I'd say that the Polish pronounciation is the one we should be using - and the 'correct' one -, and not just because Chopin himself never felt comfortable speaking French, and never considered himself as French. His father Nicolas had emigrated to Poland at 16 (not in adulthood), and always insisted on Polish being spoken in the household, being completely devoted to his adopted homeland. Therefore, unlike the likes of say, Jorge Bolet, who practically disowned his Cuban roots and insisted on Anglicizing his name after emigrating to the US (thus the correct pronunciation would be "George Bolett"), Chopin had always been a reluctant emigré (he originally intended to travel to Italy in 1830 but unrest there changed his plans, and he then couldn't return to Poland after the Polish uprising was crushed by the Russians in 1831) and often joked later that he was in Paris only in passing. When I visited Poland a few years ago, I saw how much Chopin meant to the Poles (one popular train line there used his Op.9/2 to alert passengers that the train was approaching the next station, and there are 'Chopin benches' on the main street in Warsaw on which, at a press of a button, you can hear various Chopin works), and from then on, used the Polish spelling and pronunciation.
I disagree. I’d say the feelings of the composer, his particular birthplace, and the feelings of his father do not change the etymological origins of a word that was around long before either of them were even thought of, and a word that still exists autonomously of them.
“Chopin” is a French surname. It existed before Fryderyk & his father Nicolas were born. Chopin’s paternal family bore the name going back at least six generations that we’re aware of.
Thus,
a.)Fryderyk Chopin being born in Poland & being half-Polish, b.) having spent the first half of his life there, c.) feeling more comfortable in the Polish language and culture, and d.) even becoming a Polish national icon…does not alter the history or etymological origins of his French surname. And Chopin’s father Nicolas was not a Polish immigrant because he wished to divorce himself from his French heritage. He knew a Polish businessman who immigrated to France, and that man offered him a job in Poland. He followed the best path in life for himself, not some desire to erase his French ancestry. Also, there’s no evidence that Nicolas’ insistence on Polish being spoken in their household was anything more than him ensuring that his children were fully immersed in their homeland, for his own mastery of the language, and so that he displayed the loyalty that was a requisite of the nationalism that pervaded most European countries at that time. But none of that changes the French history or origins of his surname that go all the way back to his great-great-great-great-great grandfather and beyond.
Even more, despite this Polish episode in the history of the family Chopin, when Fryderyk was forced back to his ancestral homeland, he took French equivalents of his Polish forenames, & upheld the original pronunciations of his French surname. Thus, throughout the extent of his career, he used the French pronunciation, even while extolling the culture of his homeland.
Further, the name exists autonomous of the composer and his family. It is not a unique family name. There were many other people in France with the surname Chopin even during his time. Per Ancestry, there are at least 6,000 people with the surname now, who trace their lineage back to Chopin families that were not immediately or directly related to the composer’s.
“Chopin” is a French surname. Because of the fame of one particular person who bore the surname, it became a loan word in Poland, when that man, half-Polish and born in Poland, achieved success internationally and became a Polish icon. That doesn’t alter the etymological & historical origins of the surname. That adds a secondary pronunciation: the Polish pronunciation of it. Language evolves and there’s space for that, but it doesn’t erase history. Thus, both versions are “correct” with the French being the authentic & original pronunciation, and the Polish being a loan word pronunciation.
(I’d also say the comparison to Bolet’s circumstance is incongruent. Chopin was forced to move to the country of his family’s origin, and chose to adapt the original ancestral etymological pronunciation of his last name and French equivalent of his forenames. Bolet had to anglicize his name to a completely different pronunciation because of cultural & racial animosity during a very dark & ugly chapter in American history. The same way Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez gave himself the completely different name of “Martin Sheen” to achieve success as an actor. There were notable exceptions like Desi Arnaz who maintained their name & culture, but that was very few & far between and in large part because his culture was the main feature of his act & he played up the dichotomy between he and Lucille Ball. For many others, that was not an option.In the U.S. I've never heard any reasonably knowledgeable person say it in any way other than Show pan. I was surprised there is even any discussion about this for those living in the U.S, Obviously, other countries might pronounce the name differently.
This is true, but I’m not sure we should consider that a point to be proud of. Historically, Americans have tended to eschew bilingualism, mispronounce anything that was non-English, and adapt those ill-informed, inaccurate pronunciations as fact. If a newer generations of scholars, musicologists, and artists are choosing to honor the proper pronunciations of foreign name & words, I’d say that’s a good thing.
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