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Irish phonology

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Irish pronunciation: [{{{1}}}] The phonology of the Irish language varies from dialect to dialect; there is 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.

One of the most important aspects of Irish phonology is the phonemic distinction between velarized consonants (traditionally called "broad") and palatalized consonants ("slender"). This contrast has an effect not only on the individual consonants themselves, but also on the allophonic realization of the surrounding vowels, on the phonotactics of consonant clusters, and on the behavior of vowel-initial words.

File:Gaeltachtai le hainmneacha.svg
Map of the Irish-speaking areas of Ireland. Places mentioned in this article are named on the map.

History of the discipline

File:Finck araner 000.jpg
Title page of Die araner mundart. Ein beitrag zur erforschung des westirischen (Finck 1899).

Until the end of the nineteenth century, linguistic discussions of Irish focused either on the synchronic syntax and morphology of the language or on the diachronic development of sounds from Proto-Indo-European through Proto-Celtic to Old Irish. The first synchronic phonological description of Irish to be published was Finck (1899), which was based on the author's fieldwork in the Aran Islands. This was followed by Quiggin (1906), a phonetic description of the dialect of Meenawannia near Glenties, County Donegal. Pedersen (1909) is predominantly a diachronic account, but has some description of modern dialects as well. Alf Sommerfelt published early descriptions of both Ulster and Munster varieties (Sommerfelt 1922 and Sommerfelt 1965 for the village of Torr in Gweedore, Sommerfelt 1927 for Munster, and Sommerfelt 1929 for the now extinct dialect of South Armagh). The dialect of Dunquin on the Dingle Peninsula was described by Sjoestedt (1931). From 1944 to 1968 the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies published a series of monographs, each describing the phonology of one local dialect: Ó Cuív (1944) for West Muskerry in County Cork (Ballyvourney, Coolea and vicinity), de Bhaldraithe (1966) (first published 1945) for Cois Fhairrge in Connemara (Barna, Spiddal, Inverin and vicinity), Breatnach (1947) for Ring in County Waterford, de Búrca (1958) for Tourmakeady in County Mayo, Wagner (1959) for Teelin in County Donegal, Mhac an Fhailigh (1968) for Erris in County Mayo. More recent descriptive phonology has been published by Ó Curnáin (1996) for Iorras Aithneach in Connemara (Kilkieran and vicinity) and Ó Sé (2000) for the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry.

Research into the theoretical phonology of Irish began with Ó Siadhail & Wigger (1975), which follows the principles and practices of The Sound Pattern of English and which formed the basis of the phonology sections of Ó Siadhail (1989). Dissertations examining Irish phonology from a theoretical point of view include Ní Chiosáin (1991), Green (1997) in optimality theory, and Cyran (1997) and Bloch-Rozmej (1998) in government phonology.

Consonants

Most dialects of Irish contain at a minimum the consonants 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.

Consonant
phonemes 		Labial Coronal Dorsal Glottal
Bilabial Labio-
dental 		Labio-
velar 		Dental Alveolar Alveolo-
palatal 		Palatal Velar
Plosive pˠ
pʲ		 bˠ
bʲ 		        t̪ˠ
 		 d̪ˠ
  		 
tʲ		  
dʲ 		     
c		  
ɟ 		k
 		 ɡ
  		   
Fricative/
Approximant 		    fˠ
fʲ		  
vʲ 		  w
  		    sˠ
 		    
ɕ		    
ç		  
j 		x
 		 ɣ
  		h  
Nasal   mˠ
mʲ 		          n̪ˠ
  		   
nʲ 		       
ɲ 		  ŋ
  		   
Tap                   ɾˠ
ɾʲ 		               
Lateral
approximant 		              ɫ̪
  		   
lʲ 		               

On- and offglides

Broad (velar or velarized) consonants have a noticeable velar offglide before front vowels, thus [naoi] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) /n̪ˠiː/ "nine" and [caoi] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) /kiː/ "way, manner" are pronounced [n̪ˠɰiː] and [kɰiː] (Sjoestedt 1931:19, Sutton 1993). This velar offglide is labialized after labial consonants, so [buí] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) /bˠiː/ "yellow" is pronounced [bˠwiː] (Sutton 1993, Quiggin 1906:76).

Similarly, slender (palatal or palatalized) consonants have a palatal offglide before back vowels, e.g. [tiubha] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) /tʲuː/ "thick" is pronounced [tʲjuː] (Ó Sé 2000:11).

Consonants also have onglides when preceded by long vowels of the opposite quality (i.e. broad consonants after front vowels and slender consonants after back vowels), e.g. [áit] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) /aːtʲ/ "place" is pronounced [aːi̯tʲ] and [díol] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) /dʲiːɫ̪/ is [dʲiːə̯ɫ̪/] (Ó Sé 2000:11).

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 (Sjoestedt 1931:28–29), and in Ulster generally only [w] (Quiggin 1906:74–76). In Connacht [w] is found word-initially before vowels (e.g. [bhfuil] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [wɪlʲ] "is") and [vˠ] in other positions (e.g. [naomh] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [n̪ˠiːvˠ] "holy", [fómhar] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [ˈfˠuːvˠəɾˠ] "autumn", [bhrostaigh] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [ˈvˠɾˠɔsˠt̪ˠə] "hurried": Finck 1899:64–67, de Bhaldraithe 1966:30–31).

The labiodental fricatives /fˠ, fʲ, vʲ/ as well as the fricative allophone [vˠ] of /w/ have bilabial allophones 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 (de Bhaldraithe 1966:31–32).

