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ArchivesRe: Anglicizations of Irish names
in reply to a message by clevelandkentevans
No, I understood what she was saying, it was just a bad example on my part. Here are some better examples:
http://forvo.com/word/c%C3%A1itl%C3%ADn/#ga is the pronunciation of CAITLÍN and CÁITLÍN. The anglicization is Caitlin, but sounds nothing like those examples, which if spelled according to phonetics would look more like Cotchlin or Catchleen.
http://forvo.com/search/Cearbhall%20%c3%93%20D%c3%a1laigh/ is the pronunciation of CEARBHALL. The Anglicization is Carroll or Carrol, but sounds nothing like that examples, which if spelled according to phonetics would look more like Carrool or Carool.
These are just a couple of examples from each gender of name. There are more in the listings here.
http://forvo.com/word/c%C3%A1itl%C3%ADn/#ga is the pronunciation of CAITLÍN and CÁITLÍN. The anglicization is Caitlin, but sounds nothing like those examples, which if spelled according to phonetics would look more like Cotchlin or Catchleen.
http://forvo.com/search/Cearbhall%20%c3%93%20D%c3%a1laigh/ is the pronunciation of CEARBHALL. The Anglicization is Carroll or Carrol, but sounds nothing like that examples, which if spelled according to phonetics would look more like Carrool or Carool.
These are just a couple of examples from each gender of name. There are more in the listings here.
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I believe pronunciation in Irish names varies quite a bit from region to region, so I'm reluctant to consider those as the only standard pronunciations. You also have to consider how English is pronounced in Ireland. an Irish English-speaker may actually pronounce Kathleen and Caroll exactly like their Irish counterparts.
Like earthnut said, these spellings are approximations; it would be almost impossible to reproduce the exact sound of these names using only English phonetics. For instance, the sound "kh" in Caitlín doesn't really exist in English; "tch" is no more correct than "th".
Using the examples you gave, the anglicized versions Kathleen and Caroll are probably influenced by the existing names Katherine (Katharina in Latin) and (the unrelated) Carolus. Apart from pronunciation, aesthetics probably also plays a role when anglicizing a name. Whence Neve, rather than Neeve, Neive, or Neev (which would all work in English).
Like earthnut said, these spellings are approximations; it would be almost impossible to reproduce the exact sound of these names using only English phonetics. For instance, the sound "kh" in Caitlín doesn't really exist in English; "tch" is no more correct than "th".
Using the examples you gave, the anglicized versions Kathleen and Caroll are probably influenced by the existing names Katherine (Katharina in Latin) and (the unrelated) Carolus. Apart from pronunciation, aesthetics probably also plays a role when anglicizing a name. Whence Neve, rather than Neeve, Neive, or Neev (which would all work in English).
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In the case of Caitlin, the Irish name spawned two English names. Kathleen, based on the pronunciation, and Caitlin, based on the spelling. Caitlin didn't attain popularity in America until much later than Kathleen.
Most Irish names are anglisized based on their pronunciation. But in some cases, there are versions based on their spelling as well. The latter seems to happen after an Irish name has attained a certain level of popularity.
In the case of Cearbhall,, Carroll IS based on the pronunciation. (as with Kathleen, these spellings are appoximations of the Irish, not very exact). If one wanted a named based on the spelling, it would be spelled Cearbhall pronounced SEER-ball in English.
Most Irish names are anglisized based on their pronunciation. But in some cases, there are versions based on their spelling as well. The latter seems to happen after an Irish name has attained a certain level of popularity.
In the case of Cearbhall,, Carroll IS based on the pronunciation. (as with Kathleen, these spellings are appoximations of the Irish, not very exact). If one wanted a named based on the spelling, it would be spelled Cearbhall pronounced SEER-ball in English.
This message was edited 5/19/2016, 11:38 AM
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