Jay3fer Posted July 1, 2013 Share Posted July 1, 2013 Trying to introduce some Celtic (or Celtic-style) read-alouds to go along with our SOTW Middle Ages history readings, but I keep getting stuck on the awful unpronounceable consonant and vowel patterns in the names! Are there any guidelines anywhere for pronouncing some of the more common names? Any websites with audio so I can get a good listen? Also, since I'm curious... why am I finding these so hard when I have dealt with all manner of strange pronunciations before now, including German, French, Arabic, Chinese and more...? Does anyone else have this problem? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted July 1, 2013 Share Posted July 1, 2013 Yup. I give them new names lol. Them again dd13 has a Gaelic name no one can pronounce either so we should be used to it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarahW Posted July 1, 2013 Share Posted July 1, 2013 I don't know any resource exactly, a good book should have a pronunciation guide somewhere. As a tip, consonants we have a soft pronunciation for are nearly always hard. And consonants that are usually hard are soft, especially in the middle. And all vowel clusters elide. Sorry, that's not very helpful. Hopefully, someone else can give some good specifics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarahW Posted July 1, 2013 Share Posted July 1, 2013 OP - this is probably more than you want to know, but I found this http://angaelmagazine.com/pronunciation/introduction.htm The English-Irish words should make a principles clear. Look at the Irish spelling of "shamrock" for instance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizzyBee Posted July 2, 2013 Share Posted July 2, 2013 Thank you for the link! My dd11 is an Irish dancer and I can't pronounce the names of most of the other dance schools. Often for competitions, the hotel rooms are discounted, but the block is reserved under the name of school that sponsors the competition, and I can't prounounce it! The reservations clerk has try to find the block based on my poor efforts at prounouncing something that is not pronounceable for most Americans, LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeganW Posted July 2, 2013 Share Posted July 2, 2013 And thus the reason my kids hear more audio/CD read-alouds than Mommy read-alouds... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IrishMum Posted July 2, 2013 Share Posted July 2, 2013 Here is a site that pronounces the most common Irish names, if that's any help. Keep in mind that within Ireland some names are pronounced differently depending on where you live. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoPlaceLikeHome Posted July 2, 2013 Share Posted July 2, 2013 I have found that dictionary.com has a lot of names from history with an audio button. I do love the audiobooks that go along with the STOW though since it makes my job easier since I have trouble with the names too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoPlaceLikeHome Posted July 2, 2013 Share Posted July 2, 2013 I forgot to add that the onoe fo the STOW books had a pronunciation guide in the back for all of the names and I assume the rest do as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoPlaceLikeHome Posted July 2, 2013 Share Posted July 2, 2013 I forgot to add that the one for the STOW books had a pronunciation guide in the back for all of the names and I assume the rest do as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna Posted July 2, 2013 Share Posted July 2, 2013 My dd competes in Irish fiddle and last year I volunteered to help out at the competition. My job was to call the kids up to compete and nearly half the names were Gaelic with extra consonants everywhere. I butchered them the first round then got smart and asked the judges pronunciations of the names for the next round before it started. After all that practice, I am getting pretty good at Gaelic names now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay3fer Posted July 2, 2013 Author Share Posted July 2, 2013 Oh, wow... IrishMum, that Irish Baby Names site may make things very nice and simple, plus it's Frank McCourt. I didn't even realize it was him until he was pronouncing a name and I thought, "that sounds just like Angela's Ashes!" It doesn't have all the names, but does give a good idea of how to pronounce tricky consonants, like that "m". :-) Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin Posted July 2, 2013 Share Posted July 2, 2013 http://www.namenerds.com/irish/pron.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papillon Mom Posted July 2, 2013 Share Posted July 2, 2013 Ha, after hearing me stumble over many names my daughter, bless her heart, said, "Mommy, I thought you were a good reader. What happened?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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