The palatal stops /c, ɟ, ɲ/ may be articulated as true palatals [c, ɟ, ɲ] or as palatovelars [k̟, ɡ˖, ŋ˖] (Ó Sé 2000:14–15, 18).

The phoneme /j/ has three allophones in most dialects: a palatal approximant [j] before vowels besides /iː/ and in at the ends of syllables (e.g. [dheas] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [jasˠ] "nice", [beidh] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [bʲɛj] "will be"); a voiced (post)palatal fricative [ʝ] before consonants (e.g. [ghrian] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [ʝɾʲiən̪ˠ] "sun"); and an intermediate sound [j˔] (with more frication than [j] but less frication than [ʝ]) before /iː/ (e.g. [dhírigh] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [j˔iːɾʲə] "straightened" (Breatnach 1947:39–40, Ó Cuív 1944:42–43, de Bhaldraithe 1966:34, Mhac an Fhailigh 1968:34–35).

As in English, voiceless stops are aspirated 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 /ɕ/ (e.g. [scanradh] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [sˠkauɾˠə][1] "terror"); however, stops remain aspirated after the clitic is /sˠ/ (e.g. [is cam] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [sˠkʰaum] "it's crooked") (Breatnach 1947:33, 76). Several researchers (e.g. Ó Cuív 1944, Wagner 1959, de Bhaldraithe 1966, Mhac an Fhailigh 1968, Ó Sé 2000) 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 were divided not only into broad and slender types, but also into fortis and lenis types. By convention, the fortis sounds are transcribed with capital letters, the lenis with lower case. 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/ (McCone 1994:90). Fortis and lenis sonorants contrasted with each other between vowels and word-finally after vowels in Old Irish, for example [berraid] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) /bʲeRˠɨðʲ/ "he shears" vs. [beraid] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) /bʲerˠɨðʲ/ "he may carry"; [coll] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) /koLˠ/ "hazel" vs. [col] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) /kolˠ/ "sin"; [sonn] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) /sˠoNˠ/ "stake" vs. [son] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) /sˠonˠ/ "sound" (Quin 1975:4–5). Word-initially, only the fortis sounds were found, but they become lenis in environments where morphosyntactically triggered lenition is found: [rún] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) /Rˠuːnˠ/ "mystery" vs. [a rún] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) /a rˠuːnˠ/ "his mystery", [lón] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) /Lˠoːnˠ/ "provision" vs. [a lón] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) /a lˠoːnˠ/ "his provision" (Quin 1975:8).

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.

Old Irish Ulster
(Ní Chasaide 1999) 		Connacht Munster
Mayo
(Mhac an Fhailigh 1968) 		Connemara
(de Bhaldraithe 1966) 		Aran
(Finck 1899) 		Dingle Peninsula
(Ó Sé 2000) 		West Muskerry
(Ó Cuív 1944)
Rˠ ɾˠ ɾˠ ɾˠ ɾˠ ɾˠ ɾˠ
rˠ
Rʲ
rʲ ɾʲ ɾʲ ɾʲ ɾʲ ɾʲ ɾʲ
Lˠ ɫ̪ ɫ̪ ɫ̪ ɫ̪ ɫ̪ ɫ̪
lˠ ɫ l
lʲ l lʲ l lʲ lʲ
Lʲ l̠ʲ l̠ʲ l̠ʲ l̠ʲ
Nˠ n̪ˠ n̪ˠ n̪ˠ n̪ˠ n̪ˠ n̪ˠ
nˠ nˠ nˠ n
nʲ n̠ʲ between vowels
nˠ elsewhere
(Ó Siadhail 1989:94) 		nʲ nʲ nʲ nʲ
Nʲ n̠ʲ n̠ʲ n̠ʲ n̠ʲ n̠ʲ word-initially
ɲ elsewhere

Vowels

The vowels of Connacht Irish (de Búrca 1958:7)
File:Munster Irish vowel chart.png
The vowels of Munster Irish (Ó Cuív 1944:13)

The vowel sounds vary from dialect to dialect, but in general Connacht and Munster at least agree in having:

The vowels of Ulster Irish are more divergent and are discussed in that article.

Vowel backness

The backness of vowels, particularly short vowels, depends to a great extent on the quality (broad or slender) of adjacent consonants. Some researchers (e.g. Ó Siadhail & Wigger 1975:80–82, Ó Siadhail 1989:35–37, Ní Chiosáin 1994) 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 fully specified in their underlying representation, as they are not marked 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 Ó Sé (2000:20–24); 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 backness of close vowels varies depending on the quality of the surrounding consonants. Vowel height, however, is barely affected: all allophones of /iː/ and /uː/ are fully close, while all allophones of /ɪ/ and /ʊ/ are near-close.

The realization of long /iː/ ranges from a front [iː] to a centralized [ïː]:

  • tír [tʲiːrʲ]"country"
  • díol [dʲi̠ːɫ̪] "sale"
  • caoire [ki̠ːɾʲə] "berry" (genitive)
  • caora [kïːɾˠə] "sheep"

Long /uː/ ranges from a back [uː] to a centralized [üː]:

  • úll [uːɫ̪] "apple"
  • cú [kuː] "hound"
  • triúr [tʲɾʲu̟ːɾˠ] "three people"
  • súil [sˠu̟ːlʲ] "eye"
  • ciúin [cüːnʲ] "quiet"

Short /ɪ/ ranges from a front [i̞] to a central [ɨ̞]:

  • tigh [tʲi̞ɟ] "house" (dative)
  • giota [ˈɟɪt̪ˠə] "piece"
  • tuigeann [ˈt̪ˠɪ̈ɟən̪ˠ] "understands"
  • goirt [ɡɨ̞ɾˠtʲ][2] "salty"

Short /ʊ/ is a near-back [ʊ] when all adjacent consonants are broad, e.g. [dubh] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [d̪ʊvˠ] "black", and a more centralized [ʊ̟] after a slender consonant, e.g. [giobal] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [ˈɟʊ̟bˠəɫ̪] "rag".

