Irish phonology varies from dialect to dialect; there is no standard pronunciation of Irish. Therefore, this article focuses on phenomena shared by 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.
One of the most important aspects of Irish phonology is that almost all consonants (except pronounced as //h//) come in pairs, a "broad" and a "slender" pronunciation. Broad consonants are either velarized (◌ˠ; back of tongue is pulled back and slightly up in the direction of the soft palate during articulation) or simply velar (for example, pronounced as //k ɡ//). Slender consonants are palatalized (◌ʲ; tongue pushed up towards the hard palate during 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 Irish: bó ('cow') and Irish: beo ('alive') is that Irish: bó is pronounced with broad pronounced as //bˠ//, while Irish: beo is pronounced with slender pronounced as //bʲ//. 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 behaviour of words that begin with a vowel. This broad/slender distinction is similar to the hard/soft one of several Slavic languages, like Russian.
Irish shares a number of phonological characteristics with its nearest linguistic relatives, Scottish Gaelic and Manx, as well as with Hiberno-English, which it currently has the most language contact with.
Until the end of the 19th century, linguistic discussions of Irish focused either on the traditional grammar (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 Ulster dialects (and for the village of Torr in Gweedore,, and for the now extinct dialect of South Armagh). The dialect of Dunquin on the Dingle Peninsula in Munster 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 County Galway (Barna, Spiddal, Inverin and vicinity), for An Rinn in 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 (also near Glenties), for Iorras Aithneach in Connemara (Kilkieran and vicinity) and for the Dingle Peninsula, County Kerry.
Research into the theoretical phonology of Irish began with, which follows the principles and practices of Chomsky and Halle's 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.
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). The consonant pronounced as //h// is neither broad nor slender.
| Labial | Coronal | Dorsal | Glottal | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| broad | slender | broad | slender | broad | slender | ||||
| Stop | voiceless | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | ||
| voiced | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | |||
| Fricative/ Approximant | voiceless | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | |
| voiced | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | |||||
| Nasal | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | |||
| Tap | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | |||||||
| Lateral | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | |||||||
Broad (velar or velarized) consonants have a noticeable velar offglide (pronounced as /[ɰ]/; a very short vowel-like sound) before front vowels, which sounds like the English pronounced as //w// but without rounding. Thus Irish: naoi pronounced as //n̪ˠiː// ('nine') and Irish: caoi pronounced as //kiː// ('way, manner') are pronounced pronounced as /[n̪ˠɰiː]/ and pronounced as /[kɰiː]/, respectively. This velar offglide is labialized (pronounced [w]) after labial consonants, so Irish: buí pronounced as //bˠiː// ('yellow') is pronounced pronounced as /[bˠwiː]/.
Similarly, slender (palatal or palatalised) consonants have a palatal offglide (pronounced as /[j]/; like English) before back vowels, e.g. Irish: tiubh pronounced as //tʲuː// ('thick') is pronounced pronounced as /[tʲjuː]/.
When a broad consonant follows a front vowel, there is a very short vowel sound pronounced as /[ə̯]/ (called an onglide) just before the consonant, e.g. Irish: díol pronounced as //dʲiːl̪ˠ// ('sell') is pronounced pronounced as /[dʲiːə̯l̪ˠ]/. Similarly, when a slender consonant follows a back vowel, there is an onglide pronounced as /[i̯]/ before the consonant, e.g. Irish: áit pronounced as //aːtʲ// ('place') is pronounced pronounced as /[aːi̯tʲ]/,Irish: óil pronounced as //oːlʲ// ('drinking' gen.) is pronounced pronounced as /[oːi̯lʲ]/, Irish: meabhair pronounced as //mʲəuɾʲ// ('understanding') is pronounced as /[mʲəui̯ɾʲ]/, and Irish: dúinn pronounced as //d̪ˠuːn̠ʲ// ('to us') is pronounced as /[d̪ˠuːi̯n̠ʲ]/.
These all are also a feature of certain Slavic languages such as Russian or Polish, and a feature of Lithuanian.
pronounced as //w// (written as (bh, mh(v))) has two basic allophones: the labiovelar approximant pronounced as /[w]/ and the velarized voiced labiodental fricative pronounced as /[vˠ]/. The distribution of these allophones varies from dialect to dialect. In Munster, generally only pronounced as /[vˠ]/ is found, and in Ulster generally only pronounced as /[w]/ is found. In Connacht, pronounced as /[w]/ is found word-initially before vowels (e.g. Irish: bhfuil pronounced as /[wɪlʲ]/ 'is') and pronounced as /[vˠ]/ in other positions (e.g. Irish: naomh pronounced as /[n̪ˠiːvˠ]/ 'saint', Irish: fómhar pronounced as /[ˈfˠuːvˠəɾˠ]/ 'autumn', and Irish: bhrostaigh pronounced as /[ˈvˠɾˠɔsˠt̪ˠə]/ 'hurried').
The remaining labial fricatives are typically labiodental pronounced as /[fˠ, fʲ, vʲ]/, but they as well as the fricative allophone pronounced as /[vˠ]/ of pronounced as //w// have bilabial allophones pronounced as /[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.
Most coronals are alveolar, except broad stops and approximants which are typically dental pronounced as /[t̪ˠ, d̪ˠ, n̪ˠ, l̪ˠ]/, and the slender fricative is typically postalveolar pronounced as /[ʃ]/. pronounced as //tʲ, dʲ// may be realized as alveolo-palatal affricates pronounced as /[tɕ, dʑ]/ in a number of dialects, including Tourmakeady, Erris, and Teelin.
pronounced as //c, ɟ, ɲ// may be true palatals pronounced as /[c, ɟ, ɲ]/ or palatovelars pronounced as /[k̟, ɡ˖, ŋ˖]/.
pronounced as //j// has three allophones in most dialects: a palatal approximant pronounced as /[j]/ before vowels (except pronounced as //iː//) and syllable-finally (e.g. Irish: dheas pronounced as /[jasˠ]/ 'nice', Irish: beidh pronounced as /[bʲɛj]/ 'will be'); a voiced (post)palatal fricative pronounced as /[ʝ]/ before consonants (e.g. Irish: ghrian pronounced as /[ʝɾʲiən̪ˠ]/ 'sun'); and an intermediate sound pronounced as /[j˔]/ (with more frication than pronounced as /[j]/ but less frication than pronounced as /[ʝ]/) before pronounced as //iː// (e.g. Irish: dhírigh pronounced as /[j˔iːɾʲə]/ 'straightened').
pronounced as //ɾʲ// has the primary allophone pronounced as /[ɹ̝ʲ]/.
