Everything about Irish Phonology totally explained
The
phonology of the Irish language varies from
dialect to dialect; there's no
standard pronunciation of the language. Therefore, this article focuses on phenomena that pertain generally to most or all dialects, and on the major differences among the dialects. Detailed discussion of the dialects can be found in the specific articles:
Ulster Irish,
Connacht Irish, and
Munster Irish.
Irish phonology has been studied as a discipline since the late 19th century, with numerous researchers publishing
descriptive accounts of dialects from all regions where the language is spoken. More recently,
theoretical linguists have also turned their attention to Irish phonology, producing a number of books, articles, and doctoral theses on the topic.
One of the most important aspects of Irish phonology is the fact that almost all
consonants come in pairs, with one having a "broad" pronunciation and the other a "slender" one. Broad consonants are
velarized, that is, the back of the tongue is pulled back and slightly up in the direction of the
soft palate while the consonant is being articulated. Slender consonants are
palatalized, which means the tongue is pushed up toward the
hard palate during the articulation. The contrast between broad and slender consonants is crucial in Irish, because the meaning of a word can change if a broad consonant is substituted for a slender consonant or vice versa. For example, the only difference in pronunciation between the words "cow" and "alive" is that is pronounced with a broad
b sound, while is pronounced with a slender
b sound. The contrast between broad and slender consonants plays a critical role not only in distinguishing the individual consonants themselves, but also in the pronunciation of the surrounding
vowels, in the determination of which consonants can stand next to which other consonants, and in the behavior of words that begin with a vowel.
The Irish language shares a number of phonological characteristics with its nearest linguistic relatives,
Scottish Gaelic and
Manx, as well as with
Hiberno-English, the language with which it's most closely in
contact.
History of the discipline
Until the end of the nineteenth century, linguistic discussions of Irish focused either on the traditional
grammar of the language (issues like the
inflection of
nouns,
verbs and
adjectives) or on the
historical development of sounds from
Proto-Indo-European through
Proto-Celtic to
Old Irish. The first
descriptive analysis of the phonology of an Irish dialect was, which was based on the author's fieldwork in the
Aran Islands. This was followed by, a phonetic description of the dialect of Meenawannia near
Glenties,
County Donegal. is predominantly a historical account, but has some description of modern dialects as well.
Alf Sommerfelt published early descriptions of both Ulster and Munster varieties (and for the village of Torr in
Gweedore, for Munster, and for the now extinct dialect of South
Armagh). The dialect of
Dunquin on the
Dingle Peninsula was described by . From 1944 to 1968 the
Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies published a series of
monographs, each describing the phonology of one local dialect: for West Muskerry in
County Cork (
Ballyvourney,
Coolea and vicinity), (first published 1945) for Cois Fhairrge in
Connemara (
Barna,
Spiddal,
Inverin and vicinity), for
Ring in
County Waterford, for
Tourmakeady in
County Mayo, for
Teelin in
County Donegal, for
Erris in
County Mayo. More recent descriptive phonology has been published by for
Rosguill in northern Donegal, for Tangaveane and Commeen (also near Glenties), for Iorras Aithneach in
Connemara (
Kilkieran and vicinity), and for the
Dingle Peninsula in
County Kerry.
Research into the theoretical phonology of Irish began with, which follows the principles and practices of
The Sound Pattern of English and which formed the basis of the phonology sections of . Dissertations examining Irish phonology from a theoretical point of view include, in
optimality theory, and and in
government phonology.
Consonants
Most dialects of Irish contain at a minimum the consonant
phonemes shown in the following chart (see
International Phonetic Alphabet for an explanation of the symbols). Symbols appearing in the upper half of each row are
velarized or "broad", while those in the bottom half are
palatalized or "slender". The consonant /h/ is neither broad nor slender.
On- and offglides
Broad (velar or velarized) consonants have a noticeable
velar offglide (a very short vowellike sound) before
front vowels, which sounds like the English
w but made without rounding the lips. The IPA symbol for this sound is [ɰ]. Thus /n̪ˠiː/ "nine" and /kiː/ "way, manner" are pronounced [n̪ˠɰiː] and [kɰiː] (). This velar offglide is
labialized (pronounced with lip-rounding, like
w) after
labial consonants, so /bˠiː/ "yellow" is pronounced [bˠwiː] ().
Similarly, slender (palatal or palatalized) consonants have a
palatal offglide (like English
y) before
back vowels, for example /tʲuː/ "thick" is pronounced [tʲjuː] .
When a broad consonant follows a front vowel, there's a very short vowel sound [ə̯] (called an onglide) just before the consonant, for example /dʲiːl̪ˠ/ "sell" is pronounced [dʲiːə̯l̪ˠ/]. Similarly, when a slender consonant follows a back vowel, there's an onglide [i̯] before the consonant, for example /aːtʲ/ "place" is pronounced [aːi̯tʲ] (), /oːlʲ/ "drinking" (genitive) is pronounced [oːi̯lʲ], /mʲəuɾʲ/ "understanding" is [mʲəui̯ɾʲ], /d̪ˠuːn̠ʲ/ is [d̪ˠuːi̯n̠ʲ] .
Allophones
/w/ has two basic
allophones: the
labiovelar approximant [w] and the velarized
voiced labiodental fricative [vˠ]. The distribution of these allophones varies from dialect to dialect. In Munster generally only [vˠ] is found, and in Ulster generally only [w] . In Connacht [w] is found word-initially before vowels (for example [wɪlʲ] "is") and [vˠ] in other positions (for example [n̪ˠiːvˠ] "holy", [ˈfˠuːvˠəɾˠ] "autumn", [ˈvˠɾˠɔsˠt̪ˠə] "hurried":, ).
