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User:Mahagaja/Irish dh and gh

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The digraph dh (also written , especially in Gaelic type) represents the lenition of d, both synchronically (word-initial position only) and historically (mostly word-internally and finally). Word-initially, dh is pronounced /ɣ/ when broad and /j/ when slender, as in dhorn /ɣoːɾˠn̪ˠ/ "fist" (lenited) and dhearg /ˈjaɾˠəg/ "red" (lenited). Noninitially, broad dh is not pronounced directly at all in most circumstances, but it can have an effect on how neighboring vowels are pronounced.

| word-initially
Silent after a long vowel |
ádh /aː/ "luck" |- | slender | /j/ | , fáidh /fˠaːj/ "prophet" |- | colspan=3 | See vowel chart for adh, aidh, eadh, eidh, idh, oidh, odh. See Special pronunciations in verb forms for -dh at the end of verbs.

|- | adh(a(i)) | stressed | /ai/ | adhairt /aiɾˠtʲ/ "pillow", Tadhg /t̪ˠaig/ (man's name) |- | rowspan="2" | adh | unstressed | /ə/ | margadh /ˈmˠaɾˠəgə/ "market" | rowspan=3 | aidh, aigh | stressed | /ai/ | aidhm /aimʲ/ "aim", saighdiúir /ˈsˠaidʲuːrʲ/ "soldier" |- | unstressed | /iː/ | cleachtaidh /ˈclʲaxt̪ˠiː/ "practice" (genitive), bacaigh /ˈbˠakiː/ "beggar" (genitive) | eadh(a(i) | stressed | /ai/ | meadhg /mʲaig/ "whey" |- | rowspan=2 | -eadh | unstressed | /ə/ | briseadh /ˈbʲɾʲɪʃə/ "breaking"

colspan=2 | eidh(i/ea), eigh(i/ea)

| /ai/ | feidhm /fʲaimʲ/ "function", leigheas /lʲaisˠ/ "healing" rowspan="2" | idh, igh | unstressed | /iː/ | tuillidh /ˈt̪ˠɪlʲiː/ "addition" (gen.), coiligh /ˈkɛlʲiː/ "rooster" (gen.) | colspan=2 | obh(a(i)), odh(a(i)), ogh(a(i)) | /au/ | lobhar /ɫ̪auɾˠ/ "leper", bodhar /bˠauɾˠ/ "deaf", rogha /ɾˠau/ "choice" | colspan=2 | oidh(i/ea), oigh(i/ea) | /ai/ | oidhre /airʲə/ "heir", loighic /ɫ̪aic/ "logic" In the imperfect, conditional, and imperative, -dh is pronounced /tʲ/ before a pronoun beginning with s-:

  • mholadh sé /ˈwɔɫ̪ətʲ ʃeː/ "he used to praise"
  • bheannódh sibh /ˈvʲan̪ˠoːtʲ ʃɪvʲ/ "you (pl.) would bless"
  • osclaíodh sí /ˈɔsˠkɫ̪iːtʲ ʃiː/ "let her open"

Otherwise it is pronounced /x/:

  • mholadh an buachaill /ˈwɔɫ̪əx ə ˈbˠuəxəlʲ/ "the boy used to praise"
  • bheannódh na cailíní /ˈvʲanoːx n̪ˠə ˈkalʲiːnʲiː/ "the girls would bless"
  • osclaíodh Siobhán /ˈɔsˠkɫ̪iːx ˈʃʊwaːn̪ˠ/ "let Siobhán open"

In the preterite impersonal, -dh is pronounced /w/:

  • moladh é /ˈmˠɔɫ̪əw eː/ "he was praised"
  • beannaíodh na cailíní /ˈbʲan̪iːw ˈkalʲiːnʲiː/ "the girls were blessed"

-(a)idh and -(a)igh are pronounced /ə/ before a pronoun, otherwise /iː/:

  • molfaidh mé /ˈmˠɔɫ̪hə mʲeː/ "I will praise"
  • molfaidh Seán /ˈmˠɔɫ̪hiː ʃaːn/ "Seán will praise"
  • bheannaigh mé /ˈvʲan̪ˠə mʲeː/ "I blessed"
  • bheannaigh Seán /ˈvʲan̪ˠiː ʃaːn/ "Seán blessed"

dh as /g/ in Donegal: Quiggin §429, Teelin §117

feadh (also > /g/ in Munster), fiodh, fliodh, sniodh

eagh(a(i)): seaghais/seaghsach, teaghair/teaghrán, teaghlach, treaghd/treaghdán

References

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