The Gaelic-English Dictionary (2003)

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The Gaelic–English Dictionary

This book fulﬁls a keenly-felt need for a modern, comprehensive dictionary of Scottish Gaelic into English. The numerous examples of usage and idiom in the work have been modelled on examples culled from modern literature, and encom-pass many registers, ranging from modern colloquial speech to more elaborate literary constructions. The main contemporary terms and idiomatic phraseology, often not available in other dictionaries, provide excellent models for language learning. In addition to the main dictionary, the volume contains introductory material, providing guidance on using the dictionary, spelling and pronunciation. There are also twelve useful appendices which cover not only the main parts of speech, lenition and proper nouns, but also address the more difﬁcult issues of expressing time, direction and numerals. The clarity of the design and layout of the volume will greatly ease the process of attaining mastery of the Gaelic language.

‘This is a most useful Gaelic dictionary which will be invaluable to learners and to ﬁrst-tongue speakers. It represents years of hard work by a compiler who knows what is needed to make the contemporary language readily accessible to a wide range of people. Its rich sampling of, and close links with, modern Gaelic writing give it an added value. I commend it most warmly.’ Donald E. Meek, Professor of Scottish and Gaelic Studies, University of Edinburgh.

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The Gaelic–English Dictionary

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First published 2003 by Routledge

11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge

29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

A catalog record for this book has been requested

ISBN 0-415-29760-5 (hbk)

This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2006.

“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s

collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.”

ISBN 0-203-22259-8 Master e-book ISBN

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Preface

This Dictionary is the result of many years of intensive study of modern Gaelic literature, and I offer it in the earnest hope that students of Gaelic at all levels will beneﬁt from the extended explanatory sections and copious examples contained within it.

In the compiling of this work, clarity and ease of use have constantly been at the forefront of my mind, and several innovative layout features have been employed to achieve this aim. These are outlined in the section entitled Using the Dictionary, as are the conventions employed to supply essential grammatical information.

Where relevant, care has been taken, not simply to supply the bare meaning of the words and phrases, but to put ﬂesh upon the bones, so to speak, by the explana-tory sections and by showing the headwords in various contexts.

The twelve appendices contain not only essential information about the main parts of speech, but some of them deal with aspects of Gaelic, which to my knowl-edge, have never before been addressed in any work.

While devising the broad outline of pronunciation in this work, I leaned heavily for guidance on the use of I.P.A. symbols on Hugo’s Scottish Gaelic in Three Months by Roibeard Ò Maolalaigh and Iain MacAonghuis, published by Dorling Kindersley, and have also been guided in some areas by the pronuncia-tion guide in Cothrom Ionnsachaidh by Ronald Black, formerly in the Department of Celtic, University of Edinburgh, now retired, published by University of Edinburgh, Department of Celtic.

In preparing the ﬁnal typescript, I was extremely fortunate in having the services of Murdo Macleod, retired HM Inspector of Schools, who not only acted as reader of the typescript in a very thorough and diligent manner, but also sug-gested numerous additional words, meanings and examples. There is no doubt that the work is much the richer for his efforts, and, needless to say, any remaining errors are mine.

For the wording of The Points of the Compass, which are shown in Appendix 9, and that, to the best of my knowledge, appear in print for the very ﬁrst time, I also owe special thanks to John M. MacLeod of Balallan, Lewis. He acquired them over forty years ago from the late Col. John MacSween, the ﬁrst Principal

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of Lews Castle College in Stornoway and the author of a textbook, in English, on Navigation.

I am also indebted to William Gillies, formerly Professor of Celtic Studies, University of Edinburgh, now Head of that University’s new Department of Celtic and Scottish Studies; Donald Meek, formerly Professor of Celtic Studies, Aberdeen University, now holding the new Chair of Scottish and Gaelic Studies, University of Edinburgh; Kenneth MacDonald, formerly Department of Celtic Studies, Glasgow University, now retired; and Tony Dilworth, retired headteacher and researcher for the School of Scottish Studies, Edinburgh. These gentlemen’s constructive criticism and helpful suggestions at an earlier stage of the typescript – before it was more ﬁnely tuned and polished – both encouraged me to persevere and helped to mould the Dictionary’s ﬁnal form.

Both for their encouragement and for the supplying to me of lists of Gaelic words used in schools, namely Faclan Ùra Gàidhlig and Cruinn-eòlas – Faclair Gàidhlig gu Beurla, I am indebted respectively to Dr Donald John Macleod, Gaelic Adviser of the then Highland Regional Council, now The Highland Council, and Catriona Dunn, then Gaelic Adviser, Western Islands Council, now Assistant Director of Education with that same body.

I must thank The Gaelic Books Council, The Royal Celtic Society and Catherine McCaig’s Trust for their ﬁnancial support at crucial times in the Dictionary’s fortunes.

I also wish to thank Fred Bowden, Chief Executive of Tullis Russell Group for the good services of himself and company staff in printing and despatching several copies of the not-inconsiderable typescript on several occasions.

For the faith he has shown in this project, and for his tenacity in pursuing its publication, thereby bolstering my own determination, I heartily thank Jonathan Price, Chief Editor, ﬁrst at Edinburgh University Press, then at Curzon Press, now at RoutledgeCurzon.

