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ArchivesIt ought to be ayver; the correct modern spelling is Eimhear...
in reply to a message by Ella
But most people use the medieval spelling Emer, and of course that leads to them (even the Irish) mispronouncing it. Which is why a mispronounciation has become very well established.
The earliest pronounciation would have had an m, but a very soft m, so near to v as to make no difference. Try saying m without putting your lips together, you'll get the idea.
The earliest pronounciation would have had an m, but a very soft m, so near to v as to make no difference. Try saying m without putting your lips together, you'll get the idea.
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Replies
I heard that EE-mur wasn't the correct pronunciation of Eimear even though everybody here (in Ireland) pronounces it that way. My cousin is called Eimear and we pronounce it EE-mur but my granny, who speaks Donegal Irish, pronounces it AY-mer. She also pronounces Siobhan
SHOO-in. Do you know if this is an old/Donegal way of pronouncing Siobhan or maybe just her own way?!
SHOO-in. Do you know if this is an old/Donegal way of pronouncing Siobhan or maybe just her own way?!
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Donegal pronounciation...
I know a girl called Siobhan from Donegal who also pronounces the bh as a w. Everyone calls her shevaun and she doesn't correct them, but at home she's called shewaun. The oo and i is probably just your granny, but Irish still has a lot of dialectal variation. In the south, 'how are you?' is 'conas a ta tu?', but in the north it's 'cad e mar ta tu?' (k'jay mar tah too) - quite different.
I know a girl called Siobhan from Donegal who also pronounces the bh as a w. Everyone calls her shevaun and she doesn't correct them, but at home she's called shewaun. The oo and i is probably just your granny, but Irish still has a lot of dialectal variation. In the south, 'how are you?' is 'conas a ta tu?', but in the north it's 'cad e mar ta tu?' (k'jay mar tah too) - quite different.
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