The Irish language (known locally as Gaeilge) uses most of the same alphabet we use, it is read from left to right just like English, and it has no tones to confuse us. Irish pronunciation takes some getting used to for English speakers, but it is manageable. Because Gaeilge leans heavily on the importance of the verb tá (“to be”) and on prepositions, we will spend much of our time during this class on being able to communicate effectively with small talk and with “ways of being.” Irish people refer to Gaeilge as “Irish” when they speak English. Americans tend to call it “Gaelic,” which is what Scottish islanders and highlanders speak, and Irish people will correct you (and try not to laugh at you when they do). When speaking English, call it “Irish.” When speaking Irish, call it Gaeilge.
These first few pages include a guide to help you learn the sounds of Irish. Practice these sounds with the examples given. But first, here are a few main points to remember.
• Gaeilge has only 18 letters instead of the 26 used in Béarla (English); they are: a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, l, m, n, o, p, r, s, t, and u. These letters occur in remarkable combinations, though, especially the vowels!
• Gaeilge systems of capitalization are the same as in Béarla: personal names, book titles, places, months, and days of the week are all capitalized.
• Gaeilge includes tenses (for the verbs) and cases and genders (for the nouns). When you learn a new word, it will help you to know its gender and a couple of cases as well. Go to the College bookstore and pick up a handy set of blank flash cards on a ring, and start writing. Take, for example, the masculine word focal, “word” or “a word.” With the addition of the definite article (“the”), focal becomes an focal, “the word,” and na focail, “the words.” In contrast, the feminine word fuinneog (“window”) becomes an fhuinneog (“the window”) and na fhuinneoga (“the windows”). Notice the extra “h” in an fhuinneog; it’s there because it indicates a feminine noun. You can find out what gender a noun is by looking for a small italicized m or f after the word in the dictionary.
• Nearly every native speaker of Gaeilge is also fluent in Béarla, so if you run into trouble, switch over to Béarla.
• Don’t be surprised if you see many words that include the letter “h” either after the initial vowel or scattered throughout. This letter indicates a number of different grammatical issues that will be explained in due course. In addition, you will see words like Ó hEithir and na gCapall, in which a small letter precedes a capital letter. These indicate a grammatical point.
• Generally speaking, you emphasize the first syllable in most words. Exceptions include words that come from languages other than Gaeilge.
• Pronunciation! There is a rumor that Irish spelling and pronunciation were decided upon by two quarrelling committees. Let’s start with the vowels first. You will frequently see an accent over vowels; it is called a fada (meaning “long”) and it has an impact on the sound of the vowel. In the list below, you have the Gaeilge vowel followed by the phonetic pronunciation as it appears in Irish-English dictionaries, followed by its Béarla equivalent.
• The fada over a vowel changes the sound of the vowel. So á="aw," é="ey," í="ee," ó="oh," and ú="oo." Plain single vowels with no fada sound like short vowels: a="ah," e="eh," i="ih," o="o" [as in "lot"], and u="uh." Vowel combinations include ao="ee," ia="ee/ah," ei="eh/ee," ea="a" [as in "cat"], ai="ah" [as in "dad"], ui="oo/ih," oi="oh/ih," eo="yo," io="i," ua="oo/uh," uai="oo/uh/ee," aoi="ee," and eoi="ee/yo/ih."
• When you see combined vowels with a fada on one of the vowels, the fada always takes precedence in pronunciation over the other vowels. (example: ciúin = “kyoo-in” or croí = “kree”). Short vowels with gh or dh (agh, adh) sound like “eye." The syllables abh, obh, and ubh sound like aw, ow, and uw (example: abhainn [river] = “aw-in”). Slender vowels always appear on opposite sides of consonants, and so do broad vowels. (examples: solas, duine, fada, Éire, clocha)
You will frequently hear the words “slender” and “broad” used to refer to letters; the Béarla equivalent of these words would be that a slender “g” is pronounced “j” when used with e and i, as in gender and gin. A broad “g” is pronounced “g” when used with a, o, and u, as in gate, goat, and gut. In Irish, a consonant will always be pronounced differently depending on whether it is slender (next to an e or i) or broad (next to an a, o, or u). As a basic hint, when pronouncing a slender consonant, imagine that there is a tiny y right after it, like the American “dew” becoming the British “dyew.” When pronouncing a broad consonant, imagine that there is a tiny u right after it, like the American “Gaelic” becoming the Irish “Guaeilge.” Take a look at these examples of slender and broad for all the consonants. Say each word out loud and listen for the way in which you insert the tiny y for slender and the tiny u for broad. They should be barely perceptible when you speak, but they're there. For a two-syllable word, always emphasize the first syllable. All r's are rolled slightly.
b: slender, beo ["byo"], life; broad, buí ["buee"], yellow
c: slender, ceo ["kyo"], fog; broad, coinín ["kuonyeen"], rabbit
d: slender, Dia ["dyee-ah"], God; broad, daoine ["dueenya"], people
f: slender, fionn ["fyee-unn"], fair; broad, fada ["fuada"], long/tall
g: slender, geata ["gyata"], gate; broad, garraí ["guarree"], garden
l: slender, leithreas ["lyehras"], toilet; broad, lámh ["luav"], hand
m: slender, míle ["myeelya"], thousand; broad, muintir ["muincheer"], community
m: slender, neart ["nyairt"], strength; broad, náid [nuawj"], zero
p: slender, pionsail ["pyunsil"], pencil; broad, pota ["puota"], pot
r: slender, ríada ["ryee-a-da"], kingdom; broad, rothar ["ruo-her"], bicycle
s: slender, sean ["shan"], old; broad, sásta ["suasta"], satisfied
t: slender, teach ["tyakh"], house; broad, toitín ["tuotcheen"], cigarette
Lastly, when you follow any consonant with an “h” (called lenition and appearing because of a preceding word like a preposition or pronoun) the consonant is automatically softened, aspirated, or disappears altogether:
bh sounds like “v” or “w” as in “well”
ch sounds like “kh” as in “loch”
dh sounds like “gh” as in “aargh”
fh sounds like “h” as in “here”
gh sounds like “gh” as in “aargh”
mh sounds like “w” as in “way”
ph sounds like “f” as in “fast”
sh sounds like “h” as in “here”
th sounds like “h” as in “here”
Note that l, n, and r are never lenited, so the only thing you have to pay attention to is whether they are slender (paired with e or i) or broad (paired with a, o, or u).
You will also come across something called eclipsis. Like lenition, eclipsis is a change in sound that comes as a result of a preceding word, like a preposition or pronoun. It affects some words beginning with the following consonants or vowels:
b turns into mb, pronounced m
c turns into gc, pronounced g
d turns into nd, pronounced n
f turns into bhf, pronounced w
g turns into ng, pronounced ng
p turns into bp, pronounced b
t turns into dt, pronounced d
a turns into n-a
e turns into n-e
i turns into n-i
o turns into n-o
u turns into n-u
If none of this makes sense right now, please be patient. You will find yourself reading words with the most surprising-seeming combinations of vowels and consonants, and knowing how to say them is quite satisfying.