v, w, as in English. But capital V and W will be found useful in representing common Munster pronunciations, as will be explained.
h, as in English, except in dh, th, CH, sh.
k, l, n, r, as in English. But additional signs are needed, as explained below.
g, as in English, go, give; never soft as in gin.
ng, as in English, song, sing; never soft as in singe.
| dh | like | th | in | thy | ||
| d | „ | d | „ | duty | ||
| th | „ | th | „ | thigh | ||
| t | „ | t | „ | tune | ||
| r | „ | r | „ | run | ||
| r | (no sound exactly similar in English: see note.). | |||||
| s | like | s | in | so, alas | ||
| sh | „ | sh | „ | shall, lash | ||
| l | „ | sh | „ | look, lamb | ||
| L | thick sound not in English | |||||
| l | „ | l | in | valiant | ||
| n | „ | n | „ | noon | ||
| N | thick sound not in English | |||||
| n | „ | n | in | new | ||
| k | „ | k | „ | liking | See Note | |
| K | „ | k | „ | looking | ||
| g | „ | g | „ | begin | ||
| G | „ | g | „ | begun | ||
| CH | „ | gh | „ | O’Loughlin | ||
| γ | guttural sound not in English | |||||
The above table will be explained in the course of the following lessons.
§ 17. EXERCISE 1.
SOUNDS OF IRISH VOWELS.
| The Irish | Is sounded like the | i.e., like the vowel |
| Vowel | phonetic sign | sound in the word |
| á long | au | naught |
| a short | æ | knot |
| é long | ae | Gaelic |
| e short | e | let |
| í long | ee | feel |
| i short | i | hit |
| ó long | ō | note |
| o short | ŭ | done, much |
| ú long | oo | tool |
| u short | u | put, put, full, took |
Note.—Final short vowels are never silent; thus, mine, míle, are pronounced min′-ě, meel′-ě. From the above table it will be seen that a is never like a in fate, e like e in me, i like i in mine, o like o in not, or u like u in mule. The short vowels, as will be seen, are sometimes modified by the following consonant. The Munster sounds of the short vowels are treated separately below.
§ 18. CONSONANTS.
| b, f, m, p | are sounded | like | b, f, m, p | in | § 16 |
| d BROAD (see § 8) | „ | dh | „ | „ | |
| t „ | „ | th | „ | „ | |
| g, l, n, r, s, often like g, l, n, r, s. | |||||
§ 19. The Article and the Noun.
There is no INDEFINITE article in Irish; thus, gort means “a field.” The DEFINITE article is an, “the” (ăn: like the an- in “annoy”), as, an gort, the field. In such phrases (compare the English “a field”) the stress is laid on the noun; there is no stress on the article, and the vowel-sound of the article is obscure, as an gort (ăn gŭrth). In the spoken language the n of the article an is often omitted before nouns beginning with a consonant.
§ 20. The Adjective and the Noun.
All adjectives, except a few, are placed AFTER the noun which they qualify; as, im úr fresh butter; an gort mór, the big field; gort mór, árd, a big high field.
§ 21. Words.
| árd (aurdh), high, tall | mé (mae), I |
| bó (bō), a cow | mór (mōr), great, big, large |
| bos (bŭs), palm of hand | |
| cos (kŭs), a foot | óg (ōg), young |
| cú (koo),a greyhound | sál (saul), a heel |
| glas (glos), adj. green | srón (srōn), nose |
| glún (gloon), knee | tú (thoo), thou |
| gort (gŭrth), a field | úr (oor), fresh, new |
Proper names: Art (orth) Art, Úna (oon′-ă), Una.
The conjunction “and”: agus (og-ăs).
§ 22. ACCENTS. In words of two syllables the accent is upon the first syllable, as marked in oon′-ă, og′-ăs. The vowel of the last syllable, when short, is then, as a rule, obscure (see § 14, above).
§ 23. Translate into English, reading the Irish aloud: Tú agus mé. Bó óg. Glún agus sál. Cor agus bos. Cos agus sál Gort árd glas. Úna óg. Bó agus cú. Gort mór árd. Cú mór. Bó óg agus cú.
§ 24. Translate into Irish, reading the Irish aloud: A high heel. A foot, a heel, a nose, a palm. A green field. A high green field. A young cow. Young Art and I. Art and Una. A green field, a cow. A young greyhound. A big young greyhound.