In many varieties, pronounced as //x// and pronounced as //ç// alternate with pronounced as //h// under a variety of circumstances. For example, as the lenition of pronounced as //tʲ// and pronounced as //ʃ//, pronounced as //h// is replaced by pronounced as /[ç]/ before back vowels, e.g. Irish: thabharfainn pronounced as //ˈçuːɾˠhən̠ʲ// ('I would give'), Irish: sheoil pronounced as //çoːlʲ// ('drove'). In Munster, pronounced as //ç// becomes pronounced as /[h]/ after a vowel, e.g. Irish: fiche pronounced as /[ˈfʲɪhə]/ ('twenty'). In Ring, final pronounced as //h// becomes pronounced as /[x]/ in monosyllabic words, e.g. Irish: scáth pronounced as /[sˠkaːx]/ ('fear'). In some Ulster varieties, e.g. Tory Island, pronounced as //x// can be replaced by pronounced as /[h]/, e.g. Irish: cha pronounced as /[ha]/ ('not'), be deleted word-finally or before pronounced as //t̪ˠ//, e.g. Irish: santach pronounced as /[ˈsˠan̪ˠt̪ˠa(h)]/ ('greedy') and Irish: seacht pronounced as /[ʃat̪ˠ]/ ('seven').
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 be incompletely voiced but are never aspirated. Voiceless stops are unaspirated after pronounced as //sˠ// and pronounced as //ʃ// (e.g. Irish: scanradh pronounced as /[sˠkauɾˠə]/ 'terror'); however, stops remain aspirated after the clitic is pronounced as //sˠ// (e.g. Irish: is cam pronounced as /[sˠkʰaum]/ 'it's crooked'). Several researchers (e.g.,,,, and) use transcriptions like pronounced as //sb sd sɡ 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.
In Old Irish, the sonorants (those spelled (l, n, r, m)) 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 (spelled (l, n, r)) 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 pronounced as /[m]/, while lenis (m) was a nasalized semivowel pronounced as /[w̃]/, perhaps tending towards a nasalized fricative pronounced as /[ṽ]/ or pronounced as /[β̃]/ when palatalized. By convention, the fortis coronals are transcribed with small capital letters (IPA|ʟ, ɴ, ʀ) or capital letters (IPA|L, N, R), the lenis with lower case (IPA|l, n, r) (some authors, such as, instead use Latin (IPA|l, n, r, m) for fortis and Greek (IPA|λ, ν, ρ, μ) for lenis). Thus Old Irish had four rhotic phonemes pronounced as //Rˠ, Rʲ, rˠ, rʲ//, four lateral phonemes pronounced as //Lˠ, Lʲ, lˠ, lʲ//, and four coronal nasal phonemes pronounced as //Nˠ, Nʲ, nˠ, nʲ//. Fortis and lenis sonorants contrasted with each other between vowels and word-finally after vowels in Old Irish, e.g. Irish, Old (to 900);: berraid pronounced as //bʲeRˠɨðʲ// ('he shears') vs. Irish, Old (to 900);: beraid pronounced as //bʲerˠɨðʲ// ('he may carry'); Irish, Old (to 900);: coll pronounced as //koLˠ// ('hazel') vs. Irish, Old (to 900);: col pronounced as //kolˠ// ('sin'); Irish, Old (to 900);: sonn pronounced as //sˠoNˠ// ('stake') vs. Irish, Old (to 900);: son pronounced as //sˠonˠ// ('sound'). Word-initially, only the fortis sounds were found, but they became lenis in environments where morphosyntactically triggered lenition was found: Irish, Old (to 900);: rún pronounced as //Rˠuːnˠ// ('mystery') vs. Irish, Old (to 900);: a rún pronounced as //a rˠuːnˠ// ('his mystery'), Irish, Old (to 900);: lón pronounced as //Lˠoːnˠ// ('provision') vs. Irish, Old (to 900);: a lón pronounced as //a lˠoːnˠ// ('his provision').
In the modern language, the four rhotics have been reduced to two in all dialects, pronounced as //Rˠ, Rʲ, rˠ// having merged as pronounced 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 | Erris | Connemara | Aran | Dingle Peninsula | West Muskerry | |||
| pronounced as /Rˠ/ | pronounced as /ɾˠ/ | ||||||||
| pronounced as /rˠ/ | |||||||||
| pronounced as /Rʲ/ | |||||||||
| pronounced as /rʲ/ | pronounced as /ɾʲ/ | ||||||||
| pronounced as /Lˠ/ | pronounced as /l̪ˠ/ | pronounced as /l̪ˠ/ | pronounced as /l̪ˠ/ | pronounced as /l̪ˠ/ | pronounced as /l̪ˠ/ | ||||
| pronounced as /lˠ/ | pronounced as /lˠ/ | pronounced as /l/ | |||||||
| pronounced as /lʲ/ | pronounced as /l/ | pronounced as /lʲ/ | pronounced as /lʲ/ | ||||||
| pronounced as /Lʲ/ | pronounced as /l̠ʲ/ | ||||||||
| pronounced as /Nˠ/ | pronounced as /n̪ˠ/ | pronounced as /n̪ˠ/ | pronounced as /n̪ˠ/ | pronounced as /n̪ˠ/ | pronounced as /n̪ˠ/ | ||||
| pronounced as /nˠ/ | pronounced as /nˠ/ | pronounced as /n/ | |||||||
| pronounced as /nʲ/ | pronounced as /n/ | pronounced as /nʲ/ | pronounced as /nʲ/ | pronounced as /nʲ/ | |||||
| pronounced as /Nʲ/ | pronounced as /n̠ʲ/ | pronounced as /nʲ/ word-initially pronounced as /ɲ/ elsewhere | |||||||
| Note: pronounced as /l̠ʲ/ and pronounced as /n̠ʲ/ are alveolo-palatal consonants. | |||||||||
As for fortis and lenis (m), in time the lenis version (nasalized semivowel or labial fricative) came to be pronounced as a regular semivowel or fricative along with nasalization of the preceding vowel. The later loss of pronounced as //w// between vowels has resulted in phonemically nasalized vowels in some modern dialects (see below), 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 (mh) in the spelling, however.
