Spelling rant

[Walt34]

AOne of them kept sending my messages to a totally made up and nonexistent email address which was the address he thought I ought to have!

Meadbh

Well, really, you should have had the foresight to be telepathic and know that. Or I suppose that's how such people think.

Now I feel lucky to have a simple first and last name, both originating in Germany and Ireland, respectively.

 

[Moemg]

My last name is a common color and people constantly ask me how to spell it !

 

[tinlizzy]

I had no idea Meadbh was a name! I went to school with a Siobhan. I loved her name but was surprised when I saw the spelling!

I'm glad you started this thread because now I can pronounce your name in my head when I see it.

 

[Meadbh]

I had no idea Meadbh was a name! I went to school with a Siobhan. I loved her name but was surprised when I saw the spelling!

I'm glad you started this thread because now I can pronounce your name in my head when I see it.

Tinlizzy, I'm glad you learnt something today. I am constantly amazed by what I learn on this forum!

As NW-Bound said, there are several different spellings of the name. Of note, when you see an "h" in Irish words, that would have been represented by a dot above the preceding letter in old Irish script. Therefore, meadbh would really be meadb with a dot above the b. The anglicized version is "Maeve". And there was an Aer Lingus A330 aircraft called 'Meadgbh" on one side and "St. Maeve" on the other. It was scrapped a couple of years ago. It's cal name was EI-ORD. Here it is taxiing off from Dublin Airport (DUB) in 2011.

http://youtu.be/neD7QE0cJGQ

I don't have children, but if I had a daughter, my #1 choice of name for her would have been Meadbh.

Siobhan (pronounced "shove awn") is the Irish version of Jane. So now you know!

 

[seraphim]

Tell someone your name is Jerry, and they want to know what your 'real' name is: Jeremy, Gerald, Jeremiah...

I already told you...

 

[imoldernu]

BOB

 

[REWahoo]

BOB

I thought it was BYOB...

 

[NW-Bound]

Lest people think I possess some knowledge of Gaelic languages, let me say that I don't.

Just a week or two ago, I ran across an Irish historical info, and while looking it up on the Web, remembered that Meadbh said a while ago in a post that her screen name was that of a Queen. Have I not been telling people that my memory is good when it comes to anecdotes, or some random facts? (but never historical dates that would help my grade in high school History). But I digress...

So, I looked up Meadbh, then was curious to see how it would be pronounced. Most unusual, wouldn't you say? And people think English, French, Italian, or Spanish are hard.

 

[Gumby]

I thought it was BYOB...

I thought it was BYOYB - "Bring yams or you're busted". A favorite of those party time guys at the agricultural and mechanical colleges.

 

[REWahoo]

I thought it was BYOYB - "Bring yams or you're busted". A favorite of those party time guys at the agricultural and mechanical colleges.

+1

Which reminds me, it's this weekend - don't miss it: 2013 East Texas Yamboree

 

[Meadbh]

Lest people think I possess some knowledge of Gaelic languages, let me say that I don't.

Just a week or two ago, I ran across an Irish historical item, and while looking it up on the Web, remembered that Meadbh said a while ago in a post that her screen name was that of a Queen. Have I not been telling people that my memory is good when it comes to anecdotes, or some random facts? (but never historical dates that would help my grade in high school History). But I digress...

So, I looked up Meadbh, then was curious to see how it would be pronounced. Most unusual, wouldn't you say? And people think English, French, Italian, or Spanish are hard.

I see you are becoming quite the Gaelic scholar, NW-Bound!

Go n'eiri an bothar leat!

(May the road rise with you).

 

[Gumby]

+1

Which reminds me, it's this weekend - don't miss it: 2013 East Texas Yamboree

Texas never ceases to amaze.

 

[braumeister]

I'm with you.
Part of an email address I use is a common word.
Someone else has the same email, but that word has the British spelling whereas mine uses the American spelling.

The result is that I get a lot of email meant for him. Easy for me, but he's still a self-employed working stiff and I'm sure it's rough on him. Still, he likes the phrase enough that he insists on using it professionally.

I forward what looks important to him, but many I simply delete. He knows that and is ok with it.

 

[Chuckanut]

I always know when a phone call is a junk call, since they never pronounce my name properly. It's a real tip off!

 

[Major Tom]

Add me to the list of people who didn't know that Meadbh is a commonly accepted and known name. I, like a few others here, thought it was just a screen name. My apologies. In the same way that I call Obgyn65 Obgyn or even just Ob, and address Haha as just Ha, I would have been one of the offenders who might well have called you Mead.

