While many of the old British names may look odd to modern readers, they are not as difficult to pronounce as they seem at first glance. A little effort, and the following guide, will help you enjoy the sound of these ancient words.
Consonants – as in English, but with a few exceptions:
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c: |
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hard, as in cat (never soft as in century) |
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ch: |
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hard, as in Scottish Loch, or Bach (never soft, as in church) |
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dd: |
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th as in then (never as in thistle) |
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f: |
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v, as in of |
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ff: |
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f, as in off |
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g: |
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hard, as in girl (never gem) |
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ll: |
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a Welsh distinctive, sounded as ‘tl’ or ‘hl’ on the sides of the tongue |
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r: |
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trilled, lightly |
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rh: |
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as if hr, heavy on the ‘h’ sound |
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s: |
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always as in sir (never his) |
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th: |
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as in thistle (never then) |
Vowels – as in English, but with the general lightness of short vowel sounds:
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a: |
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as in father |
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e: |
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as in met (when long, as in late) |
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i: |
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as in pin (long, as in eat) |
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o: |
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as in not |
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u: |
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as in pin (long, as in eat) |
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w: |
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a ‘double-u’ as in vacuum, or tool; but becomes a consonant before vowels, as in the name Gwen |
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y: |
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as in pin; or sometimes as ‘u’ in but (long as in eat) |
(As you can see, there is not much difference in i, u, and y – they are virtually identical to the beginner.)
Accent – normally is on the next to last syllable, as in Di-gán-hwy
Diphthongs – each vowel is pronounced individually, so Taliesin = Tallyéssin
Atlantean – Ch = kh, so Charis is Khár-iss