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ArchivesAny Irish/Scottish speakers that can help me?
Hi! If there are any Irish or Scottish people on this board I wonder if you could help me? I wanted to know if the name Caoimhe can also be pronounced with an 'ee' sound aswell as an 'ah' sound at the end (if you know what I mean). On this site it says to pronounce it with an 'ah' sound at the end but in other sites it says it can be either 'ah' or 'ee' and I wondered which is more accurate? I am Scottish myself but have never heard this name in real life only in books. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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Replies
KEE-vuh would be the most correct, but if you like KEE-vee, no reason why you shouldn't use it!!! (These Celtic spellings are just great, aren't they!)
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I'm not Irish or Scottish (purely English) but there used to be an Irish pop group named B*witched, and one of them was named Keavy (the Anglicised version of Caoimhe. I assume that if an Irish speaker thought it was acceptable to pronounce it keev-ee, then it should be alright :)
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In Gaelic, "Caoimhe" is best pronounced [KEEV-vuh] or [KEEV-vah].
The terminal [ee] sound is more akin to degraded pronunciation relating to English speakers, eventutally resulting in the anglicization "Keavy."
If you are going to go with the Gaelic spelling "Caoimhe" in an English speaking world (including the impressively foreign 'aoi' pronounced [ee]), I would recommend sticking with the true [uh] sound at the end.
But I appreciate your desire for a particular sound, so I would work around it. The legal name could be pronounced and spelled in the traditional accurate manner, but a nick-name or pet-form pronounced [KEEV-vee] could be used informally, and spelled as you desire.
(Using my rather limited grasp for the Scottish side of Gaelic, names that end with 'i' or 'idh' are equivical to those ending in 'y'/'ie' in English. So you might invent the pet-form "Caoimhidh" or "Caoimhì.")
The terminal [ee] sound is more akin to degraded pronunciation relating to English speakers, eventutally resulting in the anglicization "Keavy."
If you are going to go with the Gaelic spelling "Caoimhe" in an English speaking world (including the impressively foreign 'aoi' pronounced [ee]), I would recommend sticking with the true [uh] sound at the end.
But I appreciate your desire for a particular sound, so I would work around it. The legal name could be pronounced and spelled in the traditional accurate manner, but a nick-name or pet-form pronounced [KEEV-vee] could be used informally, and spelled as you desire.
(Using my rather limited grasp for the Scottish side of Gaelic, names that end with 'i' or 'idh' are equivical to those ending in 'y'/'ie' in English. So you might invent the pet-form "Caoimhidh" or "Caoimhì.")
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Great! Thanks for your help!
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hmm
Im neither, well...I have irish and scottish blood in me but Im welsh...the same goes for welsh names and I think either pronunciation can be used.
I did a little searching and I sound the same 'ah' 'ee' variation so...-shrugs- either I suppose. Sorry I couldn't be more help
Im neither, well...I have irish and scottish blood in me but Im welsh...the same goes for welsh names and I think either pronunciation can be used.
I did a little searching and I sound the same 'ah' 'ee' variation so...-shrugs- either I suppose. Sorry I couldn't be more help
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I like the 'ee' variation better so hope you can say it like that. Thanks anyway, much appreciated!
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