J. D. Biersdorfer, writing for the New York Times, talks through the complexities of teaching Siri how to properly pronounce an unusual name.

A key step in teaching Siri:

If your Contacts list contains names with unusual spellings and pronunciations that Siri cannot accurately match up when you ask for them, you can try adding a phonetic version of the name to the person’s contact card. To do that, call up the contact, tap Edit in the upper-right corner and scroll down to Add Field.

Tap the Add Field option and on the next screen, select Phonetic First Name or Phonetic Last Name. Once the chosen field appears, type in the syllables of the name the way that they sound rather than how the name is spelled.

This works well in iOS, but Siri is also available on the Mac. In the Contacts application on the Mac, you’ll want to open a contact card, click Edit (lower right of the card) then, from the Contact menu bar, select Card > Add Field > Phonetic First/Last Name or Phonetic Company. [H/T Mark Hurty and HYAPhoto]