Unstressed vowels

In Gaelic, the stress (emphasis) usually falls on the first syllable of a word. It follows that all vowels in second and subsequent syllables are unstressed. In Scottish Gaelic, long vowels never occur unstressed.. Generally speaking, there are only three vowels which occur unstressed in Gaelic. These are:

1. an obscure vowel [ə] like e in the
2. an [ɪ] vowel similar to i in bit
3. a clear [a] vowel like a in cat in Scottish English

The first two are by far the most common.

1. [ə] occurs before (phonetically) broad consonants and in final position after broad consonants
2. [ɪ] occurs before (phonetically) slender consonants and in final position after slender consonants
3. [a] occurs frequently but Scottish Gaelic spelling does not indicate it. Such instances must be noted and learnt as you go along.

When it is somewhere else, the spelling normally indicates that, somehow.

Hyphens

When it occurs on the second syllable, this is often indicated by means of a hyphen:

[əNʲˈʃin]	an-sin	there
[əNʲ'ʃɔ]	an-seo	here
[əNʲ'ʃud]	an-siud	yonder
[ə'sdɯj]	a-staigh	inside (location)
[əʃ'dʲax]	a-steach	inside, into (movement)
[ə'muj]	a-muigh	outside (location)
[ə'max]	a-mach	out, outside (movement)
[ə'Ri.iʃdʲ]	a-rithist	again
[əNʲ'dʲeː]	an-dé	yesterday
[əNʲ'dʲu]	an-diugh	today
[ə'maːrʲəx]	a-màireach	tomorrow

[ə]

[ə] from (e)a like e in the
a	[tobər]	tobar	well (n.)
	[kɔːhdə]	còta	coat (n.)
	[bahdə]	bata	stick (n.)
	[baːhdə]	bàta	boat
	[gLanəɣ]	glanadh	cleaning
	[d ɔ̃ .əL]	Dòmhnall	Donald
	[ʃeːməs]	Seumas	James/Hamish
ea	[aʃəg]	aiseag	ferry (n.)
	[Nʲi.ən]	nighean	daughter
	[iːʃəL]	ìseal	low (adj.)
	[gɛː.əL]	Gàidheal	Gael
	[tʲiLʲəɣ]	tilleadh	returning
	[furʲəx]	fuireach	staying

[ɪ] & [ə]

[ɪ] from (a)i like i in bit
i	[Lʲihdʲɪrʲ]	litir	letter (n.)
	[sgʲiLʲɪNʲ]	sgillinn	penny
	[furʲɪç]	fuirich	wait!
	[fiːrʲɪNʲ]	fìrinn	truth
	[gaːlɪgʲ]	Gàidhlig	Gàidhlig
	[kurʲɪ]	cuiridh	will put
	[pegʲɪ]	Peigi	Peggy
ai	[egLɪʃ]	eaglais	church
	[brʲigɪʃ]	briogais	trousers
	[aːLɪNʲ]	àlainn	wonderful
	[sɔxgɪrʲ]	socair	gentle
	[piːbɪrʲə]	pìobaire	piper
	[paːRLəmɪdʲ]	pàrlamaid	parliament

Note that unstressed e is [ə]:

e	[gʲiLʲə]	gille	boy, lad
	[kʲeːlə]	céile	partner (n.)
	[balə]	baile	town
	[kɔrʲə]	coire	1 kettle 2 corrie
	[ɯʃgʲə]	uisge	water
	[ĩːʃə]	innse	telling

[a]

[a] from (a)i, (e)a like a in cat (Scottish English only)
a	[kLaxan]	clachan	settlement
	[ɔːran]	òran	song
	[sbɔran]	sporan	1 sporran 2 wallet
	[moːrag]	Mórag	Morag
ai	[faLaNʲ]	fallain	healthy
ea	[ɯNʲag]	uinneag	window
	[elan]	eilean	island
	[alan]	Ailean	Allen
	[kalag]	caileag	girl, lass
	[fɯːlag]	faoileag	seagull