The labiodental fricatives /fˠ, fʲ, vʲ/ as well as the fricative allophone [vˠ] of /w/ have bilabial allophones [ɸˠ,ɸʲ, βˠ, βʲ] in many dialects; the distribution depends partly on environment (bilabials are more likely to be found adjacent to rounded vowels) and partly on the individual speaker .
The alveopalatal stops /tʲ, dʲ/ may be realized as
affricates [tɕ,dʑ] in a number of dialects, including Tourmakeady, Erris, and Teelin .
The palatal stops /c, ɟ, ɲ/ may be articulated as true palatals [c,ɟ, ɲ] or as
palatovelars [k̟,ɡ˖, ŋ˖] .
The phoneme /j/ has three allophones in most dialects: a
palatal approximant [j] before vowels besides /iː/ and in at the ends of
syllables (for example [jasˠ] "nice", [bʲɛj] "will be"); a
voiced (post)palatal fricative [ʝ] before consonants (for example [ʝɾʲiən̪ˠ] "sun"); and an intermediate sound [j˔] (with more
frication than [j] but less frication than [ʝ]) before /iː/ (for example [j˔iːɾʲə] "straightened" (, ).
As in
English,
voiceless stops are
aspirated (articulated with a puff of air immediately upon release) at the start of a word, while voiced stops may not be fully voiced but are never aspirated. Voiceless stops are unaspirated after /sˠ/ and /ʃ/ (for example [sˠkauɾˠə] "terror"); however, stops remain aspirated after the
clitic is /sˠ/ (for example [sˠkʰaum] "it's crooked") . Several researchers (for example,,,, ) use transcriptions like /sb sd sg xd/, etc., indicating they consider the stops that occur after voiceless fricatives to be devoiced allophones of the voiced stops rather than unaspirated allophones of the voiceless stops, but this is a minority view.
Fortis and lenis sonorants
In
Old Irish, the coronal
sonorants (those spelled
l n r) were divided not only into broad and slender types, but also into
fortis and lenis types. The precise phonetic definition of these terms is somewhat vague, but the fortis sounds were probably longer in duration and may have had a larger area of contact between the tongue and the roof of the mouth than the lenis sounds. By convention, the fortis sounds are transcribed with
capital letters /L N R/, the lenis with lower case /l n r/. Thus Old Irish had four
rhotic phonemes /Rˠ, Rʲ, rˠ, rʲ/, four
lateral phonemes /Lˠ, Lʲ, lˠ, lʲ/, and four coronal
nasal phonemes /Nˠ, Nʲ, nˠ, nʲ/ . Fortis and lenis sonorants contrasted with each other between vowels and word-finally after vowels in Old Irish, for example /bʲeRˠɨðʲ/ "he shears" vs. /bʲerˠɨðʲ/ "he may carry"; /koLˠ/ "hazel" vs. /kolˠ/ "sin"; /sˠoNˠ/ "stake" vs. /sˠonˠ/ "sound" . Word-initially, only the fortis sounds were found, but they become lenis in environments where
morphosyntactically triggered lenition is found: /Rˠuːnˠ/ "mystery" vs. /a rˠuːnˠ/ "his mystery", /Lˠoːnˠ/ "provision" vs. /a lˠoːnˠ/ "his provision" .
In the modern language, the four rhotics have been reduced to two in all dialects, /Rˠ, Rʲ, rˠ/ having merged as /ɾˠ/. For the laterals and nasals, some dialects have kept all four distinct, while others have reduced them to three or two distinct phonemes, as summarized in the following table.
| Old Irish |
Ulster |
Connacht |
Munster |
Rosguill
|
Glenties
|
Mayo
|
Connemara
|
Aran
|
Dingle Peninsula
|
West Muskerry
|
| Rˠ |
ɾˠ |
ɾˠ |
ɾˠ |
ɾˠ |
ɾˠ |
ɾˠ |
ɾˠ |
| rˠ |
| Rʲ |
| rʲ |
ɾʲ |
ɾʲ |
ɾʲ |
ɾʲ |
ɾʲ |
ɾʲ |
ɾʲ |
| Lˠ |
l̪ˠ |
l̪ˠ |
l̪ˠ |
l̪ˠ |
l̪ˠ |
l̪ˠ |
l̪ˠ |
| lˠ |
lˠ |
lˠ |
l |
| lʲ |
l |
lʲ |
lʲ |
lʲ |
lʲ |
lʲ |
| Lʲ |
l̠ʲ |
l̠ʲ |
l̠ʲ |
l̠ʲ |
l̠ʲ |
| Nˠ |
n̪ˠ |
n̪ˠ |
n̪ˠ |
n̪ˠ |
n̪ˠ |
n̪ˠ |
n̪ˠ |
| nˠ |
nˠ |
nˠ |
n |
| nʲ |
n |
nʲ |
nʲ |
nʲ |
nʲ |
nʲ |
| Nʲ |
n̠ʲ |
n̠ʲ |
n̠ʲ |
n̠ʲ |
n̠ʲ |
nʲ word-initially
ɲ elsewhere |
| Note: l̠ʲ and n̠ʲ are alveolo-palatal consonants. |
Vowels
The
vowel sounds vary from dialect to dialect, but in general Connacht and Munster at least agree in having the
monophthongs /iː/, /ɪ/, /uː/, /ʊ/, /eː/, /ɛ/, /oː/, /ɔ/, /a/, /aː/, and
schwa (/ə/), which is found only in
unstressed syllables; and the
diphthongs /əi/, /əu/, /iə/, and /uə/.
