1/22/2024 0 Comments Gaelic audio pronunciationThe whole discussion about vowels only applies in stressed (i.e. Gaelic words are stressed on the first syllable. There is also a distinction that needs to be understood in certain places between back vowels (vowels that sound in the back of the mouth, that is 'aw', 'ur', 'oo', 'ow', 'aa', 'o', 'u', 'a') and front vowels (everything else). Thus the initial sounds of the words ceann, dearg are the same as the initial sounds of cure, dune. Consonants do exactly the same in English when followed by a U. When many - but not all - consonants are surrounded by slender vowels (called a slender consonant), they change their sounds to sound as though they have a Y following them. After a while, these sorts of words just start to look wrong. So aonach and coire are both valid words, but not aonech or core. It’s a strange feature of Gaelic spelling that a consonant – or bunch of consonants – only ever has broad vowels on both sides, or slender vowels on both sides. Gaelic has a system of broad vowels ( A, O, U) and slender vowels ( E, I). Gaelic has only eighteen letters in its alphabet, so no J, K, Q, V, W, X, Y or Z.Ī consonant + H denotes a completely different sound to the same consonant without an H following it. Second, Gaelic pronunciation is a lot more complex than Welsh, and I enjoy writing about it, so I’m not going to give you short shrift. Welsh is a more distant relation (compare Welsh pen and Gaelic beinn Welsh moel and Gaelic meall). Both languages are descended from 6th-century Old Irish, and are about as mutually intelligible as Cockney and Glaswegian (i.e. The (Scottish) Gaelic name for (Scottish) Gaelic is Gàidhlig, pronounced ‘gaa-lik’, not to be confused with the Irish (Gaelic) name for Irish (Gaelic), which is written Gaeilge and pronounced ‘gail-gyuh’. Irish Gaelic is pronounced (in English) ‘gay-lik’. Firstly, it’s pronounced (in English) ‘gal-ick’. Let’s get a couple of things straight before we begin. By popular demand (by which I mean at least two separate requests from Club members) I hereby present the sequel to my Welsh Guide, a guide to pronouncing Scottish Gaelic hill names.
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