There’s meant to be a fada over the a (á), so it’s definitely meant to be a longer vowel sound.
Take the name Sean for example. Spelled like that it’s actually pronounced shan, and means old. The name that we all pronounce as Shawn is actually spelled Seán
The name that we all pronounce as Shawn is actually spelled Seán
And, fun fact, is the Irish version of the Hebrew name Yohanan (יוֹחָנָן) from which we get John and Jean and Jehan and Johan and Shane and Juan and many other variants!
Shuh-vawn
It actually helps a little if you realize the Russian letter В is pronounced like an English V.
My American accent pronounces it “Shove-on”.
There’s meant to be a fada over the a (á), so it’s definitely meant to be a longer vowel sound.
Take the name Sean for example. Spelled like that it’s actually pronounced shan, and means old. The name that we all pronounce as Shawn is actually spelled Seán
And, fun fact, is the Irish version of the Hebrew name Yohanan (יוֹחָנָן) from which we get John and Jean and Jehan and Johan and Shane and Juan and many other variants!
Everybody’s named John. All the way back. There is only one name, just lots of different spellings and pronunciations.