I’ve noticed that more people are now experimenting with Welsh names due to the popularity of Game of Thrones ([name_u]Bran[/name_u] and [name_m]Tyrion[/name_m]) and [name_m]Lord[/name_m] of the Rings, where Tolkien based Sinadrin Elvish on Northern Welsh.
I’ve seen many people on here puzzle and umm & ahh over how to pronounce Welsh names. Who could blame them - there aren’t exactly a wealth of resources on this topic! Also, like many European languages, we do not use the roman alphabet like you do in English and you cannot read Welsh that way.
So, as a native Welsh speaker, if you are curious to know how something is pronounced, I will tell you! If I get quite a bit response, I might do an audio recording as well.
So I realize my question is about Cornish and not Welsh, but I was wondering if you have any insight on the pronunciation of [name_f]Elowen[/name_f], since there are some Welsh names with “wen” endings.
Generally speaking, people are aware that it is supposed to be pronounced el-LOH-wen, with the emphasis on the second syllable, in Cornish. However, many native English speakers (particularly Americans) choose to pronounce it [name_f]ELL[/name_f]-oh-wen (similar to how [name_f]Eowyn[/name_f] is pronounced from LOTR), with emphasis on the first syllable. I will admit that I prefer it as [name_f]ELL[/name_f]-oh-wen as well. I have seen some people say that spelling it as Elowyn eliminates the problem, but people seem to find the whole thing controversial regardless.
Essentially my question is: does it strike you as culturally ignorant, or even offensive, if an American names their child [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] but doesn’t pronounce it the original/“proper” way? Does Elowyn fix the pronunciation problem, or does it just strike you as “wrong”? This website seems pretty split over it, and I thought maybe a Welsh speaker might have some insight on it since Cornish speakers are hard to find :).
Hello everyone. Sorry for the late reply. Couldn’t see my post so I thought it had been deleted!
[name_f]Elowen[/name_f] is indeed a Cornish name and it is definitely unusual in [name_m]Wales[/name_m]. I say unusual as n ‘not often used’ not strange! We are quite adventurous with names. You can actuall call your child Enfys (rainbow) or [name_f]Eira[/name_f] (snow), for example.
The last Cornish native speaker is thought to have died in the the 18th century, but it is losely related to Welsh. They used to call the Cornish, the Southern Welsh I think.
I would pronounce [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] as EH-lo-ooehn. E is always pronounced as ‘e’ in ember or errand and ‘o’ is always the o in dot. ‘W’ is always the w in wait.
Concerning ‘ll’ whatever you do, don’t blow too hard. People always do this and they end up butchering the sound. [name_f]Imagine[/name_f] soft wind blowing through some reeds. I have taught many people how to pronounce it correctly.
I might make a video about this. If it’s something you would be interested in, let me know! I have an account on Youtube.