Graiméar na Gaedhilge/Part I Chapter I

by Christian Brothers

PART I.—ORTHOGRAPHY.

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CHAPTER I.

The Letters.

1. The Irish alphabet contains eighteen letters, five of which are vowels, the remaining thirteen are consonants.

The vowels are a, e, i, o, u; and the consonants are b, c, d, f, g, h, l, m, n, p, r, s, t.

2. The vowels are divided into two classes.

(1) The broad vowels: a, o, u.

(2) The slender vowels: e, i.

The vowels may be either long or short. The long vowels are marked by means of an acute accent (´) placed over the vowel, as mór (big) pronounced like the English word more; a short vowel has no accent, as mol (praise), pronounced like mul in the English word mulberry. Carefully distinguish between the terms "broad vowel" and "long vowel." The broad vowels (a, o, u) are not always long vowels, neither are the slender vowels (e, i) always short.

In writing Irish we must be careful to mark the accents on long vowels. See words distinguished by accent, par. 14.

3.

Sounds of the Vowels.

The Irish vowel	is sounded like		in the words
á long	au		naught
		as in bád (baudh), boat
a short	o		not
		" glas (gloss), green
é long	ae		Gaelic
		" cré (kĭr-aé), clay
e short	e		let
		" te (t'ye), hot
í	ee		feel
		" máilín (mawil-een), little bag
i	i		hit
		" fir (fir), men
ó	ō		note
		" mór (mōr), big, large
o	ŏ, ŭ		dŏne or mŭch
		" doras (dhur-us), a door
ú	oo		tool
		" glún (gloon), a knee
u	u		bull or put
		" ursa (ursu), a door-jamb

A short vowel at the end of an Irish word is always pronounced.

The Digraphs.

4. The following list gives the sounds of the digraphs in Modern Irish. The first five are always long and require no accent. The others are sometimes long and sometimes short, hence the accent ought not to be omitted.^[1]

ia		is pronounced like	ee-a	as	Dia (dyee-a), God.
ua		"	oo-a	"	fuar (foo-ar), cold.
eu or éa		"	ae	"	feur (faer), grass.
ae		"	ae	"	laeṫe (lae-hĕ), days.
ao		"	ae	"	daor (dhaer), dear.
eó		"	yó	"	ceol (k-yōl), music.
iú		"	ew	"	fiú (few), worthy.
ái		"	au+ĭ	"	cáin (kau-ĭn), a tax.
éi		"	ae+ĭ	"	léim (lyae-ĭm), a leap.
ói		"	ō+ĭ	"	móin (mō-ĭn), a bog.
úi		"	oo+ĭ	"	súil (soo-ĭl), an eye.
eá		"	aa	"	caisleán (kosh-laan[2]), a castle.
ío		"	ee	"	fíor (feer), true.
ai ea	$\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,}$	"	a	"	tais (thaish), damp. fear (far), a man.
ei		"	e	"	eile (el-ĕ), other.
oi		"	ŭ+i	"	toil (thŭ-il), a will.
io ui	$\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,}$	"	i	"	fios (fiss), knowledge. uisge (ish-ge), water.
eo		"	ŭ	"	deoċ (d'yukh), a drink.
aí (= aiḋe)		"	ee	"	cotaí (kō-thee), coats.

The Trigraphs.

5. There are six trigraphs in Irish. They are pronounced as follows:—

aoi	=	ee	saoi (see)=a wise man.
eoi	=	ō+ĭ	dreoilín (d'rō-il-een)=a wren.

eái	=	aa+ĭ	caisleáin (kosh-laain) = castles.
iai[3]	=	eea+ĭ	liaiġ (lee-ĭh) = a physician.
uai[4]	=	oo+ĭ	fuair (foo-ĭr) = found.
iui	=	ew+i	ciuin (kew+ĭn) = calm.

The Consonants.

6. The consonants are usually divided into two classes.

(1) The liquids—l, m, n, r.

(2) The mutes—b, c, d, f, g, p, s, t.

The letter h is not given, for h is not usually recognised as an Irish letter. It can be used only as a sign of aspiration, or at the beginning of a word, to separate two vowels sounds.

Some grammarians divide the consonants into labials, dentals, palatals, gutturals, sibilants, &c., according to the organs employed in producing the sound.

7. Every Irish consonant has two natural^[5] sounds, according as it is broad or slender.

An Irish consonant is broad whenever it immediately precedes or follows a broad vowel (a, o, u) An Irish consonant is slender whenever it immediately precedes or follows a slender vowel (e, i).

