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Pronunciation of Éabha please

  • 18-05-2012 11:22pm
    #1
    Registered Users Posts: 6


    Could I have a little help with the pronunciation of this pretty name. I know it has been covered before but I am not entirely clear on it.

    Is it AY-va with ay as in say/day

    Or is it AVE-ah with the ave as in gave/rave

    Many thanks if you can help

    Tara


Comments

  • Moderators, Education Moderators, Regional South East Moderators Posts: 12,466 Mod ✭✭✭✭byhookorbycrook


    Ay va


  • Registered Users Posts: 6 Teerah


    Thankyou!


  • Registered Users Posts: 5,851 ✭✭✭PurpleFistMixer


    Wait, what's the difference between those two? The "a" in gave/rave is the same "a" as in say/day... o.O


  • Registered Users Posts: 6 Teerah


    It wasnt the "a" sound I was asking about, it was the whole of the first syllable I meant, ie, was it an "ay" sound or an "ave" sound as broken down in the first post


  • Registered Users Posts: 941 ✭✭✭An gal gréine


    AY-AH-VA


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  • Registered Users Posts: 4,905 ✭✭✭Aard


    AY-va = AVE-ah


    I mean, right? Also, IPA should be a requirement for all future pronunciation threads! (I'm only half-joking.)


  • Registered Users Posts: 6 Teerah


    Not in my accent they arent ;)

    PS what is IPA?


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,905 ✭✭✭Aard


    IPA is the International Phonetic Alphabet. It gets around the issue of different people having different accents, and the fact that often in English the same letter can have multiple realisations (as such, using English spelling as an approximation of pronunciation invariably leads to confusion).


  • Registered Users Posts: 12,089 ✭✭✭✭P. Breathnach


    Aard wrote: »
    ... using English spelling as an approximation of pronunciation invariably leads to confusion.
    Whereas, for Irish, spelling and pronunciation actually work very well together. If you read a word that you have never heard, you should be able to pronounce it reasonably correctly in your particular dialect.

    Not that it's much help to OP, but the perfect answer to the question of how Éabha should be pronounced is "as it's written (provided that you are speaking Irish)".


  • Registered Users Posts: 6 Teerah


    Thanks for the explanation Aard and for everyones input.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 4,905 ✭✭✭Aard


    Whereas, for Irish, spelling and pronunciation actually work very well together. If you read a word that you have never heard, you should be able to pronounce it reasonably correctly in your particular dialect.

    Yep! I've always found that to be true. It works the other way too; if somebody tells you a word, it shouldn't be difficult to spell it. Irish spelling is almost completely regular.


  • Registered Users Posts: 941 ✭✭✭An gal gréine


    If it's Irish pronunciation then Éabha is similar to Fionnuala...
    Fionn-u-a-la
    or in English
    Finn-oo-la


  • Registered Users Posts: 152 ✭✭Cailleachdubh


    Ok, how is Éabha like Fionnuala exactly? They have nothing in common pronounciation wise!! :confused:


  • Registered Users Posts: 941 ✭✭✭An gal gréine


    In English, for some reason, people dont pronounce the underlined below.

    Éabha
    Fionnuala
    Caitríona

    In Irish it's there to be pronounced.


  • Registered Users Posts: 12,089 ✭✭✭✭P. Breathnach


    In English, for some reason, people dont pronounce the underlined below.

    Éabha
    Fionnuala
    Caitríona

    In Irish it's there to be pronounced.
    Well, it's a bit yes-and-no. The letters you underline are not given full value as vowels, but they certainly affect how the following consonants are sounded.


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,905 ✭✭✭Aard


    The vowel sound in those underlined examples is "schwa". Basically, a short unstressed central vowel. In these cases it forms the second part of a diphthong.


  • Registered Users Posts: 9 DeeL34


    Depends on where you're from but in Ulster the bh would be pronounced as a 'w' sound as it is preceded and followed by a broad vowel. Therefore it would be pronounced as A (say/day) a (apple) wah


  • Registered Users Posts: 941 ✭✭✭An gal gréine


    DeeL34 wrote: »
    Depends on where you're from but in Ulster the bh would be pronounced as a 'w' sound as it is preceded and followed by a broad vowel. Therefore it would be pronounced as A (say/day) a (apple) wah

    Yes, it's the same as Meadhbh/Meave:
    May-a-wah.


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