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Original poster

Pronunciation of Saoirse

67 replies

lalaland1985 · 21/12/2016 23:40

Saoirse is my choice of name if I have a girl. I am sure it's pronounced Seer-sha however quite a few family members think it's ser-sha. Who is correct?

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Original poster
lalaland1985 · 22/12/2016 08:58

I definitely like the Seer-sha pronunciation best! Grin

OP posts:
insancerre · 22/12/2016 05:58

I wouldn't have a clue how to pronounce it

abiirthdaycake · 22/12/2016 05:18

There's no way that multiple people can think it has a silent R unless it's purely an accent thing - non-rhotic accents would usually not pronounce the R, like most southern English accents, Australian etc. In that case though it's an accent issue rather than a "this is a valid pronunciation" issue - when writing out the pronunciation phonetically it still has an R, there's absolutely no way around the R if following Irish pronunciation rules. Hardshoulder is completely correct

Hardshoulder · 22/12/2016 01:13

Patricia, I'm from west Cork.

Patriciathestripper1 · 22/12/2016 01:04

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Manumission · 22/12/2016 00:53

Wow that's much more complicated than I thought. I can't even remember how I've been saying work contact's name now. Too many versions in my head.

Hardshoulder · 22/12/2016 00:52

It certainly isn't ever pronounced 'Say-sha.' It has an 'r' for heaven's sake. Or Sor-sha (which is Seoirse, and the Irish form of George). As others have said, Seer-shuh or (less commonly, imo) Sare-shuh are the two regional variants.

BetterEatCheese · 22/12/2016 00:46

I know one and say it Ser (as in her) and sha (said in the sound of the phonetic S)

gincamelbak · 22/12/2016 00:44

In between seer-sha and sare-sha.
Sort of ser-sha (ser as in service)

DramaAlpaca · 22/12/2016 00:40

Just to add to the confusion, in my part of Ireland it's pronounced Sare-sha.

I'd say Sare-sha or Seer-sha are both perfectly acceptable pronunciations.

There are lots of dialects in the Irish language, and pronunciations vary widely depending on region.

user1475253854 · 22/12/2016 00:13

Saoirse Ronan (the actress) says she and her family pronounce it like inertia, but others say it differently.

Beebeeeight · 22/12/2016 00:09

I know this isn't correct but I'd say sorsha

MargotsDevil · 21/12/2016 23:54

Only one I know is ser-sha

hoddtastic · 21/12/2016 23:53

seer (like here) shuh

Patriciathestripper1 · 21/12/2016 23:51

It's pronounced Say-sha over here in ROI

Paddingtonthebear · 21/12/2016 23:46

I have a friend called Saoirse and she pronounces it more like "Sor-sha"

ThatsNotAKnifeThatsASpoon · 21/12/2016 23:42

Both are acceptable. There are lots of different accents in Irish/Gaelic. Personally, I would say 'Sear-shuh'.

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