The vowels of
Ulster Irish are more divergent and are discussed in that article.
Vowel backness
The
backness of vowels (that is, the horizontal position of the highest point of the tongue) depends to a great extent on the quality (broad or slender) of adjacent consonants. Some researchers (for example,, ) have argued that [ɪ] and [ʊ] are actually allophones of the same phoneme, as are [ɛ] and [ɔ]. Under this view, these phonemes are
not marked at an abstract level as either
front vowels or
back vowels. Rather, they acquire a specification for frontness or backness from the consonants around them. In this article, however, the more traditional assumption that /ɪ, ʊ, ɛ, ɔ/ are four distinct phonemes will be followed. The descriptions of the allophones in this section come from ; the pronunciations therefore reflect the Munster accent of the
Dingle Peninsula. Unless otherwise noted, however, they largely hold for other Munster and Connacht accents as well.
Close vowels
The four
close vowel phonemes of Irish are the fully close /iː/ and /uː/, and the
near-close /ɪ/ and /ʊ/. Their exact pronunciation depends on the quality of the surrounding consonants. /iː/ is realized as a
front [iː] between two slender consonants (for example [tʲiːrʲ] "country"). Between a slender and a broad consonant, the tongue is retracted slightly from this position (for which the IPA symbol is [ i̠ː ]), for example [dʲi̠ːl̪ˠ] "sale", [ki̠ːɾʲə] "berry" (genitive). Between two broad consonants, the tongue is retracted even further, almost to the point of being a
central vowel (in IPA, [ïː]): [kïːɾˠə] "sheep". /uː/ is a fully back [uː] between broad consonants (for example [d̪ˠuːn̪ˠ] "fort"), but between a broad and a slender consonant, the tongue is somewhat advanced (IPA [u̟ː]), for example [tʲɾʲu̟ːɾˠ] "three people", [sˠu̟ːlʲ] "eye". Between two slender consonants it's advanced even further, to a centralized vowel (IPA [üː]): [cüːnʲ] "quiet".
The near-close vowels /ɪ/ and /ʊ/ show a similar pattern. /ɪ/ is realized between slender consonants as a front [i̞], for example [tʲi̞ɟ] "house" (dative). After a slender consonant and before a broad one, it's a
near-front [ɪ] [ˈɟɪt̪ˠə] "piece". After a broad consonant and before a slender one, it's a more retracted [ɪ̈], for example [ˈt̪ˠɪ̈ɟən̪ˠ] "understands". Finally, between two broad consonants it's a central [ɨ̞], for example [ɡɨ̞ɾˠtʲ]. "salty". /ʊ/ is a
near-back [ʊ] when all adjacent consonants are broad, for example [d̪ʊvˠ] "black", and a more centralized [ʊ̟] after a slender consonant, for example [ˈɟʊ̟bˠəl̪ˠ] "rag".
Mid vowels
The realization of the long
close-mid vowels /eː/ and /oː/ varies according to the quality of the surrounding consonants. /eː/ is a front [eː] between two slender consonants (for example [bʲeːc] "yell"), a centralized [ëː] between a broad and a slender consonant (for example [ɡl̪ˠëːɟ] "call"), and a more open centralized [ɛ̝̈ː] between two broad consonants (for example [bˠɛ̝̈ːl̪ˠ] "danger". /oː/ ranges from a back [oː] between two broad consonants (for example [fˠoːd̪ˠ] "turf") to an advanced [o̟ː] between a broad and a slender consonant (for example [fˠo̟ːdʲ] "turf" (genitive)) to a centralized [öː] between two slender consonants (for example [cöːlʲ] "music" (genitive)).
The short
open-mid vowels also vary depending on their environment. Short /ɛ/ ranges from a front [ɛ̝] between slender consonants (for example [bʲɛ̝ɟ] "will be") to a retracted [ɛ̝̈] between a broad and a slender consonant (for example [bʲɛ̝̈d̪ˠ] "I will be", [ɾˠɛ̝̈vʲ] "was") to a central [ɘ̞] when the only adjacent consonant is broad (for example [kɾˠɘ̞] "cross" (dative). Short /ɔ/ between two broad consonants is usually a back [ɔ̝], for example [kl̪ˠɔ̝x] "stone", but it's a centralized [ö] adjacent to
nasal consonants and
labial consonants, for example [ən̪ˠˈsˠön̪ˠ] "there", [bˠöɡ] "soft". Between a broad and a slender consonant it's a more open [ɔ̝̈]: [skɔ̝̈lʲ] "school", [dʲɔ̝̈x] "drink".
Unstressed /ə/ is realized as a near-close, near-front [ɪ] when adjacent to a
palatal consonant, for example [ˈpʲiːcɪ] "pike". Next to other slender consonants, it's a mid-centralized [ɪ̽], for example [ˈsˠaːlʲɪ̽] "salt water". Adjacent to broad consonants it's usually a mid central [ə], for example [ˈoːl̪ˠəsˠ] "information", but when the preceding syllable contains one of the close back vowels /uː, ʊ/, it's realized as a mid-centralized back [ʊ̽], for example [ˈd̪ˠuːn̪ˠʊ̽] "closing", [ˈmˠʊkʊ̽] "pigs".
