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| chinita96 | Thursday 11th of November 2004 04:06:09 PM |
| IRISH 00 (Ceacht 0) - THE ALPHABET [b]An Aibítir[/b] The alphabet in Irish is similar to the alphabet in English, with a few exceptions. a b c d e f g h i l m n o p r s t u There are some loan words from the English alphabet that are occasionally used in Irish. j k q v w x y z If there is an accent mark (or [i]fada[/i] in irish) placed on any of the vowels, it lengthens its sound. á é í ó ú There are 2 types of vowels, broad and slender. Broad Vowels: a o u Slender Vowels: e i [b]a[/b] /AY/ [b]b[/b] /BEE/ [b]c[/b] /SEE/ [b]d[/b] /DEE/ [b]e[/b] /EE/ [b]f[/b] /EHF/ [b]g[/b] /GEE/ [b]h[/b] /AYCH/ [b]i[/b] /EYE/ [b]l[/b] /EHL/ [b]m[/b] /EHM/ [b]n[/b] /EHN/ [b]o[/b] /OH/ [b]p[/b] /PEE/ [b]r[/b] /ARE/ [b]s[/b] /EHS/ [b]t[/b] /TEE/ [b]u[/b] /EWE/ [b]Pronunciation[/b] There is no standard pronunciation in Irish because there are many variations. There are 3 dialects in Irish: Ulster (Uladh), Connacht (Chonnacht), and Munster (Mumhan). The pronunciation is slightly different for each dialect. Here is one example of a pronunciation guide, but keep in mind that it may vary due to the different dialects. Short Vowels a ~ like ‘a in ‘father’, but shorter ai ~ as a, often like ‘a’ in ‘hat’ ea ~ as a e ~ like ‘e’ in ‘get’ ei ~ like e i ~ like ‘i’ in ‘hit’ io ~ like i ui ~ like i o ~ like ‘o’ in ‘go’. oi ~ like o eo ~ like o before ‘ch’ and in ‘seo’, ‘anseo’, elsewhere like ó u ~ like ‘oo’ in ‘look’ iu ~ like u a,o,u,e,i ~ like ‘a’ in ‘sofa’, ‘about’. This is the pronunciation in all unaccented syllables. Long Vowels and Diphthongs á ~ like ‘a’ in ‘father’ ái ~ like á eái ~ like á ae ~ like é ao ~ like í [é is a common alternative] aoi ~ like í é ~ like ‘ey’ in they, but no following ‘ee’ sound as there is in English éa ~ like é éi ~ like é eo ~ like ó eoi ~ like ó í ~ like ‘ee’ in ‘see’ ia ~ í followed by short a iai ~ like ia ío ~ like í iú ~ like ú iúi ~ like ú ó ~ like ‘ow’ in ‘know’ but no following ‘oo’ sound as there is in English ói ~ like ó ú ~ like ‘oo’ in ‘moon’ ua ~ ú followed by short a uai ~ like ua úi ~ like ú uí ~ like í Diphthongs In stressed syllables abh, eabh, amh, eamh, omh, ogh ~ like ‘ow’ in ‘cow’ adh, agh, aidh, aigh, eidh, eigh ~ like ‘igh’ in ‘sigh’ eidh, eigh ~ like ‘eigh’ in ‘neigh’ when final igh, idh ~ like í Consonants Broad b ~ like English ‘b’ bh ~ like English ‘v’, but made with both lips. ‘w’ is a common alternative. Usually silent after o or u in the middle of a word. c ~ like English ‘k’ ch ~ like ‘ch’ in Scottish ‘loch’; make a ‘k’, but the tongue does not touch the roof of the mouth. d ~ like English ‘d’, but with the tip of the tongue touching the upper teeth. dh ~ a voiced ‘ch’; make a ‘g’, but the tongue does not touch the roof of the mouth. Silent when not at the beginning of a word. f ~ an ‘f’ made with both lips fh ~ silent g ~ like English ‘g’ gh ~ like dh h ~ like English ‘h’. l ~ like English ‘l’ in ‘hall’. ll ~ like l [when distinguished from ‘l’, it is dental and tenser] m ~ like English ‘m’ mh ~ like bh. [Some speakers nasalise this sound] n ~ like ‘n’ nn ~ like n [when distinguished from ‘n’, it is dental and tenser] ng ~ like English ‘ng’ in ‘song’ p ~ like English ‘p’ ph ~ like f r ~ like English ‘r’. s ~ like English ‘s’ sh ~ like h t ~ like English ‘t’, but with the tip of the tongue touching the upper teeth th ~ like h Slender Consonants b ~ like English ‘b’ bh ~ like English ‘v’, but made with both lips. c ~ like English ‘k’ in ‘king’ ch ~ like ‘h’ in ‘huge’; make a ‘k’, but the tongue does not touch the roof of the mouth d ~ like English ‘d’ in ‘din’. A sound like English ‘j’ is a common alternative. dh ~ like English ‘y’ f ~ an ‘f’ made with both lips fh ~ silent g ~ like English ‘g’ in ‘begin’ gh ~ like dh h ~ like English ‘h’. l ~ like English ‘l’ in ‘leaf’, or as English ‘ly’ ll ~ like l[when distinguished from ‘l’, it is dental and tenser] m ~ like English ‘m’ mh ~ like bh. Some speakers nasalise this sound. n ~ like English ‘n’ in ‘need’, or like ‘ny’, nn ~ like n [when distinguished from ‘n’, it is dental and tenser] ng ~ like English ‘ng’ in ‘sing’ p ~ like English ‘p’ in ‘pin’ ph ~ like f r ~ like English ‘r’, but the tip of the tongue is placed behind the lower teeth. Almost like ‘sh’ and ‘r’ combined. s ~ like English ‘sh’ sh ~ like h t ~ like English ‘t’. A sound like English ‘ch’ is a common alternative th ~ like h The pronunciation does have grammar rules to it, but let's not confuse you just yet. That will be explained later in another lesson. Just try to grasp this first. P.S. Tá mé ag foghlaim fós, so feel free to correct me or add to this... | |
| Alex | Thursday 18th of November 2004 09:54:09 AM |
| Excellent work. - This is a great idea, and well done. I wish you'd been here when I was struggling with Tá. :) You know a language site is doing well when Irish starts being represented. ;-) Well done. Slán. Alex | |
