(no subject)

[owl]

Are any of the names on the Colquhoun/Colhoun/Calhoun/Calhoon/Cahoon variation not pronounced 'Ca-hoon'?

Also, is speak-as-you-spell sending Dee-yell the way of Mackenzie? Though in a small sample size I have noticed that Dalziel seems to be the original pronunciation more often than Dalzell.

What other disconnects between spelling and speaking are there around?

Comments

[doyle_sb4.livejournal.com]

There's Belvoir (pronounced 'Beaver', of course), and since my office is mostly non-native to NI, Irish names cause great wailing and gnashing of teeth, especially Caiomhe.

[owl]

LOL. With people our age Keava seems to turn up too, but babies are all Caoimhe nowadays. I often see the files of people who have been to uni in GB, carefully labelled 'Neev', 'Onya' etc. I can mostly get the consonants right, though I have to guess at vowels if I haven't seen the name before. It's when you get the Irish surnames that I run into difficulties.