I would like to know if there is any other way to help you ? I would like to help you in some way and I know that the best thing would be to donate, but unfortunately I can't do that. I just came across your tumblr recently and I'm so happy for your commitment to providing us with wonderful content for the sims 2. my aim is in no way to offend or hurt you. Just don’t laugh at it, please.įirst of all, forgive me if the translation is wrong. I may have accepted that English people are very rarely going to get my name right on the first go, but I appreciate a well-intentioned effort. But the simplest and most reliable solution is perhaps just to politely ask an Irish person – and listen attentively to what they say. There is no easy crash-course I can give to you on the pronunciation of Irish names, but you can always try out “how to pronounce”-style websites (which themselves can be contested). “We are going to scrutinise the British for any transgression regarding the pronunciation of our names,” and other things, she tells me, like British media claiming Irish actors as their own during awards seasons. Like the others I spoke to for this piece, writer and director Rioghnach (think “Ree-nock”)Ní Ghrioghair believes that a sense of superiority among English speakers is to blame for the constant mistreatment of Irish names. It’s a common trend, he says, “because parents with Irish names have been battle-hardened”. But he decided to give his children Irish names, too. There was one bad experience, he recalls, when he was told that his surname “looked like a wifi password”. (The “rach” in Darach is pronounced like “Bach”, he says.)He hosted a podcast called Motherfoclóir, a podcast about the Irish language and culture, and whenever there were guests on with Irish names, “inevitably the episode would turn into group therapy”. Writer Darach Ó Séaghdha is all too familiar with these difficulties. A handful of people even remark, “Oh! I didn’t know Ireland had its own language,” when I tell them about my name. The English destroyed our language once before, so every little throwaway comment and scoff at our names hurts a little bit more – and ultimately becomes just tiresome. Ireland’s most recent census shows that about 40% of Ireland’s population can speak Irish. A language revival began in earnest in the 19th century, but it’s never quite recovered. She tells me: “I was asked to say, ‘Three hundred and thirty three trees’” – a tongue-twister that does the rounds on TikTok – “more often than I was asked to repeat my name.” She recalls the lack of interest when she attempted to explain that Irish and English are different languages with different pronunciation rules.Ĭlearly, the sensitivities at play here are rooted in history: Ireland was colonised by the English and our national language was all but wiped out.

(Her first name is pronounced “Ay-vah”.) More than one lecturer resorted to calling her “blondie”. Aoibhe Ní Shúilleabháin, a designer and teacher, spent two years at college in England having her name mispronounced and disrespected. Speaking to others reveals a litany of similar experiences. Mia, Sophie and Rose were among my common aliases. Anything easily pronounceable with a simple spelling would do. This led to the invention of what I call my “Starbucks name”. When I was living in London, I quickly learned that saying Niamh at the counter in a coffee shop or over the phone to make a booking simply wouldn’t fly. My surname is trickier, and has even tripped up a few Irish people it can be translated as Herbert, and is pronounced “her-a-vard”. In case you don’t know, it’s pronounced “Neev” or “Nee-av”, either is perfectly acceptable. But I rarely come across an English person who is familiar with it, despite the proximity of our two countries. It’s not uncommon in Ireland in secondary school, there were four Niamhs in my class. I’ve heard every possible variation of my own name from non-Irish people. The names Aoife, Saoirse, Niamh and Siobhán occupy places in the top 10.Īnd it’s not exclusively a British problem: I always cringe watching US talkshows where the host quizzes their Irish guest (usually Saoirse Ronan) on the pronunciation of their and other Irish names.

A recent study based on an analysis of Google searches revealed the words that British people have the most difficulty pronouncing. Healy isn’t alone, though, when it comes to anglophone bafflement at Irish names. Last year, the lead singer of The 1975, Matt Healy, managed to offend a whole lot of Gaelgoirí (Irish speakers) when he appeared to mock a fan’s name – Dervla – at a meet-and-greet.

Colors of autumn 94 tumblr