Donovan

[ivyblossom]

I was looking up the history of the name "Donovan" (because I was considering it for a character name, and I wanted to know when it first came into regular use as a first name), and I found this:

The boy's name Donovan is pronounced DAH-na-vun.

Can an Irish person (or English person?) help me out with this one? Is this an American pronunciation key, or do you really say it that way? I would have thought it was DAWN-a-vun.

Comments

[fractalreality.livejournal.com]

I'd pronounce it DON-a-vun, but then that might be a dialectical thing.

[cyanei.livejournal.com]

That's American. Western.

Not that I'm an expert, but I've heard it that way from an Ohioan.

[just-defy-me.livejournal.com]

That's the name of my college's cafeteria thingy. O_o;;

And I know a man by that name.

I say "Dahn-a-vin" but that's because I'm a New Englander. :x

[fiercefragile.livejournal.com]

Hmm...no idea. I say it

"DOEN o vin"

[zorb]

My roommate's boyfriend is named Donovan, and she says it DAWN-uh-vin. She's from New England, but I'd say the same and I'm all Californian.

[buymeaclue.livejournal.com]

It's never occured to me that it might be anything but "Dah-na-vun."

I'm from America, the Midwest. (Not there currently, but I haven't heard the name since moving, so.)

[minna.livejournal.com]

o.O

I've only heard it pronounced DOH-no-vun.

[sevensickles.livejournal.com]

In my half-baked British accent (because quite a bit of American east coast is also thrown into the mix), I say either Dah-na-vun or Dah-na-vin, depending on which accent is fighting for control (vun for the British half, vin for the American half--and it sometimes comes out more dahn-a than dah-na, which mostly depends on where in the sentence Donovan shows up, but on its own, it's always dah-na and usually vun).

[pyoor_excuse]

I'd say that it's Don-a-vun here. At least in my mutilated RP.

[mawaridi.livejournal.com]

*is Australian*

It reads as American-accented to me. But...*shrug!* I would pronounce it totally differently to everyone else who has replied here, but I think actually it would be the same...just with a different accent. Er. anyway. "Don-ah-vuhn".

[daegaer.livejournal.com]

I'd say dun-ih-vin (with the "ih" approaching "uh"). I've never heard it as a first name in Ireland, though, only as a surname.

[cherrybomb07.livejournal.com]

As a Brit - don-a-vun. I've never heard it it said any other way.

[treehavn.livejournal.com]

I'd say Don-nah-vun. With the emphasis on the first syllable. That would be the Anglicised pronunciation.

I spellchecked this time!

[nannyo.livejournal.com]

I would definitely say it Don (like the first part of donald) -uh-vin or vun, depending on how Yorkshire my voice is at that particular moment. But I can definitely hear it in my head the way daegar writes it.

Stress on the first syllable too.

Mind you, my name (Nicola) was pronounced in a real variety of ways when I lived in the US, so I wouldn't be suprised if Donovan had many accented pronunciations. (For my version of Nicola the stress is on the first syllable, so I am NOT a new form of soda drink)

[complicittheory.livejournal.com]

meep!

You should go try out names you know how they sound and do a comparison of THEIR pronunciation. It is not accurate in any technical linguistic sense... but it is pretty good to me. If I heard it from an irish native it would be as given... slightly dahn/dawn-a-van; think lilt and sing-song. I'd expect a british/scots to be donno-vin. I'm influenced by the pop-star, of course, and he, in Ontario English, in between, as you'd expect; no so 'oo' as in "so what?" and not so 'ah' as in "waaaaaaaaa". Donovan is, IMHLO (in my humble linguistic opinion) is Dannavin; 'anna' as in my home town of Toronto (which I pronounce Taranna). Of course, in Japanese it could be Donnoban in the west, and in the East with a different intonation, with no emphasis.

Thank god there can be no good answer to the question.

[theebee.livejournal.com]

My boyfriend's highschool was called Donovan, and he always pronounces it "Dawn-a-vun". But he's also got this weird Oshawa accent that seems to be entirely unique to that city.

[navy-bean.livejournal.com]

even though I just kind of had an LJ tiff with you on the feminist page... after reading your LJ I kind of want to be your new best friend. hehe. would you mind if I friended you?