Mid vowels

The realization of the mid vowels varies in backness and, to a lesser extent, in height according to the quality of the surrounding consonants. Long /eː/ ranges from a front [eː] to a centralized [ɛ̝̈ː]:

  • béic [bʲeːc] "yell"
  • glaoigh [ɡɫ̪e̞ːɟ] "call"
  • baol [bˠɛ̝̈ːɫ̪] "danger"

Long /oː/ ranges from a back [oː] to a centralized [öː]:

  • fód [fˠoːd̪ˠ] "turf"
  • fóid [fˠo̟ːdʲ] "turf" (genitive)
  • ceoil [cöːlʲ] "music" (genitive)

Short /ɛ/ ranges from a front [ɛ̝] to a central [ɘ̞]:

  • beidh [bʲɛ̝ɟ] "will be"
  • bead [bʲɛ̝̈d̪ˠ] "I will be"
  • raibh [ɾˠɛ̝̈vʲ] "was"
  • croich [kɾˠɘ̞] "cross" (dative)

Short /ɔ/ ranges from a back [ɔ̝] to a centralized [ö]:

  • cloch [kɫ̪ɔ̝x] "stone"
  • scoil [skɔ̝̈lʲ] "school"
  • deoch [dʲɔ̝̈x] "drink"
  • ansan [ən̪ˠˈsˠön̪ˠ] "there"
  • bog [bˠöɡ] "soft"

Unstressed /ə/ ranges from a near-close, near-front [ɪ] to a mid central [ə] to a mid-centralized back [ʊ̽]:

  • píce [ˈpʲiːcɪ] "pike"
  • sáile [ˈsˠaːlʲɪ̽] "salt water"
  • eolas [ˈoːɫ̪əsˠ] "information"
  • dúnadh [ˈd̪ˠuːn̪ˠʊ̽] "closing"

Open vowels

The realization of the open vowels varies in backness, and to a lesser extent height, according to the quality of the surrounding consonants. Long /aː/ ranges from a back [ɑː] to a front [aː]:

  • áit [ɑːtʲ] "place"
  • trá [t̪ˠɾˠɑː] "beach"
  • gearrfaidh [ˈɟa̠ːɾˠhəɟ] "will cut"
  • a Sheáin [ə çaːnʲ] "John" (vocative)

In Dingle and Tourmakeady (de Búrca 1958:13), the back allophone is rounded to [ɒː] after broad labials, e.g. [bán] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [bˠɒːn̪ˠ] "white". In Ring, however, rounded [ɒː] is the usual realization of /aː/ in all contexts except between slender consonants, where it is a centralized [ɒ̈ː] (Breatnach 1947:12–13).

Short /a/ ranges from a front [a] to a centralized back [ɑ̈]:

  • gairid [ɟaɾʲədʲ][3] "short"
  • fear [fʲa̠ɾˠ] "man"
  • caite [ˈka̠tʲə] "worn"
  • baile [bˠälʲə] "town"
  • mac [mˠɑ̈k] "son"
  • abair [ɑ̈bˠəɾʲ] "say"

In Connacht varieties (de Bhaldraithe 1966:12–13, de Búrca 1958:13, Mhac an Fhailigh 1968:13–15) /a/ has a near-open allophone [æ] adjacent to slender consonants. In Connemara, the allophones of /a/ are lengthened in duration, so that only vowel quality distinguishes the allophones of /a/ from those of /aː/ (de Bhaldraithe 1966:12–13).

Diphthongs

The starting point of /əi/ ranges from a near-open central [ɐ] to an open-mid centralized front [ɛ̈] and its end point ranges from a near-close near-front [ɪ] to a centralized [ɪ̈] (Breatnach 1947:23–24):

  • cladhaire [kɫ̪ɐɪɾʲə] "rogue"
  • gadhar [gɐɪ̈ɾˠ] "dog"
  • cill [cɛ̈ɪlʲ] "church"
  • leigheas [lʲɛ̈ɪ̈sˠ] "cure"

The starting point of /əu/ ranges from a near-open central [ɐ] to an open-mid advanced central [ɜ̟] and its end point ranges from a near-close near-back [ʊ] to a centralized [ʊ̈] (Breatnach 1947:24–25):

  • bodhar [bˠɐʊɾˠ] "deaf"
  • feabhas [fʲɜ̟ʊsˠ] "improvement"
  • labhairt [ɫ̪ɐʊ̈ɾʲtʲ] "speak"
  • meabhair [mʲɜ̟ʊ̈ɾʲ] "memory"

In West Muskerry and the Dingle Peninsula, however, the starting point of /əu/ is rounded and further back after broad consonants (Ó Cuív 1944:29, Ó Sé 2000:24), e.g. gabhar [gɔʊɾˠ] "goat".

