The charts below show the way in which the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) represents Irish-language pronunciations in Wikipedia articles. For a guide to adding IPA characters to Wikipedia articles, see ((IPA-ga)), ((IPAc-ga)) and Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Pronunciation § Entering IPA characters.

See Irish phonology for a more thorough look at the sounds of Irish.

Key[edit]

Consonants[1]
Broad Slender
IPA Example English approximation IPA Example English approximation
bˠ bain, scuab boot bʲ béal, cnáib beautiful
d̪ˠ dorn, nead do (but dental), though (Ireland) dʲ dearg, cuid media
fˠ fós, graf, pholl fool fʲ fíon, stuif, phríosún fuel
ɡ gasúr, bog goose ɟ geata, carraig argue
ɣ dhorn, ghasúr Spanish higo j[2] dhearg, gheata yellow
h[3] Shasana, shean, thaisce, theanga, hata, na héisc hand —
k cáis, mac cart c ceist, mic cube
l̪ˠ[4] labhair, balla filth l̠ʲ[4] leabhair, goilleadh million
lˠ[4] fhlaith, bealach pool lʲ[4] fhleasc, goile leaf
mˠ mór, am moot mʲ milis, im mute
n̪ˠ[5] naoi, donna tenth n̠ʲ[5] ní, bainne inch
nˠ[5] dona noon nʲ[5] bainis opinion
ŋ ngasúr long ɲ ngeata angular
pˠ poll, stop poor pʲ príosún, truip pure
ɾˠ barr, carr rule (but tapped) ɾʲ fhréamh, tirim real (but tapped)
sˠ Sasana, tús, speal soon ʃ sean, cáis sheet
t̪ˠ taisce, ceart tool (but dental), thorn (Ireland) tʲ tír, beirt tune (accents without yod dropping)
w[6] bhain, dubh, mhór, léamh, vóta wood or voodoo vʲ bhéal, sibh, mhilis, nimh, veidhlín view
x cháis, taoiseach loch (Scotland) ç cheist, deich, theann, theocht, thiúilip, thiocfadh, thiubh hue (pronounced strongly)
Vowels
IPA Examples English approximation IPA Examples English approximation
a mac trap aː tá father
ɛ ceist best eː mé, gael pay
ɪ ith, duine kit iː mín, naoi mean
ɔ olc, deoch core oː bó, ceol roll
ʊ dubh, fliuch good uː tú too
ə solas, milis sofa —
Diphthongs
IPA Examples English

Approximation

iə[7] bia idea
uə[7] fuar truant
əi[7] saghas light
əu[7] leabhar about
Suprasegmentals
IPA Explanation
ˈ primary stress (placed before the stressed syllable);
usually the first syllable except in Munster
ˌ secondary stress (usually found only in compounds)

Comparison of transcription schemes[edit]

Materials published elsewhere use somewhat different conventions from those used at Wikipedia. For example, it is a longstanding tradition to leave velarized ("broad") consonants unmarked and mark palatalized ("slender") consonants with the prime, but that is not standard IPA usage.

This section compares the IPA system used at Wikipedia (which is based on that used by Ailbhe Ní Chasaide in her description of Irish in the Handbook of the International Phonetic Association, ISBN 0-521-63751-1) with the systems used in some other works.

