Because several of you have asked, we checked in with Gawker's Cambridge correspondent for a definitive answer:

The prevalent way of pronouncing her name around these parts seems to be KAHV-yuh VISH-wah-NAH-thon, with the strongest emphasis in the last name on the first syllable, if that makes sense. People were using all sorts of random pronunciations when the story first broke, but that's what's been settled on after consultation with various Indian-American kids.

And no doubt they cribbed the answer from some slightly older Irish chick.

Earlier: Gawker's coverage of Kaavya Viswanathan.

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