded pretty much like a loud belch. While yawning.
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** In "The Peacekeeper Wars", the name [[spoiler:Aeryn]] Aeryn originally wanted to give to her [[spoiler:and John]]'s and John's child sounded pretty much like a loud belch. While yawning.belch, while yawning. Not entirely sure if she's trolling him, John asks if that name is suitable for a boy or girl, and she says either applies.
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* In ''Series/DontHugMeImScared'', teasing the names of the characters is a RunningGag through both the web series and TV series, but apparently it wouldn't do us any good if they ''did'' tell us; Duck Guy's real name is spelled "⪽|⬝̲̅". And a lesser degree, Yellow Guy's real name [[OverlyLongName takes a full twelve seconds of frantically mashing the keyboard]] (and has a hyphen somewhere).
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* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''. Xander and Spike are tracking a demon that's poisoned Buffy when it suddenly leaps out at them.
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* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''. ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''
** Xander and Spike are tracking a demon that's poisoned Buffy when it suddenly leaps out at them.
** Xander and Spike are tracking a demon that's poisoned Buffy when it suddenly leaps out at them.
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** In ''{{Series/Angel}}'', [[BigBad Jasmine's]] real name, when finally heard, is essentially a moaning scream from the decapitated Keeper of the Name, the only being who knows - and can pronounce - her true name. Correctly pronouncing her name causes [[spoiler:Jasmine's influence over humanity to evaporate.]]
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** The Whistler claims his real name is hard to pronounce unless you're a dolphin.
** In ''{{Series/Angel}}'', [[BigBad Jasmine's]] real name, when finally heard, is essentially a moaning scream from the decapitated Keeper of the Name, the only being who knows- and (and can pronounce - pronounce) her true name. Correctly pronouncing her name causes [[spoiler:Jasmine's influence over humanity to evaporate.]]
** In ''{{Series/Angel}}'', [[BigBad Jasmine's]] real name, when finally heard, is essentially a moaning scream from the decapitated Keeper of the Name, the only being who knows
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* In ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'', Ensign Samantha Wildman considers naming her HalfHumanHybrid child after her Ktarian husband. Unfortunately his name is Greskrendtregk.
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* In ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'', Ensign Samantha Wildman considers naming her HalfHumanHybrid child after her Ktarian husband. Unfortunately his name is Greskrendtregk. The girl ends up named Naomi.
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** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS18E1TheLeisureHive The Leisure Hive]]", the insectoid Foamasi ambassador speaks a language composed of clicks and chirps, and his name is more of the same.
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dewicking Famous Last Words per trs
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-->'''The Lord''': [[FamousLastWords Any last words before I kill you?]]\\
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-->'''The Lord''': [[FamousLastWords Any last words before I kill you?]]\\you?\\
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Kids in the Hall
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* Inverted in a ''Series/KidsInTheHall'' sketch, where Dave's character has constant trouble pronouncing Kevin's character's common English surname.
-->'''Dave:''' At the request of Mr. Gar- Gahar- Gaharglegar... \\
'''Kevin:''' Jackson! How can you mispronounce Jackson?
-->'''Dave:''' At the request of Mr. Gar- Gahar- Gaharglegar... \\
'''Kevin:''' Jackson! How can you mispronounce Jackson?
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Jossed is YMMV
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** {{Jossed}}: The Doctor in the Classic series (particularly the Fourth) dropped [[YoYoPlotPoint somewhat inconsistent]] hints that his real name is unpronounceable by humans (which makes more sense, given his abbreviation of "Romana" for Romanadvoratrelundar). The new series, however, has River Song (a human, [[TouchedByVorlons basically]]) whisper his name in his ear to prove that she would one day become extremely important to him, disproving this.
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** {{Jossed}}: The Doctor in the Classic series (particularly the Fourth) dropped [[YoYoPlotPoint somewhat inconsistent]] hints that his real name is unpronounceable by humans (which makes more sense, given his abbreviation of "Romana" for Romanadvoratrelundar). The new series, however, has River Song (a human, [[TouchedByVorlons basically]]) whisper his name in his ear to prove that she would one day become extremely important to him, disproving this.
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* On ''Series/ResidentAlien'', the alien that adopts the form of Harry Vanderspeigle manages to get by as a HughMann until the eighth episode when an injury causes his true form to partially show through to Asta Twelvetrees. He is forced to reveal that he is an alien. When she asks for his true names, he makes a series of noises which she doesn't even ''try'' to pronounce and decides it's better if they just stick with "Harry."