IPA Ní Chasaide (1999)[8]
(Gweedore) 		Quiggin (1906)[9]
(Glenties) 		Breatnach (1947)[10]
(Ring) 		Ó Sé (2000)[11]
(Dingle Peninsula) 		Mhac an Fhailigh (1968)[12]
(Erris) 		Ó Siadhail (1988)[13]
(Cois Fharraige) 		Foclóir Póca (1993)[14]
(Lárchanúint)
a a æ, α a a a æ:, a: a
aː æ α: a: ɑː a: ɑ: a:
bˠ bˠ b b b b b b
bʲ bʲ b′ b′ b′ b′ b′ b′
c c k′ k′ k′ k′ k′ k′
ç ç ç ç x′ ç x′ x′
d̪ˠ d̪ˠ d d d d d d
dʲ d̠ʲ d′ d′ d′ d′ d′ d′
eː e e: e: eː e: e: e:
ɛ ɛ ɛ, e e e e e e
ə ə ə ə ə, ɪ ə ə ə
əi — αi əi ai əi ai ai
əu au αu əu ou əu au au
fˠ fˠ f f f f f f
fʲ fʲ f′ f′ f′ f′ f′ f′
ɡ ɡ g g ɡ g g g
ɣ ɣ ℊ γ ɣ ɣ ɣ γ
h h h h, h′ h h h h
iː i i: i: iː i: i: i:
ɪ ɪ ï, i, y i i i i i
iə ia iə iə iːə iə i:ə iə
j j j j ɣ′ j ɣ′ γ′
ɟ ɟ g′ g′ ɡ′ g′ g′ g′
k k k k k k k k
l̪ˠ l̪ˠ L l l L L l
lˠ l l
l̠ʲ l̠ʲ L′ l′ l′ L′ L′ l′
lʲ l l′ l′ l′
mˠ mˠ m m m m m m
mʲ mʲ m′ m′ m′ m′ m′ m′
n̪ˠ n̪ˠ N n n N N n
nˠ n n n
n̠ʲ n̠ʲ N′ n′ n′ N′ N′ n′
nʲ n′ n′ n′
ɲ ɲ ɲ ŋ′ ŋ′ ŋ′ ŋ′ ŋ′
ŋ ŋ ŋ ŋ ŋ ŋ ŋ ŋ
oː o o:, ɔ: o: oː o: o: o:
ɔ ʌ ɔ, o̤ o o o o o
pˠ pˠ p p p p p p
pʲ pʲ p′ p′ p′ p′ p′ p′
ɾˠ ɾˠ r, R r r r r r
ɾʲ ɾʲ r′ r′ r′ r′ r′ r′
sˠ sˠ s s s s s s
ʃ ɕ ʃ ʃ ʃ ʃ s′ s′
t̪ˠ t̪ˠ t t t t t t
tʲ t̠ʲ t′ t′ t′ t′ t′ t′
uː u u: u: uː u: u: u:
ʊ ɤ U u u u u u
uə ua uə uə uːə uə u:ə uə
vʲ vʲ v v′ v′ v′ w′ v′
w w w v v w w v
x x χ x x x x x

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Irish makes contrasts between velarized ("broad") and palatalized ("slender") consonants. Velarized consonants, denoted in the IPA by a superscript ‹ˠ› (that is not a capital Y but a Latin letter, based on a Greek lowercase gamma, ‹γ›), are pronounced with the back of the tongue raised toward the velum, which happens to the /l/ in English pill in some accents like RP and General American but not Hiberno-English. In Irish orthography, broad consonants are surrounded by the letters ‹a›, ‹o›, ‹u›. Slender consonants, denoted in the IPA by a superscript ‹ʲ›, are pronounced with the body of the tongue raised toward the hard palate like the articulation of the ‹y› sound in yes. In Irish orthography, slender consonants are surrounded by the letters ‹e› and ‹i›.
  2. ^ Also [ʝ] in some positions in some dialects.
  3. ^ /h/ is neither broad nor slender.
  4. ^ a b c d Few, if any, modern dialects of Irish distinguish all four types of L sound. Most dialects have merged /l̪ˠ/ and /lˠ/ as [l̪ˠ], and some have also merged /l̠ʲ/ and /lʲ/ as [lʲ]. Still others have merged /lˠ/ and /lʲ/ as [l].
  5. ^ a b c d Few, if any, modern dialects of Irish distinguish all four types of N sound. Most dialects have merged /n̪ˠ/ and /nˠ/ as [n̪ˠ], and some have also merged /n̠ʲ/ and /nʲ/ as [nʲ]. Still others have merged /nˠ/ and /nʲ/ as [n]. In parts of Munster, /n̠ʲ/ has merged with /ɲ/ in non-initial position.
  6. ^ [w~βˠ~vˠ] depending on dialect and position.
  7. ^ a b c d All Irish diphthongs have falling sonority; they could therefore more precisely be transliterated as [iə̯, uə̯, əi̯, əu̯].
  8. ^ Ní Chasaide, Ailbhe (1999). "Irish" (PDF). Handbook of the International Phonetic Association. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 111–116. ISBN 0-521-63751-1.
  9. ^ Quiggin, E. C. (1906). A Dialect of Donegal: Being the Speech of Meenawannia in the Parish of Glenties . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  10. ^ Breatnach, Risteard B. (1947). The Irish of Ring, Co. Waterford. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. ISBN 0-901282-50-2.
  11. ^ Ó Sé, Diarmuid (2000). Gaeilge Chorca Dhuibhne (in Irish). Dublin: Institiúid Teangeolaíochta Éireann. ISBN 0-946452-97-0.
  12. ^ Mhac an Fhailigh, Éamonn (1968). The Irish of Erris, Co. Mayo. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. ISBN 0-901282-02-2.
  13. ^ Ó Siadhail, Mícheál (1988). Learning Irish: An Introductory Self-tutor. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-04224-8.
  14. ^ Foclóir póca: English-Irish/Irish-English dictionary. Dublin: An Gúm. 1993. ISBN 1-85791-047-8.

External links[edit]

Comparisons
Introductory guides
Category