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Pronounciation of Name Aoibhe

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    #62
    usitwisely
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1 ✭usitwisely


    aoibhe is my name and I say it like Aoife.

    People say it should be like aoibheann and be like Eva but its Aoife for me so you choose.


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    #63
    WolfpactVI
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1 ✭WolfpactVI


    Sorry to revive an old thread, but I have a question regarding Ava/Éabha. While it seems widely acknowledged that "Éabha" is pronounced "AY-vah", what confuses me is that I have never seen "bha" pronounced as a "v". I thought only "bh" plus a slender vowel was a "v" sound, while "bh" plus a broad vowel was a "w" sound. So how is it that the "bha" in "Éabha" is a "v" sound?

    :confused:

    Thanks!


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    #64
    cathy01
    Registered Users Posts: 2,269 ✭✭✭cathy01


    Another one thinking of Ava , but Id like it in Irish, can I safely say its Éabha"
    Thanks,Cathy


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    #65
    deirdremf
    Registered Users Posts: 1,871 ✭✭✭deirdremf


    cathy01 wrote: »
    Another one thinking of Ava , but Id like it in Irish, can I safely say its Éabha"
    Thanks,Cathy
    Pronunciation is as close as you'll get, although some people pronounce the bh as w, others pronounce it v.
    Properly speaking though, Éabha is the Biblical character Eve:
    clann Éabha = Éabha/Eve's family i.e. the human race.


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    #66
    ildaite
    Registered Users Posts: 23 ✭ildaite


    I'd say Eva. Aoi= eeee, or weee

    Some examples:

    Aoife
    Caoimhe
    Aoihbeann
    aoine
    caoi
    spraoi
    laois
    aois....

    sr, srl... definitely eeeva.


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    #67
    Bebo stunnah
    Registered Users Posts: 621 ✭✭✭Bebo stunnah


    simu wrote: »
    In the Bible, Eve is Éabha in Irish though - it's pronounced Ey-vah (ey like hey)(approximately).

    But is Éanna isn't Ey-nah... it's pronounced Ay-nah... so?

    I think it all depends on the area, and alot of Irish words are just adapted to sound like whatever ya want... Just look at the Irish for phone and television!


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    #68
    Insect Overlord
    Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 30,857 Mod ✭✭✭✭Insect Overlord


    Bebo stunnah wrote: »
    But is Éanna isn't Ey-nah... it's pronounced Ay-nah... so?

    I think it all depends on the area, and alot of Irish words are just adapted to sound like whatever ya want... Just look at the Irish for phone and television!

    Guthán is widely used for "phone", but that's beside the point.

    The root "tele" comes from Greek, as does the word "phone", while "vision" has Latin roots. English borrowed the words from other languages, so suggesting Irish is flawed for doing the same thing is a poor argument.


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    #69
    mr chips
    Registered Users Posts: 608 ✭✭✭mr chips


    deirdremf wrote: »
    ... some people pronounce the bh as w, others pronounce it v.

    Hadn't spotted this thread before, and while the wider discussion throws up some interesting insights into people's approach and attitude towards the language, this post caught the interest of my inner "Geek na Gaeilge".

    Please bear in mind that I'm not a native speaker, but many years after getting my degree in a couple of other languages, I did the NUI diploma in Irish (and got 84%, go me!) and I am a daily speaker of the Ulster dialect, both at home and at work. This means that I'm generally confident of my grammar and pronunciation - BUT none of us is perfect and I'm always open to learning from someone more knowledgeable/expert than me. Anything I write here is informed by all that.

    Pronunciation of "bh" in Irish is governed by the vowels in the word that precede/follow it, i.e. good old broad & slender.

    Bhí mé - pronounced with a V sound as it is followed by a slender vowel.
    Ní bheidh mé - ditto.
    Sibh - ditto

    Bhailigh mé - pronounced with a W sound as it is followed by a broad vowel.
    An bhó - ditto
    Bhur bpáistí - ditto

    This is why, for example - and without being judgmental - the OP's daughter's name Aoibhe would normally be pronounced as something like "Eeveh" (please allow for obvious limitations to how Irish pronunciations can be expressed in writing in English).

    Words containing "mh" are pretty much the same:
    Mhínigh mé - pronounced with a V sound as it is slender
    Mhéadaigh siad - ditto
    but
    A Mháirtín
    an mhóid
    an mhuc
    - are all pronounced with a W sound as they are all followed by broad vowels.

    Where there can be a slight grey area is at the end of a word, rather than at the beginning or middle.
    Garbh - often pronounced "garruv" (or an approximation thereof!) but technically should be along the lines of "garrú".
    Sliabh - same idea as Garbh, should really be pronounced a bit like "slee-oo", rather than the English word "sleeve" that most people seem to use.

    Of course, dialectic differences mean that people in e.g. Dingle might say "ag déanav", whereas here in Ulster it's "ag déanoo" (which of course is the best way to say it ;)).

    Comedic one-upmanship aside, of course there are exceptions in practice, and I have to admit it's occasionally hard for me to be sure when the exceptions are down to very commonly used, but nevertheless incorrect pronunciations (thanks to our historical butchering of the language in classrooms around the country) or to accepted dialectic variations. So in response to WolfpactIV's question above, I would pronounce Éabha as something approaching "Aywa/Ayawa" - if you assume that the "Ay" part rhymes with "day".


