Irish phonology
The phonology of the Irish language varies from dialect to dialect; there is no standard pronunciation of Irish. 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, Irish phonology has been the focus of theoretical linguists, who have produced a number of books, articles, and doctoral theses on the topic.
One of the most important aspects of Irish phonology is that almost all consonants come in pairs, with one having a "broad" pronunciation and the other a "slender" one. Broad consonants are either velarized or simply velar. 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 bó and beo is that bó is pronounced with a broad b sound, while beo 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 each other, and in the behavior of words that begin with a vowel. This broad/slender distinction is similar to the hard/soft one of several Slavic languages, like Russian.
The Irish language shares a number of phonological characteristics with its nearest linguistic relatives, Scottish Gaelic and Manx, as well as with Hiberno-English, with which it is in the closest language 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 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. 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, for Cois Fhairrge in County Galway, for An Rinn, County Waterford, for Tourmakeady in County Mayo, for Teelin, County Donegal, for Erris in County Mayo. More recent descriptive phonology has been published by for Rosguill in northern Donegal, for Tangaveane and Commeen, for Iorras Aithneach in Connemara, 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. The consonant is neither broad nor slender.On- and offglides
Broad consonants have a noticeable velar offglide before front vowels, which sounds like the English w but made without rounding the lips. The IPA symbol for this sound is. Thus naoi and caoi are pronounced and, respectively. This velar offglide is labialized after labial consonants, so buí is pronounced.Similarly, slender consonants have a palatal offglide before back vowels, e.g. tiubh is pronounced.
When a broad consonant follows a front vowel, there is a very short vowel sound just before the consonant, e.g. díol is pronounced. Similarly, when a slender consonant follows a back vowel, there is an onglide before the consonant, e.g. áit is pronounced,óil is pronounced, meabhair is, and dúinn is.
Allophones
has two basic allophones: the labiovelar approximant and the velarized voiced labiodental fricative. The distribution of these allophones varies from dialect to dialect. In Munster, generally only is found, and in Ulster generally only is found. In Connacht, is found word-initially before vowels and in other positions.The remaining labial fricatives are typically labiodental, but they as well as the fricative allophone of have bilabial allophones in many dialects; the distribution depends partly on environment and partly on the individual speaker.
Among the coronals, most are alveolar, but the broad stops and lateral are typically dental, and the slender coronal fricative is typically postalveolar. The slender coronal stops may be realized as alveolo-palatal affricates in a number of dialects, including Tourmakeady, Erris, and Teelin.
The slender dorsal stops may be articulated as true palatals or as palatovelars.
The phoneme has three allophones in most dialects: a palatal approximant before vowels besides and at the ends of syllables ; a voiced palatal fricative before consonants ; and an intermediate sound before .
The slender tap has a fricative allophone.
As in English, voiceless stops are aspirated at the start of a word, while voiced stops may be incompletely voiced but are never aspirated. Voiceless stops are unaspirated after and ; however, stops remain aspirated after the clitic is . Several researchers use transcriptions like, 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 sonorants 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 coronal 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. Fortis m was probably a normal, while lenis m was a nasalized semivowel, perhaps tending towards a nasalized fricative or when palatalized. By convention, the fortis coronals are transcribed with capital letters, the lenis with lower case . Thus Old Irish had four rhotic phonemes, four lateral phonemes, and four coronal nasal phonemes. Fortis and lenis sonorants contrasted with each other between vowels and word-finally after vowels in Old Irish, for example berraid vs. beraid ; coll vs. col ; sonn vs. son . Word-initially, only the fortis sounds were found, but they became lenis in environments where morphosyntactically triggered lenition was found: rún vs. a rún , lón vs. a lón .In the modern language, the four rhotics have been reduced to two in all dialects, having merged as. 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.
As for fortis and lenis m, in time the lenis version came to be pronounced as a regular semivowel or fricative along with nasalization of the preceding vowel. The later loss of between vowels has resulted in phonemically nasalized vowels in some modern dialects, but these are not robustly maintained in any dialect; the strong tendency is to eliminate the nasalization entirely. The original nasalized semivowel is still reflected as in the spelling, however.
