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[Facts] Re: pronounce this name
in reply to a message by ABby
If you look at the entry for Niamh is this site's dictionary you will see that it actually gives three different pronunciations used in Ireland:
NYEE-əv, NYEEV, NYEE-əw. My understanding is that's because Irish Gaelic actually has different dialects in different parts of Ireland which pronounce things somewhat differently. When people in Ireland are speaking English, my understanding is also that Niamh usually just rhymes with Steve or Eve.
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Niamh is pronounced Nyeev or Nyee-av. NYEE-əw is incorrect if I am correct in reading it as Nyee-aw? While -mh is sometimes silent in Irish it is pronounced as 'v' in the case of Niamh. Irish/Gaeilge does have different dialects plus accents when speaking Hiberno-English which effect the pronunciation of names. So someone might go by Nyee-av but get called Nyeev by some people. We make no distinction between how we pronounce an Irish name in Irish and/or English. So if we call someone Nyee-av speaking in Irish we'll say it the same speaking in English. I used to work in a bakery and Niamh was one of the names that gave the foreign bakers the most problems. More than one birthday cake came out with "Nimah" or "Niahm".
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