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* On ''Series/ResidentAlien'', the alien that adopts the form of Harry Vanderspeigle manages to get by as a HughMann until the eighth episode when an injury causes his true form to partially show through to Asta Twelvetrees. He is forced to reveal that he is an alien. When she asks for his true names, name, he makes a series of noises which she doesn't even ''try'' to pronounce and decides it's better if they just stick with "Harry."
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* On ''Series/ResidentAlien'', the alien that adopts the form of Harry Vanderspeigle manages to get by as a HughMann until the eighth episode when an injury causes his true form to partially show through to Asta Twelvetrees. He is forced to reveal that he is an alien. When she asks for his true names, he makes a series of noises which she doesn't even ''try'' to pronounce and decides it's better if they just stick with "Harry."
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** Tyrion and Bronn struggle with the name of archmaester Ch'Vyalthan, the author of "An History of the Great Sieges of Westeros".
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Add example - Doctor Who
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** Subverted in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E10LoveAndMonsters "Love and Monsters"]]: the [[MonsterOfTheWeek Abzorbaloff]] hails from Raxacoricofallapatorius' twin planet... Clom.
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** The funniest thing? His surname was misspelled somewhere up the family tree, the correct Polish spelling is "Przybylewski".
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Private Eye is not a trope
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* Canadian comedy team Series/WayneAndShuster did a skit on their show about a PrivateEye in AncientRome hired by Brutus to investigate the murder of [[UsefulNotes/JuliusCaesar "Big Julie."]] Early on, the detective [[PrivateEyeMonologue monologued]], "My license number is 'IXIVLLCCDIXMV'. Also comes in handy as an eye chart. If you can read it, you don't need glasses. If you can pronounce it, you're Polish."
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* Canadian comedy team Series/WayneAndShuster did a skit on their show about a PrivateEye PrivateDetective in AncientRome hired by Brutus to investigate the murder of [[UsefulNotes/JuliusCaesar "Big Julie."]] Early on, the detective [[PrivateEyeMonologue monologued]], "My license number is 'IXIVLLCCDIXMV'. Also comes in handy as an eye chart. If you can read it, you don't need glasses. If you can pronounce it, you're Polish."
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* On the ''Creator/{{NBC}} 75th Anniversary Special'', Creator/MrT was giving the list of "fools" that he pitied. He finally said "That chick from ''Series/{{Providence}}''" when he was unable to pronounce Melina Kanakaredes' name.
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[[TheUnpronounceable Unpronounceable words]] in live-action TV.
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* At the time Yugoslavia degenerated into chaos and civil war, a British TV comedy show parodied the style of televised appeals for charitable help. Its advert drew attention to the one thing the former Yugoslavian states clearly lacked and desperately needed. To background film of the letters from many Scrabble sets being poured into a heap, the solemn alpha-male voiceover declared '''Vowels. Yugoslavia needs your vowels.''' The scene then cut to text and road-signs showing consonant-heavy Serbian and Croatian script, with the voiceover making a hash of pronouncing them, and speculation on how much easier it would be if these vowel-poor people got an emergency supply of those missing letters. So send all the vowels you can spare to... and £5 buys a Scrabble set... [[note]]A Running Gag was had about Serbia entering into an exchange deal with Hawaii and trading one side's surplus vowels for the other side's spare consonants...[[/note]]
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* The Shadows in ''Series/BabylonFive'' do not call themselves "The Shadows". Their own name for themselves is "ten thousand letters long" and unpronounceable by humans.
* Used as in-universe plot device with German "Bernd das Brot", in the parody [[Literature/HarryPotter "Berndi Broter"]]. It features Lord Vol...eh, [[CaptainErsatz The Lord Whose Name Nobody Can Speak.]]
-->'''The Lord''': [[FamousLastWords Any last words before I kill you?]]\\
'''Bernd''': Actually, yes. Why are you called "The Lord Whose Name Nobody Can Speak"?\\
'''The Lord''': Well, it IS actually very hard to pronounce. Not for me, of course, after all I can speak my own name, eh? It's Lord Voltschimpeditsch… no, wait, that didn't come over good...Voltzmpdetzsch...[[spoiler: The Lord tries it a few times in ever rising frustration and anger, breaks his magic wand in a moment of fffuuu and dies on the spot.]]
* Early in ''Series/{{Bewitched}}'', while Darren is still trying to be polite to Endora, he asks her what her last name is. She flatly replies, "Forget it, you'll never be able to pronounce it."
* ''Series/ABitOfFryAndLaurie'':
** In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNoS2BU6bbQ one sketch]], Laurie's character gives his name to a policeman as Derek followed by the sound of a small object being dropped onto a countertop, which is spelled "Nippl-e" (''not'' "nipple"). HilarityEnsues.
** And when the name of the street on which he lives is pronounced by doing a brief tap-dancing routine before proceeding to slap the policeman across the face? Even more HilarityEnsues.