To my good friend Deborah White, of the Celtic & Early Music group Distant Oaks, and to her family, in Santa Rosa, California, for their keen interest in this work and for their frequent encouragement, I give heartfelt thanks, to which I would like to add a particular thanks to Jared for the ﬁne website he constructed for me.

I am grateful, too, to our son Cliff and daughter-in-law Lesley for their unfail-ing interest and love, and to our lovely grandchildren Julia and Elliot for their constant love.

Finally, to my dear wife Jean, who has steadfastly stood by me during the many long years since the inception of this work, and has, on many, many occasions, raised my ﬂagging spirits and restored my faith in what I was doing, I owe a debt of thanks which can never be adequately expressed.

Colin Mark Buckie, Scotland

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1. Symbols and Abbreviations used in the Dictionary

Symbols

& and

/ or

⫹ along with, accompanied by ⫽ having the meaning, equivalent to ⬍ derived from

Abbreviations in brackets are labels

(abst.) abstract (agric.) agriculture (anat.) anatomy (Bibl.) Biblical (biol.) biology (bot.) botany (collect.) collective (colloq.) colloquial

(Dw.) quoted from Dwelly’s Dictionary (educ.) education (ﬁn.) ﬁnancial (geog.) geography (geol.) geology (gram.) grammar (lang.) language (ling.) linguistics (math.) mathematics (med.) medicine/medical (metaph.) metaphorical (mus.) music(al) (naut.) nautical (obs.) obsolete (photog.) photography (punct.) punctuation (relig.) religious (typ.) typography

Abbreviations in italics are grammatical labels

a adjective – after a headword to indicate which part of speech

abbr abbreviation

adj adjective – in explanatory text

adv adverb

aux auxiliary

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compd compound

compd prep(s) compound preposition(s)

conj(s) conjunction(s)

dat dative

def deﬁnite

def art deﬁnite article

emph emphatic exclam exclamation fem feminine fut future gen genitive imp imperative impers impersonal indep independent inﬁn inﬁnitive interj interjection interr interrogative

interr part interrogative particle

interr prons interrogative pronouns

intrans intransitive len lenition len(s) lenite(s) masc masculine neg negative nf noun feminine nm noun masculine

nm/f a noun which may be masculine or feminine acc. to dialect

nom nominative

part particle

pers pron personal pronoun

pl plural

poss pron(s) possessive pronoun

pref preﬁx

prep poss adj(s) prepositional possessive adjective(s)

prep(s) preposition(s)

reg. regular

rel fut relative future

rel pron(s) relative pronoun(s)

sing singular subj subject trans transitive v verb vn(s) verbal noun(s) var variation voc vocative General abbreviations acc. according App Appendix cf. compare

e.g. for example

i.e. that is

dicts. dictionaries fig. figure, figuratively

q.v. which see

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2. Using the Dictionary

General

Alphabetical order is used throughout except within ‘boxes’ (see Layout) where the alphabetical order may be suspended because of the particular grouping of the material within the ‘box’. Abbreviations and acronyms are shown in the correct alphabetical position.

Nouns which are always in the plural are shown under that form.

Variant spellings are shown as headwords, but are cross-referenced to a main form.

Lenition

Lenition (where the letter h is inserted after certain ﬁrst letters – see Appendix 8) is a common feature of Gaelic. In most cases, the h should be removed before searching the dictionary. Thus:

thilg will be found under tilg, dhearg under dearg, chuileag under cuileag etc.

However, a few words are always found in the lenited form, and are shown thus in the dictionary. This fact should be borne in mind should a search for an unlenited form prove fruitless, e.g. chunnaic, fhathast, chun etc.

Single letter preﬁxes

Many adverbs may be preﬁxed by a-, and are shown in that form under the letter a. However, students may well come across examples in their reading where the a- has been omitted.

Words preﬁxed by t-, h- or n-, however, are shown under the main element. Thus:

an t-eilean under eilean, a h-urnaigh under urnaigh, ar n-athair under athair etc. Dh’

Dh’ frequently precedes some Gaelic verbs, adverbs or nouns. This should be ignored.

Thus:

a dh’aithghearr under aithghearr Apostrophes

The apostrophe is also a common feature of Gaelic, but many have now been dropped due to spelling reform. Generally, the abbreviated form is shown in the dictionary with

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a cross-reference to the full form. Watch out particularly for these examples from older texts:

de’n, do’n, mu’n, fo’n, sa’, ’san

Now written as:

den, don, mun, fon, sa, san

eu and ia

Generally, the dialectal variants eu and ia are shown, but if a search for a word containing these letters fails, the alternative form should be tried. Thus:

feur/ﬁar Spelling reform

By and large, the recommendations made by the management group of Faclair na

Pàrlamaid (publ. the Scottish Parliament 2001) – which reinstate/enlarge upon those

made by Gaelic Orthographic Conventions (GOC), publ. 1981 – have been followed. These are summarised below:

● The grave accent alone is used to denote a lengthened vowel sound, and is also used to denote the ‘open’ sound of à/às.

● Accents are used on capital vowels.

● The use of na h-Alba in preference to na h-Albann.

● Hyphenation should strictly follow GOC recommendations, and should be retained in compounds beginning with fear-, neach- etc., but not in an-sin, an seo, and an siud.

● Carson and airson should be kept as single words.

