bill@persci.UUCP (07/28/85)
In article <204@steinmetz.UUCP> connolly@steinmetz.UUCP (C.Ian Connolly) writes: >Argh. Pronunciation in Irish at least (and possibly Scottish - >any Scots out there want to verify this?) is somewhat variable, depending >on where you came from (or where your teacher came from). Now, I would > , >pronounce the Irish "Ossian" as "uh-SHEE-an". One thing I am assuming is >that there is a stroke over the i. If not, then I'd probably try "UH-shun". The only thing I had to go on (regarding the different pronunciations) was from a Celtic Music radio program hosted by a native Irishwoman (yuk! Irishperson?), I do not know where in Ireland she was from, but she did mention the two groups as oh-SHEEN and AW-See-un, and that they had the same spelling. The stroke over the "i" probably disappeared when the name was "transcribed" into English. I have heard from some of the native Scots in the area that pronunciation varies greatly from area to area. (Just listen to their Scots accents, and it's no surprise..) Thank you, Ian, and others, for your help! -- William Swan {ihnp4,decvax,allegra,...}!uw-beaver!tikal!persci!bill