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Archivespronounciation of Ethne....
im not 100% sure how to pronouince this, is it eth-nee? thank you :)
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I am not Irish, nor have I ever been to Ireland, so I can only go by websites and one online Irish aquaintance when it comes to Irish names. I would still like to add my 2 cents though :)
From what I can gather, and I do trust certain sources, Eithne is pronounced "En-ya" and Ethne, the same or "En-na". So I think Jenna may be right about the 'th' being silent.
Also, I'm sure there are names that are mispronounced and/or spelt incorrectly all over the world. I've come across some people that think Ciara is said "See-air-ra", when in fact it's "Kee-ra". Yet they're sure they're right. So while there may be different people in South Africa that pronounce Ethne "Eth-nee", they may not be correct.
From what I can gather, and I do trust certain sources, Eithne is pronounced "En-ya" and Ethne, the same or "En-na". So I think Jenna may be right about the 'th' being silent.
Also, I'm sure there are names that are mispronounced and/or spelt incorrectly all over the world. I've come across some people that think Ciara is said "See-air-ra", when in fact it's "Kee-ra". Yet they're sure they're right. So while there may be different people in South Africa that pronounce Ethne "Eth-nee", they may not be correct.
This message was edited 10/30/2006, 12:33 PM
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Eithne,Ethna and Ethnne and other spelling variants are generally pronounced Ethna in Ireland. It is rather out of date name and you don't meet many younger Eithnes.
However a confusion has arisen among non-Irish speakers and people who live outside Ireland about the pronounciation of this name. This is because a lot of people first encounter it through the singer Enya. En-ya is a regional,minority pronounciation of Eithne. The singer is a native speaker(Irish as first language speaker)from Donegal. The most notable effect of this dialect is a slurring of constanents. Thus Máire becomes Moya, Eithne becomes Enya,etc. However not all Eithnes from Donegal pronounce it Enya. The only Eithne I've met under 50 is "Eth-na".
I have noticed in recent years a popularity in Enya as a given name.
However a confusion has arisen among non-Irish speakers and people who live outside Ireland about the pronounciation of this name. This is because a lot of people first encounter it through the singer Enya. En-ya is a regional,minority pronounciation of Eithne. The singer is a native speaker(Irish as first language speaker)from Donegal. The most notable effect of this dialect is a slurring of constanents. Thus Máire becomes Moya, Eithne becomes Enya,etc. However not all Eithnes from Donegal pronounce it Enya. The only Eithne I've met under 50 is "Eth-na".
I have noticed in recent years a popularity in Enya as a given name.
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I've encountered a few here in South Africa, and they all pronounced the -th- , so the name sounded like ETH-nee. (Sounds like an unfinished version of'ethnic'.) This is clearly a spelling pronunciation ... but these women had no connection with each other, so their families must all have made the same error. It's a bit contentious, actually, when a change becomes official! They would have been amazed to be told their name was in any way wrong.
So, it depends on where the name is used and what the user has been used to.
So, it depends on where the name is used and what the user has been used to.
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In Gaelic Irish...
>>"e" is as in peck
>>"th", whether a slender or broad consanant, is pronounced like the English "h"
>>"n" is the same in English
>>"e" at the end of a word/name is usually pronounced similar to English shwa (sp?) as in Caoimhe (KEE-va)
>>and Gaelic names almost always have the stress on the first syllable.
so I'm pretty positive it's EH-na, probably with a little guttal (sp? i've never actually seen that word written down) break in between the syllables.
If anyone can correct that, go ahead.
Camille J
future 1st place winner of the local Piano Fest
future piano student of the esteemed Proffesor Amano
future music student at a university
future professional pianist!
>>"e" is as in peck
>>"th", whether a slender or broad consanant, is pronounced like the English "h"
>>"n" is the same in English
>>"e" at the end of a word/name is usually pronounced similar to English shwa (sp?) as in Caoimhe (KEE-va)
>>and Gaelic names almost always have the stress on the first syllable.
so I'm pretty positive it's EH-na, probably with a little guttal (sp? i've never actually seen that word written down) break in between the syllables.
If anyone can correct that, go ahead.
Camille J
future 1st place winner of the local Piano Fest
future piano student of the esteemed Proffesor Amano
future music student at a university
future professional pianist!
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thank you
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