Open vowels
The realization of the
open vowels varies according to the quality of the surrounding consonants; there's a significant difference between Munster dialects and Connacht dialects as well. In Munster, long /aː/ and short /a/ have approximately the same range of realization: both vowels are relatively back in contact with broad consonants and relatively front in contact with slender consonants. Specifically, long /aː/ in word-initial position and after broad consonants is a back [ɑː], for example [ɑːtʲ] "place", [t̪ˠɾˠɑː] "beach". Between a slender and a broad consonant, it's a retracted front [a̠ː], for example [ˈɟa̠ːɾˠhəɟ] "will cut", while between two slender consonants it's a fully front [aː], for example [əçaːnʲ] "John" (vocative). In Dingle, the back allophone is rounded to [ɒː] after broad labials, for example [bˠɒːn̪ˠ] "white", while in
Ring, rounded [ɒː] is the usual realization of /aː/ in all contexts except between slender consonants, where it's a centralized [ɒ̈ː] . Short /a/ between two slender consonants is a front [a], as in [ɟaɾʲədʲ] "short". Between a broad and a slender consonant, it's in most cases a retracted [a̠], for example [fʲa̠ɾˠ] "man", [ˈka̠tʲə] "worn", but after broad labials and /l̪ˠ/ it's a centralized front [ä], for example [bˠälʲə] "town", [l̪ˠätʲ] "injure". When it's adjacent only to broad consonants, it's a centralized back [ɑ̈], for example [mˠɑ̈k] "son", [ɑ̈bˠəɾʲ] "say".
In Connacht varieties ( ) the allophones of short /a/ are consistently further front than the allophones of long /aː/. In Erris, for example, short /a/ ranges from a
near-open front vowel [æ] before slender consonants (for example [sˠælʲ] "earwax") to an open [a] after slender consonants (for example [ɟalˠ] "bright) to a centralized back [ɑ̈] between broad consonants (for example [ˈkɑ̈pəl̪ˠ] "horse"). Long /aː/, on the other hand, ranges from a back [ɑː] between broad consonants (for example [bˠɑːd̪ˠ] "boat") to an advanced back [ɑ̟ː] before slender consonants (for example [fˠɑ̟ːlʲ] "to get") to a centralized back [ɑ̈ː] after slender consonants (for example [bʲɾʲɑ̈ː] "fine"). In
Tourmakeady, the back allophone is rounded to [ɒː] after broad labials, for example [bˠɒːn̪ˠ] "white". In Connemara, the allophones of /a/ are lengthened in duration, so that only vowel quality distinguishes the allophones of /a/ from those of /aː/ .
Diphthongs
The starting point of /əi/ ranges from a near-open central [ɐ] after broad consonants to an open-mid centralized front [ɛ̈] after slender consonants, and its end point ranges from a near-close near-front [ɪ] before slender consonants to a centralized [ɪ̈] before broad consonants . Examples include [kl̪ˠɐɪɾʲə] "rogue", [gɐɪ̈ɾˠ] "dog", [cɛ̈ɪlʲ] "church", and [lʲɛ̈ɪ̈sˠ] "cure".
The starting point of /əu/ ranges from a near-open central [ɐ] after broad consonants to an open-mid advanced central [ɜ̟] after slender consonants, and its end point ranges from a near-close near-back [ʊ] before broad consonants to a centralized [ʊ̈] before slender consonants . Examples: [bˠɐʊɾˠ] "deaf", [fʲɜ̟ʊsˠ] "improvement", [l̪ˠɐʊ̈ɾʲtʲ] "speak", [mʲɜ̟ʊ̈ɾʲ] "memory". In West Muskerry and the Dingle Peninsula, however, the starting point of /əu/ is rounded and further back after broad consonants (), for example [gɔʊɾˠ] "goat".
The starting point of /iə/ ranges from a close front [i] after slender consonants to a retracted [i̠] after word-initial broad /ɾˠ/ (the only context in which it appears after a broad consonant). Its end point ranges from a mid central [ə] before broad consonants to a close-mid centralized front [ë] before slender consonants . Examples: [ciəl̪ˠ] "sense", [ɾˠi̠əvˠ] "ever", [dʲiëlʲ] "devils".
The starting point of /uə/ is consistently a close back [u] while the end point ranges from [ɐ] to [ɪ̽] : [huɐsˠ] "above", [uən̪ˠ] "lamb", [bˠuɪ̽lʲ] "strike".
Nasalized vowels
In general, vowels in Irish are
nasalized when adjacent to
nasal consonants. For some speakers, there are reported to be
minimal pairs between
nasal vowels and oral vowels, indicating that nasal vowels are also separate phonemes. However, the contrast isn't robust in any dialect; most published descriptions say that contrastively nasal vowels are present in the speech of only some (usually older) speakers. Potential minimal pairs include those shown in the table below (, ).
| Nasal vowel |
Oral vowel |
| Spelling |
Pronunciation |
Gloss |
Spelling |
Pronunciation |
Gloss |
| |
[ˈə̃ũɾˠəsˠ] |
"doubt" |
|
[ˈəuɾˠəsˠ] |
"yarn" |
| |
[ãː] |
"ford" |
|
[aː] |
"luck" |
| |
[kõːɾʲ] |
(in phrase "in front of, opposite") |
|
[koːɾʲ] |
"just, righteous" |
| |
[kũː] |
"sorrow" |
|
[kuː] |
"hound" |
| |
[dʲĩːʃ] |
"pairs of shears" |
|
[dʲiːʃ] |
"two people" |
| |
[fˠõːɾʲ] |
"autumn" (genitive) |
|
[fˠoːɾʲ] |
"boundary, limit" |
| |
[l̪ˠãː] |
"hands" |
|
[l̪ˠaː] |
"day" |
| |
[l̪ˠãːx] |
"shooting" |
|
[l̪ˠaːx] |
"generous" |
| |
[nʲĩː] |
"poison" (genitive) |
|
[nʲiː] |
"washing" |
| |
[ɾˠãː] |
"oar" (genitive) |
|
[ɾˠaː] |
"saying" |
In addition, where a vowel is nasalized because it's adjacent to a nasal consonant, it often retains its nasalization in related forms where the consonant is no longer nasal. For example, the nasal /m/ of [ˈmãːhəɾʲ] "mother" is replaced by nonnasal /w/ in the phrase [əˈwãːhəɾʲ] "his mother", but the vowel remains nasalized . Similarly, in [ˈʃnʲãxt̪ˠə] "snow" the vowel after the /nʲ/ is nasalized, while in [əˈtʲɾʲãxt̪ˠə] "the snow" (genitive), the /nʲ/ is replaced by /ɾʲ/ in some dialects, but the nasalized vowel remains .