The starting point of /iə/ ranges from a close front [i] to a retracted [i̠] and its end point ranges from a mid central [ə] to a close-mid centralized front [ë] (Ó Sé 2000:24):

  • ciall [ciəɫ̪] "sense"
  • riamh [ɾˠi̠əvˠ] "ever"
  • diabhail [dʲiëlʲ] "devils"

The starting point of /uə/ is consistently a close back [u] while the end point ranges from [ɐ] to [ɪ̽] (Ó Sé 2000:25):

  • thuas [huɐsˠ] "above"
  • uan [uən̪ˠ] "lamb"
  • buail [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 is not 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 the following (Quiggin 1906:65, Sjoestedt 1931:68, Ó Cuív 1944:54, Ó Sé 2000:25):

  • amhras [ˈə̃ũɾˠəsˠ] "doubt" ≠ abhras [ˈəuɾˠəsˠ] "yarn"
  • áth [ãː] "ford" ≠ ádh [aː] "luck"
  • comhair [kõːɾʲ] (in phrase [os comhair] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) "in front of, opposite") ≠ cóir [koːɾʲ] "just"
  • cumha [kũː] "sorrow" ≠ cú [kuː] "hound"
  • deimhis [dʲĩːɕ] "pairs of shears" ≠ dís [dʲiːɕ] "two people"
  • fómhair [fˠõːɾʲ] "autumn" (genitive) ≠ fóir [fˠoːɾʲ] "boundary, limit"
  • lámha [ɫ̪ãː] "hands" ≠ lá [ɫ̪aː] "day"
  • lámhach [ɫ̪ãːx] "shooting" ≠ lách [ɫ̪aːx] "generous"
  • nimhe [nʲĩː] "poison" (genitive) ≠ ní [nʲiː] "washing"
  • rámha [ɾˠãː] "oar" (genitive) ≠ rá [ɾˠaː] "saying"

In addition, where a vowel is nasalized because it is adjacent to a nasal consonant, it often retains its nasalization in related forms where the consonant is no longer nasal:

  • máthair [ˈmãːhəɾʲ] "mother" / a mháthair [ə ˈwãːhəɾʲ] "his mother" (Quiggin 1906:65)
  • sneachta [ˈɕnʲãxt̪ˠə] "snow" / an tsneachta [ə ˈtʲɾʲãxt̪ˠə] "the snow" (genitive) (de Bhaldraithe 1966:46)
  • snámh [sˠn̪ˠãːw] "swimming" / sa tsnámh [sˠə t̪ˠɾˠãːw] "in the swimming" (Mhac an Fhailigh 1968:48)

Phonotactics

The most interesting aspects of Irish phonotactics revolve around the behavior of consonant clusters. Here it is important to distinguish between clusters that occur at the beginnings of words and those that occur after vowels, although there is overlap between the two groups.

Word-initial consonant clusters

Irish words can begin with clusters of two or three consonants, but three-consonant clusters are allowed only if the first consonant is /sˠ/ or /ɕ/. In general, all the consonants in a cluster agree in their quality, i.e. either all are broad or all are slender. Examples (from Ní Chiosáin 1999) include:

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: de Bhaldraithe 1966:106, Ó Sé 2000:31), for example:

  • sméara /sˠmʲeːɾˠə/ "berries"
  • speal /sˠpʲal/ "scythe"
  • spleách /sˠpʲlʲaːx/ "dependent"
  • spreag /sˠpʲɾʲaɡ/ "inspire"
  • scéal /ɕceːɫ̪/ ~ /sˠceːɫ̪/ "story"

In the environment of an initial consonant mutation, there is a much wider range of possible onset clusters (Ní Chiosáin 1999, Ó Sé 2000:33), for example:

In Donegal, Mayo, and Connemara dialects (but not usually on the Aran Islands), the coronal nasals /nˠ, nʲ/ can follow only /sˠ, ɕ/ respectively in a word-initial cluster. After other consonants, they are replaced by /ɾˠ, ɾʲ/ (Ó Siadhail & Wigger 1975:116–17, Ó Siadhail 1989:95):

  • cnoc /kɾˠʊk/ "hill"
  • mná /mˠɾˠaː/ "women"
  • gnaoi /ɡɾˠiː/ "liking"
  • tnúth /t̪ˠɾˠuː/ "long for"

Under lenition, /sˠn̪ˠ, ɕnʲ/ become /hn̪ˠ, hnʲ/ as expected in these dialects, but after the definite article an they become /t̪ˠɾˠ, tʲɾʲ/:

  • sneachta /ɕnʲaxt̪ˠə/ "snow"
  • shneachta /hnʲaxt̪ˠə/ "snow" (lenited form)
  • an tsneachta /ə tʲɾʲaxt̪ˠə/ "the snow" (genitive)

Post-vocalic consonant clusters

Like word-initial consonant clusters, post-vocalic consonant clusters usually agree in broad or slender quality. The only exception here is that broad /ɾˠ/, not slender /ɾʲ/, appears before the slender coronals /tʲ, dʲ, ɕ, nʲ, lʲ/ (Ó Sé 2000:34–36):

  • beirt /bʲɛɾˠtʲ/ "two people"
  • ceird /ceːɾˠdʲ/ "trade"
  • doirse /ˈd̪ˠoːɾˠɕə/ "doors"
  • doirnín /d̪ˠuːɾˠˈnʲiːnʲ/ "handle"
  • comhairle /ˈkuːɾˠlʲə/ "advice"

