PRONUNCIATION GUIDE

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:

c: hard, as in cat (never soft as in century)

ch: hard, as in Scottish Loch, or Bach (never soft, as in church)

dd: th as in then (never as in thistle)

f: v, as in of

ff: f, as in off

g: hard, as in girl (never gem)

ll: a Welsh distinctive, sounded as ‘tl’ or ‘hi’ on the sides of the tongue

r: trilled, lightly

rh: as if hr, heavy on the ‘h’ sound

s: always as in sir (never his)

th: as in thistle (never then)

Vowels — as in English, but with the general lightness of short vowel sounds:

a: as in father

e: as in met (when long, as in late)

i: as in pin (long, as in eat)

o: as in not

u: as in pin (long, as in eat)

w: a ‘double-u,’ as in vacuum, or tool; but becomes a consonant before vowels, as in the name Gwen

y: 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-gan-hwy

Diphthongs — each vowel is pronounced individually, so

Taliesin = Tallyessin

Atlantean — Ch=kh, so Chads is Khar-iss i