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ArchivesRe: Any Irish/Scottish speakers that can help me?
in reply to a message by harry
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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