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Ro-ràdh
Vowels
Consonants
Fricatives
Slenderisation
Lenition
Pre-aspiration
Diphthongs
Helping Vowel
Hiatus
L, N, R
Rt& Rd
Vowels before
rr, ll, nn
Unstressed Vowels
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Consain
- Consonants
Gaelic spelling only uses 13
consonant symbols (b, c, d, f, g, h, l, m, n, p, r, s,
t)
to represent almost 30 different Gaelic consonant sounds. In Gaelic
the consonants may be divided into two groups, the 'broad' consonants
and the 'narrow (slender)' consonants. For every broad
consonant, there is a corresponding narrow consonant; so we may speak of a
broad and slender s, d and so on.
Listen to the
difference between:
Download consan01
| Broad
s |
[s] |
Slender
s
|
[ʃ] |
| càs |
kas |
càis |
kaːʃ |
|
súil |
suːl |
siùil |
ʃuːl |
| Broad
d
|
[d̪̊] |
Slender
d
|
[d̪̊ʲ] |
| bad |
b̊ad̪̊ |
baid |
b̊ad̊ʲ |
|
dùd |
d̪̊uːd̪̊ |
diùid |
d̊ʲuːd̊ʲ |
Note that d and
t
are dental sounds in Gaelic (i.e. the tongue touches the teeth).
A consonant is broad if it is
preceded or followed by any of the broad vowels a, o, u (short or
long); a consonant is slender if it is preceded or followed by any of the
slender vowles i, e (short or long). Preceding or following
a,
o, u therefore indicate that a consonant is broad. Similarly,
preceding or following i,
e indicate that a consonant is
slender. Since a consonant can not be both broad and slender, vowels
on both sides of a consonant must agree according to colour (broad or
slender). This is sometimes stated as a rule:
|
caol ri caol is leathann ri leathann |
| slender with slender and broad with broad |
Consider the following
examples:
| caileag |
balla |
gille |
daoine |
baga |
pàipear |
Seumas |
Màiri |
brògan |
|
kalag̊ |
b̊aɫ̪ə |
g̊ʲiʎɪ |
d̪̊ɯːɲɪ |
b̊ag̊ə |
pɛːʰpɛɾ |
ʃeːməs |
maːɾʲɪ |
b̊ɾɔːg̊ən |
The Pronounciation of Gaelic Consonants
The pronounciation of the
broad consonats is in some cases similar to their English counterparts but
there are some minor differences. The pronounciation of l, n, r
are quite different in Gaelic and are treated in a
special
section, although the sound files are located on this page.
The only accurate guide to the
pronounciation of these sounds is the IPA representation. Ideally
you should use these guides in conjunction with the help of a native
speaker, but even without such help the IPA gives a very good guide to the
pronounciation. Don't shun it - it is a tool especially designed for
this use by professionals - accurate representation of sounds in other
languages. See also our
Rough
Guide to the IPA.
Download
consan02
| Broad
B |
| This sound is like the <p> in <spit> or
<sport>.
This is a
devoiced and unaspirated bilabial stop. Devoiced means that
your vocal chords are not vibrating. You can check this by
putting your hand on your throat - if you feel vibration, it is
voiced, if there is no vibration, it is devoiced. [b̊] |
| balla |
b̊aɫ̪ə |
| bad |
b̊ad̪̊ |
| bata |
b̊aʰt̪ə |
| baile |
b̊alɪ |
| basgaid |
b̊asg̊ɪd̊ʲ |
| ab |
ab̊ |
| cab |
kab̊ |
|
pìob |
piːb̊ |
| dìleab |
d̊ʲiːləb̊ |
| abair |
ab̊ɪɾʲ |
| cabar |
kab̊əɾ |
Slender
B
Slender b
is pronounced similarly to broad b, but is sometimes accompanied by a /j/ sound like the
<y>
in <yes>.
[b̊]
[b̊j]
|
| bì |
b̊iː |
| bior |
b̊iɾ |
| bean |
b̊ɛn |
| beò |
b̊jɔː |
| biùg |
b̊juːg̊ |
| caibe |
kaib̊ɪ |
|
lùib |
ɫ̪uːib̊ |
Download consan03
Broad
D
This sound is like the
<t> in <start> or <stuck>.
This is a
devoiced and unaspirated dental stop. Dental means that the
tip of your tongue touches your teeth. Devoiced means that
your vocal chords are not vibrating. You can check this by
putting your hand on your throat - if you feel vibration, it is
voiced, if there is no vibration, it is devoiced.
[d̪̊] |
| dath |
d̪̊ah |
|
dara |
d̪̊aɾə |
| damh |
d̪̊ãv |
| dùil |
d̪̊uːl |
| bad |
b̊ad̪̊ |
|
dad |
d̪̊ad̪̊ |
| sad |
sad̪̊ |
| clogad |
kɫ̪ɔg̊əd̪̊ |
| cadal |
kad̪̊əɫ̪ |
Slender
D
Similar to
<j> in <judge>, but
devoiced.
Devoiced and dental. Note:
use the blade of the tongue rather than the tip and with less lip
rounding.
[d̊ʲ] |
| dé |
d̊ʲeː |
|
dig |
d̊ʲig̊ʲ |
| dearg |
d̊ʲɛɾag̊ |
| dealbh |
d̊ʲɛɫ̪av |
| maide |
mad̊ʲɪ |
|
caraid |
kaɾɪd̊ʲ |
| bòid |
b̊ɔːd̊ʲ |
Download consan04
Broad
G
This sound is like the
<k> or <c> in <skunk> or <scorn>.
This is a
devoiced and unaspirated stop. Devoiced means that your vocal
chords are not vibrating. You can check this by putting your
hand on your throat - if you feel vibration, it is voiced, if
there is no vibration, it is devoiced.