8. The Irish consonants, when broad, have a much thicker sound than in English; e.g. d broad has nearly the sound of th in thy, i.e. d + h; t broad has nearly the sound of th in threw, &c. When slender the Irish consonants (except s) have somewhat the same sound as in English; but when they are followed by a slender vowel, they are pronounced somewhat like the corresponding English consonant followed immediately by a y, e.g. ceol (music) is pronounced k' yōl; beo (alive) = b'yō.

It must not, however, be understood that there is a "y sound" in the Irish consonant. The peculiar sound of the Irish consonants when followed by a slender vowel is fairly well represented by the corresponding English consonant + an English "y sound." In some parts of the country this "y sound" is not heard. The y is only suggestive, and is never heard as a distinct sound.

Combination of the Consonants.

9. There are certain Irish consonants which, when they come together in the same word, do not coalesce, so that when they are uttered a very short obscure vowel sound is heard between them.

This generally occurs in the case of two liquids or a liquid and a mute. Thus balḃ (dumb) is pronounced boll-ŭv ; leanḃ (a child) is lyan-ŭv; dorċa (dark) is dhur-ŭchŭ; margaḋ (a market) is mor-ŭgu.

The following combinations do not coalesce: cn, lḃ, lg, lm, rb, rḃ, rg, rn, lṁ, nḃ, nṁ, rṁ, nċ, rċ.

10. In some combinations, one of the consonants is silent.

dl	is pronounced like	ll
dn	"	nn
nd	"	nn
ln	"	ll

Thus,	codlaḋ (sleep)	is pronounced	kullŭ.
	ceudna (same)	"	kaenŭ.
	gránda (ugly)	"	graun-ŭ.
	áilne (beauty)	"	aul-yĕ.

Notice the difference between ng and gn.

long (a ship)	is pronounced	lŭng.
gnó (work)	"	gŭn-ō.

11. Only three of the Irish consonants, viz. the liquids l, n, r may be doubled. This doubling can take place only at the end or the middle of words, but never at the beginning. The double liquids have quite distinct sounds from the single, except in Munster, where, in some positions, double liquids influence vowels. This doubling at the end of a word does not denote shortness of the preceding vowel, as in English: in fact, it is quite the opposite; e.g. ea in fearr (better) is longer than ea in fear (a man).

In Irish there is no double consonant like the English x, which = ks.

Accent.

12. The only accent sign used in writing Irish is the acute accent placed over the long vowels, and over the long sounds of those diphthongs, which may be sometimes short. This sign is not intended to mark the syllable on which the stress of the voice falls.

13. In simple words of two syllables the tonic accent is usually upon the first syllable, as agus (óg-us), and; Úna (oón-a), Una: but in derived words of two or more syllables the accented syllable varies in the different provinces.

In Munster the accent falls on the termination or second syllable; in Connaught it falls on the first syllable, or root; in Ulster the accent falls on the first syllable, as in Connaught, but the termination is unduly shortened. For instance, the word casán, a path, is pronounced kos-aún in Munster, kós-aun in Connaught, and kós-ăn in Ulster.

The Obscure Vowel Sounds.

Whenever a vowel has neither a tonic nor a written accent, it has so transient and indistinct a pronunciation that it is difficult to distinguish one broad or one slender vowel from another; hence in ancient writings we find vowels substituted for each other indiscriminately: e.g., the word slánuiġṫe, saved, is frequently spelled slánaiġṫe, slánoiġṫe, slánuiġṫi.

14. Words distinguished by their accent.

áit, a place.	ait, funny, peculiar (what one likes or wishes).
ár, our; slaughter.	ar, on; says.

bás, death.	bas (or bos), palm of the hand.
cás, a case.	cas, turn.
céad (ceud), a hundred.	cead, leave, permission.
cóir, right.	coir, a crime.
cóiste, a coach.	coiste, a jury.
dó, two.	do, to.
fán, a wandering.	fan, wait, stay.
féar (feur), grass.	fear, a man.
fós, yet.	fos, a prop.
í, she, her.	i, in.
léar, clear, perceptible.	lear, the sea.
lón, food, provisions.	lon, a blackbird.
mála, a bag.	mala, an eyebrow.
méar (meur), a finger.	mear, quick, active.
mín, fine.	min, meal.
ná, than; not (imperative).	na, the plural article.
rós, a rose.	ros, flax-seed.
sál, a heel.	sal, filth, dirt.
séan (seun), happy.	sean, old.
sín, stretch.	sin, that.
sólás, comfort.	solas, light.
súl, (gen. plural of súil) eye.	sul, before (with verbs).
té, a person.	te, hot.

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Notes

1. Since but few words, and these well-known, have eo short it is not usual to write the accent on eo long.
2. Also pronounced kosh-laun.
3. Pronounced like ille in the French word fille.
4. It cannot be properly represented by any English sound. It is somewhat like oue in the French word ouest.
5. Other sounds will be treated of under the heading "Aspiration."