The vowel sounds vary from dialect to dialect, but in general Connacht and Munster at least agree in having the monophthongs pronounced as //iː//, pronounced as //ɪ//, pronounced as //uː//, pronounced as //ʊ//, pronounced as //eː//, pronounced as //ɛ//, pronounced as //oː//, pronounced as //ɔ//, pronounced as //aː//, pronounced as //a//, and schwa (pronounced as //ə//), which is found only in unstressed syllables; and the diphthongs pronounced as //əi//, pronounced as //əu//, pronounced as //iə//, and pronounced as //uə//.
The vowels of Ulster Irish are more divergent and are not discussed in this article.
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 (e.g.,,) have argued that pronounced as /[ɪ]/ and pronounced as /[ʊ]/ are actually allophones of the same phoneme, as are pronounced as /[ɛ]/ and pronounced as /[ɔ]/, 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 pronounced as //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.
The four close vowel phonemes of Irish are the fully close pronounced as //iː// and pronounced as //uː//, and the near-close pronounced as //ɪ// and pronounced as //ʊ//. Their exact pronunciation depends on the quality of the surrounding consonants. pronounced as //iː// is realized as a front pronounced as /[iː]/ between two slender consonants (e.g. Irish: tír pronounced as /[tʲiːrʲ]/ 'country'). Between a slender and a broad consonant, the tongue is retracted slightly from this position (for which the IPA symbol is pronounced as /[i̠ː]/), e.g. Irish: díol pronounced as /[dʲi̠ːl̪ˠ]/ ('sale'), Irish: caoire pronounced as /[ki̠ːɾʲə]/ ('berry' gen.). Between two broad consonants, the tongue is retracted even further, almost to the point of being a central vowel (in IPA, pronounced as /[ïː]/): Irish: caora pronounced as /[kïːɾˠə]/ ('sheep'). pronounced as //uː// is a fully back pronounced as /[uː]/ between broad consonants (e.g. Irish: dún pronounced as /[d̪ˠuːn̪ˠ]/ 'fort'), but between a broad and a slender consonant, the tongue is somewhat advanced (IPA pronounced as /[u̟ː]/), e.g. Irish: triúr pronounced as /[tʲɾʲu̟ːɾˠ]/ ('three people'), Irish: súil pronounced as /[sˠu̟ːlʲ]/ ('eye'). Between two slender consonants, it is advanced even further, to a centralized vowel (IPA pronounced as /[üː]/): Irish: ciúin pronounced as /[cüːnʲ]/ ('quiet').
The near-close vowels pronounced as //ɪ// and pronounced as //ʊ// show a similar pattern. pronounced as //ɪ// is realized between slender consonants as a front pronounced as /[i̞]/, e.g. Irish: tigh pronounced as /[tʲi̞ɟ]/ ('house' dat.). After a slender consonant and before a broad one, it is a near-front pronounced as /[ɪ]/, e.g. Irish: giota pronounced as /[ˈɟɪt̪ˠə]/ ('piece'). After a broad consonant and before a slender one, it is a more retracted pronounced as /[ɪ̈]/, e.g. Irish: tuigeann pronounced as /[ˈt̪ˠɪ̈ɟən̪ˠ]/ ('understands'). Finally, between two broad consonants it is a central pronounced as /[ɨ̞]/, e.g. Irish: goirt pronounced as /[ɡɨ̞ɾˠtʲ]/ ('salty'). pronounced as //ʊ// is a near-back pronounced as /[ʊ]/ when all adjacent consonants are broad, e.g. Irish: dubh pronounced as /[d̪ˠʊvˠ]/ ('black'), and a more centralized pronounced as /[ʊ̟]/ after a slender consonant, e.g. Irish: giobal pronounced as /[ˈɟʊ̟bˠəl̪ˠ]/ ('rag').
The realization of the long close-mid vowels pronounced as //eː// and pronounced as //oː// varies according to the quality of the surrounding consonants. pronounced as //eː// is a front pronounced as /[eː]/ between two slender consonants (e.g. Irish: béic pronounced as /[bʲeːc]/ 'yell'), a centralized pronounced as /[ëː]/ between a broad and a slender consonant (e.g. Irish: glaoigh pronounced as /[ɡl̪ˠëːɟ]/ 'call'), and a more open centralized pronounced as /[ɛ̝̈ː]/ between two broad consonants (e.g. Irish: baol pronounced as /[bˠɛ̝̈ːl̪ˠ]/ 'danger'). pronounced as //oː// ranges from a back pronounced as /[oː]/ between two broad consonants (e.g. Irish: fód pronounced as /[fˠoːd̪ˠ]/ 'turf') to an advanced pronounced as /[o̟ː]/ between a broad and a slender consonant (e.g. Irish: fóid pronounced as /[fˠo̟ːdʲ]/ 'turf' [gen.]) to a centralized pronounced as /[öː]/ between two slender consonants (e.g. Irish: ceoil pronounced as /[cöːlʲ]/ 'music' [gen.]).
The short open-mid vowels also vary depending on their environment. Short pronounced as //ɛ// ranges from a front pronounced as /[ɛ̝]/ between slender consonants (e.g. Irish: beidh pronounced as /[bʲɛ̝ɟ]/ 'will be') to a retracted pronounced as /[ɛ̝̈]/ between a broad and a slender consonant (e.g. Irish: bead pronounced as /[bʲɛ̝̈d̪ˠ]/ 'I will be', Irish: raibh pronounced as /[ɾˠɛ̝̈vʲ]/ 'was') to a central pronounced as /[ɘ̞]/ when the only adjacent consonant is broad (e.g. Irish: croich pronounced as /[kɾˠɘ̞]/ 'cross' [dat.]). Short pronounced as //ɔ// between two broad consonants is usually a back pronounced as /[ɔ̝]/, e.g. Irish: cloch pronounced as /[kl̪ˠɔ̝x]/ ('stone'), but it is a centralized pronounced as /[ö]/ adjacent to nasal consonants and labial consonants, e.g. Irish: ansan pronounced as /[ən̪ˠˈsˠön̪ˠ]/ ('there') and Irish: bog pronounced as /[bˠöɡ]/ ('soft'). Between a broad and a slender consonant, it is a more open pronounced as /[ɔ̝̈]/: Irish: scoil pronounced as /[skɔ̝̈lʲ]/ ('school'), Irish: deoch pronounced as /[dʲɔ̝̈x]/ ('drink').
