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Ro-ràdh
Vowels
Consonants
Fricatives
Slenderisation
Lenition
Pre-aspiration
Dipthongs
Helping Vowel
Hiatus
L, N, R
RT& RD
Vowels before
rr, ll, nn
Unstressed Vowels
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Dà-Fhoghair
- Diphthongs
Diphthongs are
sequences of two vowels joined together to act as one (long) vowel
sequence. There are approximately 9 diphthongs in Gaelic. We can divide
these into two classes: (A) those which are spelled using two vowels, and
(B) those which are spelled using a combination of vowels and consonants.
Download dafhoghair
TYPE (A)
ia
[iə]
like a
long ì followed by an obscure vowel,
like the vowel in <the> |
| iarr |
iər̴ |
|
ciall |
kʲiəɫ̪ |
| liath |
ʎiə |
| biadh |
b̊iəɣ |
| fiadh |
fiaɣ |
| iarraidh |
iər̴i |
ua
[uə]
pronounced like a long ù followed by an obscure vowel,
like the vowel in <the> |
| fuar |
fuəɾ |
|
gual |
g̊uəɫ̪ |
| cluas |
kɫ̪uəs |
| sguab |
sg̊uəb̊ |
| tuagh |
t̪uəɣ |
| duais |
d̪̊uəʃ |
|
buaidh |
b̊uəʝ |
eu
[ia]
pronounced like a long ì followed by a clear
[a] sound. (Note: not all eu vowels are pronounced as
diphthongs, e.g. Seumas where eu is pronounced as
a long é [eː]
sound). |
| beul |
b̊iaɫ̪ |
|
ceud |
kʲiad̪̊ |
| feur |
fiaɾ |
| geur |
g̊ʲiaɾ |
Note: eum is usually pronounced as é [eː] |
|
leum |
ʎeːm |
| ceum |
kʲeːm |
| beum |
b̊eːm |
Download dafhoghair02
TYPE (B)
These diphthongs occur before ll,
nn, m and also
before the fricatives bh,
mh, gh, dh (in which
case the fricatives are often silent).
ai
[ai]
similar to <y> in <my> |
| caill |
kaiʎ |
| saill |
saiʎ |
| cainnt |
kaiɲtʲ |
| dhaibh |
ɣaiv |
| taibhse |
t̪aivʃɪ |
ei
[ei]
like <ay> in <may> |
| seinn |
ʃeiɲ |
|
beinn |
b̊eiɲ |
oi/ei/ai
[ɤi]
similar to <y> in <my> but the first part of the
diphthong does not exist in English. You can produce this
sound by making an [o] and spreading your lips at the same time
(as if you were grinning widely). |
| moill |
mɤiʎ |
| coilltean |
kɤiʎtʲən |
| soillsich |
sɤiʎʃɪç |
| loinn |
ɫ̪ɤiɲ |
| broim |
b̊ɾɤim |
| greim |
g̊ɾʲɤim |
| saighdear |
sɤid̊ʲɛɾ |
|
maighdean |
mɤid̊ʲən |
ui/aoi
[ɯi]
like the last diphthong but the first part of the diphthong is
like the unrounded form of [u]. Again, you can produce
this sound by making an [u] and spreading your lips at the same
time (as if you were grinning widely). NB: Some dialects
pronounce this sound like [ɤ] |
| cruinn |
kɾɯiɲ |
| druim |
d̪̊ɾɯim |
| suim |
sɯim |
| tuill |
t̪ɯiʎ |
| craoibh |
kɾɯiv |
| naoimh |
n̴̪ɯiv |
| laoigh |
ɫ̪ɯj |
| mnaoi |
mɾɯ̃j |
a/ea
[au]
Similar to <ow>
in <how> |
| cam |
kaum |
| call |
kauɫ̪ |
| ball |
b̊auɫ̪ |
| ann |
aun̴̪ |
| rann |
r̴aun̴̪ |
| bann |
b̊aun̴̪ |
| lampa |
ɫ̪aumpə |
| samhradh |
sãũɾəɣ |
| ceann |
kʲaun̴̪ |
| peann |
pjaun̴̪ |
| teann |
tʲaun̴̪ |
| geall |
g̊ʲauɫ̪ |
| geamhradh |
g̊ʲãũɾəɣ |
o
[ɔu]
like <o> in Standard English <no> |
| tom |
t̪ɔum |
| com |
kɔum |
| lom |
ɫ̪ɔum |
| donn |
d̪̊ɔun̴̪ |
| fonn |
fɔun̴̪ |
| bonn |
b̊ɔun̴̪ |
| sonn |
sɔun̴̪ |
| toll |
t̪ɔuɫ̪ |
| poll |
pɔuɫ̪ |
Summary chart of
Scottish Gaelic diphthongs:
| TYPE
(A) |
iə |
ia |
|
uə |
ua |
|
ia |
eu |
|
|
|
|
| TYPE
(B) |
ai |
aill,
ainn, aibh |
|
ei |
einn |
|
ɤi |
oill,
oinn, oim |
|
ɯi |
uinn,
uim, uill, aoi(bh/mh/gh) |
|
au |
(e)am,
(e)ann, (e)all, (e)amh |
|
ɔu |
onn,
om, oll |
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