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Letters
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There are eighteen letters in the Gaelic Alphabet:-
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Thirteen Consonants: b, p, f, m; c, g; l, n, r, t, d, s; h |
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Five Vowels: - Broad
vowels - a, o, u
- Slender
vowels - e, i
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H is aspirate. After the consonants b, p, f, m, c, g, d, t, s, it forms the aspirates,
bh, ph, fh, mh, ch, gh, dh, th, sh.
At the beginning of a word it is written h-; as na h-uain; and has a strong breathing sound. |
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The letters, sg, sm, sp, st, have no aspirated form. |
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Consonant Sounds
| Consonants fall into two
categories: broad and slender.
| Broad consonants are surrounded by a, o,
u |
| slender consonants are surrounded by i, e. |
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The consonants p, t, and k are preaspirated - preceded
by a voiceless h - in the middle and ends of words. |
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There are 3 different kinds each of l, n and r which
are almost impossible to understand. You have to be there. |
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And almost every consonant is different depending on whether is comes at
the beginning, middle or end of a word. But not always. |
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Not only that, but many are silent. Sometimes. |
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For instance, the Gaelic for "Gaelic" is Ghàidhlig,
pronounced gay-lik
Confused? You will be. |
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Example
"Translation"
Pronounced |
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B
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like
the English b in bag at the beginning of words, elsewhere sounds
like the p in dopey
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Bh
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mostly,
this is pronounced like v; sometimes in the middle and at the end of certain words
it is like u, and sometimes it is silent.
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Tapadh leibh
"Thank you"
Tahpuh leeve |
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F
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like
f in English.
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Fh
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silent, except in the three words
fhéin,
fhuair, fhathast, when it has the sound of h.
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M
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like
m in English.
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Tha gu math
"I'm fine"
Ha goo mah |
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Mh
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like
v, and more nasal than bh; silent in the middle and end of some words, and gives a nasal sound to the
vowel; in some areas it has the sound of u; as, samhradh, pronounced sauradh.
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Glè mhath
"Very well"
glay vah |
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P
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like
p in English pin.
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Tapadh leibh
"Thank you"
Tahpuh leeve |
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Ph
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like f in
English prophet.
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C
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always
hard, like cat; before a, o, u, it has the sound of c in can; after a, o, u, it has the same sound in some districts; as,
cnoc, like ck in lock; but more often like chk; before e, i, and after
i, like c in cane.
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ciamar a tha thu?
"How are you?"
kemuhr a ha oo |
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Ch
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before
or after a, o. u, it is a gutteral sound as in loch; in contact with e or
i, it has a more slender sound.
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Chd
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has the sound of
chk; as luchd, pronounced luchk.
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G
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more
or less like English; before and after a, o. u, it is like g in got; in contact with e,
i, it sounds like g in get.
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Gh
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before and after e, i, it has the sound of
y in English yet; in contact with a, o, u, it has a broader sound
like g in get; in the middle and end of certain words it is silent.
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T
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before or
after a, o, u, the sound is like th in than; in contact with e,
i, it has the sound of ch in chin
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Tapadh leibh
"Thank you"
Tahpuh leeve |
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Th
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beginning a word has the sound of
h; silent in the pronoun thu (pronounced oo) and in certain tenses of irregular verbs when preceded by
d'; in the middle of some words it has a slight aspiration, in others it is silent.
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Glè mhath
"Very well"
glay vah |
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D
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initally,
like English d, elsewhere like English t, but at the end, it can
be like ch or j
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Dh
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same
as gh
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S
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in contact with a, o. u, is like s in English; before or after e,
i, like sh; after t- (with hyphen) it is silent.
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sidhe
"fairy land"
shee |
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Sh
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has the sound of
h.
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L
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before or after a, o. u, and ll after a, o, u, have a flatter sound than l in English,
with the point of the tongue against the teeth; in contact with e,
i, the sound is like ll in million. It has a simple sound after i, and when aspirated it is like l in
English hill.
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N
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in conjunction with a, o. u, is like
n in English new; with e,
i, it has a slender sound like n in pinion; n aspirated has the sound of
n in English pin; after c, g, m, t, it resembles the sound of r.
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R
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rolled, like
r in English burrow
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Monosyllables ending in lb, lbh, lg, lm, nm, rg, rb, rbh, rm, are sounded as two syllables; thus,
fearg
(fearug), dealbh (dealuv), marbh (maruv). |
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The letters l, n, have an aspirated sound, though the aspirate letter is not
used
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So also has r though much slighter.
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Vowels may have a duration mark over them
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Short-sound Vowels
a, o, u; e, i |
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Long-sound Vowels à, ò, ó, ù; è, é, ì |
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Vowel Sounds
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Short
Sounds |
Gaelic Example |
English Equivalent |
Long |
Gaelic |
English |
| a |
bas |
cat |
à |
bàs |
far |
| a |
bata |
sofa |
à |
làdhran |
– |
| o |
mol |
hot |
ò |
òl |
lord |
| o |
bog |
smoke |
ó |
mór |
more |
| u |
cur |
put |
ù |
cù |
moor |
| u |
solus |
but |
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| e |
fear |
net |
è |
nèamh |
where |
| e |
fead |
rate |
é |
féin |
rain |
| e |
gile |
whet |
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| i |
mil |
milk |
ì |
trì |
tree |
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Two and three vowels coming together, with the sound of the one passing into the other, are called Diphthongs and
Triphthongs:
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uan |
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uaigh |
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ao
is pronounced like the beginning of the French oeuvre |
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Some have one simple
sound, eg gaol (gal), ceum (kem).
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All
information © Bruce Durie and/or Fifeweb Ltd 2003
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