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''. Xander and Spike are tracking a demon that's poisoned Buffy when it suddenly leaps out at them.
-->'''Spike:''' [[OhCrap Oh, balls!]] You didn't say the thing was a Glarghk Guhl Kashma'nik.\\
'''Xander:''' That's 'cause I can't say Glarma-- ''(demon [[TalkToTheFist hits him]])''
** In ''{{Series/Angel}}'', [[BigBad Jasmine's]] real name, when finally heard, is essentially a moaning scream from the decapitated Keeper of the Name, the only being who knows - and can pronounce - her true name. Correctly pronouncing her name causes [[spoiler:Jasmine's influence over humanity to evaporate.]]
* Parodied on ''Series/TheDailyShow'' when Samantha Bee gives Al-Jazeera a makeover. Because she can't even understand Ghida Fakhry's name, after the American friendly rebrand, she becomes "Peppermint Gomez".
** According to Creator/JonStewart, 'Ahmadinejad' is Farsi for 'unpronounceable'. According to Creator/StephenColbert, [[RunningGag that's not his name]].
*** Colbert's RunningGag of [[MadLibsCatchphrase inserting different words into "Ahmadinejad"]] began in [[http://www.cc.com/video-clips/nxszdr/the-colbert-report-ahmadinejad-s-letter this episode]] when he simply pronounced it without fanfare the first time, then apologized for [[TakeThat failing to follow the accepted journalistic protocol of making a huge deal out of how unpronounceable it is]] and promised never to say it right again.
---->"Oh, Lord, help me! Help me get my mouth around this crazy name!"
** [[http://www.cc.com/video-clips/jrbwze/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-word-failure This]] toss takes it to the extreme.
*** An [[http://www.cc.com/video-clips/9qj7jv/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-the-new-iraq earlier segment]] that likewise [[OverlyLongGag forced Stephen to wrestle with difficult names]] ended up subverting this amusingly:
---->'''Jon''': [[LampshadeHanging I can't believe]] he got out "Barzan Ibrahim Hasan al-Tikriti" and "Abd al-Baqi abd al-Karim Abdallah al-Sadun" and then tripped on the word ''"urn."''
** There's also his hilarious attempts to pronounce ex-Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich's name. It tends to come out as "Rod Blah-GOOJEWHOSYWATSIT" or something.
* ''Series/TheDayToday'' expanded the name of real-life reporter Brian Hanrahan for the character Peter O'Hanraha-Hanrahan.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** {{Jossed}}: The Doctor in the Classic series (particularly the Fourth) dropped [[YoYoPlotPoint somewhat inconsistent]] hints that his real name is unpronounceable by humans (which makes more sense, given his abbreviation of "Romana" for Romanadvoratrelundar). The new series, however, has River Song (a human, [[TouchedByVorlons basically]]) whisper his name in his ear to prove that she would one day become extremely important to him, disproving this.
** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS5E2TheAbominableSnowmen "The Abominable Snowmen"]], Jamie has real difficulty saying "Padmasambhava", calling him things like "Padme-whatsit".
** Creator/RussellTDavies also has a love for this trope — the two most egregious examples being:
*** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E4AliensOfLondon Blon Fel Fotch]] [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E5WorldWarThree Passameer-Day]] [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E11BoomTown Slitheen]] from the planet Raxacoricofallapatorius. Getting the planet's name right became a RunningGag.
*** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E7TheLongGame The Mighty Jagrafess of the Holy Hadrojassic Maxarodenfoe.]] This one so stumped Simon Pegg the one time he had to say it that he was told to just say it the best he could and a roaring sound was added in post-production to cover his very minor mispronunciation.
** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E4TheDoctorsWife "The Doctor's Wife"]], the passcode to access one of the TARDIS' control rooms is, quite literally, unpronounceable. It's telepathically based, and you have to ''think'' the concepts, which are "Crimson", "11", "Delight", and "Petrichor (the smell of dust after rain)".
* In ''Series/{{Farscape}}'', Pilot's native language is so complex that one sentence can convey hundreds of ideas. The TranslatorMicrobes can't keep up unless he carefully dumbs down his speech for others. This is probably why we never learn his real name.
** And let's not forget all the alien names that have to be shortened for John: Joolushko Tunai Fenta Hovalis (Jool), Utu Noranti Pralatong (Noranti), Sikozu Svala Shanti Sugaysi Shanu (Sikozu). While these names are all technically pronounceable, they are pretty complex.
** In "The Peacekeeper Wars", the name [[spoiler:Aeryn]] originally wanted to give to her [[spoiler:and John]]'s child sounded pretty much like a loud belch. While yawning.