[g̊] |
| gad |
g̊ad̪̊ |
|
gach |
g̊ax |
| gabh |
g̊av |
| gal |
g̊aɫ̪ |
| lag |
ɫ̪ag̊ |
|
pòg |
pɔːg̊ |
| tog |
t̪og̊ |
| adag |
ad̪̊ag̊ |
Slender
G
Similar to
the <g> in <argue>.
This sound is very much like [g̊] only
much more forward in your mouth (at your palate). It is a
devoiced and unaspirated, palatalised stop.
[g̊ʲ] |
| gille |
g̊ʲiʎɪ |
|
geal |
g̊ʲaɫ̪ |
| geàrr |
g̊ʲaːr̴ |
| geòla |
g̊ʲɔːɫ̪ə |
| aige |
eg̊ʲɪ |
|
laige |
ɫ̪ag̊ʲɪ |
| ruig |
r̴ug̊ʲ |
Download consan05
Broad
P
Like
<p> in <pad> at the beginning of a word.
[p] |
| put |
puʰt̪ |
|
pàisde |
paːʃd̊ʲɪ |
| poll |
pɔuɫ̪ |
Like
<p> in <pad> preceded by <h> otherwise. Pre-aspirated.
[ʰp] |
| rap |
r̴aʰp |
|
drap |
d̪̊ɾaʰp |
| cupan |
kuʰpan |
Slender
P
Slender
<p> is pronounced like broad <p>,
but is sometimes accompanied by a /j/ sound like the <y> in
<yes>. [p]
[pj] |
| pian |
pian |
|
piuthar |
pju.əɾ |
| peann |
pjaun̴̪ |
Like
<p> in <pea> preceded by <h> otherwise.
[ʰp] |
| cipean |
kʲiʰpan |
Download consan06
Broad
T
Like
<t> in <tap>
at the beginning of a word but dental. Dental means that the
tip of your tongue touches your teeth. This sound is also aspirated.
[t̪]
|
| talla |
t̪aɫ̪ə |
|
talamh |
t̪aɫ̪əv |
| tog |
t̪og̊ |
Like
<t> in <tap> preceded by <h> otherwise
but dental.
This sound is also pre- and post-aspirated.
[ʰt̪ʰ] |
| cat |
kaʰt̪ |
|
bata |
b̊aʰt̪ə |
| bàta |
b̊aːʰt̪ə |
Slender
T
Similar to
<ch> in <chew> at the beginning of words but unvoced.
This sound is palatalised ans aspirated. Note: use the blade of the tongue rather than
the tip.
Similar to
<j> in <judge> at the beginning of a word, but
devoiced.
[tʲ] |
| té |
tʲeː |
|
teann |
tʲaun̴̪ |
| teallach |
tʲaɫ̪əx |
| Similar
to
<ch> in <chew> preceded by <h> otherwise but
unvoiced. This sound is palatalised and pre-aspirated.
Note: use the blade of the tongue
rather than the tip.
[ʰtʲ] |
| àite |
aːʰtʲɪ |
|
iteag |
iʰtʲag̊ |
| litir |
ʎiʰtʲɪɾʲ |
Download consan07
Broad
C
Like
<c> in <can> at the beginning of a word.
[k] |
| cat |
kaʰt̪ |
| cù |
kuː |
| cailleach |
kaʎəx |
| Like
<c> in <cat> preceded by <h> otherwise.
[ʰk] |
| mac |
maʰk |
|
sac |
saʰk |
| bòcan |
b̊ɔːʰkan |
Slender
C
Similar to
the
<c> in <cue> at the beginning of a word.
This sound is very much like [k] only
much more forward in your mouth (at your palate). It is a
voiceless and aspirated, palatalised stop.
[kʲ] |
| ceann |
kʲaun̴̪ |
| cill |
kʲiʎ |
| cead |
kʲed̪̊ |
Similar to the
<c> in <cue> otherwise but pre-aspirated. It is a
voiceless and pre-aspirated and aspirated, palatalised stop.
[ʰkʲ] |
| mic |
miʰkʲ |
|
aice |
eʰkʲɪ |
| faic |
fɛʰkʲ |
Download consan08
Broad
M
Like
<m> in <mat>.
[m] |
| mac |
maʰk |
|
map |
maʰp |
| màthair |
maːhɪɾʲ |
| Màiri |
maːɾʲɩ |
Slender
M
Slender
<m> is pronounced similarly to broad <m>,
but is sometimes accompanied by a /j/ sound like the <y> in
<yes> as in English <mule>.
[m] [mj] |
| mi |
mi |
|
mìn |
miːn |
| meall |
mjauɫ̪ |
| miùg |
mjuːg̊ |
Download consan09
Broad
F
Like
<f> in <fat>.
[f] |
| fàg |
faːg̊ |
|
fàs |
faːs |
| falt |
faɫ̪t̪ |
Slender
F
Slender
<f>
is pronounced similarly to broad <f>,
but is sometimes accompanied by a /j/ sound like the <y> in
<yes>, similar to English <few>.
[fj] |
| fios |
fis |
| féill |
feːʎ |
|
fiù |
fjuː |
| fiughar |
fju.əɾ |
Download consan10
Broad
S
Like
<s> in <sat>.
[s] |
| sop |
sɔʰp |
|
son |
sɔn |
| cas |
kas |
| lus |
ɫ̪us |
Slender
S
Similar to <sh> in <shoe>
but without lip rounding i.e. spread lips.
[ʃ] |
| sean |
ʃɛn |
|
seall |
sauɫ̪ |
| càise |
kaːʃɪ |
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