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How do you know how to pronounce Irish names???
I looked at the pronunciation keys, and they are pronounced totally different that I would have thought...(and I can't put accents on the letters, so I can't spell them totally right)
Faolin
Eimhin
Daithi
SithmhaithSo, is there like a language key so you can always know how to pronounce them???That's all,
always writing...
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To use "fada" (the accent over vowels in irish, if your keyboard can be set to "irish - gaeilge", then holding the 'altgr' button at the right hand side of space bar, pressing a vowel and releasing both buttons places the fada for you.Faolin: this looks gramatically incorrect as a 'wide vowel' (a, o, u) on the left side of a consonant (letter 'l'), must be followed by a wide vowel. narrow vowels (i, e) by narrow vowels. Names should follow the same grammer rules though many people use their own variations of spellings.Eimhin ('mh' has either a 'v' or a 'w' sound), in this case 'v'... so pronounced => evin.Daithí ('th'; the 't' becomes silent), (also an 'accent' (fada) over a vowel extends the sound of the vowel. many people often make the mistake of pronouncing the irish alphabet letters the same as in english, but as a gaelic / celtic language, the sounds are different)... so pronounce => da-hee.Síthmhaith ('t' =silent; 'mh' has 'v'sound), so say => sheevah
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You learn the rules and listen to native speakers.Here are some rules to follow, but note that proper names do not always follow the general rules of pronunciation. I'm not an expert and have found that it's best to confirm with a native speaker. Consonants and Consonant Combinationsbh - “v” ( or occasionally as a “w”)c - always a hard “c” as in “came”ch - always a hard, guttural “k” as in “Bach” dd - “th” dh - usually silentfh - usually silentg - always a hard “g” as in “game”gh - usually silentmh - “v” ( or occasionally as a “w”)s - “sh”Vowels and Vowel Combinationsa – “ah” (like the short “o” in “pot”)á - “aw”ae - “ I ” (exception in proper names where “ae” is usually pronounced “ay”)ai - “ I ” (exception in proper names where “ai” is usually pronounced “ay”)aoi - “ee”au - “ow”e - usually an “eh” (like the short “e” in “met”) (However,
a final “e” is almost always sounded as a long “ee” in names and other words (Slaine: “slay-nee”; exceptions: Shane: “Shayn” and Maeve: “Mave”)é - pronounced “ay”i - pronounced as “ee” or “ih”, never pronounced as “eye” unless the pronoun “I”io - “ih”o - usually pronounced like the short “u” in “put”ó - pronounced as a long “o” (like “total”) or “oo” (like “food”)u - normal pronunciationứ - pronounced as a long “o” (like “total”) or “oo” (like “food”)
Reference Websites:Baby Names of Ireland http://www.babynamesofireland.com/pages/naming-traditions.html --- Irish naming traditions and alphabetical lists of popular girls and boys names with pronunciation and description,and some connections to legends and folktales.University of Tennessee at Martin, Department of English: Pronunciation of Irish names –
http://www.utm.edu/departments/english/everett/496pron.htm --- Basic pronunciation guide with references.
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Thank you! I'll check out the sites! (because I'll never be lucky enough to meet a native speaker :) )
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