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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To ask how you would pronounce this name?

647 replies

Notss · 18/09/2018 15:45

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?

OP posts:
QueenoftheNights · 18/09/2018 16:07

I've never heard of 'non-rhotic.
I have heard of RP- received pronunciation.

Thinkingallowed85 · 18/09/2018 16:08

Sharn. Pretty standard name and spelling. Have known 5 or 6 and none were welsh.

MoonriseKingdom · 18/09/2018 16:09

For the people saying Shan is that an a like in cat or pan? I would say Shahn. However, in my accent Shahn and Sharn would sound the same. I have been made aware by previous Mn threads that for people with rhotic accents they sound completely different.

ThumbWitchesAbroad · 18/09/2018 16:09

"Could we do one or these threads without people with rhotic accents pretending that they don’t know that people with non-rhotic accents prounounce ‘ar’ and ‘ah’ identifically in the middle of words?"

"Ha ha, this!"

Yes, this. Most English people do not pronounce the r in a digraph in words (including "word") because it's not common to use rhotic pronunciation. Scots and large swathes of America DO pronounce the r in a digraph in words because they DO use rhotic pronunciation.

So for most English people, Sharn and Shahn are pronounced the same. Shan would be a short a, like in cat.

MaAnandSheela · 18/09/2018 16:09

See-Ann or maybe Shin 🤔

Why do people do this to their children. Bleh.

AngeloMysterioso · 18/09/2018 16:10

Shahn.

tillytoodles1 · 18/09/2018 16:11

Sharn.

gabsdot · 18/09/2018 16:12

I would have said See Anne too.

AssassinatedBeauty · 18/09/2018 16:13

MaAnandSheela - what, give them a very common Welsh name?

PyongyangKipperbang · 18/09/2018 16:14

Dave

SirVixofVixHall · 18/09/2018 16:14

If you want the long a, it should have a little hat over the a. Without the accent it would rhyme with van.

MinecraftHolmes · 18/09/2018 16:15

Shan as in pan.

TallulahBetty · 18/09/2018 16:17

Sharn. I'm amazed at the people who haven't heard of this name -it's not exactly unusual

Juells · 18/09/2018 16:17

Sharn if you put random Rs in words

I didn't want to be rude, but you did it for me Grin

SlothMama · 18/09/2018 16:17

Sharn

Trialsmum · 18/09/2018 16:20

Sharn. I went to school with someone who’s parents had only seen it written down so called her See-Ann. She was forever correcting people 🙈.

SmiledWithTheRisingSun · 18/09/2018 16:22

Sharn

Andtheresaw · 18/09/2018 16:24

Shaan.

tinytemper66 · 18/09/2018 16:25

Again....this is my name and no one calls me it with the r in it!!

SmiledWithTheRisingSun · 18/09/2018 16:26

The r is to indicate the phonetics - it's the sound you doubt "say" the R.

Shahn
Shaaaaarn

Not like a hard R (as in Sharon for e.g.)

Not really sure what's complicated here Hmm

bokkleorandoove · 18/09/2018 16:27

Sharn. My friend is a Sian and she is always called See-Ann when she goes to America so it might not be obvious if you've never seen the name before.

spiderlight · 18/09/2018 16:27

It's pronounced to rhyme with Laugharne, obviously ;)

(Definitely not See-Ann or Sigh-Ann)

DemocracyDiesInDarkness · 18/09/2018 16:28

@MorrisZapp 😆

WinkysTeatowel · 18/09/2018 16:29

So how do you pronounce it @tinytemper66 ?

SmiledWithTheRisingSun · 18/09/2018 16:30

Sounds like "Barn"

Here you go listen: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=t7LtcW0SAcQ