Unstressed pronounced as //ə// is realized as a near-close, near-front pronounced as /[ɪ]/ when adjacent to a palatal consonant, e.g. Irish: píce pronounced as /[ˈpʲiːcɪ]/ ('pike'). Next to other slender consonants, it is a mid-centralized pronounced as /[ɪ̽]/, e.g. Irish: sáile pronounced as /[ˈsˠaːlʲɪ̽]/ ('salt water'). Adjacent to broad consonants, it is usually a mid central pronounced as /[ə]/, e.g. Irish: eolas pronounced as /[ˈoːl̪ˠəsˠ]/ ('information'), but when the preceding syllable contains one of the close back vowels pronounced as //uː, ʊ//, it is realized as a mid-centralized back pronounced as /[ʊ̽]/, e.g. Irish: dúnadh pronounced as /[ˈd̪ˠuːn̪ˠʊ̽]/ ('closing'), Irish: muca pronounced as /[ˈmˠʊkʊ̽]/ ('pigs').
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 pronounced as //aː// and short pronounced as //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 pronounced as //aː// in word-initial position and after broad consonants is a back pronounced as /[ɑː]/, e.g. Irish: áit pronounced as /[ɑːtʲ]/ ('place'), Irish: trá pronounced as /[t̪ˠɾˠɑː]/ ('beach'). Between a slender and a broad consonant, it is a retracted front pronounced as /[a̠ː]/, e.g. Irish: gearrfaidh pronounced as /[ˈɟa̠ːɾˠhəɟ]/ ('will cut'), while between two slender consonants it is a fully front pronounced as /[aː]/, e.g. Irish: a Sheáin pronounced as /[ə çaːnʲ]/ ('John' voc.). In Dingle, the back allophone is rounded to pronounced as /[ɒː]/ after broad labials, e.g. Irish: bán pronounced as /[bˠɒːn̪ˠ]/ ('white'), while in Ring, County Waterford, rounded pronounced as /[ɒː]/ is the usual realization of pronounced as //aː// in all contexts except between slender consonants, where it is a centralized pronounced as /[ɒ̈ː]/. Short pronounced as //a// between two slender consonants is a front pronounced as /[a]/, as in Irish: gairid pronounced as /[ɟaɾʲədʲ]/ ('short'). Between a broad and a slender consonant, it is in most cases a retracted pronounced as /[a̠]/, e.g. Irish: fear pronounced as /[fʲa̠ɾˠ]/ ('man'), and Irish: caite pronounced as /[ˈka̠tʲə]/ ('worn'), but after broad labials and pronounced as //l̪ˠ// it is a centralized front pronounced as /[ä]/, e.g. Irish: baile pronounced as /[bˠälʲə]/ ('town'), Irish: loit pronounced as /[l̪ˠätʲ]/ ('injure'). When it is adjacent only to broad consonants, it is a centralized back pronounced as /[ɑ̈]/, e.g. Irish: mac pronounced as /[mˠɑ̈k]/ ('son'), Irish: abair pronounced as /[ɑ̈bˠəɾʲ]/ ('say').
In Connacht varieties, the allophones of short pronounced as //a// are consistently further front than the allophones of long pronounced as //aː//. In Erris, for example, short pronounced as //a// ranges from a near-open front vowel pronounced as /[æ]/ before slender consonants (e.g. Irish: sail pronounced as /[sˠælʲ]/ 'earwax') to an open pronounced as /[a]/ after slender consonants (e.g. Irish: geal pronounced as /[ɟalˠ]/ 'bright') to a centralized back pronounced as /[ɑ̈]/ between broad consonants (e.g. Irish: capall pronounced as /[ˈkɑ̈pˠəl̪ˠ]/ 'horse'). Long pronounced as //aː//, on the other hand, ranges from a back pronounced as /[ɑː]/ between broad consonants (e.g. Irish: bád pronounced as /[bˠɑːd̪ˠ]/ 'boat') to an advanced back pronounced as /[ɑ̟ː]/ before slender consonants (e.g. Irish: fáil pronounced as /[fˠɑ̟ːlʲ]/ 'to get') to a centralized back pronounced as /[ɑ̈ː]/ after slender consonants (e.g. Irish: breá pronounced as /[bʲɾʲɑ̈ː]/ 'fine'). In Toormakeady, the back allophone is rounded to pronounced as /[ɒː]/ after broad labials, e.g. Irish: bán pronounced as /[bˠɒːn̪ˠ]/ ('white'). In Connemara, the allophones of pronounced as //a// are lengthened in duration, so that only vowel quality distinguishes the allophones of pronounced as //a// from those of pronounced as //aː//.
The starting point of pronounced as //əi// ranges from a near-open central pronounced as /[ɐ]/ after broad consonants to an open-mid centralized front pronounced as /[ɛ̈]/ after slender consonants, and its end point ranges from a near-close near-front pronounced as /[ɪ]/ before slender consonants to a centralized pronounced as /[ɪ̈]/ before broad consonants. Examples include Irish: cladhaire pronounced as /[kl̪ˠɐɪɾʲə]/ ('rogue'), Irish: gadhar pronounced as /[ɡɐɪ̈ɾˠ]/ ('dog'), Irish: cill pronounced as /[cɛ̈ɪlʲ]/ ('church'), and Irish: leigheas pronounced as /[lʲɛ̈ɪ̈sˠ]/ ('cure').
The starting point of pronounced as //əu// ranges from a near-open central pronounced as /[ɐ]/ after broad consonants to an open-mid advanced central pronounced as /[ɜ̟]/ after slender consonants, and its end point ranges from a near-close near-back pronounced as /[ʊ]/ before broad consonants to a centralized pronounced as /[ʊ̈]/ before slender consonants.[1] Examples include Irish: bodhar pronounced as /[bˠɐʊɾˠ]/ ('deaf'), Irish: feabhas pronounced as /[fʲɜ̟ʊsˠ]/ ('improvement'), Irish: labhairt pronounced as /[l̪ˠɐʊ̈ɾʲtʲ]/ ('speak'), and Irish: meabhair pronounced as /[mʲɜ̟ʊ̈ɾʲ]/ ('memory'). In West Muskerry and the Dingle Peninsula, however, the starting point of pronounced as //əu// is rounded and further back after broad consonants, e.g. Irish: gabhar pronounced as /[ɡɔʊɾˠ]/ ('goat').