A cluster of /ɾˠ, ɾʲ/, /ɫ̪, 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/ (Ní Chiosáin 1999):

There is no epenthesis, however, if the vowel preceding the cluster is long or a diphthong:

  • fáirbre /ˈfˠaːɾʲbʲɾʲə/ "wrinkle"
  • téarma /ˈtʲeːɾˠmˠə/ "term"
  • léargas /ˈlʲeːɾˠɡəsˠ/ "insight"
  • dualgas /ˈd̪ˠuəɫ̪ɡəsˠ/ "duty"

There is also no epenthesis into words that are at least three syllables long:

  • firmimint /ˈfʲɪɾʲmʲəmʲənʲtʲ/ "firmament"
  • smiolgadán /ˈsˠmʲɔɫ̪ɡəd̪ˠaːn̪ˠ/ "throat"
  • caisearbhán /ˈkaɕəɾˠwaːn̪ˠ/ "dandelion"
  • Cairmilíteach /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 is not 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, certain vowel-initial words cause a preceding consonant to be slender (palatalized) (Ní Chiosáin 1991:80–82)):

  • an iontais /ənʲ ˈiːn̪ˠt̪ˠəɕ/ "the wonder" (genitive)
  • an innill /ənʲ ˈɪnʲəlʲ/ "the machine" (genitive)
  • an eolais /ənʲ ˈoːɫ̪əɕ/ "the information" (genitive)
  • an eaglais /ənʲ aːɡɫ̪əɕ/ "the church"

However, other words beginning with the very same sounds cause a preceding consonant to be broad (velarized):

  • an aois /ən̪ˠ ˈiːɕ/ "the age"
  • an uisce /ən̪ˠ ˈɪɕcə/ "the water" (genitive)
  • an óir /ən̪ˠ oːɾʲ/ "the gold" (genitive)
  • an áthais /ən̪ˠ ˈaːhəɕ/ "the joy" (genitive)

One analysis of these facts (Ní Chiosáin 1991:83) is that vowel-initial words actually begin, at an abstract level of representation, with a consonant "slot" that contains no distinctive features at all except either [−back] (for the words that palatalize a preceding consonant) or [+back] (for the words that velarize a preceding consonant). Another analysis (Ó Siadhail & Wigger 1975:98–99, Ó Siadhail 1989:64–65) is that vowel-initial words, again at an abstract level, all begin with either a front or back glide that triggers either palatalization or velarization (respectively) of a preceding consonant and is then deleted.

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 (O'Rahilly 1932:49–52, Ó Siadhail & Wigger 1975:89–94, Ó Siadhail 1989:49–50, Carnie 2002). The details vary from dialect to dialect. In Donegal and Mayo, lengthening is found only before before the reflexes of Old Irish /Rˠ, Rʲ/ and in a few words also before the reflexes of /Lˠ Lʲ/ (de Búrca 1958:132–34, Mhac an Fhailigh 1968:163–64, Evans 1969:127, Ó Baoill 1996:16):

  • barr /bˠaːɾˠ/ "top"
  • ard /aːɾˠd̪ˠ/ "tall"
  • orlach /ˈoːɾˠɫ̪ax/ "inch"
  • tuirne /ˈt̪uːɾˠn̠ʲə/ "spinning wheel"
  • thall /haːɫ̪/ "yonder"

In Connemara, the Aran Islands, and Munster, lengthening is found generally before the reflexes of all the Old Irish fortis sonorants /Rˠ, Rʲ, Lˠ, Lʲ, Nˠ, Nʲ/ as well as before /mˠ mʲ/ and /ŋ(g) ɲ(ɟ)/ in syllable-final position:

Orthography Connemara
(de Bhaldraithe 1966:109–12) 		Aran
(Finck 1899) 		Ring
(Breatnach 1947:142–44) 		West Muskerry
(Ó Cuív 1944:121–23) 		Gloss
bord /bˠəuɾˠd̪ˠ/ /bˠoːɾˠd̪ˠ/ "table"
ceird /cəiɾˠdʲ/ (unattested) /ceːɾˠdʲ/ (unattested) "trade"
poll /pˠəuɫ̪/ "hole"
caill /kaːl̠ʲ/ /kal̠ʲ/ with short vowel due to
influence of related forms like
[cailleann] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) /ˈkalʲən̪ˠ/ (present
tense, synthetic) 		/kailʲ/ "lose"
fionn /fʲiːn̪ˠ/ /fʲuːn̪ˠ/ /fʲaun̪ˠ/ /fʲuːn̪ˠ/ "fair-haired"
broinn /bˠɾˠiːn̠ʲ/ (unattested) /bˠɾˠaiɲ/ (unattested) "breast"
greim /ɟɾʲiːmʲ/ /ɟɾʲəimʲ/ "grip"
long /ɫ̪uːŋg/ /ɫ̪uːŋ/ (unattested) /ɫ̪uːŋg/ "ship"

Because the development before broad sonorants was different from that before slender ones in many cases, and because there was generally no lengthening (except by analogy) when the sonorants were followed by a vowel, there has arisen a variety of vowel alternations between different related word-forms. Examples from the Dingle Peninsula (Ó Sé 2000:40–42) include:

ceann /cəun̪ˠ/ "head" (nominative singular) cinn /ciːnʲ/ (genitive singular) ceanna /ˈcan̪ə/ (nominative plural)
fonn /fˠəun̪ˠ/ "willingness" (nominative singular) foinn /fˠiːnʲ/ (genitive singular) fonnmhar /ˈfˠɔn̪ˠəwəɾˠ/ "willing"
caill /kailʲ/ "lose" (imperative) cailleann /ˈkalʲən̪ˠ/ (present tense, synthetic)
bearr /bʲaːɾˠ/ "shave" (imperative) bearrann /ˈbʲaɾˠən̪ˠ/ (present tense, synthetic)
im /iːmʲ/ "butter" (nominative) ime /ˈɪmʲə/ (genitive)

