I am not sure how Luka's last name is spelled, and I also think that some people don't know how to say it, either. Luka and most of the others on the show say it "Ko-Vatch" but in "May Day" Carter kept saying "Ko-Votch" (my sister was good enough to point out that this rhymes with "crotch"). I think Randi called him what Carter did, although I have heard Randi say it "correctly" in other episodes. So, I guess Luka knows how to say his own name and we should go with that. But what reason would others have to say it differently? Did Noah Wyle just slip up, and then repeat it later so it wouldn't seem odd that it said it two ways, or are we supposed to assume Carter doesn't know him well enough to say his name right? Or were they just hoping we wouldn't notice the difference?

-- Annie (GoldenLaur@aol.com), May 20, 2000

Answers

From what I heard in the past episodes, I have heard the "ch" part in the end when they say his last name (Kovac). I think that's how they say it in his native land. But so far at least the staff are pretty consistent in how they pronounce his last name which is to add the "vatch" in the end or stretch the "ch" sound in the end.

-- abigail (abbyqueen@aol.com), May 20, 2000.

Luka's name is spelt "Kovac" with an accent over the "c", which makes it sound more like a "ch".

The letter "a" in Croatian sounds like the "au" in autumn.

-- PK (petar.kolakovic@utoronto.ca), May 21, 2000.

Maybe it's like in REAL life, no two people (who don't know me well yet) pronounce my last name the same either...it rhymes with lady BTW.

-- Diana McQuady (dilynne@juno.com), May 22, 2000.

Thanks for the responses so far. They are very helpful. Diana, you made a good point that I should have thought of--everyone pronounces my last name wrong, too!

-- Annie (GoldenLaur@aol.com), May 22, 2000.

Hey, In "The Dance We Do" the room service guy says to Abby : "Dr. Kovac (he pronounced it K-O-V-A-C-K) ordered breakfast." Dave also said it that way in a later episode. I personally believe its pronounced "Ko-Votch," because thats the way Luka says it.

-- Teddy (richarr@earthlink.net), June 18, 2001.