The starting point of pronounced as //iə// ranges from a close front pronounced as /[i]/ after slender consonants to a retracted pronounced as /[i̠]/ after word-initial broad pronounced as //ɾˠ// (the only context in which it appears after a broad consonant). Its end point ranges from a mid central pronounced as /[ə]/ before broad consonants to a close-mid centralized front pronounced as /[ë]/ before slender consonants. Examples include Irish: ciall pronounced as /[ciəl̪ˠ]/ ('sense'), Irish: riamh pronounced as /[ɾˠi̠əvˠ]/ ('ever'), and Irish: diabhail pronounced as /[dʲiëlʲ]/ ('devils').
The starting point of pronounced as //uə// is consistently a close back pronounced as /[u]/ while the end point ranges from pronounced as /[ɐ]/ to pronounced as /[ɪ̽]/: Irish: thuas pronounced as /[huɐsˠ]/ ('above'), Irish: uan pronounced as /[uən̪ˠ]/ ('lamb'), Irish: buail pronounced as /[bˠuɪ̽lʲ]/ ('strike').
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 pronounced as /[w̃]/ (historically the lenited version of pronounced as //m//), 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 (usually older) speakers. Potential minimal pairs include those shown in the table below.
| Nasal vowel | Oral vowel | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spelling | Pronunciation | Gloss | Spelling | Pronunciation | Gloss | |
| Irish: amhras | pronounced as /[ˈə̃ũɾˠəsˠ]/ | 'doubt' | Irish: abhras | pronounced as /[ˈəuɾˠəsˠ]/ | 'yarn' | |
| Irish: áth | pronounced as /[ãː]/ | 'ford' | Irish: ádh | pronounced as /[aː]/ | 'luck' | |
| Irish: comhair | pronounced as /[kõːɾʲ]/ | (in phrase Irish: os comhair 'in front of, opposite') | Irish: cóir | pronounced as /[koːɾʲ]/ | 'righteous' | |
| Irish: cumha | pronounced as /[kũː]/ | 'sorrow' | Irish: cú | pronounced as /[kuː]/ | 'hound' | |
| Irish: deimhis | pronounced as /[dʲĩːʃ]/ | 'pairs of shears' | Irish: dís | pronounced as /[dʲiːʃ]/ | 'two people' | |
| Irish: fómhair | pronounced as /[fˠõːɾʲ]/ | 'autumn' (genitive) | Irish: fóir | pronounced as /[fˠoːɾʲ]/ | 'limit' | |
| Irish: lámha | pronounced as /[l̪ˠãː]/ | 'hands' | Irish: lá | pronounced as /[l̪ˠaː]/ | 'day' | |
| Irish: lámhach | pronounced as /[l̪ˠãːx]/ | 'shooting' | Irish: lách | pronounced as /[l̪ˠaːx]/ | 'generous' | |
| Irish: nimhe | pronounced as /[nʲĩː]/ | 'poison' (genitive) | Irish: ní | pronounced as /[nʲiː]/ | 'washing' | |
| Irish: rámha | pronounced as /[ɾˠãː]/ | 'oar' (genitive) | Irish: rá | pronounced as /[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. For example, the nasal pronounced as //m// of Irish: máthair pronounced as /[ˈmãːhəɾʲ]/ ('mother') is replaced by nonnasal pronounced as //w// in the phrase Irish: a mháthair pronounced as /[ə ˈwãːhəɾʲ]/ ('his mother'), but the vowel remains nasalized. Similarly, in Irish: sneachta pronounced as /[ˈʃnʲãxt̪ˠə]/ ('snow') the vowel after the pronounced as //nʲ// is nasalized, while in Irish: an tsneachta pronounced as /[ə ˈtʲɾʲãxt̪ˠə]/ ('the snow' gen.), the pronounced as //nʲ// is replaced by pronounced as //ɾʲ// in some northern dialects, but the nasalized vowel remains.
The most notable aspects of Irish phonotactics revolve around the behaviour 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.
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 (however, labial obstruents may not be followed by a nasal); examples (from) include Irish: bleán pronounced as //bʲlʲaːnˠ// ('milking'), Irish: breá pronounced as //bʲɾʲaː// ('fine'), Irish: cnaipe pronounced as //ˈkn̪ˠapʲə// ('button'), Irish: dlí pronounced as //dʲlʲiː// ('law'), Irish: gnáth pronounced as //ɡn̪ˠaː// ('usual'), Irish: pleidhce pronounced as //ˈpʲlʲəicə// ('idiot'), Irish: slios pronounced as //ʃlʲɪsˠ// ('slice'), Irish: sneachta pronounced as //ˈʃnʲaxt̪ˠə// ('snow'), Irish: tlúth pronounced as //t̪ˠl̪ˠuː// ('poker'), and Irish: tnúth pronounced as //t̪ˠn̪ˠuː// ('long for'). In addition, pronounced as //sˠ// and pronounced as //ʃ// may be followed by a voiceless stop, as in Irish: sparán pronounced as //ˈsˠpˠaɾˠaːn̪ˠ// ('purse') and Irish: scéal pronounced as //ʃceːl̪ˠ// ('story'). Further, the cluster pronounced as //mˠn̪ˠ// occurs in the word Irish: mná pronounced as //mˠn̪ˠaː// ('women') and a few forms related to it. Three-consonant clusters consist of pronounced as //sˠ// or pronounced as //ʃ// plus a voiceless stop plus a liquid. Examples include Irish: scliúchas pronounced as //ˈʃclʲuːxəsˠ// ('rumpus'), Irish: scread pronounced as //ʃcɾʲad̪ˠ// ('scream'), Irish: splanc pronounced as //sˠpˠl̪ˠaŋk// ('flash'), Irish: spraoi pronounced as //sˠpˠɾˠiː// ('fun'), and Irish: stríoc pronounced as //ʃtʲɾʲiːk// ('streak').
One exception to quality agreement is that broad pronounced as //sˠ// is found before slender labials (and for some speakers in Connemara and Dingle before pronounced as //c// as well). Examples include: Irish: sméara pronounced as //sˠmʲeːɾˠə// ('berries'), Irish: speal pronounced as //sˠpʲal// ('scythe'), Irish: spleách pronounced as //sˠpʲlʲaːx// ('dependent'), Irish: spreag pronounced as //sˠpʲɾʲaɡ// ('inspire'), and Irish: scéal pronounced as //ʃceːl̪ˠ/ ~ /sˠceːl̪ˠ// ('story').