* ''Series/TheFastShow'' featured a spoof of ''The Untouchables'' called "The Unpronounceables", in which both the mobsters and "good guys" struggle with each other's long and complicated names. And the acronyms of various law enforcement agencies. Like pronouncing the NYPD as a phonetic word (kinda like "Nippud") and only breaking into triumphant cheering once one of the mobsters asked how it was spelled.
* In ''Series/GameOfThrones'', the [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep Spice King]] does not give his name, saying that it's long and unpronounceable to foreigners.
* ''Series/HikoninSentaiAkibaranger'' seems to be toying with this, giving names like Shibuyaseitakaawadachisouhidenagaaburamushi to the MonsterOfTheWeek, and a villain whose name is written as "©Na"(subverted in that it's pronounced Marushina/ Malseena).
* ''Series/KeepingUpAppearances'':
** Hyacinth's father had a female friend with a Polish surname that none of the other characters knew how to pronounce. However, this was solely due to Polish spelling; the actual pronunciation was approximately 'Zoey'.
** There was an episode in which Rose was engaged to a Polish man whose name baffled all the characters (and was never seen on-screen), so they all just called him "Mr. Whats-it".
* The episode of ''Series/{{Lost}}'' titled "?" Consensus seems to mostly believe it's pronounced "question mark".
* In ''Series/TheMiddleman'' episode "The Flying Fish Zombification", an energy drink is named "!!!!", which you pronounce by stomping your right foot, doing "jazz hands" and grinning. The characters then proceed to use the name through an entire scene (and occasionally throughout the rest of the episode) as if it were an ordinary name.
* ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'':
** Mr. Tarquin fim-tim-lim-bim-win-bim-lim-bus-stop-f'tang-f'tang-olé-biscuitbarrel. His name was later adopted by a real life political candidate.
** The Very Silly candidate from Harpenden, whose name includes all manner of sound effects, including a whistle and a gunshot:
-->Malcolm Peter Brian Telescope Adrian Umbrella Stand Jasper Wednesday (pops mouth twice) Stoatgobbler John Raw Vegetable (sound effect of horse whinnying) Arthur Norman Michael (blows squeaker) Featherstone Smith (blows whistle) Northgot Edwards Harris (fires pistol, which goes 'whoop') Mason (chuff-chuff-chuff) Frampton Jones Fruitbat Gilbert (sings) 'We'll keep a welcome in the' (three shots, stops singing) Williams If I Could Walk That Way Jenkin (squeaker) Tiger-draws Pratt Thompson (sings) 'Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head' Darcy Carter (horn) Pussycat 'Don't Sleep In The Subway' Barton Mannering (hoot, 'whoop') Smith.
** Why is it the world never remembered the name of Johann Gambolputty de von Ausfern -schplenden -schlitter -crasscrenbon -fried -digger -dangle -dungle -burstein -von -knacker -thrasher -apple -banger -horowitz -ticolensic -grander -knotty -spelltinkle -grandlich -grumblemeyer -spelterwasser -kürstlich -himbleeisen -bahnwagen -gutenabend -bitte -eine -nürnburger -bratwustle -gerspurten -mit -zweimache -luber -hundsfut -gumberaber -shönendanker -kalbsfleisch -mittler -raucher von Hautkopft of Ulm.
** The Knights Who Say Icky-cky-icky-icky-kapang-zoop-boing?
* The second episode of ''Series/TheNewsroom'' had Will trying a more hands-on approach with his staff, starting with learning everyone's name:
-->'''Will''': I was up half the night learning to pronounce 'Calinalsia Zebrezniak'.\\
'''Don''': Callie doesn't work here anymore. \\
'''Will''': Dianastasia Jorma?\\
'''Don''': Nope.\\
'''Will''': Muhammad al Muhammad al Muhammad bin Bazir?\\
'''Don''': Went to Fox.
* The mermaid in ''Series/{{Sanctuary}}'' has a name, but Will and Henry consider it unpronounceable, and have instead christened her Sally.
* ''Series/StargateSG1''':
** The Zat'nik'tel (a kind of stun gun). Lampshaded a few times in the series, it's usually just called "Zat" or "Zat gun".
--->'''Maj. Thornberg:''' What was the weapon you used?\\
'''Col. O'Neill:''' ... Well, it's hard to say.\\
'''Maj. Thornberg:''' Some sort of state secret?\\
'''Col. O'Neill:''' No, just difficult to pronounce.