Vowels
The vowel sounds vary from dialect to dialect, but in general Connacht and Munster at least agree in having the monophthongs,,,,,,,,,, and schwa, which is found only in unstressed syllables; and the falling diphthongs,,, and.The vowels of Ulster Irish are more divergent and are not discussed in this article.
Vowel backness
The backness of vowels depends to a great extent on the quality of adjacent consonants. Some researchers have argued that and are actually allophones of the same phoneme, as are and, as in a vertical vowel system. 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 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 and, and the near-close and. Their exact pronunciation depends on the quality of the surrounding consonants. is realized as a front between two slender consonants. Between a slender and a broad consonant, the tongue is retracted slightly from this position, e.g. díol , caoire . Between two broad consonants, the tongue is retracted even further, almost to the point of being a central vowel : caora . is a fully back between broad consonants, but between a broad and a slender consonant, the tongue is somewhat advanced, e.g. triúr , súil . Between two slender consonants, it is advanced even further, to a centralized vowel : ciúin .The near-close vowels and show a similar pattern. is realized between slender consonants as a front, e.g. tigh . After a slender consonant and before a broad one, it is a near-front, e.g. giota . After a broad consonant and before a slender one, it is a more retracted, e.g. tuigeann . Finally, between two broad consonants it is a central, e.g. goirt . is a near-back when all adjacent consonants are broad, e.g. dubh , and a more centralized after a slender consonant, e.g. giobal .
Mid vowels
The realization of the long close-mid vowels and varies according to the quality of the surrounding consonants. is a front between two slender consonants, a centralized between a broad and a slender consonant, and a more open centralized between two broad consonants. ranges from a back between two broad consonants to an advanced between a broad and a slender consonant to a centralized between two slender consonants.The short open-mid vowels also vary depending on their environment. Short ranges from a front between slender consonants to a retracted between a broad and a slender consonant to a central when the only adjacent consonant is broad. Short between two broad consonants is usually a back, e.g. cloch , but it is a centralized adjacent to nasal consonants and labial consonants, e.g. ansan and bog . Between a broad and a slender consonant, it is a more open : scoil , deoch .
Unstressed is realized as a near-close, near-front when adjacent to a palatal consonant, e.g. píce . Next to other slender consonants, it is a mid-centralized, e.g. sáile . Adjacent to broad consonants, it is usually a mid central, e.g. eolas , but when the preceding syllable contains one of the close back vowels, it is realized as a mid-centralized back, e.g. dúnadh , muca .
Open vowels
The realization of the open vowels varies according to the quality of the surrounding consonants; there is a significant difference between Munster dialects and Connacht dialects as well. In Munster, long and short 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 in word-initial position and after broad consonants is a back, e.g. áit , trá . Between a slender and a broad consonant, it is a retracted front, e.g. gearrfaidh , while between two slender consonants it is a fully front, e.g. a Sheáin . In Dingle, the back allophone is rounded to after broad labials, e.g. bán , while in Ring, County Waterford, rounded is the usual realization of in all contexts except between slender consonants, where it is a centralized. Short between two slender consonants is a front, as in gairid . Between a broad and a slender consonant, it is in most cases a retracted, e.g. fear , and caite , but after broad labials and it is a centralized front, e.g. baile , loit . When it is adjacent only to broad consonants, it is a centralized back, e.g. mac , abair .In Connacht varieties, the allophones of short are consistently further front than the allophones of long. In Erris, for example, short ranges from a near-open front vowel before slender consonants to an open after slender consonants to a centralized back between broad consonants. Long, on the other hand, ranges from a back between broad consonants to an advanced back before slender consonants to a centralized back after slender consonants. In Toormakeady, the back allophone is rounded to after broad labials, e.g. bán . In Connemara, the allophones of are lengthened in duration, so that only vowel quality distinguishes the allophones of from those of.
Diphthongs
The starting point of ranges from a near-open central after broad consonants to an open-mid centralized front after slender consonants, and its end point ranges from a near-close near-front before slender consonants to a centralized before broad consonants. Examples include cladhaire , gadhar , cill , and leigheas .The starting point of ranges from a near-open central after broad consonants to an open-mid advanced central after slender consonants, and its end point ranges from a near-close near-back before broad consonants to a centralized before slender consonants. Examples include bodhar , feabhas , labhairt , and meabhair . In West Muskerry and the Dingle Peninsula, however, the starting point of is rounded and further back after broad consonants, e.g. gabhar .