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: Irish: bhlas pronounced as //wl̪ˠasˠ// ('tasted'), Irish: bhris pronounced as //vʲɾʲɪʃ// ('broke'), Irish: chleacht pronounced as //çlʲaxt̪ˠ// ('practiced'), Irish: chrom pronounced as //xɾˠɔmˠ// ('bent'), Irish: ghreamaigh pronounced as //ˈjɾʲamˠə// ('stuck'), Irish: ghníomhaigh pronounced as //ˈjnʲiːwə// ('acted'), Irish: shleamhnaigh pronounced as //hlʲəun̪ˠə// ('slipped'), Irish: shnámh pronounced as //hn̪ˠaːw// ('swam'), Irish: shroich pronounced as //hɾˠɪç// ('reached'). In an eclipsis environment, the following are found: Irish: mbláth pronounced as //mˠl̪ˠaː// ('flower'), Irish: mbliana pronounced as //ˈmʲlʲiən̪ˠə// ('years'), Irish: mbrisfeá pronounced as //ˈmʲɾʲɪʃaː// ('you would break'), Irish: ndlúth pronounced as //n̪ˠl̪ˠuː// ('warp'), Irish: ndroichead pronounced as //ˈn̪ˠɾˠɔhəd̪ˠ// ('bridge'), Irish: ndréimire pronounced as //ˈnʲɾʲeːmʲəɾʲə// ('ladder'), Irish: ngléasfá pronounced as //ˈɲlʲeːsˠaː// ('you would dress'), Irish: ngreadfá pronounced as //ˈɲɾʲat̪ˠaː// ('you would leave'), Irish: ngníomhófá pronounced as //ˈɲnʲiːwoːhaː// ('you would act').
In Donegal, Mayo, and Connemara dialects (but not usually on the Aran Islands), the coronal nasals pronounced as //nˠ, nʲ// can follow only pronounced as //sˠ, ʃ// respectively in a word-initial cluster. After other consonants, they are replaced by pronounced as //ɾˠ, ɾʲ//: Irish: cnoc pronounced as //kɾˠʊk// ('hill'), Irish: mná pronounced as //mˠɾˠaː// ('women'), Irish: gnaoi pronounced as //ɡɾˠiː// ('liking'), Irish: tnúth pronounced as //t̪ˠɾˠuː// ('long for').
Under lenition, pronounced as //sˠn̪ˠ, ʃnʲ// become pronounced as //hn̪ˠ, hnʲ// as expected in these dialects, but after the definite article an they become pronounced as //t̪ˠɾˠ, tʲɾʲ//: Irish: sneachta pronounced as //ʃnʲaxt̪ˠə// ('snow'), Irish: shneachta pronounced as //hnʲaxt̪ˠə// ('snow' [lenited form]), Irish: an tsneachta pronounced as //ə tʲɾʲaxt̪ˠə// ('the snow' gen.).
Like word-initial consonant clusters, post-vocalic consonant clusters usually agree in broad or slender quality. The only exception here is that broad pronounced as //ɾˠ//, not slender pronounced as //ɾʲ//, appears before the slender coronals pronounced as //tʲ, dʲ, ʃ, nʲ, lʲ//: Irish: beirt pronounced as //bʲɛɾˠtʲ// ('two people'), Irish: ceird pronounced as //ceːɾˠdʲ// ('trade'), Irish: doirse pronounced as //ˈd̪ˠoːɾˠʃə// ('doors'), Irish: doirnín pronounced as //d̪ˠuːɾˠˈnʲiːnʲ// ('handle'), Irish: comhairle pronounced as //ˈkuːɾˠlʲə// ('advice').
A cluster of pronounced as //ɾˠ, ɾʲ//, pronounced as //l̪ˠ, lʲ//, or pronounced as //n̪ˠ, nʲ// followed by a labial or dorsal consonant (except the voiceless stops pronounced as //pˠ, pʲ//, pronounced as //k, c//) is broken up by an epenthetic vowel pronounced as //ə//: Irish: borb pronounced as //ˈbˠɔɾˠəbˠ// ('abrupt'), Irish: gorm pronounced as //ˈɡɔɾˠəmˠ// ('blue'), Irish: dearmad pronounced as //ˈdʲaɾˠəmˠəd̪ˠ// ('mistake'), Irish: dearfa pronounced as //ˈdʲaɾˠəfˠə// ('certain'), Irish: seirbhís pronounced as //ˈʃɛɾʲəvʲiːʃ// ('service'), Irish: fearg pronounced as //ˈfʲaɾˠəɡ// ('anger'), Irish: dorcha pronounced as //ˈd̪ˠɔɾˠəxə// ('dark'), Irish: dalba pronounced as //ˈd̪ˠal̪ˠəbˠə// ('bold'), Irish: colm pronounced as //ˈkɔl̪ˠəmˠ// ('dove'), Irish: soilbhir pronounced as //ˈsˠɪlʲəvʲəɾʲ// ('pleasant'), Irish: gealbhan pronounced as //ˈɟal̪ˠəwən̪ˠ// ('sparrow'), Irish: binb pronounced as //ˈbʲɪnʲəbʲ// ('venom'), Irish: Banbha, pronounced as //ˈbˠan̪ˠəwə// (a name for Ireland), Irish: ainm pronounced as //ˈanʲəmʲ// ('name'), Irish: meanma pronounced as //ˈmʲan̪ˠəmˠə// ('mind'), Irish: ainmhí pronounced as //ˈanʲəvʲiː// ('animal').
There is no epenthesis, however, if the vowel preceding the cluster is long or a diphthong: Irish: fáirbre pronounced as //ˈfˠaːɾʲbʲɾʲə// ('wrinkle'), Irish: téarma pronounced as //ˈtʲeːɾˠmˠə// ('term'), Irish: léargas pronounced as //ˈlʲeːɾˠɡəsˠ// ('insight'), Irish: dualgas pronounced as //ˈd̪ˠuəl̪ˠɡəsˠ// ('duty'). There is also no epenthesis into words that are at least three syllables long: Irish: firmimint pronounced as //ˈfʲɪɾʲmʲəmʲənʲtʲ// ('firmament'), Irish: smiolgadán pronounced as //ˈsˠmʲɔl̪ˠɡəd̪ˠaːn̪ˠ// ('throat'), Irish: caisearbhán pronounced as //ˈkaʃəɾˠwaːn̪ˠ// ('dandelion'), Irish: Cairmilíteach pronounced as //ˈkaɾʲmʲəlʲiːtʲəx// ('Carmelite').
