How to textually describe the pronunciation of spanish names with "oi"?

Question

There are many names and family names in Spanish that contain the combination of vowels "oi" (Roilán, Moisés, Loinaz, etc.). When these names are pronounced in French, the original pronunciation is completely changed. Is there a way to modify the spelling so that I can describe the Spanish pronunciation to a French speaker?

Answer 1

I know the pronunciation of "Moisés" and the other names to be with an 'oy' sound where the '-oi-' is, like the sound in the English word "toy." So phonetically spelling it out, it would be "Moy-sés" or "Loy-naz."

Now in French, that sound associated with that spelling does exist, for example in the word "moyen." The "oy" in that word is pronounced how it is in the word "toy." However, there are spellings of this word that are pronounced a bit differently, and have more of a "wa" sound (similar to the French "oi"), for example the word "nettoyer." So I wouldn't use "oy" to textually describe the correct sound in those Spanish names.

Instead, I would use "-euil." Words like "écureuil" and "seuil" have the more organic 'oy' you're probably looking for that French speakers would understand. You could also use the word "œil" to describe it; it's the exact same sound, just spelled differently because it's in the beginning of/is the whole word.