The starting point of ranges from a close front after slender consonants to a retracted after word-initial broad . Its end point ranges from a mid central before broad consonants to a close-mid centralized front before slender consonants. Examples include ciall , riamh , and diabhail .
The starting point of is consistently a close back while the end point ranges from to : thuas , uan , buail .
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; these generally result from an earlier nasalized semivowel , that has since been lost. 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 speakers. Potential minimal pairs include those shown in the table [|below].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. For example, the nasal of máthair is replaced by nonnasal in the phrase a mháthair , but the vowel remains nasalized. Similarly, in sneachta the vowel after the is nasalized, while in an tsneachta , the is replaced by in some northern dialects, but the nasalized vowel remains.
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. In general, all the consonants in a cluster agree in their quality, i.e. either all are broad or all are slender. Two-consonant clusters consist of an obstruent consonant followed by a liquid or nasal consonant ; examples include bleán , breá , cnaipe , dlí , gnáth , pleidhce , slios , sneachta , tlúth , and tnúth . In addition, and may be followed by a voiceless stop, as in sparán and scéal . Further, the cluster occurs in the word mná and a few forms related to it. Three-consonant clusters consist of or plus a voiceless stop plus a liquid. Examples include scliúchas , scread , splanc , spraoi , and stríoc .One exception to quality agreement is that broad is found before slender labials. Examples include: sméara , speal , spleách , spreag , and scéal .
In the environment of an initial consonant mutation, there is a much wider range of possible onset clusters; for example, in a lenition environment the following occur: bhlas , bhris , chleacht , chrom , ghreamaigh , ghníomhaigh , shleamhnaigh , shnámh , shroich . In an eclipsis environment, the following are found: mbláth , mbliana , mbrisfeá , ndlúth , ndroichead , ndréimire , ngléasfá , ngreadfá , ngníomhófá .
In Donegal, Mayo, and Connemara dialects, the coronal nasals can follow only respectively in a word-initial cluster. After other consonants, they are replaced by : cnoc , mná , gnaoi , tnúth .
Under lenition, become as expected in these dialects, but after the definite article an they become : sneachta , shneachta , an tsneachta .
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 is that broad, not slender, appears before the slender coronals : beirt , ceird , doirse , doirnín , comhairle .A cluster of,, or followed by a labial or dorsal consonant is broken up by an epenthetic vowel : borb , gorm , dearmad , dearfa , seirbhís , fearg , dorcha , dalba , colm , soilbhir , gealbhan , binb , Banba, , ainm , meanma , ainmhí .
There is no epenthesis, however, if the vowel preceding the cluster is long or a diphthong: fáirbre , téarma , léargas , dualgas . There is also no epenthesis into words that are at least three syllables long: firmimint , smiolgadán , caisearbhán , Cairmilíteach .
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, the n of the definite article an is slender before the word iontais but broad before the word aois :an iontais vs. an aois .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, 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, and in a few words also before word-final ll, for example, barr , ard , orlach , tuirne , thall .
In Connemara, the Aran Islands, and Munster, lengthening is found generally not only in the environments listed above, but also before nn and before m and ng at the end of a word. For example, the word poll is pronounced in all of these regions, while greim is pronounced in Connemara and Aran and in Munster.
Because vowels behave differently before broad sonorants than before slender ones in many cases, and because there is generally no lengthening when the sonorants are followed by a vowel, there is a variety of vowel alternations between different related word-forms. For example, in Dingle ceann is pronounced with a diphthong, but cinn is pronounced with a long vowel, while ceanna is pronounced 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 is vary from researcher to researcher. 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. argues that the triggering consonant is underlyingly 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 and that diphthongization is an articulatory effect of this tongue movement.