I grew up in a world full of people called Dave, Tracy, Nigel, Mark, Catherine, Tom - well, you get the idea. I don't think I ever quite fully adjusted to the plethora of different names, spellings and pronunciations in the world. Yesterday, I ran into a (very) casual acquaintance whose name is Tenay. I said "Hello Ten-i" to her (last syllable sounding like the letter "i") and received a slightly "off" look, whereupon I realized the pronunciation was "Ten-a" (the last syllable sounding like the letter "a").

It's a complicated world out there, for sure................

 

[HFWR]

Rant: r-a-n-t

 

[ERD50]

Rant: r-a-n-t

Took me a few seconds...

I see you are becoming quite the Gaelic scholar, NW-Bound!

Go n'eiri an bothar leat!

(May the road rise with you).

So here's another one. When is it appropriate to refer to 'Irish' versus 'Gaelic'? I always thought the Irish spoke Gaelic, but when I was there they referred to their language as 'Irish' (street signs are all in 'Irish', with English subtitles IIRC).

Also, you could consider a little notation on the name in your sig. It looks like many of us were not familiar with the historic reference to the name Meadbh, and I'm still unsure of the pronunciation. And new posters probably won't see this thread.

-ERD50

 

[Bestwifeever]

I see you are becoming quite the Gaelic scholar, NW-Bound! Go n'eiri an bothar leat! (May the road rise with you).

I can't even pronounce Gaelic. My ancestors would be appalled.

 

[Meadbh]

Took me a few seconds...




So here's another one. When is it appropriate to refer to 'Irish' versus 'Gaelic'? I always thought the Irish spoke Gaelic, but when I was there they referred to their language as 'Irish' (street signs are all in 'Irish', with English subtitles IIRC).

Also, you could consider a little notation on the name in your sig. It looks like many of us were not familiar with the historic reference to the name Meadbh, and I'm still unsure of the pronunciation. And new posters probably won't see this thread.

-ERD50

For an answer to your question, I cannot improve on this discussion in TripAdvisor.

Confusion about Irish language and Gaelic - Ireland Forum - TripAdvisor

Thanks for the suggestion about my signature. I decided to put the information in my profile instead. Also see my new avatar!

 

[Alan]

My name used to be easy to spell, until I moved to the USA.

I had to make an appointment at a new doctor's place a couple of weeks ago and the poor lass even managed to get my first name wrong when I spelled it out as Alpha Lima Alpha November. When she read it back it she spelled it ARAN.

My last name has 11 letters and is not common, so you can just imagine how long that took

 

[bld999]

"My name used to be easy to spell, until I moved to the USA."

My abbreviated first name used to be familiar and easy to spell, until I just waited long enough. Now everyone wants to spell it "Dawn" after I say it to them. And that's when I'm standing right in front of them...

 

[Meadbh]

My name used to be easy to spell, until I moved to the USA.

I had to make an appointment at a new doctor's place a couple of weeks ago and the poor lass even managed to get my first name wrong when I spelled it out as Alpha Lima Alpha November. When she read it back it she spelled it ARAN.

My last name has 11 letters and is not common, so you can just imagine how long that took

Alan, that is hilarious! It's almost impossible to think of an easier name to spell (other than Bob). Of course, there's Allan, Allen and Allyn......

I spent years living in Winnipeg, which has a large Ukranian community (among many others). There was a shortage of vowels, an abundance of zs, and some of the names were simply unpronounceable. I used to get people to practice their names with me until I had them right, and then I would write them down in phonetics and try to memorize everything. It sounds silly, but getting someone's name right is respectful and necessary, especially when you are in a healthcare profession, which I was.

Here's a challenging Aboriginal surname:

Maytwayashing

(Hint: it's NOT Maytag Washing.....)

 

[Alan]

Here's an challenging Aboriginal surname:

Maytwayashing

(Hint: it's NOT Maytag Washing.....)

THAT is impossible for me to attempt to pronounce and not massacre it.


These days in cafes when they ask for a name to call after I've placed an order I just say Fred. My accent often meant I had to respond when they called out "Holland", which is a common mis-hearing of my name down here.

 

[MichaelB]

My name used to be easy to spell, until I moved to the USA.

Yes, we have tried hard to make some sense of this gawdawful language, and have made some improvements, but there's only so much a bunch of ex-colonists can do.

Reminds me of a favorite tv comedy from the days of lore, Barney Miller

Wojciehowicz : "You say it like it's spelled!"

The part of Venezuela where DW grew up is well known for names that are very strange , and often phonetic versions of foreign words or terms. My favorite: guaituque

 

[MRG]

I used to work with a Chinese immigrant, his English was pretty good. He used Frank as his first name.

Any time he was asked his name like at mickyDs for them to call out, he'd tell them Mike. I finally asked why, 'nobody understands when I say Frank, they insist on calling out Mike', he just decided it was easier.

Meadbh, I to had no idea of that name. Thanks for educating.

MRG