Toronto Zoo finally reveals panda cubs' names, people butcher pronunciation

What's in a name?

Or more to the point, what's in the pronunciation of a name, especially when it belongs to a panda?

The world found out the names of the Toronto Zoo's giant panda cubs on Monday, as they made their official debut almost six months after they were born.

• Justin Trudeau meets newly named Toronto Zoo panda cubs Jia Panpan and Jia Yueyue

The male cub isnamed Jia Panpan (meaningCanadian Hope), and his sister is Jia Yueyue (Canadian Joy)

Naturally,everyone from news reporters to zoo spokespersons butchered the pronunciation of their Chinese names.

So, how do you pronounce the names?

According toCBCradio producerLuZhou, the easiest pronunciation for those unfamiliar with Chinese:

• Jia Panpan is pronounced "GEE-YApan-pan"
• Jia Yueyue is pronounced "GEE-YAYOU-eh YOU-eh"

"People put so much thought into the names. It has such deep meaning to everyone who has come up with it," Zhousaid. "There is a nuanced subtlety that is very important for us to capture."

The Toronto Zoo also has an audio recording of the correct pronunciation of the names on itswebsite.