** The fact that many Goa'uld (alien) terms are hard to pronounce or are very/overly long is lampshaded in the Season 3 episode "Deadman Switch":
--->'''O'Neill:''' So, Teal'c, how does one Goa'uld fire weapons from several directions?\\
'''Teal'c:''' Taks.\\
'''O'Neill:''' Tak'nik'tels?\\
'''Teal'c:''' ''[very fast]'' Takunitagaminituron. ''[pause]'' Taks.
* In one episode of ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'', Spock claimed that his family name was unpronounceable by humans; in a different episode, his human mother said she could do so, but only "after a fashion, and after many years of practice". (The actress who played his mother, however, [[WordOfGod once told conventioneers]] that "Spock" was his surname. His real first name? Harold. OK, he's half-human.)
** Story editor D.C. Fontana wrote a letter to a Trek fanzine saying that an English approximation of Spock's family name was "Xtmprsqzntwlfb", and much early fanfic ran with it.
** In ''Film/StarTrekTheMotionPicture'', the Vulcan Master -- speaking in the Vulcan language -- pronounces his name as "Spoch" (with a long "o" followed by the "ch" sound in "chutzpah"). Maybe when Spock told Kirk that "you wouldn't be able to pronounce it", he meant that Iowa-born Kirk never learned how to make a "ch" sound properly.
* Another Star Trek example, in ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' its stated that the names of Xindi Insectoids get longer as they age, making them harder to pronounce.
* And in ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'', we have The Traveler. His real name cannot be pronounced by humans.
* In ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'', Ensign Samantha Wildman considers naming her HalfHumanHybrid child after her Ktarian husband. Unfortunately his name is Greskrendtregk.
* In the late 1970s there was an American comedy series called "Szysznyk", starring Ned Beatty as a teacher named Nick Szysznyk, pronounced "Shiz-nik". The running joke was that no one could pronounce his name.
** That might be how English speakers pronounce it but it's quite different in its native language. To understand, scroll down to Real Life and check out the entry for Polish surnames. Specifically, the difference between "sz" and "ś".
* We have yet to actually hear or see Stiles' first name in ''Series/TeenWolf''. Apparently, no one but his dad (maybe) can pronounce it, which is why he goes by Stiles (a sort-of shortened version of his last name, Stilinski.) Two characters have so far seen his name in print (the lacrosse Coach, and [[spoiler: the doctor about to give him an MRI]]), and neither have had a clue how to say it.
* In ''Series/That70sShow'', Fez's real name is unpronounceable — that's why everyone calls him Fez. (Apparently it's actually "Fes", which stands for "Foreign Exchange Student".)
* ''Series/ThatsSoRaven'' had Raven hiring a pair of child models from Africa with long and complicated first names. As for their last name, everyone simply referred to it as "Unpronounceable".
* This is why Nestov on ''Series/{{Tracker}}'' gave himself that name when he was arrested. He said it sounded better than his long, hard to pronounce Dessarian name.
* Canadian comedy team Series/WayneAndShuster did a skit on their show about a PrivateEye in AncientRome hired by Brutus to investigate the murder of [[UsefulNotes/JuliusCaesar "Big Julie."]] Early on, the detective [[PrivateEyeMonologue monologued]], "My license number is 'IXIVLLCCDIXMV'. Also comes in handy as an eye chart. If you can read it, you don't need glasses. If you can pronounce it, you're Polish."
* ''Series/TheWire'' gives us Roland Pryzbylewski, referred to as either "Prez" or "Prezbo".
* Deconstructed on ''Series/TheYoungOnes'', when a midget demon complains that his name ("Ftumsh") is something that nobody ever says even by accident, meaning he's never summoned to Earth.
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[[TheUnpronounceable Unpronounceable words]] in live-action TV.
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* At the time Yugoslavia degenerated into chaos and civil war, a British TV comedy show parodied the style of televised appeals for charitable help. Its advert drew attention to the one thing the former Yugoslavian states clearly lacked and desperately needed. To background film of the letters from many Scrabble sets being poured into a heap, the solemn alpha-male voiceover declared '''Vowels. Yugoslavia needs your vowels.''' The scene then cut to text and road-signs showing consonant-heavy Serbian and Croatian script, with the voiceover making a hash of pronouncing them, and speculation on how much easier it would be if these vowel-poor people got an emergency supply of those missing letters. So send all the vowels you can spare to... and £5 buys a Scrabble set... [[note]]A Running Gag was had about Serbia entering into an exchange deal with Hawaii and trading one side's surplus vowels for the other side's spare consonants...[[/note]]
----
* The Shadows in ''Series/BabylonFive'' do not call themselves "The Shadows". Their own name for themselves is "ten thousand letters long" and unpronounceable by humans.
* Used as in-universe plot device with German "Bernd das Brot", in the parody [[Literature/HarryPotter "Berndi Broter"]]. It features Lord Vol...eh, [[CaptainErsatz The Lord Whose Name Nobody Can Speak.]]
