Quiz: Irish Name Pronunciation

To most English speakers, Irish name pronunciation seems completely nonsensical.

That’s probably because they’re largely of Gaelic origin. For most Irish people however, they’re a part of everyday life – they can’t be phased by some funny spelling! Test your Irish-ness with this quiz about Irish name pronunciation!

Fuh-noo-lah

Fee-on-ooh-lah

Fyuh-nuh-loo

Correct! Wrong!

ay-nee

on-yah

eye-nah

Correct! Wrong!

shu-vorn

see-ban

zee-van

Correct! Wrong!

Vim-pna

Dime-pee-na

Dim-pna

Correct! Wrong!

ee-fuh

oh-fee

eye-fee

Correct! Wrong!

ee-wine

ay-in

oh-wun

Correct! Wrong!

paw-drig

pay-drah

paw-dry

Correct! Wrong!

sharn

kee-an

shan

Correct! Wrong!

hay-den

ay-den

eye-dan

Correct! Wrong!

she-an

shorn

sh-ay-n

Correct! Wrong!

Quiz: Irish Name Pronunciation

Have you even heard of Ireland?

Fair play mate

You've probably got an Irish friend or two.

Good on ye!

You've at least got SOME Irish blood running through ye!

eh

How many were lucky guesses?

If you’re interested in learning more about this fascinating language, here are 6 fast and fun facts about Gaelic:

• There is no ‘yes’ or ‘no – to answer a question you repeat the verb, either positively or negatively.
• ‘Gaelic’ refers to the languages spoken originally by the Gaels of Scotland and Ireland.  Gaelic was brought to Scotland by colonists from Ireland over 1500 years ago.
• Scottish and Irish Gaelic are very similar.  “The Sea-Divided Gael” was the way Irish and Scottish Gaels were often referred to since they share so much culture.  The Strait of Moyle, dividing the two countries is only 2O km wide at it’s narrowest point.
• According to UNESCO, there are only 44000 speakers of Irish – this puts it in the ‘definitely endangered’ category.
• Irish Gaelic is spoken outside of the Emerald Isles – around 18,000 Americans speak Irish at home.
• Irish is an official language of the EU.

Let us know if we missed out some of the toughest Irish names to pronounce in the comments below!