Hello!

I was hoping that someone could give me a wee hand. I am actually from Northern Ireland but don't speak a word of Irish, I am ashamed to say. Now that I live abroad, I begin to understand the link between language and cultural identity. So it might have been late in coming, but everyone starts somewhere...

And I want to start with my name. So I looked up the English Joel in the Irish Bible and found Ióéil.

So can anyone give me the pronunciation, preferably in Ulster Irish- although if it changes with other dialects that would also be interesting to know. It's so hard to find name pronunciations on the internet.

Cheers! And thanks in advance for your help

I'm not sure how traditional the name is, and so if you found Ióéil in the 1981 Bible, it may have been a new form. Not necessarily, though. It is not in the 1923 Irish names and surnames by Patrick Woulffe.

The main question with words starting with I is whether the I is pronounced. The word looks like it should be /o:-'e:l'/ - Oh-ayl - but because it is ultimately from Hebrew, it may be intended that it be pronounced /jo:-'e:l'/ - yoh-ayl.

It's a difficult name, as it is disyllabic, making it hard to pronounce. Other Bible versions have Ióel - yoh-il or oh-il, /jo:-il'/ or /o:-il'/, which is closer to the English and more natural in Irish.

Properly the Irish name should be without a preceding y, but it is possible that the English/Hebrew pronunciations will influence the realisation.

Someone called Ióel could be called to thus: a Ióel, tair i leith, 'Joel, come here', pronounced /o:il'/ tar' i l'eh/.

This is a fantastic resource for Irish names and surnames. No Joel there - but maybe you can find your surname there and read more. http://www.libraryireland.com/names/contents.php

Hey

Thank you so much guys for taking the time to reply! Very kind.

I know my name isn't the most common, so it's really helpful to get some advice. I've noticed a few Ióéils on facebook though. Maybe I need to email them!

When I was a kid I had to learn all the books of the Bible in English. I'm sure someone out there had to do the same in Irish. If you happen to read this, give me your input!

Thanks again for taking the time to help

Joël is a French name and here the 'e' takes un tréma like this - ë. It comes from Hebrew. In our family, we have une 'Joelle' (without the tréma). Apart from what you would find in the Bible, I don't think you'd find an Irish equivalent for it. (nor for Gaston, Chantal, Marcel, Maxime, Alexis, Raoul.....srl)
I think there are a few placenames in NI that are French in origin such as Ormeau Road.

"t'as encore été appeler Raoul... et Edouard !"

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Is fearr Gaeilg na Gaeltaċta ná Gaeilg ar biṫ eile
Agus is í Gaeilg Ġaoṫ Doḃair is binne

Toi tu vas te faire appeler Arthur (yes I know it's hors sujet and off-topic, but he asked for it, anyway don't worry, it's only just the slightest bit mischievious on my part and not in any way insulting or harmful)

Thanks yes, it's a popular name all over the world. It's very common in Sweden and Norway and in all Spanish-speaking countries and of course in English-speaking countries, especially USA and yes in France too. And yes, of course it is originally a Hebrew name. Any country that has a Bible has a form of my name.

I would just be interested if someone could help pronounce the letters for me.

Thanks for your help

patrickjwalsh has done that above.

To summarise, for the spelling you have there, Ióéil oh-ayl /o:e:l´/ (or yoh-ayl with a y but the y is not very strong.)

By way of explanation, different versions of the bible in Irish contain different versions of the old names. The version you have is from a recent revision of the bible that, I think, tries to follow the Hebrew names where possible. The older version patrickjwalsh gave you has a shorter e, changing the -ayl sound to -il.

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Múinteoir Gaeilge - Irish Teacher
My "specialty" is Connemara Irish, particularly Cois Fhairrge dialect, but I can also speak Ulster and Munster Irish with native-level pronunciation.
Is fearr Gaeilge ḃriste ná Béarla cliste, cinnte, aċ i ḃfad níos fearr aríst í Gaeilge ḃinn ḃeo na nGaeltaċtaí.
Gaeilge Chonnacht (GC), go háraid Gaeilge Chois Fhairrge (GCF), Gaeilic Uladh (GU), Gaelainn na Mumhan (GM), agus Gaeilge an Chaighdeáin Oifigiúil (CO).

I heard my mom saying that when I was a child. Now you remind it to me and I'm wondering where it might come from... why Arthur? is Arthur an insult?

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Is fearr Gaeilg na Gaeltaċta ná Gaeilg ar biṫ eile
Agus is í Gaeilg Ġaoṫ Doḃair is binne