● The use of the apostrophe and spacing is as GOC recommended, though the use of the apostrophe to reﬂect dialect (in this dictionary) occurs, for the most part, only incidentally in the examples.

● st or sd, sc or sd, sp or sb?

In line with recommendations made by GOC.

st: should be used in initial, internal and ﬁnal positions sg: should be used in initial, internal and ﬁnal positions

sp: should be used in initial and ﬁnal positions, with sp/sb as alternatives in

internal positions

– except with regard to personal names where the spelling is a matter of individual choice. In addition, students may encounter, in older texts, the terminations –uinn and -us. These are now spelt –ainn and -as. Similarly, the preﬁxes comh- and coimh- are now to be found under co-.

Forms

The various forms of any particular word i.e. tenses, plurals, cases, comparatives etc. are not shown as separate headwords unless there is a special reason for doing so, which is usually when the form is too irregular to be easily matched with its basic form. The forms of regular verbs and nouns may be deduced according to the outlines laid down in the appropriate appendices.

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Capital letters

Capitals are used at the beginning of an example only when direct speech is employed, when the word would invariably have a capital letter or (occasionally) to avoid confusion.

a bheil a’ bhùth fosgailte? chan eil an-diugh is the shop open? not today but:

A! Sin e! Ah! There it is! “Tha eagal ort,” thuirt e Square brackets

Square brackets are used to show that the word in brackets may / may not be required in the English version

1. talla a’ bhaile the town hall (lit. [the] hall of the town)

– where the word in square brackets has no counterpart in the Gaelic version. 2. … is e na shuidhe air mullach a’ bhalla [and he] sitting on the top of the wall / as he

sat etc.

– where the words in square brackets would not normally appear in the English version, but provide a more literal translation.

Round brackets

Round brackets are used:

1. to qualify a meaning; in further explanation; to add information or avoid ambiguity e.g.

asaideachadh, -aidh nm & vn of asaidich delivering (child) asal, -aile, -ailean nf (nm in some places) ass, donkey

what could be easier than to have a word with (lit. say a word to)

2. to indicate that the Gaelic word is frequently omitted, particularly in speech

a’ frithealadh do àireamh (a) tha (a’) fàs de luchd ceannaich attending to a growing

number of customers

cha robh cothrom agam (a) ath-leughadh I had no opportunity to reread it masc

3. to show alternative forms where there is only one letter of a difference

bris(t)eadh

indoor(s)

4. used round single letters where these separate sections e.g. (a), (b) etc. 5. to show that the word in question may translate differently according to context:

spasmodic(ally) 6. to extend an example:

a bheil e fhèin a-staigh (an-dràsta)? is he home (at the moment)? Grammar

Adjectives

Adjectives are given with the basic form and the comparative-superlative form, the latter being shown, for the most part, as a change in, and augment to, the termination

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(see Appendix 3 – Adjectives):

gabhaltach, -aiche a

where the full comparative-superlative form is gabhaltaiche

Where there is simply an augment, this alone is shown along with the basic form:

gàbhaidh, -e a meanbh, -a a

where the full comparative-superlative forms are gàbhaidhe and meanbha respectively.

Where no change takes place, or where a comparative form is unlikely, the basic form alone is shown:

ceàrr a

Adverbs

Adverbs, where simple, are given as follows:

caran adv còmhla adv

Where it consists of a phrase, the adverb is shown under the main element:

air a cheann-dìreach adv is given under compounds beginning with ceann-an còmhnaidh is given under còmhnaidh thus: còmhnaidh, ceann-an còmhnaidh adv

Compound words

Compound words with a hyphen are shown under the ﬁrst element, the ﬁrst example being shown in full, and subsequent examples being abbreviated as follows:

eàrr-bhruich v seethe, simmer, stew e.-dhubh nf wane (of the moon) □ tha a’ ghealach san eàrr-dhubh the moon is on the wane e.-dhubh a waning etc.

Such entries are generally given without the genitive, plural, comparative, verbal

noun or tenses (whichever may apply) unless this is felt to be necessary.

Conjunctions

Conjunctions, if simple, are given as follows:

ma conj nam / nan conj

Where a conjunction consists of a phrase, it is shown under the main element:

air neo is shown under neo thus: neo, air neo conj

Emphatic particles

Words with emphatic particles attached are generally not shown separately. It is appreci-ated that beginner learners will ﬁnd these puzzling, and it is recommended that the student familiarise himself / herself with their appearance by studying Appendix 6 Section 1.0 and Appendix 3 Section 4.2.

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Nouns

Nouns are normally shown in the nominative singular, the genitive singular and the nominative plural only:

A. Forms in the gen sing will normally be indicated only as: 1. the insertion in the ﬁnal / only syllable of an extra letter:

cadal, -ail nm

– where the gen sing would be cadail

2. a vowel change in the ﬁnal / only syllable when minor:

grinneal, -eil nm

But, when major, the whole word is given:

falt, fuilt nm

– where the gen sings are, respectively, grinneil and fuilt 3. the addition of a letter to the nom sing form:

Either -a

ciont, -a nm

or -e

cailc, -e nf

– with the –e being added after a minor vowel change in the ﬁnal / only syllable as described in 2. above:

fòd, fòide nf

Where the addition / change is more complicated, uncommon or irregular, the form is shown in full:

feòil, feòla nf peasair, peasrach nf dìle, dìleann nf

4. In many cases more than one gen sing may be shown:

luath, -aithe/-a nf

– where the gen sing could be luaithe or luatha according to dialect Note that these variations are always separated by /

