The diphthong éo is effectively extinct in English, and pronunciation is doubly difficult since Tolkien's example, the name Theobald, is also rare. The vowel-sound of the word 'ear' comes close to the correct pronunciation.
Theobald, incidentally, is a real Old English name, of the kind that might have been used by the Rohirrim, though they would likely have rendered it Théodbold. It combines the elements théod 'people' and bald 'bold'. |