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    #70
    deirdremf
    Registered Users Posts: 1,871 ✭✭✭deirdremf


    mr chips wrote: »
    Please bear in mind that I'm not a native speaker, but many years after getting my degree in a couple of other languages, I did the NUI diploma in Irish (and got 84%, go me!) and I am a daily speaker of the Ulster dialect, both at home and at work. This means that I'm generally confident of my grammar and pronunciation - BUT none of us is perfect and I'm always open to learning from someone more knowledgeable/expert than me. Anything I write here is informed by all that.
    That's the point, in Ulster and Connacht, BH before A, O or U would be like a W.
    Not so in Munster, where it is more of a V.

    Historically, the Munster pronunciation is claimed to be the correct one, up until I think, the 16th century, when W began to come into use. (I could be wrong about the date)
    Pronunciation of "bh" in Irish is governed by the vowels in the word that precede/follow it, i.e. good old broad & slender.

    Bhí mé - pronounced with a V sound as it is followed by a slender vowel.
    Ní bheidh mé - ditto.
    Sibh - ditto

    Bhailigh mé - pronounced with a W sound as it is followed by a broad vowel.
    An bhó - ditto
    Bhur bpáistí - ditto
    ...
    Where there can be a slight grey area is at the end of a word, rather than at the beginning or middle.
    Garbh - often pronounced "garruv" (or an approximation thereof!) but technically should be along the lines of "garrú".
    Sliabh - same idea as Garbh, should really be pronounced a bit like "slee-oo", rather than the English word "sleeve" that most people seem to use.

    Of course, dialectic differences mean that people in e.g. Dingle might say "ag déanav", whereas here in Ulster it's "ag déanoo" (which of course is the best way to say it ;)).
    Good summary, but the why is missing! It is, as I said above, down to dialectal differences.
    So in response to WolfpactIV's question above, I would pronounce Éabha as something approaching "Aywa/Ayawa" - if you assume that the "Ay" part rhymes with "day".
    And that would be true in Ulster and Connacht.

    Now, how about the name Sadhbh? How should that be pronounced????


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    #71
    mr chips
    Registered Users Posts: 608 ✭✭✭mr chips


    AFAIK the "dh" in Sadhbh effectively acts like the letter i (same as in "fadhb"), which would mean the name being pronounced like "Saibh" - however I'm open to correction on this!

    Munster pronunciation the correct one? How very dare you! :p


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    #72
    Insect Overlord
    Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 30,857 Mod ✭✭✭✭Insect Overlord


    deirdremf wrote: »
    Now, how about the name Sadhbh? How should that be pronounced????

    Isn't that pronounced "sow" (as in a female pig) + v in Scotland?


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    #73
    Aard
    Registered Users Posts: 4,905 ✭✭✭Aard


    Sadhbh is pronounced the same as its anglicisation "Sive" (as in the John B Keane play).


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    #74
    Insect Overlord
    Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 30,857 Mod ✭✭✭✭Insect Overlord


    Aard wrote: »
    Sadhbh is pronounced the same as its anglicisation "Sive" (as in the John B Keane play).

    Ní bhíonn sé i gcónaí. ;)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFlHO3r9UBk


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    #75
    unhappy holly
    Registered Users Posts: 12 ✭unhappy holly


    I think Éibhe is most accurate?!?


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    #76
    Aard
    Registered Users Posts: 4,905 ✭✭✭Aard


    Yeah, but "Éabha" is actually a name. "Éibhe" isn't...


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    #77
    unhappy holly
    Registered Users Posts: 12 ✭unhappy holly


    but it could be i mean if harper 7 is a name now.. .


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    #78
    BeidhArLaLinn
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4 ✭BeidhArLaLinn


    Aoibhe - ay-vuh (no emphasis on e)
    Aoibhé - ay-vee (emphasis on e)
    Aoibha - ay-voh (no emphasis on a)
    Aoibhá - ay-va (emphasis on a)

    Aoife is generally pronounced eef-ah, but by rule of grammar the same emphasis would apply if a fada is used.


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    #79
    GaedhealGlas
    Registered Users Posts: 4 ✭GaedhealGlas


    BeidhArLaLinn wrote: »
    Aoibhe - ay-vuh (no emphasis on e)
    Aoibhé - ay-vee (emphasis on e)
    Aoibha - ay-voh (no emphasis on a)
    Aoibhá - ay-va (emphasis on a)

    Aoife is generally pronounced eef-ah, but by rule of grammar the same emphasis would apply if a fada is used.

    Aoibhe is "ee-vuh" /i:v'ə/
    "Aoibhé", "Aoibha" & "Aoibhá" do not exist.


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    #80
    BeidhArLaLinn
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4 ✭BeidhArLaLinn


    GaedhealGlas wrote: »
    Aoibhe is "ee-vuh" /i:v'ə/
    "Aoibhé", "Aoibha" & "Aoibhá" do not exist.

    I was merely trying to point out where the emphasis lies when using a fada. They may not "exist" but people are free to come up with whatever name they like.
    My apologies if I in any way offended your intelligence.


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    #81
    Insect Overlord
    Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 30,857 Mod ✭✭✭✭Insect Overlord


    BeidhArLaLinn wrote: »
    I was merely trying to point out where the emphasis lies when using a fada. They may not "exist" but people are free to come up with whatever name they like.
    My apologies if I in any way offended your intelligence.

    This thread has truly ventured into the realm of the ridiculous. The OP was looking for help to pronounce a name that does exist, not a list of made up names.

    Thread locked.


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