Phonotactics
The most interesting aspects of Irish
phonotactics revolve around the behavior of
consonant clusters. Here it's important to distinguish between clusters that occur at the beginnings of words and those that occur after vowels, although there's overlap between the two groups.
Word-initial consonant clusters
Irish words can begin with clusters of two or three consonants. In general, all the consonants in a cluster agree in their quality, for example either all are broad or all are slender. Two-consonant clusters consist of an
obstruent consonant followed by a
liquid or
nasal consonant (however, labial obstruents may not be followed by a nasal); examples (from ) include /bʲlʲaːn/ "milking", /bʲɾʲaː/ "fine", /ˈkn̪ˠapʲə/ "button", /dʲlʲiː/ "law", /ɡn̪ˠaː/ "usual", /ˈpʲlʲəicə/ "idiot", /ʃlʲɪsˠ/ "slice", /ˈʃnʲaxt̪ˠə/ "snow", /t̪ˠl̪ˠuː/ "poker", and /t̪ˠn̪ˠuː/ "long for". In addition, /sˠ/ and /ʃ/ may be followed by a voiceless stop, as in /ˈsˠpˠaɾˠaːn̪ˠ/ "purse" and /ʃceːl̪ˠ/ "story". Further, the cluster /mˠn̪ˠ/ occurs in the word /mˠn̪ˠaː/ "women" and a few forms related to it. Three-consonant clusters consist of /sˠ/ or /ʃ/ plus a voiceless stop plus a liquid. Examples include /ˈʃclʲuːxəsˠ/ "rumpus", /ʃcɾʲad̪ˠ/ "scream", /sˠpˠl̪ˠaŋk/ "flash", /sˠpˠɾˠiː/ "fun", and /ʃtʲɾʲiːk/ "streak".
One exception to quality agreement is that broad /sˠ/ is found before slender labials (and for some speakers in Connemara and Dingle before /c/ as well:, ). Examples include: /sˠmʲeːɾˠə/ "berries", /sˠpʲal/ "scythe", /sˠpʲlʲaːx/ "dependent", /sˠpʲɾʲaɡ/ "inspire", /ʃceːl̪ˠ/ ~ /sˠceːl̪ˠ/ "story".
In the environment of an initial
consonant mutation, there's a much wider range of possible onset clusters (), for example in a lenition environment the following occur: /wl̪ˠasˠ/ "tasted", /vʲɾʲɪʃ/ "broke", /çlʲaxt̪ˠ/ "practiced", /xɾˠɔmˠ/ "bent", /ˈjɾʲamˠə/ "stuck", /ˈjnʲiːwə/ "acted", /hlʲəun̪ˠə/ "slipped", /hn̪ˠaːw/ "swam",
/hɾˠɪç/ "reached". In an eclipsis environment the following are found: /mˠl̪ˠaː/ "flower", /ˈmʲlʲiən̪ˠə/ "years", /ˈmʲɾʲɪʃaː/ "you would break", /n̪ˠl̪ˠuː/ "warp", /ˈn̪ˠɾˠɔhəd̪ˠ/ "bridge", /ˈnʲɾʲeːmʲəɾʲə/ "ladder", /ˈɲlʲeːsˠaː/ "you would dress", /ˈɲɾʲat̪ˠaː/ "you would leave", /ˈɲnʲiːwoːhaː/ "you would act".
In Donegal, Mayo, and Connemara dialects (but not usually on the Aran Islands), the coronal nasals /nˠ, nʲ/ can follow only /sˠ, ʃ/ respectively in a word-initial cluster. After other consonants, they're replaced by /ɾˠ, ɾʲ/ (): /kɾˠʊk/ "hill", /mˠɾˠaː/ "women", /ɡɾˠiː/ "liking", /t̪ˠɾˠuː/ "long for".
Under lenition, /sˠn̪ˠ, ʃnʲ/ become /hn̪ˠ, hnʲ/ as expected in these dialects, but
after the definite article an they become /t̪ˠɾˠ, tʲɾʲ/: /ʃnʲaxt̪ˠə/ "snow", /hnʲaxt̪ˠə/ "snow" (lenited form), /ə tʲɾʲaxt̪ˠə/ "the snow" (genitive).
Post-vocalic consonant clusters and epenthesis
Like word-initial consonant clusters, post-vocalic consonant clusters usually agree in broad or slender quality. The only exception here's that broad /ɾˠ/, not slender /ɾʲ/, appears before the slender coronals /tʲ, dʲ, ʃ, nʲ, lʲ/ : /bʲɛɾˠtʲ/ "two people", /ceːɾˠdʲ/ "trade", /ˈd̪ˠoːɾˠʃə/ "doors", /d̪ˠuːɾˠˈnʲiːnʲ/ "handle", /ˈkuːɾˠlʲə/ "advice".
