# Irish-language Dopers: How to pronounce "Saoirse"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 12, 2011, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-language-dopers-how-to-pronounce-saoirse/578079 "2011-04-12T13:18:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-language-dopers-how-to-pronounce-saoirse/578079/1 "2011-04-12T13:18:11Z")
The Irish actress Saoirse Ronan is getting a bit of buzz lately for the film _Hanna_. How is her given name pronounced? “Sowers”? “Sorsha”? “Soyers”? Something else that I’m not even coming close to? Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-language-dopers-how-to-pronounce-saoirse/578079/2 "2011-04-12T13:23:00Z")
Roughly, “SEER-shuh”. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-language-dopers-how-to-pronounce-saoirse/578079/3 "2011-04-12T13:23:15Z")
According to [Saoirse Ronan - Biography - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1519680/bio) it’s “Although in traditional Irish, the name Saoirse would be pronounced “seer-sha”, she says it as “sur-shuh”.” ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-language-dopers-how-to-pronounce-saoirse/578079/4 "2011-04-12T13:26:01Z")
Actually, from the [horse’s mouth](http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/jan/23/saoirse-ronan-the-lovely-bones): > [@](#): > > “You actually say it ‘Sairsha’,” she adds helpfully. “But you can also say it Sersha, or Seersha – both are OK.” Of course, written versions aren’t all that helpful as they depend on the speaker’s accent… ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-language-dopers-how-to-pronounce-saoirse/578079/5 "2011-04-12T13:27:07Z")
Why don’t we ask her/him? Paging [saoirse](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/member.php)! Paging [saoirse](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/member.php)! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-language-dopers-how-to-pronounce-saoirse/578079/6 "2011-04-12T13:30:00Z")
“Sur-shuh” would be the most common pronunciation I’ve heard but I’ve also heard it “Seer-sha” “Ser-sha” etc. [Here’s an interview](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSFgv_HxrYQ)with her where you can hear the presenter say her name around the 50 second mark. In this[interview](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vC8dDb6fkD0) she says it’s pronounced “Saoirse like inertia” 🙂 . ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-language-dopers-how-to-pronounce-saoirse/578079/7 "2011-04-12T13:34:00Z")
A woman I work with has a daughter named Saoirse and she says it a bit like Sair (rhymes with hair) sha. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-language-dopers-how-to-pronounce-saoirse/578079/8 "2011-04-12T13:46:05Z")
Thanks, folks! I can never seem to parse how Irish Gaelic orthography translates into pronunciation, no matter how many times I get it explained…I think it’s a mental block. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-language-dopers-how-to-pronounce-saoirse/578079/9 "2011-04-12T14:58:44Z")
Someone once claimed somewhere that it’s a simple 1:1 correlation between spelling and pronunciation. I’m doubtful (and I still remember how I tried to work out the proper way to say _Dun Laoghaire_ before I heard someone say it). ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-language-dopers-how-to-pronounce-saoirse/578079/10 "2011-04-12T15:05:32Z")
Perhaps the flip side of this basic issue is how many ways there are of spelling “Sean” so that it gets pronounced like the Irish or Scots version. I know a girl named Siobhan and instead of having others pronounce her name as “shuh-vawn” (or something in that ballpark) she gets all the way to “stob-hand” as efforts by well-meaning types. And let’s not even get into Antoine! ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-language-dopers-how-to-pronounce-saoirse/578079/11 "2011-04-12T15:06:33Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > Someone once claimed somewhere that it’s a simple 1:1 correlation between spelling and pronunciation. I’m doubtful (and I still remember how I tried to work out the proper way to say _Dun Laoghaire_ before I heard someone say it). Oh, yes…because the single name I asked about in the OP doesn’t have two different pronunciations of the grapheme “s” in it. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_of\_Lucan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dbc845/32.png) [@Michael\_of\_Lucan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_of_Lucan)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-language-dopers-how-to-pronounce-saoirse/578079/12 "2011-04-12T15:09:42Z")
All the variations have to do with how the different dialects of Irish say the combinations “ao” and “aoi”. There are wide variations, linked to local accents. It gets more complicated because a lot of the people speaking the words are not Irish speakers. They develop their own anglicised pronunciations of Irish words - so Dún Laoghaire is usually pronounced as if it were “done leery”, when it should be nearer to “dhune lair ah” (that dh sound is like th in the word the.) Similarly, many English speakers pronounce “Port Laoise” as if it were “port leash”, when it should be nearer to “purt leesha”. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-language-dopers-how-to-pronounce-saoirse/578079/13 "2011-04-12T15:17:47Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > Someone once claimed somewhere that it’s a simple 1:1 correlation between spelling and pronunciation. I’m doubtful (and I still remember how I tried to work out the proper way to say _Dun Laoghaire_ before I heard someone say it). That’s a complex example because although it is spelled in Irish, it is nearly universally the English way, “Dun Leary”. The only time I ever hear it pronounced by its Irish spelling is at election times. ---
**Author:** ![Hrududu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Hrududu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hrududu)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-language-dopers-how-to-pronounce-saoirse/578079/14 "2011-04-12T16:18:42Z")
There are few ways to pronounce Saoirse. Sayr-sha. Seer-sha. Sore-sha. Ser-sha. Usually I just ask which way they pronounce it. ---
**Author:** ![RoniaBorkason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9dc877/32.png) [@RoniaBorkason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RoniaBorkason)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-language-dopers-how-to-pronounce-saoirse/578079/15 "2011-04-12T17:47:40Z")
Am I the only one who just avoids talking about her and pronounces it “say-oh-eer-say” in my head? ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-language-dopers-how-to-pronounce-saoirse/578079/16 "2011-04-12T20:05:53Z")
Slightly off-topic, I once went to camp with three girls named Megan, except one was “MEE-g’n,” one was “MAY-g’n,” and one was “MEH-g’n.” ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-language-dopers-how-to-pronounce-saoirse/578079/17 "2011-04-12T21:27:14Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > Someone once claimed somewhere that it’s a simple 1:1 correlation between spelling and pronunciation. Ha! Ha ha ha ha ha ha! Bump. (Just laughed my head off). ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-language-dopers-how-to-pronounce-saoirse/578079/18 "2011-04-12T22:46:42Z")
> [@RoniaBorkason](#): > > Am I the only one who just avoids talking about her and pronounces it “say-oh-eer-say” in my head? Um…is that better or worse than suh 'orsie? You know, like a small British child telling you that it’s their horse 😉 ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2011, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-language-dopers-how-to-pronounce-saoirse/578079/19 "2011-04-13T05:46:50Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Oh, yes…because the single name I asked about in the OP doesn’t have two different pronunciations of the grapheme “s” in it. It’s not the “s” on its own that’s important, it’s the “s” in combination with the vowels around it. Next to a broad vowel (a, o or u) it takes on one pronunciation and next to a slender vowel (i or e) it takes on another. It isn’t 1:1 by any means, but it certainly is a lot more regular than it appears to those unfamiliar with the rules of Irish pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2011, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-language-dopers-how-to-pronounce-saoirse/578079/20 "2011-04-13T07:10:30Z")
Up until recently, when I heard someone else say it more accurately, I pronounced it “Sour-shuh”. But I also think I was pronouncing “Ronan” incorrectly at the same time. Luckily it was only ever in my own head.