Pronouncing the name “Kamala” is a source of confusion even to Microsoft Office’s Read Aloud feature which needs a little tweaking. How does Word’s grammar check handle the possessive, it is Harris’s or Harris’?
Kamala Harris has a Sanskrit based name which is simple to pronounce once you know the correct way.
We checked the ‘Read Aloud’ voices (US English) to see how it pronounced the first name correctly as ‘COM-mah-la’ not ‘Cam-ala’. It’s a mixed result.
(We’re not making a political point either way. Whatever you might think of someone, it’s polite to say their name correctly. We’re noting how even the much improved Read Aloud service in Microsoft 365 can get it wrong.)
Windows
In Word 365 for Windows the score is only 50%.
The US female voice gets it right “COM-mah-la” ✅
But the male voice is wrong “CAM-ala”.❌
Mac
There are more voice choices on Office for Mac. The US English voices we tested were also mixed but most were closer to saying ‘CAM-ala’ than the correct pronunciation.
Word with a S possessive
The way you make a word that ends in S possessive depends on which style guide you follow and whether it’s a proper noun/name or not.
As you can see, Microsoft Word’s grammar check has a “Possessive Plural” check but accepts either version.
Take your pick but, crucially, don’t rely on Word to check for mistakes or inconsistencies.
AP Stylebook
The AP Stylebook makes a distinction between ‘common nouns’ and ‘proper nouns’ like names.
Chicago Manual of Style (among others):
The Chicago Manual of Style accepts either option but “prefers” the ‘s version.
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