Vowel-initial words in Irish exhibit behaviour 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 of the definite article Irish: an ('the') is slender before the word Irish: iontais ('wonder') but broad before the word Irish: aois ('age'):Irish: an iontais pronounced as //ənʲ ˈiːn̪ˠt̪ˠəʃ// ('the wonder' gen.) vs. Irish: an aois pronounced as //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.
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, before (except when a vowel follows), and in a few words also before word-final, e.g. Irish: barr pronounced as //bˠaːɾˠ// ('top'), Irish: ard pronounced as //aːɾˠd̪ˠ// ('tall'), Irish: orlach pronounced as //ˈoːɾˠl̪ˠax// ('inch'), Irish: tuirne pronounced as //ˈt̪uːɾˠn̠ʲə// ('spinning wheel'), Irish: thall pronounced as //haːl̪ˠ// ('yonder').
In Connemara, the Aran Islands, and Munster, lengthening is found generally not only in the environments listed above, but also before (unless a vowel follows) and before word-final . For example, the word Irish: poll ('hole') is pronounced pronounced as //pˠəul̪ˠ// in all of these regions, while Irish: greim ('grip') is pronounced pronounced as //ɟɾʲiːmʲ// in Connemara and Aran and pronounced as //ɟɾʲəimʲ// in Munster.
Because vowels behave differently before broad sonorants than before slender ones in many cases, and because there is generally no lengthening (except by analogy) when the sonorants are followed by a vowel, there is a variety of vowel alternations between different related word-forms. For example, in Dingle Irish: ceann ('head') is pronounced pronounced as //cəun̪ˠ// with a diphthong, but Irish: cinn (the genitive singular of the same word) is pronounced pronounced as //ciːnʲ// with a long vowel, while Irish: ceanna (the plural, meaning 'heads') is pronounced pronounced as //ˈcan̪ˠə// 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. [2] argue that the fortis sonorant is tense (a term only vaguely defined phonetically) 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 (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.
Where a voiced obstruent or pronounced as //w// comes into contact with pronounced as //h//, the pronounced as //h// is absorbed into the other sound, which then becomes voiceless (in the case of pronounced as //w//, devoicing is to pronounced as //fˠ//). Devoicing is found most prominently in the future of first conjugation verbs (where pronounced as //h// is spelled) and in the formation of verbal adjectives (where pronounced as //h// is spelled). For example, the verb Irish: scuab pronounced as //sˠkuəbˠ// ('sweep') ends in the voiced consonant pronounced as //bˠ//, but its future tense Irish: scuabfaidh pronounced as //ˈsˠkuəpˠəɟ// ('will sweep') and verbal adjective Irish: scuabtha pronounced as //ˈsˠkuəpˠə// ('swept') have the voiceless consonant pronounced as //pˠ//.
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 and vice versa. For example, Irish: feall pronounced as //fʲal̪ˠ// ('deceive') ends with a broad, but in the phrase Irish: d'fheall sé orm pronounced as /[dʲal̠ʲ ʃə ɔɾˠəmˠ]/ ('it deceived me'), the has become slender because the following word, Irish: sé, starts with a slender coronal consonant.
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, of Irish: ceann pronounced as //can̪ˠ// ('one') becomes pronounced as /[mˠ]/ in Irish: ceann bacach pronounced as /[camˠ ˈbˠakəx]/ ('a lame one') and pronounced as /[ŋ]/ in Irish: ceann carrach pronounced as /[caŋ ˈkaɾˠəx]/ ('a scabbed one'). A voiced consonant at the end of a word may devoice when the next word begins with a voiceless consonant, as in Irish: lúb sé pronounced as /[l̪ˠuːpˠ ʃeː]/ ('he bent'), where pronounced as //bˠ// of Irish: lúb pronounced as //l̪ˠuːbˠ// ('bent') became pronounced as /[pˠ]/ before the voiceless pronounced as //ʃ// of Irish: sé.
In Irish, words normally have only one stressed syllable (ˈ◌), namely the first syllable of the word, e.g. Irish: d'imigh pronounced as //ˈdʲɪmʲiː// ('left' [verb]) and Irish: easonóir pronounced as //ˈasˠən̪ˠoːɾʲ// ('dishonor'). However, certain words, especially adverbs and loanwords, have stress on a noninitial syllable, e.g. Irish: amháin pronounced as //əˈwaːnʲ// ('only'), Irish: tobac pronounced as //təˈbak// ('tobacco').
In most compound words, primary stress falls on the first member and a secondary stress (ˌ◌) falls on the second member, e.g. Irish: lagphortach pronounced as //ˈl̪ˠaɡˌfˠɔɾˠt̪ˠəx// ('spent bog'). Some compounds, however, have primary stress on both the first and the second member, e.g. Irish: deargbhréag pronounced as //ˈdʲaɾˠəɡˌvʲɾʲeːɡ// ('a terrible lie').
In Munster, stress is attracted to a long vowel or diphthong in the second or third syllable of a word, e.g. Irish: cailín pronounced as //kaˈlʲiːnʲ// ('girl'), Irish: achainí pronounced as //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 when that word was also final in its utterance. For example, Irish: capall ('horse') was pronounced pronounced as /[kaˈpˠɞl̪ˠ]/ in isolation or as the last word of a sentence, but as pronounced as /[ˈkapˠəl̪ˠ]/ in the middle of a sentence.
In Munster, stress is attracted to pronounced as //a// in the second syllable of a word if it is followed by pronounced as //x//, provided the first syllable (and third syllable, if there is one) contains a short vowel. Examples include Irish: bacach pronounced as //bˠəˈkax// ('lame') and Irish: slisneacha pronounced as //ʃlʲəˈʃnʲaxə// ('chips'). However, if the first or third syllable contains a long vowel or diphthong, stress is attracted to that syllable instead, and the pronounced as //a// before pronounced as //x// is reduced to pronounced as //ə// as normal, e.g. Irish: éisteacht pronounced as //ˈeːʃtʲəxt̪ˠ// ('listen'), Irish: moltachán pronounced as //ˌmˠɔl̪ˠhəˈxaːn̪ˠ// ('wether').