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 is vary from researcher to researcher. Ó Siadhail & Wigger (1975:89–90) (repeated in Ó Siadhail 1989:48–50) argue that the fortis sonorant is tense and that this tenseness is transferred to the vowel, where it is realized phonetically as vowel length and/or diphthongization. Ní Chiosáin (1991:188–95) argues that lengthening is triggered when a mora underlyingly associated with the fortis sonorant is transferred to the vowel. Carnie (2002) expands on that analysis to argue that the fortis sonorants have an advanced tongue root and that diphthongization is an articulatory effect of the tongue being pushed upward in the mouth.

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 and in the formation of verbal adjectives. Some examples from Ring (Breatnach 1947:137–38):

Verb root Suffix Surface form
scuab /sˠkuəbˠ/ "sweep" /-həɟ/ (future) scuabfaidh /ˈsˠkuəpˠəɟ/ "will sweep"
/-hə/ (verbal adjective) scuabtha /ˈsˠkuəpˠə/ "swept" (verbal adjective)
coimheád /cəˈmʲaːd̪ˠ/[4] "keep" (imperative) /-həɟ/ (future) coimheádfaidh /cəˈmʲaːt̪ˠəɟ/ "will keep"
lig /lʲɪɟ/ "let" /-həɟ/ (future) ligfidh /ˈlʲɪcəɟ/ "will let"
fág /fˠaːg/ "leave" /-hə/ (verbal adjective) fágtha /ˈfˠaːkə/ "left" (verbal adjective)
naomh /n̪ˠeːw/ "hallow" /-hə/ (verbal adjective) naofa /ˈn̪ˠeːfˠə/ "hallowed" (verbal adjective)

Sandhi

Irish exhibits a number of external sandhi effects across word boundaries, particularly in rapid speech. The most common type of sandhi is the assimilation of a coronal consonant to the place of articulation of a following coronal consonant. Some examples from Meenawannia (Quiggin 1906:146–50) include:

Isolation form Form in sandhi
feall /fʲaɫ̪/ "deceive" d'fheall sé orm [dʲal̠ʲ ɕə ɔɾˠəmˠ] "it deceived me"
lán /ɫ̪aːnˠ/ "full" lán sneachta [ɫ̪aːn̠ʲ ˈɕn̠ʲaxt̪ˠə] "full of snow"
blas /bˠɫasˠ/ "taste" blas deas [bˠɫaɕ dʲasˠ] "a pleasant taste"
fuair /fˠuəɾʲ/ "got" fuair tú [fˠuəɾˠ t̪ˠuː] "you got"
rinn /ɾˠɪn̠ʲ/ "did" rinn tú [ɾˠɪn̪ˠ t̪ˠuː] "you did"
fan /fˠanˠ/ "remain" d'fhan tú [d̪ˠan̪ˠ t̪ˠuː] "you remained"

A coronal nasal may also assimilate to the place of articulation of a following noncoronal sound (de Búrca 1958:65–68):

Isolation form Form in sandhi
gamhain /ˈgawənʲ/ "calf" gamhain bliana [ˈgawəmʲ bʲlʲiən̪ˠə] "year-old calf"
ceann /can̪ˠ/ "one" ceann bacach [camˠ ˈbˠakəx] "a lame one"
ceann carrach [caŋ ˈkaɾˠəx] "a scabbed one"
mórán /ˈmˠoːɾˠaːnˠ/ "much" mórán céille [ˈmˠoːɾˠaːɲ ˈceːl̠ʲə] "much sense"

A voiced consonant becomes voiceless before a voiceless consonant (Finck 1899:123–24):

Isolation form Form in sandhi
lúb /ɫ̪uːbˠ/ "bent" lúb sé [ɫ̪uːpˠ ɕeː] "he bent"
sibh /ɕɪbʲ/[5] "you" sibh cheana [ɕɪpʲ ˈhanə] "you already"
bád /bˠaːd̪ˠ/ "boat" bád seoil [bˠaːt̪ ɕoːl] "sailboat"
fhág /aːg/ "left" ar fhág tú? [əɾˠ aːk t̪ˠuː] "did you leave?"
lámh /ɫ̪aːw/ "hand" do lámh clé [d̪ˠə laːf clʲiː][6] "your left hand"

Stress

General facts of stress placement

An Irish word normally has only one stressed syllable, namely the first one (de Búrca 1958:74–75):

  • d'imigh /ˈdʲɪmʲiː/ "left" (preterite)
  • easonóir /ˈasˠən̪ˠoːɾʲ/ "dishonor"
  • paidrín /ˈpˠadʲəɾʲiːnʲ/ "rosary"

Certain words, especially adverbs and loanwords, have stress on a noninitial syllable:

  • amháin /əˈwaːnʲ/ "only"
  • anuas /əˈn̪ˠuəsˠ/ "down from above"
  • tobac /təˈbak/ "tobacco"
  • atá /əˈt̪ˠaː/ "is" (direct relative)

In most compounds, primary stress falls on the first member and the secondary stress on the second:

