To ask how you would pronounce this name?

[Notss]

Hi all,

Sorry if this is the wrong place:

My little sister is expecting her first child and if it is a girl wants to call her “Sian”.

She sent it to me in a text and I replied “What - like See-Ann?” And she told me I was being daft.

So how would you pronounce such a name?

Shahn. It's Welsh.

ShowOfHands

Oh hell.

CountFrosco So, "a lawn" and "alone" are pretty much the same for you?

at I'm going to start spelling it Rharnder.

Or pervert its a tongue twister all by itself.

YeTalk that's precisely why DD isn't Aoife.

DrFoxtrot It is! But I'm converted to the cause of the rhotic R now, just for the word 'pervert'. It sounds much better with the r's in.

If only I could get them in to it myself...

Just realised I called YeTalk Helen

Jamie If some people were saying Sharn was almost like Sharon to them, it must be a mouthful saying things like Vardy and party

Vah-r-dy and pah-r-ty

A lot of people misread Hen as Helen. I feel a bit sorry for Helen whoever she is!

Oooh. Do the lyrics of It's my party scan in a rhotic accent? In fact, can you draw conclusions about the regional origin of ye olde folk songs by working out in which accent they scan best?

It's my party, and I'll cry if I want to
Cry if I want to, cry if I want to

I sing it in an American accent! I sound like a right twat

"Jamie If some people were saying Sharn was almost like Sharon to them, it must be a mouthful saying things like Vardy and party grin

Vah-r-dy and pah-r-ty confused"

...are you saying you think these words would have three syllables? :S

Do the lyrics of It's my party scan in a rhotic accent? Well, in a non-rhotic accent it sounds like "it's my potty, and I'll cry if I want to."

But then again, the Farmer's LLama and Shaun the Sheep don't work in a rhotic accent.

Bum I think they have two syllables but some posters who pronounce the R said that Sharn was almost like Sharon to them. So I'm thinking that some other words with an R like party/ Vardy might not be strictly two syllable words to them?

Although I'm trying to speak like a pirate emphasising the Rs and I think I'm getting it. But I have heard anyone in real life speak like this.

I don't think party is potty in any accent

"Bum I think they have two syllables but some posters who pronounce the R said that Sharn was almost like Sharon to them. So I'm thinking that some other words with an R like party/ Vardy might not be strictly two syllable words to them? "

Anyone pronouncing "Sharon" like "Sharn" is dropping the "o", so it's just the one syllable...

Anyone watching The circle on C4? There's a girl on there called Sian- everyone pronouncing it the same and correctly.

Si ann

I don't think party is potty in any accent

That might depend on how you pronounce your "o's", which do differ in accents.

Well, in a non-rhotic accent it sounds like "it's my potty, and I'll cry if I want to."

Only for those who can't tell the difference between an 'a' and an 'o'!

Although I'm trying to speak like a pirate emphasising the Rs and I think I'm getting it. But I have heard anyone in real life speak like this.

It doesn't have to be a pirate-like sound. In fact, one of the main mistakes that some British actors make when doing American accents is overdoing the rhotic "r".

The only time potty could sound like party is when you say it in that fake American accent where you don't really pronounce the t sound.

Only for those who can't tell the difference between an 'a' and an 'o'!

Well, we could go down that road for the next couple of pages.

When I pronounce "party" with a silent "r", it sounds very like the way I pronounce "potty." (I have an American accent, mildly Southern.)

drfoxtrot You haven't ever heard an Irish accent? There's millions of us!

I have never noticed Irish people speaking with obvious sounding Rs in words where I would have a silent R. I worked with an Irish lady recently and I'm sure the way we said words like barn, party, yard were similar. I need to listen more closely I think.