Woman dumbfounded after learning how non-Irish parents pronounce her name
An Irish woman was perplexed after meeting a young girl with the same name as her, only to find her parents were "butchering" its pronunciation. Deciding on a child's name is no simple feat, with many parents feeling pressured to land on the perfect choice.The majority of people opt for a name that won't disadvantage their child, steering clear of choices that could potentially be embarrassing or offensive, or tricky to spell or pronounce. However, this isn't always the case, and occasionally, the perceived "uniqueness" of a name becomes the most important factor.This can result in some children being given nonsensical names that defy phonetic rules, or traditional names that have been intentionally misspelled in an attempt to make them appear more unique than they truly are. On Reddit, many such names are ridiculed in the subreddit r/Tragedeigh.The term "tragedeigh" is a purposeful, satirical misspelling of the word "tragedy", alluding to the ongoing trend of some parents altering the spelling of well-known names to craft a more "unique" variant, even though the pronunciation remains unchanged.An Irish woman named Saoirse took to Reddit to lament that someone had "tragedeighed [her] name".She began: "I am aware Saoirse is a name. It's my name. It's Irish and pronounced Seer-sha. Not like... this. So it's not about a cultural name or misspelling or making-up. It's about... what they did to the beauty of the Irish language. They were visitors and not Irish, but I'll skip over the nationality involved to avoid getting into an argument, quite possibly with myself."Saoirse, which can also be pronounced "sir-sha", is a well-known Irish name meaning "liberty" or "freedom". The Reddit poster explained she was at a coffee shop when she noticed a couple with their "beyond adorable" toddler, whose cardigan displayed her name embroidered on it.Saoirse struck up a conversation with the little girl and "acted all shocked and amazed" that they shared the same name. She also performed some "basic sleight-of-hand magic" tricks which delighted the "shy" youngster.Saoirse went on: "When the mother was done ordering, I commented on her accent and asked how long she'd been away, assuming they must be Irish from the name choice, and was laughingly told they weren't Irish but had 'seen it in the credits of Game of Thrones and liked it'."I just stared for a second and then (genuinely) said it was impressive they'd gone for a tough name like that with no Irish-speaking background, it was important to keep the language alive, and kudos. More laughter. Apparently it's not that hard really."Oh no. I feel the horror build."When they unveiled their pronunciation of their daughter's name, Saoirse was baffled. She added: "Sour Horsey. They were pronouncing my effing name, a name that stands for Irish freedom, as SOUR HORSEY."In the comments section, fellow Reddit users shared their opinions. One said: "I figured this was going to build up to 'Sore-ise' or something similar. But... SOUR HORSEY? That's diabolical."There's nothing wrong with using a name you really like from another culture, but, the fact that people don't bother to learn how to say it correctly before naming a living human being really speaks volumes about their overall character".Another commented: "Oh god, that's diabolical. It's a beautiful name, and poor poor Sour Horsey."A third user noted: "I first learned of Saoirse after watching 'Song of the Sea', and of course Saoirse Ronan. I love it, and I join you in your horror of how it's butchered!"Another added: "Sour-eece is how my American a** pronounced it before I heard someone say it."