  • lagphórtach /ˈɫ̪agˌfˠɔɾˠt̪ˠəx/ "spent bog"
  • leasmháthair /ˈl̠ʲasˠˌwaːhəɾʲ/ "stepmother"
  • seanfhocal /ˈɕanˠˌɔkəɫ/ "proverb"

Some compounds have primary stress on both the first and the second member:

  • an-deas /ˈan̠ʲˈdʲasˠ/ "very nice"
  • rómhall /ˈɾˠɔˈwaɫ̪/ "too late"
  • deargbhréag /ˈdʲaɾˠəgˈvʲɾʲeːg/ "a terrible lie"
  • droch-chosúlacht /ˈd̪ɾˠɔxˈxɔsˠuːɫəxt̪ˠ/ "bad appearance"

In Munster, stress is attracted to a long vowel or diphthong in the second or third syllable of a word (Ó Sé 2000:46–47):

  • cailín /kaˈlʲiːnʲ/ "girl"
  • amhránaí /ouˈɾˠaːn̪ˠiː/ "songs"
  • achainí /axəˈnʲiː/ "request"
  • seirbhís /ɕɛɾʲəˈviːɕ/ "service"

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 a word-final fortis sonorant or /m/ when that word was also final in its utterance (Lavin 1957, Dillon 1973, Green 1997:86–90). For example, [capall] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) "horse" was pronounced [kaˈpˠɞɫ̪] in isolation or as the last word of a sentence, but as [ˈkapˠəɫ̪] 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 (Ó Cuív 1944:67):

  • moltachán /ˌmˠɔɫ̪həˈxaːn̪ˠ/[7] "wether"
  • seachrán /ˌɕaxəˈɾˠaːn̪ˠ/ "wandering"
  • spealadóir /ˌsˠpʲaɫ̪əˈd̪ˠoːɾʲ/ "scythe-man"

Also in Munster, an unstressed short vowel is not reduced to schwa if the following syllable contains a stressed /iː/ or /uː/ (Ó Cuív 1944:105):

  • ealaí /aˈɫ̪iː/ "art"
  • bailiú /bˠaˈlʲuː/ "gather"
  • oiliúint /ɛˈlʲuːnʲtʲ/ "act of rearing"
  • coitianta /kɔˈtʲiən̪ˠt̪ˠə/ "common"

In Ulster, long vowels in unstressed syllables are shortened but are not reduced to schwa (Ó Dochartaigh 1987:19 ff., Hughes 1994:626–27):

  • cailín /ˈkalʲinʲ/ "girl"
  • áibhéis /ˈaːvʲeɕ/ "exaggeration"
  • amadán /ˈaməd̪ˠanˠ/ "fool"
  • feannóg /ˈfʲan̪ˠɔg/ "crow"
  • ceoltóir /ˈcɔːɫ̪t̪ˠɔɾʲ/ "musician"
  • galún /ˈgaɫunˠ/ "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 is followed by /x/ and if the first syllable (and third syllable, if there is one) contains a short vowel (Ó Cuív 1944:66).

  • bacach /bˠəˈkax/ "lame"
  • cailleach /kəˈlʲax/ "hag"
  • mullach /mˠəˈɫ̪ax/ "peak"
  • bacacha /bˠəˈkaxə/ "lame" (plural)
  • slisneacha /ɕlʲəˈɕnʲaxə/ "chips"
  • cruithneacht /kɾˠəɲˈhaxt̪ˠ/[8] "wheat"

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 (Ó Cuív 1944:66):

  • éisteacht /ˈeːɕtʲəxt̪ˠ/ "listen"
  • iarracht /ˈiəɾˠəxt̪ˠ/ "attempt"
  • moltachán /ˌmˠɔɫ̪həˈxaːn̪ˠ/ "wether"

In Ulster, unstressed /a/ before /x/ is not reduced to schwa (Quiggin 1906:9):

  • eallach /ˈaɫ̪ax/ "cattle"
  • amárach /əˈmˠaːɾˠax/ "tomorrow"
  • imeacht /ˈɪmʲaxt̪ˠ/ "depart"

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, in Ring, /h/ becomes /x/ at the end of a monosyllabic word (Breatnach 1947:137):

  • scáth /sˠkaːx/ "fear"
  • dath /d̪ˠax/ "color"
  • cioth /cʊx/ "shower"

More generally in Munster, /ç/ becomes /h/ after a vowel (Ó Cuív 1944:117–18):

  • fiche /ˈfʲɪhə/ "twenty"
  • oíche /ˈiːhə/ "night"
  • críche /ˈkɾˠiːhə/ "end" (genitive), crích /kɾˠiːh/ (dative); cf. críoch /kɾˠiːx/ (nominative)

As the lenition of /tʲ/ and /ɕ/, /h/ is replaced by /ç/ before back vowels (de Búrca 1958:129–30):

  • thabharfainn /ˈçuːɾˠhən̠ʲ/[9] "I would give"
  • sheoil /çoːlʲ/ "drove"

In some Ulster dialects, such as that of Tory Island, /x/ can be replaced by /h/, and can be deleted word-finally (Hamilton 1974:152):

  • cha /ha/ "not"
  • santach /ˈsˠan̪ˠtˠah ~ ˈsˠan̪ˠtˠa/ "greedy"

In other Ulster dialects, /x/ can be deleted before /t̪ˠ/ as well (Ó Searcaigh 1925:136)

