Seall an tùs aig aːRd vs aːRʃd or Where the sh comes from

We won't go into the discussion of whether this feature is Norse or Martian because unless you are hoping to become a historical linguist, it doesn't matter.

So what '''can''' we tell you about this strange [ʃ] that pops up in Gaelic?

* It affects rt and rd groups in Gaelic.

* Traditionally, not all dialects are affected, as you can see on the map, and Perthshire Gaelic even diphthongises the [a].  Due to the pervasiveness of Lewis Gaelic in the media, teaching, and so on, this feature has spread into other dialects. So, the presence or lack of [ʃ] is no longer a clear cue to geographical origin.

[[Faidhle:ard.JPG]]

*If it occurs, it tends to occur only in stressed syllables so ainneart for example tends not to have this intrusive [ʃ].

*Some speakers tend to insert [ʃ] only in rt groups, but not rd groups, but never the other way round.  Thus, you'll hear speakers who pronounce ceart and àrd as [kʲaɹʃt̪] and [aːɹʃt̪] but '''never''' [kʲaɹt̪] and [aːɹʃt̪].

Beyond that, there doesn't appear to be a clear rule, but we'll research this further and see whether there actually is a rule.

For learners, it seems to be a good guideline to insert [ʃ] both in rt and rd groups in stressed syllables, that's to say first syllables. That won't sound wrong to a Gael's ears even if he does not pronounce the intrusive [ʃ].  Unless you're desperate to learn a particular dialect, which we don't recommend, you'll have to memorise your chosen dialect's rt and rd words. As far as we can see, the option to use [ʃ], or not, does not appear to be rule based.

To listen to some examples, check our [[Fuaimean na Gàidhlig]] section. 
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