How do you pronounce Samhain?

[MrTiddlesTheCat]

I thought I knew, but my American English teacher tells me I'm wrong, despite knowing I learnt it from my Irish dad. Need to know if I'm indeed wrong or gain the confidence to go and hit him with my turnip.

SOW(un)

Your teacher is incorrect.

It's sow (rhymes with cow) - in

(I'm Irish living in Ireland and a fluent Irish speaker. )

If you listen to the second pronunciation in the guide linked by @PyramusandThisbe it sounds similar to your teacher's pronunciation (depending on his/her own accent). It wouldn't be "sown" exactly but maybe more like "sooooown"

Not great of the teacher to tell you you're wrong when there are so many accents

Well, I have learned something today. Thank you

Munster Irish we learned Sow in .

Sow - in

Sow as in female pig, not needle and thread.

Quite a lot of comic and video character creators have mined the Irish language and Irish myths and legends for inspiration.

Absolutely, but that's no excuse for not looking up the pronunciation!

A friend's middle name was Savin. Is it from an Irish name, and is that Sabháin or Samháin?

Is it ok to ask if any of you pronounce Seán as Shorn, and is it unisex? I don't wish to derail the thread.

Sow ( as in female pig ) in.

I'd pronounce Seán as Shawn

Most Irish pronounce R where it is written and don't say it when it isn't. So , for example we don't attach an R to words like ' idea' or 'law'. But we say it in eg 'order ' or ' water'. A good approximation of Seán would be Shawn / Shaun in English phonetics. Without the á accent it is Shan.

I've not come across Savin as a name . Maybe other posters can help here?

There's no r sound in Samhain?

Sow en

Thanks. I don't really hear Seán as Shawn, but can't think of another way to write it. I hear Shorn as having an 'or' in it. I definitely don't think of it as unisex.

The friend's surname was unusual, possibly Scottish. First name was a standard New Testament one. I wish I'd asked about the Savin, friend said it was his father's middle name. The irish connection was from Wiki, which is not always correct.

Born and dragged up in Dublin. Sow (like cow) and inn.

American here. But my mother from Kilkenny said ‘sow (like the pig, as said before)- en’. I loved her pooka stories.

Sow-in

From the west. 'Sow-awn' to me.

I've never heard of Savin. Would it be Siobhán ? Which is a girl's name pronunciation Shih Vaun

Seán never has an "r" sound in it. I'd say Shawn like lawn. I've heard it pronounced kind of like Shaan in Donegal

And it's not unisex in Ireland - boys name only. Shauna for girls

Munster Irish here and I say “sow in” Living in Dublin now and my kids are in school here and they have learnt the same.

I’ve never heard the name Savin.
Ive only ever heard Seán used as a man’s name and would not pronounce it Shorn.

@Shopgirl1 , Do you say taut and tort to sound the same?

No, in an Irish accent these are different.

No , Caled. R is the watershed between Irish / Scottish and most English accents.