  • seacht /ɕat̪ˠ/ "seven"
  • bocht /bˠɔt̪ˠ/ "poor"
  • anocht /əˈn̪ɔt̪ˠ/ "tonight"

Samples

The following table shows some sample sentences from the Aran dialect (Finck 1899:II.1–2).

vʲiː ɕeː əɟ ˈafˠəɾˠk əˈmˠax asˠ ə ˈwɪn̠ʲoːɡ nuəɾʲ ə vʲiː ˈmʲɪɕə ɡɔl haɾˠt̪ˠ Bhí sé ag amharc[10] amach as an bhfuinneog nuair a bhí mise ag dul thart. He was looking out the window when I went past.
n̠ʲiː ˈɛcətʲ ɕeː pˠəuɫ̪ hɾʲiː ˈdʲɾʲeːmʲɾʲə Ní fheicfeadh sé poll thrí dréimire. He wouldn't see a hole through a ladder (i.e. he's very near-sighted).
t̪ˠaː mʲeː fʲlɔx hɾʲiːdʲ əsˠ hɾʲiːdʲ Tá mé fliuch thríd is thríd. I am wet through and through.
hʊɡ ɕeː klɔx woːɾ ˈaɡəsˠ xa ɕeː lɛɕ ə ˈwɪn̠ʲoːɡ iː Thug sé cloch mhór agus chaith sé leis an bhfuinneog í. He took a large stone and he threw it against the window.
ˈhaːnəɟ ɕeː əɕˈtʲax aɡəsˠ kuːx əɾʲ Tháinig sé isteach agus cuthach air. He came in in a rage.
―əɾˠ iːk ɕɪbʲ ˈmˠoːɾˠaːn əɾʲ ə mˠuːn
―ɡə ˈdʲɪvʲən dʲiːk sˠə ˈɫ̪əiəd̪ˠ ə wɪl aːn̪ˠ jɪ		 ―Ar íoc sibh[5] mórán ar an móin?
―Go deimhin d'íoc is an laghad a bhfuil ann dhi.		 ―Did you pay much for the turf?
―We certainly did, considering how little there is of it.
ˈtʲaɡəmʲ aːn̪ˠ xɪlə ɫ̪aː sˠəsˠ ˈmʲɪnəc n̪ˠax mʲiən̪ˠ ˈmˠoːɾˠaːn ˈfˠaːl̠ʲtʲə ɾˠuːmˠ Tagaim[11] ann chuile lá is is minic nach mbíonn mórán fáilte romham. I come there every day but often I'm not very welcome.
t̪ˠaː mʲeː ˈklɪɕtʲaːl ə ɡɔl haɾˠəmˠ ɡə mʲəi ˈsˠavˠɾˠə fʲlɔx sˠə ˈmʲliənə aɡən̠ʲ aɡəsˠ ˈçiːt̪ˠəɾˠ ɣɔmˠ pʲeːn ɡəɾˠ ˈaɕtʲəx ə ɕceːl eː ɕɪn Tá mé ag cloisteáil ag dul tharam go mbeidh samhradh fliuch sa mbliana againn, agus chítear[12] dhom féin gur aisteach an scéal é sin. I have 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 ɕeː An bhfuil na fataí chomh maith is dúirt sé? Are the potatoes as good as he said?
ə ˈɣeːlɟə ˈɫ̪əuɾˠiːɾˠ ə ˈɡuːɟə mˠuːn n̠ʲiː ˈhɔnən̪ˠ iː sˠə ˈɣeːlɟə ˈɕaɡən̠ʲə An Ghaeilge a labhraítear[13] i gCúige Mumhan, ní hionann í is an Ghaeilge seo againne. 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 gn̪ˠ mn̪ˠ/ etc. to /kɾˠ gɾˠ 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 (O'Rahilly 1932:22–23). Lengthening or diphthongization of vowels before fortis sonorants is also found in both languages (O'Rahilly 1932:49–52). 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 (O'Rahilly 1932:113–115, Green 1997:90–93).

Manx and many dialects of Scottish Gaelic share with Ulster Irish the property of not reducing unstressed /a/ to /ə/ before /x/ (O'Rahilly 1932:110–12).

Hiberno-English

Irish phonology has had a significant influence on the phonology of Hiberno-English (Wells 1982:417–50). For example, most of the vowels of Hiberno-English (with the exception of /ɔɪ/ correspond to vowel phones (if not always 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 is permitted in Irish but excluded in other dialects of English, such as before an unstressed vowel (e.g. Haughey /ˈhɒhi/) and at the end of a word (e.g. McGrath /məˈgɹæh/). Another feature of Hiberno-English phonology taken over from Irish is epenthesis in words like film [ˈfɪləm] and form [ˈfɔɹəm].

Footnotes

  1. ^ Pronounced as if spelled [scamhradh] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
  2. ^ Pronounced as if spelled [guirt] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
  3. ^ Pronounced as if spelled [geairid] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
  4. ^ Pronounced as if spelled [cimeád] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
  5. ^ a b Pronounced as if spelled [sib] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
  6. ^ Pronounced as if spelled [clí] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
  7. ^ Pronounced as if spelled [molthachán] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
  8. ^ Pronounced as if spelled [cruinntheacht] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
  9. ^ Pronounced as if spelled [thiúrfainn] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
  10. ^ Pronounced as if spelled [afarc] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
  11. ^ Pronounced as if spelled [teagaim] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
  12. ^ Pronounced as if spelled [chíotar] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
  13. ^ Pronounced as if spelled [labhraíthear] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)

References

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