In general, short vowels are all reduced to schwa (pronounced as //ə//) in unstressed syllables, but there are 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 pronounced as //ə//; instead it receives a secondary stress, e.g. Irish: spealadóir pronounced as //ˌsˠpʲal̪ˠəˈd̪ˠoːɾʲ// ('scythe-man'). Also in Munster, an unstressed short vowel is not reduced to pronounced as //ə// if the following syllable contains a stressed pronounced as //iː// or pronounced as //uː//, e.g. Irish: ealaí pronounced as //aˈl̪ˠiː// ('art'), Irish: bailiú pronounced as //bˠaˈlʲuː// ('gather'). In Ulster, long vowels in unstressed syllables are shortened but are not reduced to pronounced as //ə//, e.g. Irish: cailín pronounced as //ˈkalʲinʲ// ('girl'), Irish: galún pronounced as //ˈɡalˠunˠ// ('gallon'). In Ulster, unstressed pronounced as //a// before pronounced as //x// is not reduced to schwa, e.g. Irish: eallach pronounced as //ˈal̪ˠax// ('cattle').
The following table shows some sample sentences from the Aran dialect.
| IPA | Spelling | Translation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| pronounced as /vʲiː ʃeː əɟ ˈafˠəɾˠk əˈmˠax asˠ ə ˈwɪn̠ʲoːɡ nuəɾʲ ə vʲiː ˈmʲɪʃə ɡɔl haɾˠt̪ˠ/ | Irish: Bhí sé ag amharc Irish: amach as an bhfuinneog nuair a bhí mise ag dul thart. | He was looking out the window when I went past. | |
| pronounced as /n̠ʲiː ˈɛcətʲ ʃeː pˠəul̪ˠ hɾʲiː ˈdʲɾʲeːmʲɾʲə/ | Irish: Ní fheicfeadh sé poll thrí dréimire. | He wouldn't see a hole through a ladder (i.e. he's very near-sighted). | |
| pronounced as /t̪ˠaː mʲeː fʲlɔx hɾʲiːdʲ əsˠ hɾʲiːdʲ/ | Irish: Tá mé fliuch thríd is thríd. | I am wet through and through. | |
| pronounced as /hʊɡ ʃeː klɔx woːɾ ˈaɡəsˠ xa ʃeː lɛʃ ə ˈwɪn̠ʲoːɡ iː/ | Irish: Thug sé cloch mhór agus chaith sé leis an bhfuinneog í. | He took a large stone and he threw it against the window. | |
| pronounced as /ˈhaːnəɟ ʃeː əʃˈtʲax aɡəsˠ kuːx əɾʲ/ | Irish: Tháinig sé isteach agus cuthach air. | He came in in a rage. | |
| ―pronounced as /əɾˠ iːk ʃɪbʲ ˈmˠoːɾˠaːn əɾʲ ə mˠuːn/ ―pronounced as /ɡə ˈdʲɪvʲən dʲiːk sˠə ˈl̪ˠəiəd̪ˠ ə wɪl aːn̪ˠ jɪ/ | Irish: ―Ar íoc sibh Irish: mórán ar an móin? Irish: ―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. | |
| pronounced as /ˈtʲaɡəmʲ aːn̪ˠ xɪlə l̪ˠaː sˠəsˠ ˈmʲɪnəc n̪ˠax mʲiən̪ˠ ˈmˠoːɾˠaːn ˈfˠaːl̠ʲtʲə ɾˠuːmˠ/ | Irish: Tagaim Irish: ann chuile lá is is minic nach mbíonn mórán fáilte romham. | I come there every day but often I'm not very welcome. | |
| pronounced as /t̪ˠaː mʲeː ˈklɪʃtʲaːl ə ɡɔl haɾˠəmˠ ɡə mʲəi ˈsˠavˠɾˠə fʲlɔx sˠə ˈmʲliənə aɡən̠ʲ aɡəsˠ ˈçiːt̪ˠəɾˠ ɣɔmˠ pʲeːn ɡəɾˠ ˈaʃtʲəx ə ʃceːl eː ʃɪn/ | Irish: Tá mé ag cloisteáil ag dul tharam go mbeidh samhradh fliuch sa mbliana againn, agus chítear Irish: dhom féin{{ref|féin|11 | I have heard tell that we'll have a wet summer this year, but it seems to me that that story is strange. | |
| pronounced as /wɪl nə ˈfˠat̪ˠiː xoː mˠasˠ d̪ˠuːɾʲtʲ ʃeː/ | Irish: An bhfuil na fataí chomh maith is dúirt sé? | Are the potatoes as good as he said? | |
| pronounced as /ə ˈɣeːlɟə ˈl̪ˠəuɾˠiːɾˠ ə ˈɡuːɟə mˠuːn n̠ʲiː ˈhɔnən̪ˠ iː sˠə ˈɣeːlɟə ˈʃaɡən̠ʲə/ | Irish: An Ghaeilge a labhraítear Irish: 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 Mo Sgéal Féin at Wikisource include recordings of the text being read by a native speaker of Muskerry (Munster) Irish.
See main article: Comparison of Scottish Gaelic and Irish. 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 pronounced as //kn̪ˠ ɡn̪ˠ mn̪ˠ// etc. to pronounced as //kɾˠ ɡɾˠ mɾˠ// etc. is found in Manx and most dialects of Scottish Gaelic. Evidence from written manuscripts suggests it had begun in Scottish Gaelic as early as the 16th 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 pronounced as //a// to pronounced as //ə// before pronounced as //x//.
Irish pronunciation has had a significant influence on the features of Hiberno-English. For example, most of the vowels of Hiberno-English (with the exception of pronounced as //ɔɪ//) correspond to vowel phones of Irish. The Irish stops pronounced as /[t̪ˠ d̪ˠ]/ are common realizations of the English phonemes pronounced as //θ ð//. Hiberno-English also allows pronounced as //h// where it is permitted in Irish but excluded in other dialects of English, such as before an unstressed vowel (e.g. Haughey pronounced as //ˈhɑhi//) and at the end of a word (e.g. McGrath pronounced as //məˈɡɹæh//). There is epenthesis in words like film pronounced as /[ˈfɪləm]/ and form pronounced as /[ˈfɒːɹəm]/.