-->'''The Lord''': [[FamousLastWords Any last words before I kill you?]]\\
'''Bernd''': Actually, yes. Why are you called "The Lord Whose Name Nobody Can Speak"?\\
'''The Lord''': Well, it IS actually very hard to pronounce. Not for me, of course, after all I can speak my own name, eh? It's Lord Voltschimpeditsch… no, wait, that didn't come over good...Voltzmpdetzsch...[[spoiler: The Lord tries it a few times in ever rising frustration and anger, breaks his magic wand in a moment of fffuuu and dies on the spot.]]
* Early in ''Series/{{Bewitched}}'', while Darren is still trying to be polite to Endora, he asks her what her last name is. She flatly replies, "Forget it, you'll never be able to pronounce it."
* ''Series/ABitOfFryAndLaurie'':
** In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNoS2BU6bbQ one sketch]], Laurie's character gives his name to a policeman as Derek followed by the sound of a small object being dropped onto a countertop, which is spelled "Nippl-e" (''not'' "nipple"). HilarityEnsues.
** And when the name of the street on which he lives is pronounced by doing a brief tap-dancing routine before proceeding to slap the policeman across the face? Even more HilarityEnsues.
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''. Xander and Spike are tracking a demon that's poisoned Buffy when it suddenly leaps out at them.
-->'''Spike:''' [[OhCrap Oh, balls!]] You didn't say the thing was a Glarghk Guhl Kashma'nik.\\
'''Xander:''' That's 'cause I can't say Glarma-- ''(demon [[TalkToTheFist hits him]])''
** In ''{{Series/Angel}}'', [[BigBad Jasmine's]] real name, when finally heard, is essentially a moaning scream from the decapitated Keeper of the Name, the only being who knows - and can pronounce - her true name. Correctly pronouncing her name causes [[spoiler:Jasmine's influence over humanity to evaporate.]]
* Parodied on ''Series/TheDailyShow'' when Samantha Bee gives Al-Jazeera a makeover. Because she can't even understand Ghida Fakhry's name, after the American friendly rebrand, she becomes "Peppermint Gomez".
** According to Creator/JonStewart, 'Ahmadinejad' is Farsi for 'unpronounceable'. According to Creator/StephenColbert, [[RunningGag that's not his name]].
*** Colbert's RunningGag of [[MadLibsCatchphrase inserting different words into "Ahmadinejad"]] began in [[http://www.cc.com/video-clips/nxszdr/the-colbert-report-ahmadinejad-s-letter this episode]] when he simply pronounced it without fanfare the first time, then apologized for [[TakeThat failing to follow the accepted journalistic protocol of making a huge deal out of how unpronounceable it is]] and promised never to say it right again.
---->"Oh, Lord, help me! Help me get my mouth around this crazy name!"
** [[http://www.cc.com/video-clips/jrbwze/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-word-failure This]] toss takes it to the extreme.
*** An [[http://www.cc.com/video-clips/9qj7jv/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-the-new-iraq earlier segment]] that likewise [[OverlyLongGag forced Stephen to wrestle with difficult names]] ended up subverting this amusingly:
---->'''Jon''': [[LampshadeHanging I can't believe]] he got out "Barzan Ibrahim Hasan al-Tikriti" and "Abd al-Baqi abd al-Karim Abdallah al-Sadun" and then tripped on the word ''"urn."''
** There's also his hilarious attempts to pronounce ex-Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich's name. It tends to come out as "Rod Blah-GOOJEWHOSYWATSIT" or something.
* ''Series/TheDayToday'' expanded the name of real-life reporter Brian Hanrahan for the character Peter O'Hanraha-Hanrahan.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** {{Jossed}}: The Doctor in the Classic series (particularly the Fourth) dropped [[YoYoPlotPoint somewhat inconsistent]] hints that his real name is unpronounceable by humans (which makes more sense, given his abbreviation of "Romana" for Romanadvoratrelundar). The new series, however, has River Song (a human, [[TouchedByVorlons basically]]) whisper his name in his ear to prove that she would one day become extremely important to him, disproving this.
** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS5E2TheAbominableSnowmen "The Abominable Snowmen"]], Jamie has real difficulty saying "Padmasambhava", calling him things like "Padme-whatsit".
** Creator/RussellTDavies also has a love for this trope — the two most egregious examples being:
*** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E4AliensOfLondon Blon Fel Fotch]] [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E5WorldWarThree Passameer-Day]] [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E11BoomTown Slitheen]] from the planet Raxacoricofallapatorius. Getting the planet's name right became a RunningGag.
*** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E7TheLongGame The Mighty Jagrafess of the Holy Hadrojassic Maxarodenfoe.]] This one so stumped Simon Pegg the one time he had to say it that he was told to just say it the best he could and a roaring sound was added in post-production to cover his very minor mispronunciation.
** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E4TheDoctorsWife "The Doctor's Wife"]], the passcode to access one of the TARDIS' control rooms is, quite literally, unpronounceable. It's telepathically based, and you have to ''think'' the concepts, which are "Crimson", "11", "Delight", and "Petrichor (the smell of dust after rain)".
* In ''Series/{{Farscape}}'', Pilot's native language is so complex that one sentence can convey hundreds of ideas. The TranslatorMicrobes can't keep up unless he carefully dumbs down his speech for others. This is probably why we never learn his real name.
** And let's not forget all the alien names that have to be shortened for John: Joolushko Tunai Fenta Hovalis (Jool), Utu Noranti Pralatong (Noranti), Sikozu Svala Shanti Sugaysi Shanu (Sikozu). While these names are all technically pronounceable, they are pretty complex.
** In "The Peacekeeper Wars", the name [[spoiler:Aeryn]] originally wanted to give to her [[spoiler:and John]]'s child sounded pretty much like a loud belch. While yawning.
* ''Series/TheFastShow'' featured a spoof of ''The Untouchables'' called "The Unpronounceables", in which both the mobsters and "good guys" struggle with each other's long and complicated names. And the acronyms of various law enforcement agencies. Like pronouncing the NYPD as a phonetic word (kinda like "Nippud") and only breaking into triumphant cheering once one of the mobsters asked how it was spelled.
* In ''Series/GameOfThrones'', the [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep Spice King]] does not give his name, saying that it's long and unpronounceable to foreigners.
* ''Series/HikoninSentaiAkibaranger'' seems to be toying with this, giving names like Shibuyaseitakaawadachisouhidenagaaburamushi to the MonsterOfTheWeek, and a villain whose name is written as "©Na"(subverted in that it's pronounced Marushina/ Malseena).
* ''Series/KeepingUpAppearances'':
** Hyacinth's father had a female friend with a Polish surname that none of the other characters knew how to pronounce. However, this was solely due to Polish spelling; the actual pronunciation was approximately 'Zoey'.
** There was an episode in which Rose was engaged to a Polish man whose name baffled all the characters (and was never seen on-screen), so they all just called him "Mr. Whats-it".
* The episode of ''Series/{{Lost}}'' titled "?" Consensus seems to mostly believe it's pronounced "question mark".
* In ''Series/TheMiddleman'' episode "The Flying Fish Zombification", an energy drink is named "!!!!", which you pronounce by stomping your right foot, doing "jazz hands" and grinning. The characters then proceed to use the name through an entire scene (and occasionally throughout the rest of the episode) as if it were an ordinary name.
* ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'':
** Mr. Tarquin fim-tim-lim-bim-win-bim-lim-bus-stop-f'tang-f'tang-olé-biscuitbarrel. His name was later adopted by a real life political candidate.
** The Very Silly candidate from Harpenden, whose name includes all manner of sound effects, including a whistle and a gunshot:
-->Malcolm Peter Brian Telescope Adrian Umbrella Stand Jasper Wednesday (pops mouth twice) Stoatgobbler John Raw Vegetable (sound effect of horse whinnying) Arthur Norman Michael (blows squeaker) Featherstone Smith (blows whistle) Northgot Edwards Harris (fires pistol, which goes 'whoop') Mason (chuff-chuff-chuff) Frampton Jones Fruitbat Gilbert (sings) 'We'll keep a welcome in the' (three shots, stops singing) Williams If I Could Walk That Way Jenkin (squeaker) Tiger-draws Pratt Thompson (sings) 'Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head' Darcy Carter (horn) Pussycat 'Don't Sleep In The Subway' Barton Mannering (hoot, 'whoop') Smith.
** Why is it the world never remembered the name of Johann Gambolputty de von Ausfern -schplenden -schlitter -crasscrenbon -fried -digger -dangle -dungle -burstein -von -knacker -thrasher -apple -banger -horowitz -ticolensic -grander -knotty -spelltinkle -grandlich -grumblemeyer -spelterwasser -kürstlich -himbleeisen -bahnwagen -gutenabend -bitte -eine -nürnburger -bratwustle -gerspurten -mit -zweimache -luber -hundsfut -gumberaber -shönendanker -kalbsfleisch -mittler -raucher von Hautkopft of Ulm.
