Dear dreh, Dear dreh, Dear dreh

[Toomanythalias]

Following on from the Call the Midwife thread. Jeeze it's not difficult to pronounce Deirdre correctly, but so many English people continue to insult our beautiful old Irish name with that ghastly Coronation Street pronunciation. It's Dear dreh, folks, not DEEER DREEE.

How did I never know that?!. It sounds much more beautiful with that correct Irish pronunciation. But I don't think I could ever get past the Coronation Street vibes. Especially not with the huge glasses and generally dreary existence of the Corrie Deirdre.

never knew that was the correct pronunciation. i only knew it the Corrie way.

But the people named by English parents probably are called Deerdree.
It’s lovely the Irish way.

I need no schooling, I'm from West Yorksher:

Err nerr, yelloh snerr! Dear Dreh, yelloh snerr!

I know, but you've no idea how frustrating it is for Irish people, especially those called Deirdre. The English have managed to give it such an ugly pronunciation, rhyming with Dreary and promulgated by Deeer dreeee Barlow and her huge specs.

It's one name where I think the correct pronunciation is ugly sounding.

I thought the Irish pronunciation was Dee-err-dreh - am I wrong?

It's probably more Deahr dreh. Very soft, not the harsh English sounding pronunciation.

Do the Scots and the Welsh pronounce it the Irish way OP?

One name?

There are no other names where you think the correct pronunciation is ugly?

I'm not sure. I've only heard the English pronunciation. How do the Scots and Welsh pronounce it?

I'm sure there are millions of people the world over who are similarly frustrated by how people pronounce their names 🤷🏼‍♀️ especially since one Deidre (insert name of choice) might not be pronounced the same as another.

Years ago I knew a lady who's name badge stated she was Karen, except her name was pronounced Care-en. She spent a major portion of everyday being upset and/or correcting people.

That’s the correct pronunciation in Ireland, but the most common pronunciation in England ends ‘ee’ (it’s the only pronunciation of Deirdre I’ve ever heard). It’s just what happens with names, they’re pronounced differently in different countries, for example Laura and Simon are pronounced differently in England to the way they are in Spain. Neither is wrong, they’re just different.

I'm afraid I dislike both pronunciations. The corrie one is worse though!

I don't know, that's why I asked.

I disagree. If you appropriate a name from a different country or culture at least bloody pronounce it correctly.

I mean if someone from one country goes to another it’s polite for people to try and pronounce their name correctly, once they’ve been told it’s said differently from the local pronunciation. But it doesn’t mean all the other Deirdres or Lauras or whatever are pronouncing their own names wrong. Just different.

But that's partly it. Irish people in England find themselves being called Deer dree when that isn't actually their name. Then people assume that's how the name is pronounced because ' I know someone from Dublin and that's how we always pronounced her name'. It's an arrogant lack of effort in a lot of cases.

I think it's 3 syllables in Ireland.

As an English person, I'd pronounce your OP description as 2, which is pretty much the Corrie version!

How do you pronounce Paris? Or Barcelona?
Or do you only think the pronunciation of names shouldn't change?

I disagree. If you appropriate a name from a different country or culture at least bloody pronounce it correctly

Appropriate names? So if your parent calls you Deerdree at birth, every single person you then come across should know it's of Gaelic origin and know exactly how to pronounce it? Don't be ridiculous.

But that's partly it. Irish people in England find themselves being called Deer dree when that isn't actually their name.

Then say (like every other person with a name with different pronunciations) my name is....... not........

After that if they get it wrong they are just being rude

Ok, I can see the frustration if it’s your own name being mispronounced and it’s rude if people don’t make the effort.

But I think talking about names being appropriated… that’s how languages evolve, no? Words are adopted all the time. I had no idea Deirdre was originally an Irish name. Do we say Claire is a French name or does it count as English now? Should we all be saying garage to rhyme with Farage because the word was originally French?

Years ago I knew a lady who's name badge stated she was Karen, except her name was pronounced Care-en. She spent a major portion of everyday being upset and/or correcting people.

@nokidshere I had a cousin (long since lost touch) whose name was spelt Karen but was pronounced exactly as you describe.

Her mother was of Irish Catholic descent so I assumed it was the Irish pronunciation

There are so many lovely Irish names I don’t know why anyone would choose deirdre. Both pronunciations sound a bit bland and old woman-ish to me.

I know two Shauns who are both originally from Ireland.

One pronounces his name 'shorn', the other is more like 'Shan'.

They both have different accents - shall I tell one they're saying it wrong?