It should be noted that most polysyllabic feminine nouns with an –e increase drop the increase in practice, e.g. air bonn na h-uinneig(e) on the window-sill B. Forms in the nominative plural will normally be indicated only as:

1. a change in the ﬁnal vowel identical to the change in the gen sing:

amadan, -ain, -ain nm botal, -ail, -ail nm

– where the full forms would be:

amadan, amadain, amadain nm botal, botail, botail nm

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But in short words, this will be written in full:

bàrd, bàird, bàird nm ball, buill, buill nm member

2. Where an ending is added to form the plural, these will normally be shown with the hyphen only, according to the Spelling Rule.

So:

annas, -ais, -an nm copan, -ain, -an cup leòn, -òin, -tan nm ugan, -ain, -nan nm/f beathach, -aich, -aichean, nm

– but

taigh, -e, -ean nm lòn, -òin, -tean nm

soitheach, -ich, -ichean, nm/f claban, -ain, -ainean, mill-clapper

– where the plurals are annasan, copanan, leòntan, ugannan, beathaichean,

taighean, lòintean, soithichean and clabainean respectively

Where a nominative singular ends in a vowel, the vowel is repeated in the abbre-viated plural form:

cala, -achan nm paca, -annan nm

– where the plurals are calachan and pacannan respectively Alternative forms of the plural are separated by /:

stac, -aic/-a, -an/-annan nm bàbhan, -ain, -ain/-ainean, rampart

Where these are unusual, or might otherwise be confusing, they are shown in full:

leathad, -aid/leòthaid, leòidean nm aiseal, -eil, aislean

In some cases all forms are shown in full:

ceàrd, ceàird, ceàrdan/ceàrdaichean nm giall, gialla/gèille, giallan/gèillean, nf

talamh, talmhainn, talamhan/talmhainnean, nm (but nf in gen sing) uamh, uaimhe/uamha, uaimhean/uamhan nf

Past participles

Past participles are given simply, thus:

rùisgte pp biadhta pp

By their very nature, these are always situated fairly close to the verb from which they are derived, but the verb root may be found by removing the sufﬁx –te / -ta.

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Prepositions

Prepositions are shown as follows, indicating the case of a following noun:

aig prep⫹ dat air prep⫹ dat ri taobh prep⫹ gen

Prepositional possessive adjectives

Prepositional possessive adjectives are shown under their own headings, but with a reference to the appropriate preposition:

bhon 1. prep poss adj formed from bho (q.v.)

Pronouns

Pronouns always indicate the type of pronoun.

cuideigin indef pron dam prep pron ud dem pron

Verbs

Verbs are shown with their root / basic form and their verbal noun, the two parts being sep-arated by a comma.

Where –adh or –eadh is added to the root according to the Spelling Rule, the verb is shown thus:

mag, -adh guin, -eadh v

– where the verbal noun would be magadh and guineadh respectively. In the case of verbs ending in –aich or –ich, the verbs are shown thus:

ionnsaich, -achadh v tòisich, -eachadh v

– where the verbal noun would be ionnsachadh and tòiseachadh respectively. Where a vowel change takes place before –adh is added, the verb is shown in full

buail, bualadh v

All other verbs are shown in full.

caidil, cadal v tuig, tuigsinn v tilg, tilgeil v seas, seasamh v laigh, laighe v rach, dol irreg v

Alternative forms of the verbal noun are shown separated by /:

gèill, -eadh / gèilltinn / gèilleachdainn v

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Verbal noun

When a verbal noun is also used as a noun, one meaning as a verb is given ﬁrst, then the meanings which translate as nouns.

aslachadh, -aidh, -aidhean nm & vn of aslaich petitioning etc., petition, solicitation,

supplication

– where aslachadh may translate as the present participle ‘petitioning’ (or any other meaning the root verb may have) or as the nouns (in this case) ‘petition’, ‘solicitation’, ‘supplication’.

Layout

The main aims in the layout of this dictionary have been clarity and ease of use. The employment of different font styles for the different sections of each entry, the separation of explanatory text from meanings, and examples from translation, all serve to achieve this end. In addition, the separation of lengthy sections from the rest of the text by means of ‘boxes’, and the further division of these ‘compartments’ into areas of usage, makes scannning for a particular word or phrase quicker and easier. It should be noted, however, that the layout within ‘boxes’ varies in accordance with the nature and compexity of the material.

On the facing page is a typical, single column sample, showing the key features of the layout.

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3. Spelling and Pronunciation

The alphabet and the accented letters

The Gaelic alphabet has eighteen letters:

a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, l, m, n, o, p, r, s, t, u

The sounds indicated by j, k, q, v and w in English are indicated in a different way in Gaelic, but loan words with the sounds indicated by x, y and z cause some difﬁculty – see the section W, X, Y and Z at the end of the dictionary.

Besides the ﬁve vowels – a, e, i, o, u – found in the Roman alphabet, diacritics are used to show long vowels:

à, è, é, ì, ò, ó, ù

Recent spelling reform has discontinued the use of the acute accent in modern Gaelic, with the grave accent being used for both. For the sake of clarity they have been retained in this

pronunciation guide only.

