Aids to the Pronunciation of Irish/Chapter 3
CHAPTER III.
The Movements of the Tongue and the Lips.
6. Having fully mastered the idea that is meant to be conveyed by the terms voiced sound and voiceless sound, the next step is to study the movements of our own tongue and lips in the production of the various vowels and consonants.
7. Pronounce the word “feel” prolonging the vowel sound “e” for several seconds. Observe that the front of the tongue is brought very close to, but does not touch, the upper teeth and “hard rim” (§ 2), whilst the tip of the tongue rests against the inside of the lower teeth. Notice also the tension in the muscles of the tongue, the sides of the tongue being pressed pretty firmly against some of the side teeth in the upper jaw. The passage left for the escape of the air is very narrow, just wide enough to prevent audible friction. By
placing the finger on the pharynx, observe that “e” is voiced. All vowels and diphthongs are voiced.
Next pronounce for some seconds the sound of “a” in “fall.” The mouth is now wide open, the back of the tongue is slightly arched towards the soft palate, the tip is just below the lower teeth, and there is practically no tension felt in the tongue itself. The air passage for this vowel is much larger than for “e.”
8. We learn from the preceding that some vowels are formed in the front of the mouth, others at the back; that the air passage for some is narrow or slender (caol), whilst for others it is broad (leaṫan). We can now grasp the appropriateness of the two terms applied, for centuries back, by Irish Grammarians to the Irish vowels—viz., leaṫan (broad), and caol (slender). These are not mere arbitrary terms, but they exactly indicate the nature of the air passage needed for the production of those vowels.
9. Pronounce the words “be” and “me” several times, until the real difference between “b” and “m” is felt. The lips are completely closed for both, and both are voiced (§ 3). The essential difference is that the air passes through the nose for “m,” but not for “b.” Thus whilst “b” is labial, “m” is labial and nasal.
10. In the foregoing paragraphs we have dealt with English words and English sounds, as these are probably more familiar to the student, and it is always desirable to proceed from the known to the unknown, but it must be remembered that there is scarcely a single consonant or vowel sound in Irish that is identical with the corresponding consonant or vowel sound in English.