** The Knights Who Say Icky-cky-icky-icky-kapang-zoop-boing?
* The second episode of ''Series/TheNewsroom'' had Will trying a more hands-on approach with his staff, starting with learning everyone's name:
-->'''Will''': I was up half the night learning to pronounce 'Calinalsia Zebrezniak'.\\
'''Don''': Callie doesn't work here anymore. \\
'''Will''': Dianastasia Jorma?\\
'''Don''': Nope.\\
'''Will''': Muhammad al Muhammad al Muhammad bin Bazir?\\
'''Don''': Went to Fox.
* The mermaid in ''Series/{{Sanctuary}}'' has a name, but Will and Henry consider it unpronounceable, and have instead christened her Sally.
* ''Series/StargateSG1''':
** The Zat'nik'tel (a kind of stun gun). Lampshaded a few times in the series, it's usually just called "Zat" or "Zat gun".
--->'''Maj. Thornberg:''' What was the weapon you used?\\
'''Col. O'Neill:''' ... Well, it's hard to say.\\
'''Maj. Thornberg:''' Some sort of state secret?\\
'''Col. O'Neill:''' No, just difficult to pronounce.
** The fact that many Goa'uld (alien) terms are hard to pronounce or are very/overly long is lampshaded in the Season 3 episode "Deadman Switch":
--->'''O'Neill:''' So, Teal'c, how does one Goa'uld fire weapons from several directions?\\
'''Teal'c:''' Taks.\\
'''O'Neill:''' Tak'nik'tels?\\
'''Teal'c:''' ''[very fast]'' Takunitagaminituron. ''[pause]'' Taks.
* In one episode of ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'', Spock claimed that his family name was unpronounceable by humans; in a different episode, his human mother said she could do so, but only "after a fashion, and after many years of practice". (The actress who played his mother, however, [[WordOfGod once told conventioneers]] that "Spock" was his surname. His real first name? Harold. OK, he's half-human.)
** Story editor D.C. Fontana wrote a letter to a Trek fanzine saying that an English approximation of Spock's family name was "Xtmprsqzntwlfb", and much early fanfic ran with it.
** In ''Film/StarTrekTheMotionPicture'', the Vulcan Master -- speaking in the Vulcan language -- pronounces his name as "Spoch" (with a long "o" followed by the "ch" sound in "chutzpah"). Maybe when Spock told Kirk that "you wouldn't be able to pronounce it", he meant that Iowa-born Kirk never learned how to make a "ch" sound properly.
* Another Star Trek example, in ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' its stated that the names of Xindi Insectoids get longer as they age, making them harder to pronounce.
* And in ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'', we have The Traveler. His real name cannot be pronounced by humans.
* In ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'', Ensign Samantha Wildman considers naming her HalfHumanHybrid child after her Ktarian husband. Unfortunately his name is Greskrendtregk.
* In the late 1970s there was an American comedy series called "Szysznyk", starring Ned Beatty as a teacher named Nick Szysznyk, pronounced "Shiz-nik". The running joke was that no one could pronounce his name.
** That might be how English speakers pronounce it but it's quite different in its native language. To understand, scroll down to Real Life and check out the entry for Polish surnames. Specifically, the difference between "sz" and "ś".
* We have yet to actually hear or see Stiles' first name in ''Series/TeenWolf''. Apparently, no one but his dad (maybe) can pronounce it, which is why he goes by Stiles (a sort-of shortened version of his last name, Stilinski.) Two characters have so far seen his name in print (the lacrosse Coach, and [[spoiler: the doctor about to give him an MRI]]), and neither have had a clue how to say it.
* In ''Series/That70sShow'', Fez's real name is unpronounceable — that's why everyone calls him Fez. (Apparently it's actually "Fes", which stands for "Foreign Exchange Student".)
* ''Series/ThatsSoRaven'' had Raven hiring a pair of child models from Africa with long and complicated first names. As for their last name, everyone simply referred to it as "Unpronounceable".
* This is why Nestov on ''Series/{{Tracker}}'' gave himself that name when he was arrested. He said it sounded better than his long, hard to pronounce Dessarian name.
* Canadian comedy team Series/WayneAndShuster did a skit on their show about a PrivateEye in AncientRome hired by Brutus to investigate the murder of [[UsefulNotes/JuliusCaesar "Big Julie."]] Early on, the detective [[PrivateEyeMonologue monologued]], "My license number is 'IXIVLLCCDIXMV'. Also comes in handy as an eye chart. If you can read it, you don't need glasses. If you can pronounce it, you're Polish."
* ''Series/TheWire'' gives us Roland Pryzbylewski, referred to as either "Prez" or "Prezbo".
* Deconstructed on ''Series/TheYoungOnes'', when a midget demon complains that his name ("Ftumsh") is something that nobody ever says even by accident, meaning he's never summoned to Earth.
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