A cluster of /ɾˠ, ɾʲ/, /l̪ˠ, lʲ/, or /n̪ˠ, nʲ/ followed by a labial or dorsal consonant (except the voiceless stops /pˠ, pʲ/, /k, c/) is broken up by an
epenthetic vowel /ə/ : /ˈbˠɔɾˠəbˠ/ "abrupt", /ˈɡɔɾˠəmˠ/ "blue", /ˈdʲaɾˠəmˠəd̪ˠ/ "mistake", /ˈdʲaɾˠəfˠə/ "certain", /ˈʃɛɾʲəvʲiːʃ/ "service", /ˈfʲaɾˠəɡ/ "anger", /ˈd̪ˠɔɾˠəxə/ "dark", /ˈd̪ˠal̪ˠəbˠə/ "bold", /ˈkɔl̪ˠəmˠ/ "dove", /ˈsˠɪlʲəvʲəɾʲ/ "pleasant", /ˈɟal̪ˠəwən̪ˠ/ "sparrow", /ˈbʲɪnʲəbʲ/ "venom",, /ˈbˠan̪ˠəbə/ (a name for Ireland), /ˈanʲəmʲ/ "name", /ˈmʲan̪ˠəmˠə/ "mind", /ˈanʲəvʲiː/ "animal".
There is no epenthesis, however, if the vowel preceding the cluster is long or a diphthong: /ˈfˠaːɾʲbʲɾʲə/ "wrinkle", /ˈtʲeːɾˠmˠə/ "term", /ˈlʲeːɾˠɡəsˠ/ "insight", /ˈd̪ˠuəl̪ˠɡəsˠ/ "duty". There is also no epenthesis into words that are at least three syllables long: /ˈfʲɪɾʲmʲəmʲənʲtʲ/ "firmament", /ˈsˠmʲɔl̪ˠɡəd̪ˠaːn̪ˠ/ "throat", /ˈkaʃəɾˠwaːn̪ˠ/ "dandelion", /ˈkaɾʲmʲəlʲiːtʲəx/ "Carmelite".
Phonological processes
Vowel-initial words
Vowel-initial words in Irish exhibit behavior that has led linguists to suggest that the vowel sound they begin with on the surface isn't actually the first sound in the word at a more abstract level. Specifically, when a clitic ending in a consonant precedes a word beginning with the vowel, the consonant of the clitic surfaces as either broad or slender, depending on the specific word in question. For example, the
n of the
definite article "the" is slender before the word "wonder" but broad before the word "age" : /ənʲ ˈiːn̪ˠt̪ˠəʃ/ "the wonder" (genitive) vs. /ən̪ˠ ˈiːʃ/ "the age".
One analysis of these facts is that vowel-initial words actually begin, at an abstract level of representation, with a kind of "empty" consonant that consists of nothing except the information "broad" or "slender". Another analysis () is that vowel-initial words, again at an abstract level, all begin with one of two
semivowels, one triggering palatalization and the other triggering velarization of a preceding consonant.
Lengthening before fortis sonorants
Where reflexes of the Old Irish
fortis sonorants appear in syllable-final position (in some cases, only in word-final position), they trigger a lengthening or diphthongization of the preceding vowel in most dialects of Irish (, ). The details vary from dialect to dialect.
In Donegal and Mayo, lengthening is found only before
rd, rl, rn, before
rr (except when a vowel follows), and in a few words also before word-final
ll (, ), for example, /bˠaːɾˠ/ "top", /aːɾˠd̪ˠ/ "tall", /ˈoːɾˠl̪ˠax/ "inch", /ˈt̪uːɾˠn̠ʲə/ "spinning wheel", /haːl̪ˠ/ "yonder"
In Connemara, the Aran Islands, and Munster (), lengthening is found generally not only in the environments listed above, but also before
nn (unless a vowel follows) and before
m and
ng at the end of a word. For example, the word "hole" is pronounced /pˠəul̪ˠ/ in all of these regions, while "grip" is pronounced /ɟɾʲiːmʲ/ in Connemara and Aran and /ɟɾʲəimʲ/ in Munster.
Because vowels behave differently before broad sonorants than before slender ones in many cases, and because there's generally no lengthening (except by
analogy) when the sonorants are followed by a vowel, there's a variety of vowel
alternations between different related word-forms. For example, in Dingle "head" is pronounced /cəun̪ˠ/ with a diphthong, but (the
genitive singular of the same word) is pronounced /ciːnʲ/ with a long vowel, while (the plural, meaning "heads") is pronounced /ˈcan̪ə/ with a short vowel.
This lengthening has received a number of different explanations within the context of theoretical phonology. All accounts agree that some property of the fortis sonorant is being transferred to the preceding vowel, but the details about what property that's vary from researcher to researcher. (repeated in ) argue that the fortis sonorant is
tense (a term only vaguely defined in phonetics) and that this tenseness is transferred to the vowel, where it's realized phonetically as vowel length and/or diphthongization. argues that the triggering consonant is underlying associated with a unit of
syllable weight called a
mora; this mora then shifts to the vowel, creating a long vowel or a diphthong. expands on that analysis to argue that the fortis sonorants have an
advanced tongue root (that is, the bottom of the tongue is pushed upward during articulation of the consonant) and that diphthongization is an
articulatory effect of this tongue movement.