It should be noted that the difference between the letters a, o, u, i, e and à, ò, ù, ì, è tively is one of length only. On the other hand, the difference between è, ò and é, ó respec-tively is one of quality. The sound è is like the ai in ‘pair’; while é sounds like the ay in ‘may’. The sound of ò is like au in ‘taught’, while ó is like o in ‘crow’; the lips being more rounded for ó than for ò.

However, the grave accent may be used to differentiate between unclear and clear vowels as in the words a and as which are unclear (/ə/and /əs/ respectively), and à and às which are clear (/a/ and /as/ respectively). With regard to this last example, you may come across it in the literature as a(s), à(s) or á(s), with the recommended written form now being à(s). Difﬁcult as it may be for the learner to believe, Gaelic spelling is more regular than English, though it should be noted that the eighteen letters are used to portray more

individual sounds than in English. Lenition

In Gaelic, a number of consonants at the beginning of words may be lenited or ‘softened’. Lenition is usually shown by the insertion of ‘h’ after the consonant. The lenitable conso-nants are b, c, d, f, g, m, p, s and t, which become bh, ch, dh, fh, gh, mh, ph and th respec-tively. In addition, the letters l, n and r are lenited in sound, but do not have the h attached. These sounds are all shown in the pronunciation table, e.g.

cas /kas/ foot a chas /ə xas/ his foot

The subject of lenition is fully treated in Appendix 8 – Lenition, and in all the appendices dealing with parts of speech.

The sound represented by each letter is not constant, but may vary according to the posi-tion in the word, and according to the letter or letter combinaposi-tion preceding or following it.

Slenderisation / palatalisation

One important factor is the effect known as slenderisation, or palatalisation, where an

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There is often also a change in the vowel preceding this consonant, e.g.

laochan /

ˆxan/ a lad a laochain! /ə lxa/ lad!

ionnsachadh _{/jun˜səxəγ/} learning ionnsachaidh _/jun˜səxi/ of learning Note that slenderisation occurs only at the end of words.

The spelling rule

Consonants in Gaelic may be broad or slender. This is indicated by whether they are pre-ceded or followed by a broad or slender vowel. The broad vowels are a, o and u, while the slender ones are e, and i. Since they cannot be both broad and slender, consonants are ﬂanked by vowels of the same quality. Thus we have mara and cuideachd on the one hand and mairsinn and cupa on the other. It should noted that the a of mairsinn and the ﬁrst a of mara have the same sound. The i has made no difference to the vowel, which is pro-nounced /a/ in both cases. It is the r which is different in each word, being /r/ in mara and /rj_{/ in mairsinn. Similarly, the ea of cuideachd and the a of cupa both have the sound /ə/.}

The Spelling Rule is expressed in Gaelic as caol ri caol is leathann ri leathann ‘narrow to narrow and broad to broad’. There are some recognised exceptions to the Spelling Rule, e.g. esan, leònte etc.

The stress in Scottish Gaelic nearly always falls on the ﬁrst syllable of a word. Some words with a short preﬁx joined to the main word by a hyphen, have the stress on the second element e.g. a-staigh, a-steach, a-muigh etc. There are also a few common excep-tions e.g. airson and carson (which are really air son and car son – see the appropriate dictionary entries).

Though the following tables show the various sounds using International Phonetics Association (IPA) notation, the guide can only be an approximate one as, among other factors, pronunciation may vary from district to district.

The ‘schwa’

You will notice that, in the pronunciation guide, certain words (usually containing l, n or

r) appear to have an extra vowel. This vowel is known variously as the ‘svarabhakti vowel’,

the ‘epenthetic vowel’ or simply the ‘schwa’. It will be noted that the extra vowel is always a ‘twin’ of the preceding vowel, e.g.

gorm /gɔrɔ m/ blue dearg /dj_arak/ _red

Pre-aspiration

You may also notice, in the IPA representation of some words, the letters /h/, /ç/ or /x/ which do not appear to correspond to any letter in the Gaelic word. These indicate what is known as pre-aspiration, i.e. a voiceless breathing sound before certain consonants, particularly

c, p and t. The /h/ is most usual, but /ç/ or /x/ may be found in some words, particularly

before a c, e.g.

pàipear /pεhpərj

/ paper bàta /bahtə/ a boat

siùcar /ʃuhkər/ sugar gu tric /gə triçkj_/ _often

cnoc /krɔxk/ a hill sloc /s

ˆɔxk/ a pit

Rd and rt

Some dialects introduce an s between r and following d or t in stressed syllables. This is shown in the pronunciation guide as /r sd/, /r st/ e.g.

ceart /kjar st/ right àrd /ar sd/ high

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Hiatus

Hiatus is a gap between vowels (usually where there is a mute bh, dh, gh mh and, occa-sionally, th. This is shown in the pronunciation tables by the symbol / – /:

saoghal /sɯ-a

ˆ/ world

It is important to realise, when studying the following Pronunciation Guide, that, in cer-tain vowel groups, some of the vowels may not be pronounced, but are there simply to indi-cate whether a preceding or following consonant is broad or slender. See the Spelling Rule above.

