American sports star Ronda Rousey proved she was game for a laugh a she took time out to attempt to pronounce some popular Irish names.
Many of Ireland’s traditional names are notoriously difficult for people in English speaking countries to understand as the Irish alphabet does not always correlate with the English alphabet, meaning certain letters are pronounced very differently to how non-Irish speakers expect.
One Irish name that is becoming more recognisable is Saoirse, thanks to Oscar nominated star Saoirse Ronan.
Although, even she has had to explain how to say her name – and others – in interviews with Ellen DeGeneres and Stephen Colbert.
In this video for joe.ie MMA superstar Rousey attempts to pronounce several Irish names, including Saoirse.
Rousey was given the following list of names – Caoimhe, Ruaidhri, Darragh, Saoirse, Tadhg, Eoghan, Aoife, Niamh, Aisling and Fionn.
Unfortunately, it would seem that she has spent so much time in the gym that she has been unable to get to the cinema, as Saoirse was one of several names she failed to pronounce correctly.
Do you think you would do better that Ronda if you were asked to pronounce the names on that list?
Take a look at the video below. Warning strong language.
phonetic spelling of Irish names
Caoimhe = Quee-va (or sometimes Keeva)
Ruaidhri= Rua-ree
Darragh = Darr-ah (or sometimes Dera)
Saoirse = Ser-sha
Tadhg = Tie-g (like tiger minus the ‘r’)
Eoghan = O-en
Aoife = E-fa
Niamh = Nee-ev
Aisling = Ash-lin (or sometimes Ash-leen)
Fionn = Fee-un
More on Irish names
Brilliant video explains the origins and pronunciations of gender-neutral Irish names
Irish people also struggle to pronounce traditional Irish names
Brilliant Beyonce cover about confusion over traditional Irish names