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.
Type A
| [iə] from ia | ||
|---|---|---|
| [iəR] | iarr | demand! |
| [kʲiəL] | ciall | sense (n.) |
| [Lʲiə] | liath | grey (adj.) |
| [biəɣ] | biadh | food |
| [fiəɣ] | fiadh | deer |
| [iəRɪ] | iarraidh | wanting |
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