Key to symbols and letters used in the pronunciation guide

IPA Symbol Explanation

_{A subscript arch indicates that the consonant is dental,} e.g.d t

ˆn˜ – see d, t, l and n.

j This shows that the consonant is palatal i.e. having a ‘y’ like quality, e.g. dj_{, t}j_{, k}j_{– see c, d, f, g, l, m, n, p, r, s and t.}

_{a superimposed tilde indicates a nasal quality in a consonant} e.g.

ˆn˜ r – see l, n and r.

_{a superscript tilde indicates a nasal quality in a vowel} e.g. a~ɔ u~ i~ ə~

– see under ài (/ai/) and various examples throughout the table / / These mark the conﬁnes of the IPA script, e.g. /kaht/ This indicates a long vowel e.g. a – see à, ì, ò and ù. IPA Letter For: See: ə a and e ɯ ao v bh and mh k c ç ch x ch γ dh and gh ε e j dh and gh ʎ l n˜ n n ŋ ng ɔ o oi and u ʃ s Guide to pronunciation Pronunciation of vowels

Gaelic IPA Comments and examples Letter Symbol

a /a/ When stressed, like a in ‘mat’.

cas /kas/ foot, leg

cat /kaht/ a cat

(24)

When unstressed, it may be:

1. as a above, i.e. ‘open’, not obscure, as in /ə/ below.

Mórag /morak/ Morag

sporan /spɔran/ purse

/ə/ 2. an obscure sound like the e in butter.

doras /dɔrəs/ a door

fada /fatə/ long

a-staigh /ə stj/ inside

ai /a/ As in a above, stressed and unstressed.

caileag /kalak/ a girl

aiseag /aʃək/ a ferry

cofhurtail /kɔ-ərstal/ comfortable

/ə/ As in a above when unstressed and obscure.

iuchair /juxərj

/ a key

cosgais /kɔskəʃ/ cost

uair /uərj_/ _hour

/ε/ Like e in ‘met’.

geamair /gεmεrj_/ _gamekeeper

naidheachd _/n˜ε-əxk/ news

an comain /aŋ komεŋ/ obliged

/i/ Like ee in ‘deep’.

dùthaich /du-iç/ country

eachdraidh /εxdri/ history

madainn /ma ti/ morning

à /a/ Like a in ‘calves’.

càr /kar/ a car

bàta /batə/ a boat

càraid /karεtj_/ _couple

See also eà and ài.

ài /a/ Like à above.

àite /ahtj_ə/ _{a place}

a’ Ghàidhlig /ə γahlikj_/ _Gaelic

sràid /strahtj_/ _{a street*}

*also /srahtj_{/ but the sound t is commonly inserted between}

s and r. See sr below.

/ε/ Like e in ‘met’.

ràimh /r εv/ oars

pàipear /pεhpərj_/ _paper*

pàigheadh /pε-əγ/ paying

*But see also below.

/ai/ This is very like the i of ‘driver’.

dràibhear /dra ivərj_/ _driver

bara-làimhe /bara

ˆa

ivə/ hand-barrow

pàipear /pa ihpərj

/ paper* *But see also above.

(25)

Spelling and pronunciation xxiv

ao /ɯ/ This is pronounced like the oo of cool, but with the corners of the lips drawn back.

caol /kɯ

ˆ/ slender

saor /sɯr/ cheap, free

taobh /tɯv/ a side

aoi /ɯ/ Usually the same as ao /ɯ/.

daoine /dɯə/ men/people

aoir /ɯrj_/ _satire

əi Has no English equivalent, but rather similar to ‘uh-ee’, with uh a very obscure sound like the e of butter or the a of distant.

laoidh /

ˆəi/ a hymn

naoi _/n˜əi/ nine

But note:

an-raoir /_{ən˜ r ir}j_/ _{last night}

e /ε/ The letter e is used alone only in monosyllabic words, being, usually, like e in ‘met’.

le /lε/ with ged /gεt/ though e /ε/ he, him, it teth /tj εh/ hot But note:

ge-tà /gə ta/ however

ea /e/ Often like the a in ‘fate’:

deas /dj_es/ _{right (hand etc.)}

beagan /bekan/ a little

beag /bek/ small

/ε/ – but also like e in ‘met’:

bean /bεn/ a wife

peacadh /pεxkəγ/ sin

dìnnear /djiεrJ

/ dinner

/a/ – and also like a in ‘mat’.

geal /gj_a

ˆ/ white

fileanta /filantə/ fluent

oileanaich /laniç/ students

eà /a/ Here the e indicates a preceding slender consonant, and the vowel is pronounced simply as à /a/.

ceàrr /kj_a

r / wrong

is fheàrr leam /ʃar ləm I prefer

meàirlich /mj_ar

ˆiç/ thieves, robbers

ei For the most part, ei is like e alone or ea. /e/ Often like the a in ‘fate’:

eile /elə/ other

eich /eç/ horses

reic /r eçk/ sell

/ε/ – but also like e in ‘met’.

sgeilp /skj

ε

ˆp/ a shelf

ainmeil /εnεmεl/ famous

(26)

But note also:

Fraingeis /fraŋkj_əʃ/ _French

cuideigin /kutj_ikj_in/ _somebody

See also einn.

eo /ɔ/ This is usually pronounced simply as o /ɔ/.

