How the Hell Did Vladimir Nabokov Pronounce His Last Name? How the Hell Do I Pronounce Mine?

Let's start with the most essential piece of evidence. Sting, an English speaker and former English teacher, chooses to accent the first syllable of the name "Nabokov" in the Police classic DON'T STAND SO CLOSE TO ME -- just as I, an English speaker and former English teacher, choose to accent the first syllable in my own last name.






That great Eighties band, of course, played no role in my dad's decision to reclaim our family name. It had been long concealed by my grandfather, who was not eage...