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Help[Opinions] whoa.
in reply to a message by Kit
OK, as a name nerd, I have to freak out here and be annoying. First of all, the umlaut on the "e" is weird. It's not used in any languages I know of except Albanian. When used in names like Zoë, it's to make it so the E is pronounced when normally it would be silent.
Regan is an anglicization of the Irish surname Ó Riagáin, which does stem from the word "rí" meaning "king" and a diminutive ending.
As a first name, Shakespeare was the first to use it; who knows what he based it on.
Thus said, I like the sound (REE-gan, not so fond of RAY-gan). I probably wouldn't use it, but it does have a nice cadence, and I did like "The Exorcist."
Regan is an anglicization of the Irish surname Ó Riagáin, which does stem from the word "rí" meaning "king" and a diminutive ending.
As a first name, Shakespeare was the first to use it; who knows what he based it on.
Thus said, I like the sound (REE-gan, not so fond of RAY-gan). I probably wouldn't use it, but it does have a nice cadence, and I did like "The Exorcist."
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The girl who had the name had the umlaut on it, so that's where I got it. I was told it was to make the long "e" sound and thought it gave it more class than just Regan, but your point is taken. I don't like RAY-gan either. REE-gan sounds classy to me. Maybe because I like the sound of the word "regal," but you can't call a kid regal and expect them not to be teased. lol
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I don't know about that-- I've been nerding out over the top 7000 names given in the USA last year-- there were 5 Regals, which seem almost "normal" compared to the 9 Royaltys, 13 Majestys, 6 Majestics, and 8 Kingdoms!
I guess if I really wanted to emphasize the long "e" part, I'd spell it Reegan or something. That doesn't look to bad, actually. For some reason I like it better than Meegan.
I guess if I really wanted to emphasize the long "e" part, I'd spell it Reegan or something. That doesn't look to bad, actually. For some reason I like it better than Meegan.
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LOL, I had no idea people named their kids Regal. I like it, but I'd still be afraid of using it for fear the kid would hate it. I still like Regan better than Reegan. It looks better on paper. But I'd hate for it to be pronounced RAY-gan. I never realized how close to Megan Regan is so I can easily see people pronouncing it like that.
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LOL, that just looks sillly! I stil like Rëgan, but I guess I'm the only one
Thinking about Reegan.
Thinking about Reegan.
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hahahah! Why not go all the way, with Rëgän!
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That is bad ass!
Chlöë
I am extra-badass now
Chlöë
I am extra-badass now
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Ha ha "Rock Dots"
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Well, from what I read about an umlaut, it just means that the sound of the vowel is different from what you'd expect. In Chloe, the "e" makes a sound. In Regan, the "e" is a long "eee" as opposed to the sound "eh" or "a" sound.
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Since Regan has no other pesky vowels near the e, such clarification is not needed and is only for decoration or "coolness" - like rock dots.
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Not understanding. If it makes people pronounce it with a long "e" as opposed to "eh" like they would Megan, what's wrong with it?
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But, Regan is conventionally pronounced REE-gan, not RAY-gan. If you just spell it Regan, I think most people will say REE-gan. Like in the Exorcist. Regan "RAY-gan" is the unconventional way. A lot of people pronounce Megan as MEE-gan, too. The conventional pronunciation of Megan where I live is MEG-an, like "beggin'" not like MAY-gan. I can hardly imagine anyone assuming Regan is "REG-an."
I'm inclined to pronounce Rëgan as "RAY-gan" because the mark seems to be telling me it is pronounced differently from what is normal. YMMV
Anyway, Rëgan seems to be inspired by names like Chloë and Brontë, but it ends up looking pretty airheaded, because the mark in those names is there to tell you that the ë is pronounced as a separate syllable, not to tell you that it's EE instead of AY. =\
I'm inclined to pronounce Rëgan as "RAY-gan" because the mark seems to be telling me it is pronounced differently from what is normal. YMMV
Anyway, Rëgan seems to be inspired by names like Chloë and Brontë, but it ends up looking pretty airheaded, because the mark in those names is there to tell you that the ë is pronounced as a separate syllable, not to tell you that it's EE instead of AY. =\
This message was edited 6/24/2011, 11:24 AM
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Perhaps it's true that RAY-gan is the unconventional way to say it, but from my reading on the name, there are a lot of people who spell it Regan, but pronounce it RAY-gan and a lot who assume it's spelled like Ronald Re(a)gan's name and that it's a tribute to him so they pronounce it accordingly.
I guess Reegan is the safest way to go about spelling/pronunciation.
I guess Reegan is the safest way to go about spelling/pronunciation.
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It's a trema, not an umlaut
The diacritic that looks like two little two dots are called a trema, not an umlaut. An umlaut is a specific usage of the trema, best known for its use in Germany. A trema mark can also be a diaeresis, which indicates that two letters are to be read separately. "Chloë" would be using a diaeresis.
Letters with tremas are also their own letters in some other languages (like in Finnish).
The diacritic that looks like two little two dots are called a trema, not an umlaut. An umlaut is a specific usage of the trema, best known for its use in Germany. A trema mark can also be a diaeresis, which indicates that two letters are to be read separately. "Chloë" would be using a diaeresis.
Letters with tremas are also their own letters in some other languages (like in Finnish).
This message was edited 6/24/2011, 11:18 AM
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So when is an umlaut used?
?
?
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Here are some audio samples
Audio for German umlauts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTzZn6j0A4Y
Laconic: an umlaut marks a change in the sound of the original letter.
I don't speak German, though -- maybe a speaker here would like to go into detail?
Another video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIbVxr6YgB0
Audio for German umlauts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTzZn6j0A4Y
Laconic: an umlaut marks a change in the sound of the original letter.
I don't speak German, though -- maybe a speaker here would like to go into detail?
Another video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIbVxr6YgB0
This message was edited 6/24/2011, 11:27 AM
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That's very interesting. Thank you. It didn't include the letter "e", so I wonder if umlauts just aren't used for "e" in general.
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That's because German doesn't have an ë. It's not an umlaut.
It's used in other languages, though. Wiki is pretty clear on it's usage: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%8B
It's used in other languages, though. Wiki is pretty clear on it's usage: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%8B
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Thanks! That clears it up!
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That link says Wiki doesn't have an article about it.
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You have to add a second ) to the URL. Or click on the first suggestion that page gives.
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then google umlaut
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I did. lol. I thought based on what I read that it was used to denote a different pronunciation of the vowel, but someone explained that was wrong so I was asking for clarification.
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