deoch /dj

ɔx/ a drink

an seo /ə ʃɔ/ here

eò/ eòi /ɔ/ This is pronounced simply as ò /ɔ/.

ceòl /kj_ɔ

ˆ/ music

feòil /fj

ɔl/ meat

But note also:

jɔ eòlach /jɔ

ˆəx/ knowledgeable

eu /e/ Sometimes the same as é /e/.

ceum /kem/ step

feum /fem/ step

Seumas /ʃeməs/ James

/ia/ Often ‘broken’ into the sound of ia as in Maria.

leudaich /ʎiadiç/ widen

feuch /ﬁax/ try

feur /ﬁar/ grass

See ia

èi /e/ Somewhat like ‘ai’ in ‘pair’ (though closer to è of French père).

tè /tj

ε/ a woman

stèisean* /stεʃən/ station

cèilidh /kεli/ ceilidh

*note English t (see trèan below and section t).

èa /ε/ As for è above.

plèan /plεn/ plane

trèan /trεn/ train

nèamh /εv/ heaven

But note:

/ia/ brèagha /brj

ia-ə/ pretty

é / éi /e/ Like ‘ay’ in ‘day’.

an-dé /ə dj_e

/ yesterday

fhéin /hen/ self

le chéile /lε çelə/ both, together

i /i/ Like ee in ‘keep’.

idir /itj_irj_/ _{at all}

an sin /əʃin/ there

a-nis /ə niʃ/ now

ia /iə/ Has the ‘split e’ sound of ee in ‘seer’.

liath /ʎiə/ (pale) blue, grey

ﬁadh /ﬁəγ/ deer

biadh /biəγ/ food

(27)

/ia/ Often ‘broken’ into the sound of ia as in Maria, as happens with

eu. A number of words may have the alternative eu / ia form

e.g. ceud / ciad (see eu).

dian /dj_ian/ _{intensive(ly)}

iad /iat/ they, them

ciad /kj_iat/ _ﬁrst

But note also:

Iain /i-a/ Ian, John

io /i/ This is the same as i above.

ﬁos /ﬁs/ knowledge

miosail /misal/ fond of

sgioba /skj_ib

ə/ a team

ì /i/ Like ea in ‘lean’.

sìde /ʃitj_ə/ _weather

clì /kli/ left (hand etc.)

fìrinn /ﬁrj_i

/ truth

ìo /i/ Sometimes this is like ì above, i.e. like ea in ‘lean’.

pìos /pis/ a piece

sgrìob /skrj_i

p/ a trip

prìosan /prj_i

san/ prison /ia/, /iə/ In some words, however, the vowels are separate.

mìos /mi as/, /mi əs/ a month

sìon /ʃi a n/, /ʃi ən/ a particle

lìon /ʎi a n/, /ʎi ən/ ﬁll

iu /ju/ After a slender consonant, like u in English unit.

an-diugh /ə dj

u/ today

có dhiubh? /ko ju/ whether?

piuthar /pj

u-ər/ sister

iù /iùi /ju/ Pronounced like the English word ‘you’.

siùcar /ʃuhkər/ sugar

diùlt /dj_u

ˆt/ deny

ciùin /kj_u/ _calm

o /o/ Like o in ‘goat’.

obair /opərj_/ _work

an comhnaidh /əŋ koni/ always

modh /moγ/ mode

/ɔ/ Like o in ‘hot’.

loch /

ˆɔx/ loch, lake

no /nɔ/ or

cofaidh /cɔﬁ/ coffee

/ə/ When unstressed, like e in butter.

sìon /ʃi an/, /ʃi ən/ particle

cothrom /kɔ-rəm/ opportunity

mìos /mi a s/, /mi əs/ month – but see also ìo.

(28)

xxvii Spelling and pronunciation

oi /ɔ/ Often as o /ɔ/ above, i.e. like o in ‘hot’.

boireannach /bɔrj ən˜əx/ woman croitear /krɔtj εrj / crofter sgoil /skɔl/ school

// But also often like u in ‘gut’.

oidhche /içə/ night

goirid /grj ətj_/ _short goid /gtj_/ _steal ò /ɔ/ Like au in ‘taught’. ceòl /kj ɔ ˆ/ music bòrd /bɔr st/, /bɔr t/ table bròg /brɔk/ shoe

ó / ói /o/ Like o in ‘crow’, with the lips more rounded than for ò.

bó /bo/ a cow

mór /mor/ big

có? /kɔ/ who?

cóig /kɔikj_/ _ﬁve

u /u/ Like oo in ‘rook’.

ugh /u/ an egg

dubh du black

guth /gu/ voice

// Like u in ‘gut’.

nurs /n r s/ a nurse

siuga /ʃgə/ a jug

Beurla /bjr

ˆə/ English

ua /uə/ Usually like the sound heard in the ewe of ‘brewer’.

fuar /fuər/ cold

ruadh /r uəγ/ dark red

suas /suəs/ up

/ua/ But note also:

uan /uan/ a lamb

uabhasach /u a vasəx/ terrible

uai /uə/ Usually as for ua /uə/ as in the ewe of ‘brewer’.

uair /uərj

/ an hour

duais /duəʃ/ a prize

fhuair /huərj_/ _got

ui /u/ Same as u /u/.

muir /murj_/ _sea

duine /duə/ a man

fuireach /furj

əx/ living, staying /ɯ/ Like ‘oo’ in ‘pool’, but with lips drawn back at the corners.

uighean /ɯjan/ eggs

suidh /sɯj/ sit

(29)

ù /u/ Like ‘oo’ in ‘pool’.

cù /ku/ a dog

bùth /bu/ a shop

siùcar /ʃuhkər/ sugar

ùi /u/ Normally the same as ù /u/.

dùin /du/ close, shut

dùisg /duʃkj_/ _{wake up}

cùil /kul/ a corner

Pronunciation of consonants

b /b/ At the beginning of a word, broad b is like b in ‘bat’:

balach /ba

ˆəx/ a boy

blàth /b

ˆa/ warm

bàta /bahtə/ a boat

/p/ – otherwise like p in ‘tap’.

