Rhodri

[Midnightdream]

I love this name, I am not Welsh though(sorry if it's a Welsh thing)

Is it pronounced Rod-ree?

Look up ‘how to pronounce Rhodri’ I bet there’s a video on YouTube

Well, you just learn to pronounce it. And then, presto, you can use it.

Welsh pronunciation is hard though. Very different sounds to English. Been married to dh for two decades and I still can’t pronounce the name of the village his parents live in quite right. I’m close but still not there.

I'm reading it like Rory bit in a Scottish accent and an understanding of welsh and there is a soft d in there. I'd probably not use it without the natural accent

@Smellbellina I have found one with anaraward ap rhodri: kind of gwynedd. I've been pronouncing it the same as the man who is doing the video lol

@Mumoftwoyoungkids my dads friend is Welsh. I'm going to ask her tomorrow, I'm sure I'm saying it right lol.

@Midnightdream

How blunt is she? I have had the following conversation with my in laws many times:-

Me:- Is it Welshvillage?
MIL:- Nearly - the v is more vvvv than v
Me: Welshvvillage
MIL:- Nearly there - still more vvvv
Me: Welshvvvvillage
MIL: Yes - that’s pretty good

Later in private to dh:-
Me: Am I really saying Welshvvvvvillage correctly?
Dh: Not really but you’re improving!
Me: Oh bugger

Oh my she's not that blunt! I think the accent helps them with the names lol. I do find it hard sometimes as she speaks very fast. She can speak welsh also(I would not even go there myself) lol

Why not the English Roderick instead?

I really like it and have done for years.

It is a hard one to say. I live in Scotland and have done most of my life, I'm not Scottish though. My three children have very Scottish names and DH really wanted Ruaridh for the last one. It's a beautiful name but I just can't say it properly so I couldn't agree to it.

There are enough people who will probably pronounce your children's names wrong without you being one of them!

I think names sound differently with different accents so if you like the name use it.

www.bbc.co.uk/wales/livinginwales/sites/howdoisay/names/index.shtml?rh

OP you can hear Rhodri pronounced by a Welsh speaker at my link above.

Welsh has a lot of letters you don't get in English, e.g. Ff, Ng, Ch, Ll, Ph and, of course, Rh.

Rhodri is a lovely name, but non Welsh speakers will struggle with the Rh.

I agree English speakers will struggle to pronounce the rolling rh sound that is in the Welsh language. However, is there anything wrong with that really? Several names in @caffisalimali list are commonplace in England and are accepted without a rolled R - Rhiannon, Rhian, Rhys. Nobody seems to kick up a fuss about these, so I’m not sure why people are getting so up in arms about Rhodri?

"especially a Welsh rolling R"

It's not a rolling r it's a rh, which is a rolling r AND a h sound at the same time.

"Nobody seems to kick up a fuss about these, so I’m not sure why people are getting so up in arms about Rhodri?"

We just don't say it out loud

I definitely don’t think names need to be anglicised just to make them easier to say/understand, but if a name makes a sound that isn’t native to English speakers, does that mean we absolutely shouldn’t use it? There are so many names used in the U.K. from other cultures that probably aren’t pronounced as originally intended. But on mn it seems nothing causes more upset than English people using a Welsh name.

The video you're watching is an English guy though, you need to listen to Welsh people saying it. The link Caffi has put is good.
I'm English living in Wales and my pronunciation of lots of things still isn't perfect after living here for over 10 years. There's lots of sounds that just aren't used in English and it can be hard training your mouth to move in different ways.
If you can't pronounce it I wouldn't use it.

@Blursula I can pronouce them right

I have just spoken to someone who is Welsh and I have nailed it the way you say it! She loved it and said it's a lovely name(could be bias as shes Welsh )

Does she speak Welsh though Midnight? Non Welsh-speakers pronounce it Rodri without the h and with English 'r's?

She is welsh she can speak Welsh better than english.

Haha - I know quite a few Welsh-but-not-Welsh-speaking people who would fail a MN Welshier than thou test .

The Rh at the beginning isn't R followed by h, it's a separate letter.
It's the sound you get from saying R and H at exactly the same time.

Seems an odd choice if you don't know how to say it.