Devoicing
Where a voiced obstruent or comes into contact with, the is absorbed into the other sound, which then becomes voiceless. Devoicing is found most prominently in the future of first conjugation verbs and in the formation of verbal adjectives. For example, the verb scuab ends in the voiced consonant, but its future tense scuabfaidh and verbal adjective scuabtha have the voiceless consonant.Sandhi
Irish exhibits a number of external sandhi effects, i.e. 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 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, feall ends with a broad ll, but in the phrase d'fheall sé orm , the ll has become slender because the following word, sé, 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 ceann becomes in ceann bacach and in ceann carrach . A voiced consonant at the end of a word may become voiceless when the next word begins with a voiceless consonant, as in lúb sé , where the b sound of lúb has become a p sound before the voiceless s of sé.
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 to the left of the syllable. Examples include d'imigh and easonóir . However, certain words, especially adverbs and loanwords, have stress on a noninitial syllable, e.g. amháin , tobac .In most compound words, primary stress falls on the first member and a secondary stress falls on the second member, e.g. lagphórtach . Some compounds, however, have primary stress on both the first and the second member, e.g. deargbhréag .
In Munster, stress is attracted to a long vowel or diphthong in the second or third syllable of a word, e.g. cailín , achainí . 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, capall was pronounced in isolation or as the last word of a sentence, but as in the middle of a sentence.
The nature of unstressed vowels
In general, short vowels are all reduced to schwa 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, e.g. spealadóir . Also in Munster, an unstressed short vowel is not reduced to schwa if the following syllable contains a stressed or, e.g. ealaí , bailiú . In Ulster, long vowels in unstressed syllables are shortened but are not reduced to schwa, e.g. cailín , galún .Processes relating to /x/
The voiceless velar fricative, spelled, is associated with some unusual patterns in many dialects of Irish. For one thing, its presence after the vowel triggers behavior atypical of short vowels; for another, and its slender counterpart interchange with the voiceless glottal fricative in a variety of ways, and can sometimes be deleted altogether.Behavior of /ax/
In Munster, stress is attracted to in the second syllable of a word if it is followed by, provided the first syllable contains a short vowel. Examples include bacach and slisneacha . However, if the first or third syllable contains a long vowel or diphthong, stress is attracted to that syllable instead, and the before is reduced to as normal, e.g. éisteacht , moltachán .In Ulster, unstressed before is not reduced to schwa, e.g. eallach .
Interaction of /x/ and /ç/ with /h/
In many dialects of Irish, the voiceless dorsal fricatives and alternate with under a variety of circumstances. For example, as the lenition of and, is replaced by before back vowels, e.g. thabharfainn , sheoil . In Munster, becomes after a vowel, e.g. fiche . In Ring, becomes at the end of a monosyllabic word, e.g. scáth . In some Ulster dialects, such as that of Tory Island, can be replaced by, e.g. cha , and can even be deleted word-finally, as in santach In other Ulster dialects, can be deleted before as well, e.g. seacht .Samples
The following table shows some sample sentences from the Aran dialect.| Bhí sé ag amharc amach as an bhfuinneog nuair a bhí mise ag dul thart. | He was looking out the window when I went past. | |
| Ní fheicfeadh sé poll thrí dréimire. | He wouldn't see a hole through a ladder. | |
| Tá mé fliuch thríd is thríd. | I am wet through and through. | |
| Thug sé cloch mhór agus chaith sé leis an bhfuinneog í. | He took a large stone and he threw it against the window. | |
| Tháinig sé isteach agus cuthach air. | He came in in a rage. | |
| ― ― | ―Ar íoc sibh mórán ar an móin? ―Go deimhin d'íoc is a laghad a bhfuil ann dhi. | ―Did you pay much for the turf? ―We certainly did, considering how little there is of it. |
| Tagaim ann chuile lá is is minic nach mbíonn mórán fáilte romham. | I come there every day but often I'm not very welcome. | |
| Tá mé ag cloisteáil ag dul tharam go mbeidh samhradh fliuch sa mbliana againn, agus chítear dhom féin | I have heard tell that we'll have a wet summer this year, but it seems to me that that story is strange. | |
| An bhfuil na fataí chomh maith is dúirt sé? | Are the potatoes as good as he said? | |
| An Ghaeilge a labhraítear i gCúige Mumhan, ní hionann í is an Ghaeilge seo againne. | The Irish spoken in Munster isn't the same as our Irish. |
The first eight chapters of Peadar Ua Laoghaire's autobiography at Wikisource include recordings of the text being read by a native speaker of Muskerry 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 etc. to 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 to before.