Oct 17, 2006 20:37
18 yrs ago
2 viewers *
Gaelic term

Samhain (pronunciation question)

Non-PRO Gaelic to English Other General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
Hello. Recently a debate has arisen among some of my friends as how "Samhain" is actually pronounced.

Multiple versions have come up, such as:
1. Sam- hayn
(like the name) (like "hay")

2. Sha- ma- ayn
(a as in "father")(a as in "father")(like "hay")

3. Sow- en
(o as in 'so")

I know there are sites on the Internet, but these say various things, too. Can anyone who actually speaks Gaelic clear this up??

Thank you!
Proposed translations (English)
5 sah-vwin
5 sow-en

Proposed translations

2 days 8 hrs
Selected

sah-vwin

In Scottish Gaelic we say "Samhuinn" as (roughly) "SAH-vin" or "SAH-win": the 'mh' is sorta somewhere between a 'v' and a 'w' (it's pretty much completely a 'w' in Irish, which is what "sow-en" given above sounds like to me) and the 'nn' after 'i' is actually a 'ny' like in "canyon" or Spanish "mañana" or "señor". The pronunciations with "sh" at the beginning or 'm' sounds are flatly wrong.

By the way, "Samhuinn" in Scottish Gaelic, at least, means not "Hallowe'en" but "November," the month - "Hallowe'en" the night is "Oidhche Shamhna" (VERY roughly, "Oy-hya How-na") "November's Night."
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks for the informative answer!"
9 hrs

sow-en

but sow - like the pig - and then en - short e.
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