Devoicing
Where a voiced
obstruent or /w/ comes into contact with /h/, the /h/ is absorbed into the other sound, which then becomes voiceless (in the case of /w/, devoicing is to /fˠ/). Devoicing is found most prominently in the
future of
first conjugation verbs (where the /h/ sound is represented by the letter
f) and in the formation of
verbal adjectives (where the sound is spelled
th). For example, the verb /sˠkuəbˠ/ "sweep" ends in the voiced consonant /bˠ/, but its future tense /ˈsˠkuəpˠəɟ/ "will sweep" and verbal adjective /ˈsˠkuəpˠə/ "swept" have the voiceless consonant /pˠ/ .
Sandhi
Irish exhibits a number of external
sandhi effects, for example phonological changes across word boundaries, particularly in rapid speech. The most common type of sandhi in Irish is
assimilation, which means that a sound changes its pronunciation in order to become more similar to an adjacent sound. One type of assimilation in Irish is found when a coronal consonant (one of
d, l, n, r, s, t) changes from being broad to being slender before a word that begins with a slender coronal consonant, or from being slender to being broad before a word that begins with a broad coronal consonant. For example, /fʲal̪ˠ/ "deceive" ends with a broad
ll, but in the phrase [dʲal̠ʲʃə ɔɾˠəmˠ] "it deceived me" the
ll has become slender because the following word,, starts with a slender coronal consonant .
The consonant
n may also assimilate to the
place of articulation of a following consonant, becoming labial before a labial consonant, palatal before a palatal consonant, and velar before a velar consonant . For example, the
nn of /can̪ˠ/ "one" becomes [mˠ] in [camˠˈbˠakəx] "a lame one" and [ŋ] in [caŋˈkaɾˠəx] "a scabbed one". A voiced consonant at the end of a word may become voiceless when the next word begins with a voiceless consonant, as in [l̪ˠuːpˠʃeː] "he bent", where the
b sound of /l̪ˠuːbˠ/ "bent" has become a
p sound before the voiceless
s of .
Stress
General facts of stress placement
An Irish word normally has only one
stressed syllable, namely the first syllable of the word. In IPA transcription, a stressed syllable is marked with the symbol [ ˈ ] to the left of the syllable. Examples include /ˈdʲɪmʲiː/ "left" (past tense of
leave) and /ˈasˠən̪ˠoːɾʲ/ "dishonor"
. However, certain words, especially
adverbs and
loanwords, have stress on a noninitial syllable, for example /əˈwaːnʲ/ "only", /təˈbak/ "tobacco".
In most
compound words, primary stress falls on the first member and a
secondary stress (marked with [ ˌ ]) falls on the second member, for example /ˈl̪ˠaɡˌfˠɔɾˠt̪ˠəx/ "spent bog". Some compounds, however, have primary stress on both the first and the second member, for example /ˈdʲaɾˠəɡˈvʲɾʲeːɡ/ "a terrible lie".
In Munster, stress is attracted to a long vowel or diphthong in the second or third syllable of a word, for example /kaˈlʲiːnʲ/ "girl", /axəˈnʲiː/ "request" . In the now extinct accent of East Mayo, stress was attracted to a long vowel or diphthong in the same way as in Munster; in addition, stress was attracted to a short vowel before word-final
ll,
m, or
nn when that word was also final in its utterance ( ). For example, "horse" was pronounced [kaˈpˠɞl̪ˠ] in isolation or as the last word of a sentence, but as [ˈkapˠəl̪ˠ] in the middle of a sentence.
The nature of unstressed vowels
In general, short vowels are all reduced to
schwa ([ə]) in unstressed syllables, but there are some exceptions. In Munster, if the third syllable of a word is stressed and the preceding two syllables are short, the first of the two unstressed syllables is
not reduced to schwa; instead it receives a secondary stress, for example /ˌsˠpʲal̪ˠəˈd̪ˠoːɾʲ/ "scythe-man" . Also in Munster, an unstressed short vowel isn't reduced to schwa if the following syllable contains a stressed /iː/ or /uː/, for example /aˈl̪ˠiː/ "art", /bˠaˈlʲuː/ "gather" . In Ulster, long vowels in unstressed syllables are shortened but are not reduced to schwa, for example /ˈkalʲinʲ/ "girl", /ˈɡalˠunˠ/ "gallon" ().
Processes relating to /x/
The
voiceless velar fricative /x/, spelled
ch, is associated with some unusual patterns in many dialects of Irish. For one thing, its presence after the vowel /a/ triggers behavior atypical of short vowels; for another, /x/ and its slender counterpart /ç/ interchange with the
voiceless glottal fricative /h/ in a variety of ways, and can sometimes be deleted altogether.
Behavior of /ax/
In Munster, stress is attracted to /a/ in the second syllable of a word if it's followed by /x/,
provided the first syllable (and third syllable, if there's one) contains a short vowel . Examples include /bˠəˈkax/ "lame" and /ʃlʲəˈʃnʲaxə/ "chips". However, if the first or third syllable contains a long vowel or diphthong, stress is attracted to that syllable instead, and the /a/ before /x/ is reduced to /ə/ as normal, for example /ˈeːʃtʲəxt̪ˠ/ "listen", /ˌmˠɔl̪ˠhəˈxaːn̪ˠ/ "wether" .
In Ulster, unstressed /a/ before /x/ isn't reduced to
schwa, for example /ˈal̪ˠax/ "cattle" .
