Jack-O-Lantern Turnip says, "Oiche Shamhna Shona!"
Happy Halloween to you all! Dr. Loomis [Donald Pleasance] called it “Sam Hane” in Halloween. Recently, I heard Dr. Spencer Reid [Matthew Gray Gubler] pronounce it that way on Criminal Minds. In True Blood, this summer, the witches pronounced it like “Sam Hah-een”. Not closer, but good try. The upshot seems to be, production staff are avid readers of lesser known otherworldly cultural facts to sprinkle into dialogue, but it’s not worth the time to ask how it’s pronounced, just in case.
Sadly for them, the Irish language has sound changes that require using Latin letters in ways that English doesn’t use them. English has plenty of its own letter usages that bewitch (see what I did there?) non-English speakers who try to pronounce many English words. That “h” in “th” can alter the sound of letter “t” to render a theta (as in “thin”) or edh (voiced theta, like in “the”) sound is no less weird than the fact that “h” in Irish changes “m” to what a “w” sounds like in English, when it shows up in the word samhain.
So, kids, pronounce it like you would if it were spelt “sah-wen” or “sow-en” (rhymes with “cow-en”).
Enjoy your candy!
Get Your CD!
Jonathan @ Sonicbids
Jonathan Ramsey T-Shirts and Stuff by CloverGrrrl
J Todd Music
Kansas City Irish Fest