Page 2 | Ayveen or Aiveen? - Irish name

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Eyerollcentral · 06/02/2023 21:24

Depends where in Ireland she is from. In N. Ireland it’s usually AYveen but I do know Eveens too. Not a fan of anglicised spellings though and I imagine if you are in England Aoibheann might be a struggle

mikado1 · 06/02/2023 21:49

TheDuchessOfMN · 06/02/2023 20:57

Are you considering it, OP?

I really wouldn’t, not when Irish people can’t even get it right. It is a beautiful name, and it is indeed very popular here.

A little off topic, but for anyone who’s fluent, am I incorrectly pronouncing uimhir a naoi (number 9) as nay? Should it be nee? 🤔

Depends on canúint, I've heard nay, nigh, nee, all correct in different places!

TheDuchessOfMN · 06/02/2023 22:14

Thank you!

LizzieAnt · 06/02/2023 22:19

@TheDuchessOfMN

It depends on dialect whether naoi is said more like nee or nay. Irish letter sounds are different to English ones, so naoi doesn't exactly match either when said by a native speaker...nee and nay are approximations really.

www.teanglann.ie/en/fuaim/naoi

TheDuchessOfMN · 06/02/2023 22:23

Thanks @LizzieAnt I’ve just listened to them . Very interesting. I need to lay off the ‘nay’ and be a little closer to nee, but not quite

Flowersandvines · 06/02/2023 22:43

I used to work with someone called Aveen, pronounced Ay-veen. Agree that Aoibhín and Aoíbheann have an Ee sound at the beginning rather than an Ay.

U1sce · 06/02/2023 22:53

Its a beautiful name, but as mentioned above, anglicised versions of names really dont sit right with me - writing shaun makes me feel all weird.

LizzieAnt · 06/02/2023 23:03

@TheDuchessOfMN I think it'll depend on which dialect you want to use too...naoi is more nay than nee in Munster for example.

In general aoi in Irish is more like ee in English, but naoi does seem to be something an exception sometimes (depending on the dialect). I don't know the reason for this I'm afraid.

TheDuchessOfMN · 07/02/2023 07:30

LizzieAnt · 06/02/2023 23:03

@TheDuchessOfMN I think it'll depend on which dialect you want to use too...naoi is more nay than nee in Munster for example.

In general aoi in Irish is more like ee in English, but naoi does seem to be something an exception sometimes (depending on the dialect). I don't know the reason for this I'm afraid.

Yes, I’m Munster Irish, hence my ‘nay ‘.

I hear Aoibhinn pronounced as A-veen all the time.

Boneybrain · 07/02/2023 07:35

Connacht - west Ireland here - 90% of Aoibheanns and Aoibhíns I know round here are pronounced Ay-veen.

Ahnobother · 07/02/2023 07:42

Dublin here.
I know two girls who are Aoibheann and both pronounced it Ayveen.
Then I know an Eilish and she is Aylish but I know an Eilis and she is I-lish
So I just go with the flow now given all the variations.

OP if you like it but don't live in Ireland maybe see if there's something more phonetically matching the spelling, for example Eavan which is e van

FolkSongSweet · 10/02/2023 22:40

Yes there are loads of people in Ireland, including people with this name, who pronounce “Aoibheann” as “Ayveen”. Just because there are lots of them doesn’t make them any less wrong.

If you like “Ayveen” OP then maybe just spell it like that - will be easier for all!

Eyerollcentral · 10/02/2023 23:01

FolkSongSweet · 10/02/2023 22:40

Yes there are loads of people in Ireland, including people with this name, who pronounce “Aoibheann” as “Ayveen”. Just because there are lots of them doesn’t make them any less wrong.

If you like “Ayveen” OP then maybe just spell it like that - will be easier for all!

Dialect police have arrived…

mikado1 · 11/02/2023 10:14

Ahnobother · 07/02/2023 07:42

Dublin here.
I know two girls who are Aoibheann and both pronounced it Ayveen.
Then I know an Eilish and she is Aylish but I know an Eilis and she is I-lish
So I just go with the flow now given all the variations.

OP if you like it but don't live in Ireland maybe see if there's something more phonetically matching the spelling, for example Eavan which is e van

Oh Eilis/Éilis/Eilís can be a minefield but note the fadas!

Santasoorplooms · 11/02/2023 11:30

How can a name be wrong 🙄
if I want to spell my name Sandra but pronounce it Geraldine that’s completely up to me. Some know it all language professor telling me my name’s spelt wrong doesn’t change anything.

ParentsTrapped · 11/02/2023 13:15

Santasoorplooms · 11/02/2023 11:30

How can a name be wrong 🙄
if I want to spell my name Sandra but pronounce it Geraldine that’s completely up to me. Some know it all language professor telling me my name’s spelt wrong doesn’t change anything.

Lol yeah that’s exactly how names work…

mikado1 · 11/02/2023 22:17

Names and phonetics, those pesky things... yep, sorry Geraldine, Sandra it is!!

mathanxiety · 12/02/2023 07:36

Dialect police have arrived…

AOI should always be EE. As in Taoiseach, spraoi, cathaoir, naoi, faoi...

I think it's more an accent thing than a dialect divide. Also a reflection of the failure to teach Irish properly.

mikado1 · 12/02/2023 09:28

Oof! 🙈 Now you've done it Mathsanxiety! 😆

Flounder2022 · 12/02/2023 09:43

bellarosabella · 03/02/2023 07:46

I met a girl named Aiveen or Ayveen yesterday. She's Irish and said it was an Irish name. It sounded like ay-veen.

I'm probably not spelling it right, sorry about that. I didn't ask about the spelling.

Does anyone know how it's spelt correctly? Is it popular in Ireland?

Do you like it and which spelling would you pick?

Thanks.

If you are considering using it maybe the name Aideen (Éadaoin) might work? Similar sounding but travels easier!

LizzieAnt · 12/02/2023 11:52

mathanxiety · 12/02/2023 07:36

Dialect police have arrived…

AOI should always be EE. As in Taoiseach, spraoi, cathaoir, naoi, faoi...

I think it's more an accent thing than a dialect divide. Also a reflection of the failure to teach Irish properly.

Hmm, I'm not sure it's down to accent rather than dialect in the case of the Munster pronunciation of naoi, as discussed upthread. Naoi is more like nay in Munster. Aoi is usually ee there, so why would the accent change for one word?

Faoi is also pronounced as fay in Munster by native speakers, but then it was traditionally spelt fé there. Though the spelling has been standardised, it's still pronounced as if it were fé in Munster Gaeltacht areas.

Aoibh is said like Eve in all remaining Irish language dialects as far as I know. However, Aobh is also given as a variant spelling of Aoibh which may complicate things. The endings eann or inn in Irish should not be pronounced as een. I personally think the Ayveen pronunciation is most likely an anglicisation, but I'm not absolutely certain of course.

You're right about the teaching of Irish @mathanxiety, in English language schools at least😕 Hopefully better in the Gaelscoileanna, but I've no experience of them.