Interaction of /x/ and /ç/ with /h/
In many dialects of Irish, the voiceless dorsal fricatives /x/ and /ç/ alternate with /h/ under a variety of circumstances. For example, as the lenition of /tʲ/ and /ʃ/, /h/ is replaced by /ç/ before back vowels, for example /ˈçuːɾˠhən̠ʲ/ "I would give", /çoːlʲ/ "drove" . In Munster, /ç/ becomes /h/ after a vowel, for example /ˈfʲɪhə/ "twenty" . In Ring, /h/ becomes /x/ at the end of a monosyllabic word, for example /sˠkaːx/ "fear" . In some Ulster dialects, such as that of
Tory Island, /x/ can be replaced by /h/, for example /ha/ "not", and can even be deleted word-finally, as in /ˈsˠan̪ˠt̪ˠah ~ ˈsˠan̪ˠt̪ˠa/ "greedy" . In other Ulster dialects, /x/ can be deleted before /t̪ˠ/ as well, for example /ʃat̪ˠ/ "seven" .
Samples
The following table shows some sample sentences from the Aran dialect .
| vʲiː ʃeː əɟ ˈafˠəɾˠk əˈmˠax asˠ ə ˈwɪn̠ʲoːɡ nuəɾʲ ə vʲiː ˈmʲɪʃə ɡɔl haɾˠt̪ˠ |
|
He was looking out the window when I went past. |
| n̠ʲiː ˈɛcətʲ ʃeː pˠəul̪ˠ hɾʲiː ˈdʲɾʲeːmʲɾʲə |
|
He wouldn't see a hole through a ladder (for example he's very near-sighted). |
| t̪ˠaː mʲeː fʲlɔx hɾʲiːdʲ əsˠ hɾʲiːdʲ |
|
I'm wet through and through. |
| hʊɡ ʃeː klɔx woːɾ ˈaɡəsˠ xa ʃeː lɛʃ ə ˈwɪn̠ʲoːɡ iː |
|
He took a large stone and he threw it against the window. |
| ˈhaːnəɟ ʃeː əʃˈtʲax aɡəsˠ kuːx əɾʲ |
|
He came in in a rage. |
―əɾˠ iːk ʃɪbʲ ˈmˠoːɾˠaːn əɾʲ ə mˠuːn
―ɡə ˈdʲɪvʲən dʲiːk sˠə ˈl̪ˠəiəd̪ˠ ə wɪl aːn̪ˠ jɪ |
|
―Did you pay much for the turf?
―We certainly did, considering how little there's of it. |
| ˈtʲaɡəmʲ aːn̪ˠ xɪlə l̪ˠaː sˠəsˠ ˈmʲɪnəc n̪ˠax mʲiən̪ˠ ˈmˠoːɾˠaːn ˈfˠaːl̠ʲtʲə ɾˠuːmˠ |
|
I come there every day but often I'm not very welcome. |
| t̪ˠaː mʲeː ˈklɪʃtʲaːl ə ɡɔl haɾˠəmˠ ɡə mʲəi ˈsˠavˠɾˠə fʲlɔx sˠə ˈmʲliənə aɡən̠ʲ aɡəsˠ ˈçiːt̪ˠəɾˠ ɣɔmˠ pʲeːn ɡəɾˠ ˈaʃtʲəx ə ʃceːl eː ʃɪn |
|
I've heard tell that we'll have a wet summer this year, but it seems to me that that story is strange. |
| wɪl nə ˈfˠat̪ˠiː xoː mˠasˠ d̪ˠuːɾʲtʲ ʃeː |
|
Are the potatoes as good as he said? |
| ə ˈɣeːlɟə ˈl̪ˠəuɾˠiːɾˠ ə ˈɡuːɟə mˠuːn n̠ʲiː ˈhɔnən̪ˠ iː sˠə ˈɣeːlɟə ˈʃaɡən̠ʲə |
|
The Irish spoken in Munster isn't the same as our Irish. |
Comparison with other languages
Scottish Gaelic and Manx
Many of the phonological processes found in Irish are found also in its nearest relatives,
Scottish Gaelic and
Manx. For example, both languages contrast "broad" and "slender" consonants, but only at the coronal and dorsal
places of articulation; both Scottish Gaelic and Manx have lost the distinction in labial consonants. The change of /kn̪ˠ ɡn̪ˠ mn̪ˠ/ etc. to /kɾˠ ɡɾˠ mɾˠ/ etc. is found in Manx and in most Scottish dialects. Evidence from written manuscripts suggests it had begun in Scottish Gaelic as early as the sixteenth century and was well established in both Scottish Gaelic and Manx by the late 17th to early 18th century . Lengthening or diphthongization of vowels before fortis sonorants is also found in both languages . The stress pattern of Scottish Gaelic is the same as that in Connacht and Ulster Irish, while in Manx, stress is attracted to long vowels and diphthongs in noninitial syllables, but under more restricted conditions than in Munster ().
Manx and many dialects of Scottish Gaelic share with Ulster Irish the property of not reducing unstressed /a/ to /ə/ before /x/ .
Hiberno-English
Irish phonology has had a significant influence on the phonology of
Hiberno-English . For example, most of the vowels of Hiberno-English (with the exception of /ɔɪ/) correspond to vowel
phones (which may or may not be phonemes) of Irish. The Irish stops /t̪ˠ d̪ˠ/ have been taken over (though without distinctive velarization) into Hiberno-English as common realizations of the English phonemes /θ ð/. Hiberno-English also allows /h/ to appear in positions where it's permitted in Irish but excluded in other
dialects of English, such as before an
unstressed vowel (for example
Haughey /ˈhɒhi/) and at the end of a word (for example
McGrath /məˈɡɹæh/). Another feature of Hiberno-English phonology taken over from Irish is epenthesis in words like
film [ˈfɪləm] and
form [ˈfɔɹəm].
Footnotes
Further Information
Get more info on 'Irish Phonology'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://irish_phonology.totallyexplained.com">Irish phonology Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
