Aoife

Aoife's mum here and I'm slightly gobsmacked at some of these, slightly narrow minded comments that have appeared, assuming that all Aoifes face a lifetime of mispronouncing and misery !
Surprised at the story of the mum who just allowed her Aoife to be mispronounced at the GP for 6 years , wtf. My daughter is happy to correct anyone and even spells her name as well when she's asked. Its no big deal (and the staff at our GPs have made a point of saying it correctly).

Very nice but agree very popular.
I prefer Orla but generally like Irish names

The point is the OP asked for people's opinions as she may have had misgivings herself about the name. But if folk like it well that's up to them.

It’s amazing how many people on here can know that a name is from another language and yet still expect English phonetics to apply!

It's not that people don't know the phonetics will differ, it's that they know they do, they don't know how, and struggle to learn them. It took me ages to learn the j and x in Mandarin. Then you have to learn the z in Spanish, the r in French the ch in Scots, the xh in Xhosa and the many different phonemes in Irish words.

Of course her peers will learn her name. It's the people who aren't her peers who will struggle. And maybe no one cares, I don't particularly. But pretending she won't be spelling her name, and listening to it mispronounced is another kind of ignorant.

Still doesn't really have any bearing on the E for Elephant debate.

Yeah pretty much like this point of yours doesn't either

I mean do you use the French pronunciation of Paris or the Italian of espresso? In London?

"E for" as part of a longer sentence and "Aoife" might.

Key word is might

No but we're talking about general accents across populations so your point is irrelevant.

So you are speaking for all Londoners.

As you know, having (somewhat bizarrely) decided to search through other threads I've commented on

Or perhaps as someone with Irish family I regularly am on Irish name threads.

But, PP is right, this is getting us nowhere. If you want to continue making increasingly barrel-scraping nonsensical arguments and ignoring the legitimate points made by others,

Again the irony, the previous poster is correct but I can't argue alone, you are just as welcome to ignore my posts....

Although I'm not sure why saying E for Elephant is not the same Aoife is nonsensical. Just as many posters on the thread thought you were talking tosh

It’s amazing how many people on here can know that a name is from another language and yet still expect English phonetics to apply! It makes perfect phonetic sense in the language it comes from. Rather more so than many English names do in fact!

I really love the name Aoife. It’s beautiful.

Apart from a few deliberately ignorant idiots people will easily learn how to pronounce and spell her name. Her peers will just accept it as her name and won’t find it odd at all.

how do you pronounce African or Indian names?

As close as an approximation with the phonemes I can say. I'm good with the z in Spanish and I can roll a mean r, less good with the xie in Mandarin and awful with the clicks in Xhosa.

Still doesn't really have any bearing on the E for Elephant debate.

But not in other languages hence why you though Cillian was Silly Ann. Do you struggle with African & Asian names too?

No. I'm very good at them because I come across them a lot and have identified common patterns in how the letters form sounds. As you know, having (somewhat bizarrely) decided to search through other threads I've commented on, I actually said that the first time I saw Cillian I read it as silly Anne. Which is perfectly reasonable for someone not familiar with the Irish alphabet, and not at all pertinent to the discussion at hand. The pronunciation of Aoife is not what's under dispute here.

But, PP is right, this is getting us nowhere. If you want to continue making increasingly barrel-scraping nonsensical arguments and ignoring the legitimate points made by others, feel free to PM me.

I think it looks much prettier written down than it sounds when spoken aloud. They being said I think it's well known enough that plenty of people would know how to pronounce it, and if they don't they'll only need to be corrected once as the pronunciation is quite easy.

That made me lol @ChandlerIsTheBestFriend

Those arguing back and forth, you’ve successfully derailed the thread, no one is going to agree, why carry on? Just let the poor OP get opinions on her potential baby name without the bickering over accents and dialect.

Ploopsie, I've outlined two different issues you're describing, if you care to scroll back. You've argued that you do pronounce the r in for when actually you don't. The most recent discussion has been trying to explain the vocalised r to you. If you scroll back, I also explained about lazy diction and the running together of sounds. The example I already gave was people saying "dunno" when they mean "I don't know". Similarly in the sentence, "e for elephant", it's common to hear people say "eefa elephant" or more like "eefuh elephant" and it sounds identical to "Aoife Elephant" because we run sounds together.

For and Aoife don't rhyme.
"E for" as part of a longer sentence and "Aoife" might.

Do you know them all

No but we're talking about general accents across populations so your point is irrelevant.

You wouldn't say a completely different name but pronunciation does have an impact.

I never denied that & I wouldn't pronounce Anais the same as a French speaker however I also wouldn't pronounce it as An-ace or An-a-is because I recognise that it's in another language.

So @MrsTerryPratchett how do you pronounce African or Indian names?

But my point was always that fa and for are not the same

I really like it. I’m English and know how to pronounce it. It’s not as unusual as some Irish names.

So how are you rhyming them with for?

My point is the missing r sound.

But not in other languages hence why you though Cillian was Silly Ann. Do you struggle with African & Asian names too?

But everyone does it to a certain extent.

Take Catherine. In Scotland, you'd have a rolling r in that name. In some parts of London you'd be Caff-rin. In Liverpool the a would be a little longer. An Italian friend might say Caterin. You wouldn't say a completely different name but pronunciation does have an impact.

I mean do you use the French pronunciation of Paris or the Italian of espresso? In London?

@showofhands

In the video you linked the man said fourteen near the end. I pronounce for the same as he did. Unless I misheard & he said fa-teen

Do Kiefer and Aoife rhyme in your accent?

So how are you rhyming them with for?

most Londoners don't speak like that.

Do you know them all

Feel free to link an english person pronouncing the word for as fah

Let's ignore that. Do Kiefer and Aoife rhyme in your accent? They do in mine.

Phonetically it looks like the sound you’d make if you were punched in the stomach.

No, in Irish phonics it looks exactly as it sounds. If you used English phonics it might look like that. But doing that would mean you'd have no notion of other languages having different phonetic codes...you'd have to be a bit of a sheltered thick then, wouldn't you?

Because I accept that people speak in different ways.

But not in other languages hence why you though Cillian was Silly Ann. Do you struggle with African & Asian names too?

The sound you make when you say "or" is the same as "awe". No r!

But that's not an ah sound is it?

Where are all these Londoners who pronounce for as fah?

Feel free to link an english person pronouncing the word for as fah