Pronunciation dilemma

[P.C.]

I've noticed on the CTV News, there is a reporter named St. John Alexander (I think it's Alexander)

Anyway, they call him Sin Jin (that's my interpretation of how you'd spell it).  I thought it was curious, but interesting (ish)

  But tonight there was a news story about some fellow also named St. John Something, and they pronounced HIS name Sin Jin also.

  Can anyone shed some light on this ?  This is the only place I have ever heard this version of the name St. John, and it's got me curious now.

[kitten]

It is common in England to pronounce it in that fashion.  And before you ask, I haven't the faintest idea why, it just is.

[purelife]

It's the British accent that makes it sound like "Sin Jin."  I think that I've heard of this before.  

[P.C.]

Thanks purelife.  But the people who are calling him Sin Jin, aren't British.  Does this make a difference ?  It's on CTV 9....Pamela Martin and Bill Good.  

[kitten]

It's probably how he pronounces it, so they are copying him.

[P.C.]

That's what I thought too, Kitten.  What sent that notion out the window, was when they were doing a news story tonight about 'John Doe'  whose name happened to be St. John, they called HIM that TOO.  That's when I became curious about it.

[kingy]

they were probably so used to saying sinjin instead of st john and misread the teleprompter?

[P.C.]

kingy.....I thought if anyone was going to have the right answer to this, it would by YOU.  You could certainly be right, (I don't have the luxury of a 'ready answer') but I'm not 100% sold on that one.

[P.C.]

This was all I could come up with on a google search.

I guess it follows in the same vein as 'An historical' .

   What about those with names St. John pronounced Sinjun or St. Clair pronounced Sinclair?
Oliver Crispin, London I don't speak Old English or Old Scots. Neither does anybody else. It's pretentious upper-class twaddle.
Neil Hoskins, Aylesbury, UK

[Jay Wrich]

From what I've been told, it's an old British name.  Spelled "St John" but pronounced "Sinjin".   It's not common in the UK, but they've heard of it.

  After I heard it on the news, the first time in my life, I kept hearing it again!

  I saw it in a Bond film, 007 was undercover and when his name was read aloud they mis-prounounced it Saint John.  He then corrected them in his sultry way, Smithe, 'Sinjin' Smithe.

  It was the same name the new priest had such a hard time pronouncing in Four Weddings and a Funeral.  

[Schadenfreude]

I've noticed SinJin too.

Who would name their kid "Saint"? Or Saint John?

C'mon, That kid would have less trouble in school if his parents had named him Gilligan.

[Orca]

Hi P.C.

I am a Mac (hehehee) ...

  If it is a first name, I would think that it is Sinjin, as St. John is usually lastname.

For example: Sinjin Smith the famous Beach Volleyball player.

  or it could be the name like James Bond character (Roger Moore) in View to a Kill, he posed as a person named James St. John Smythe, the St. John there is pronounced as 'sin-jin'

[Gopher]

Two surname peculiarities:

  Featherstonehaugh pronounced Fanshaw

  Cholmondeley pronounced Chumly

[kitten]

Also Worcestershire Sauce was pronounced Woostershire when I was a child.

[Sportsdude]

I grew up around germans, we've got funny last names.