Word Nerd Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 The series of books and cartoons by Stan and Jan Berenstain have always been the Berenstain Bears, but apparently a lot of people remember it being Berenstein when they were kids and are convinced they are right and that it's all a hoax or proof of a glitch in the matrix. How do you remember saying/reading it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2bee Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 Stain. Berenstain...I always corrected people when they pronounced it Stein. I just thought that my friends weren't reading closely or speaking clearly. The name has always been Berenstain. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PuddleJumper1 Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 I didn't read the books as a kid but my youngest enjoys them. I will hang my head in shame and admit I've been calling them Berensteen Bears. No idea why - may have heard someone call them that. I've never looked closely at the covers apparently. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reign Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 I also say Berenstein Bears. I like the way it flows better. I don't think people look too closely at names. I read a great biography on the couple and that was when I finally noticed. I still say Berenstein. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 I totally thought they were Berenstein. I'm actually a little freaked out by this. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted August 29, 2015 Author Share Posted August 29, 2015 It is really weird how many people assumed it was Berenstein. I vaguely remember being surprised when I realized it was Berenstain, but I don't remember how old I was when I noticed I'd been reading it wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasmama Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 Somebody's trying to gaslight me. I thought it was spelled -stein, but we pronounced it like "stain". My childhood is now built on a throne of lies. 16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 I don't like the series, especially for boys, but my parents loved it so I might possibly still have one of my old books from the '70s or late '60s in the back of my emphatically-not-KonMari'd closet that I could scan to show you kiddies. It's Berenstain. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 I realized my mistake when I started reading them to my kids. Berenstain is a longish name and I was a lazy reader, I bet. I don't let my young readers get away with that kind if sloppiness! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 I always said and remembered -stein but then -stein is a suffix that I associate with names and -stain really isn't. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hkpiano Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 Stain. Berenstain...I always corrected people when they pronounced it Stein. I just thought that my friends weren't reading closely or speaking clearly. The name has always been Berenstain. This. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraidycat Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 I totally thought they were Berenstein. I'm actually a little freaked out by this. This. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 -stain. I always noticed that and made sure to pronounce it right. I'm super confused that people always thought it was -stein. :lol: But then again, I have a weird name, and so do many in my family, so I'm used to going out of my way to say names right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
displace Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 I voted stein as that's how I pronounced it. I don't remember the spelling per se. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 -stain here too. I learned to read kind of late and the Berenstain Bear books were to first books I dove into after it all clicked. I read them all sitting on the beanbag chairs in the local library. The name is rather fixed in my memory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraidycat Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 I just asked my family how to spell it. My 9 year old "stein"ed it, too. My 13 year old ignored me, and my DH said the alphabet. LOL So DS and I are both from a parellel universe, apparently. We've probably never actually written it, but both remember it as ei. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenaj Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 I've always pronounced it "steen". When I see those books, I hear it that way in my head! I wonder why? At least I'm not alone! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ailaena Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 When I was little, I always thought it was written by Stan and Jan Berenstain until one day I randomly noticed they were STEIN... :p I had no idea there was a television show! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 Stain. Because they were a stain on children's books. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted August 29, 2015 Author Share Posted August 29, 2015 When I was little, I always thought it was written by Stan and Jan Berenstain until one day I randomly noticed they were STEIN... :p It's the other way around--stain is correct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 My mom always pronounced it Berensteen bears, so I'm sure I just never paid attention to the author's names as a child. I do remember reading a book to my children a few years ago and being surprised it was actually Berenstain bears. My mom was always pronouncing things incorrectly so I just assumed it was her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 Berenstein, like Frankenstein. Stein is a common ending for surnames of German origin, means stone. The other ending, stain, is not common at all. In fact I suspect the -stain ending is a corruption of the more common -stein. Which probably explains the confusion. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 -stein. I guess I thought -stein was a name, and -stain wasn't so i never thought of it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Excelsior! Academy Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 I didn't read the books as a kid but my youngest enjoys them. I will hang my head in shame and admit I've been calling them Berensteen Bears. No idea why - may have heard someone call them that. I've never looked closely at the covers apparently. This. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted August 29, 2015 Author Share Posted August 29, 2015 Berenstein, like Frankenstein. Interesting. I never thought to add two different pronunciations of -stein to the poll (like steen or like stine). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmasc Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 Somebody's trying to gaslight me. I thought it was spelled -stein, but we pronounced it like "stain". My childhood is now built on a throne of lies. This exactly. ^^^^^ :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xuzi Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 Berenstein, like Frankenstein. It's FRAHN-ken-stein! :p 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truscifi Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 This is like when I discovered sherbet only has one r. :huh: :confused1: 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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