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ArchivesRe: The correct pron. of Catriona
in reply to a message by Haven
I'm pretty sure the correct Gaelic pronunciation is like Katrina. ca-TREE-na
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I agree with Jennifer on this one - except I think there's a tiny neutral vowel after the tree! ka-TREE-a-na, or similar.
When RL Stephenson (or was he Stevenson? Memory fades ...) wrote the novel, a lot of people with no Scottish connections assumed it was ka-tree-OH-na; that got given in good faith to little 19th-century girls, but perhaps we are living in more scholarly times - oh, how I do hope so! People do seem to be checking their sources and origins, including the saner posters on this excellent board, who regularly educate and entertain. Thanks, folks - you know who you are!
When RL Stephenson (or was he Stevenson? Memory fades ...) wrote the novel, a lot of people with no Scottish connections assumed it was ka-tree-OH-na; that got given in good faith to little 19th-century girls, but perhaps we are living in more scholarly times - oh, how I do hope so! People do seem to be checking their sources and origins, including the saner posters on this excellent board, who regularly educate and entertain. Thanks, folks - you know who you are!
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In Gaelic, there's a sort of half-syllable after the 'tree' part, but since English speakers don't have half syllables, cuh-TREE-na is the most accurate pronounciation.
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