Alba /a

ˆapə/ Scotland

obair /opərj_/ _work

lùb /

ˆup/ bend /b/ Before a slender vowel, b may be like broad b /b/.

beatha /bεhə/ life

beagan /bekan/ a little

/bj_/ _{But, if slender, b, at the beginning some words, is like b in}

‘abuse’.

beannachd /bj_an˜əxk/ a blessing

beò /bj_ɔ/ _alive

beanntan /bj_auntən/ _mountains

bh /v/ Broad bh is like v in ‘vast’.

taobh /tɯv/ a side

adhbhar /ɯvər/ a reason

a’ bhasgaid /ə vaskεtj_/ _{a basket}

/f/, /-/ In the middle or at the end of a Gaelic word it may be reduced to the sound of f˘/f˘/ or to nothing.

co-dhiùbh /ko ju/ anyway

dubh /du/ black

leabhar /ʎɔ-ər/ book

gabh /gav/, /gaf/ take

/v/ Before a slender vowel, bh may be like broad bh above.

telebhisean* /tεləviʃən/ television

a bheatha /ə vεhə/ his life

a bheil thu? /ə vεl u/ are you?

*note the English t (see t section). /vj_/ _{But, if slender, it is like v in view.}

a’ bheannachd /ə vj

an˜əxk/ the blessing

feòil bheò /fj

ɔl vj

ɔ/ living ﬂesh

(30)

It is important to realise that this applies only when the e is there to show that the b is slender. Cf:

a’ bhean /ə vεn/ the wife

c /k/ When broad, like c in ‘cat’.

càil /kal/ anything

coimhead /kɔ jət/, /k əjət/ watching

cuideam /kutj

əm/ weight

/k/ Before a slender vowel, it is like broad c above.

cead /ket/ permission

ceasnaich _/kesn˜iç/ question

ceist /keʃtj_/ _{a question}

/kj_/ _{But slender c is like c in ‘cute’.}

ceòl /kj_ɔ

ˆ/ music

ceann /kj_aun_/ _{head, end}

ciùin /kj_u

/ calm

ch /x/ Broad ch is like ch in Scottish ‘loch’.

ach /ax/ but

a’ chas /ə xas/ the foot, leg

chuir mi /xurjmi/ I put

/ç/ Slender ch is like h in ‘hew’.

timcheall air /tjimiçə ˆεr j / about dìcheall /dj_içə ˆ/ utmost a chiall! /ə çiə ˆ/ oh dear!

chd /xk/ The combination chd is pronounced as the ch k in Loch Katrine.

beannachd /bj

an˜əxk/ a blessing

cuideachd /kutjəxk/ too, also

a-nochd /_{ə n˜ɔxk/} tonight

But note the exception:

/xd/ eachdraidh /εxdri/ history

cn /kr/ Found at the beginning of a word only, cn is usually pronounced as cr.

cnoc /krɔxk/ a hill

cnò /krɔ/ a nut

cnàmh /krav/ a bone

d /d/ At the beginning of a word, broad d is like d in ‘doe’:

dad /dat/ anything

dràibh /dra iv/ drive

/t/ – otherwise it is pronounced like t in ‘hat’, with the tongue touching the upper teeth.

có mheud? /ko vi a t/ how many?

cadal /katə

ˆ/ sleeping

fada /fatə/ long

(31)

/dj_/ _{At the beginning of a word, slender d is like j in ‘jug’:}

an-diugh /ə dj_u/ _today

an-dé /ə dj_e/ _yesterday

dearg /djarak/ red

/tj/ – otherwise it is pronounced like ch in ‘chew’.

càirdean /kar stj_ən/ _{friends, kin}

pàrlamaid /par

ˆəmεt

j_/ _parliament

/d/ Note that some recent loan-words from English, beginning with

d, are pronounced as in English, e.g: dola /dɔla/ doll. Cf t.

dh /γ/ Broad dh is the same as broad gh i.e. a ‘voiced’ ch.

a dh’aithghearr /ə γaiçar / soon

mas urrainn dhut /mas ur i γut/ if you can

taghadh /t-əγ/ choosing

/-/ Broad dh is weak or silent in the middle of a word.

naidheachd /n ε-əxk/ news

adhbhar /ɯvər/ a reason

an fheadhainn /ə jo-i/ the ones, those

/j/ Slender dh is the same as slender gh, i.e. like y as in ‘yes’.

buidhe /bɯjə/ yellow

mu dheidhinn /mu je-iŋ/ about

có dhiubh /ko ju/ whether?

/-/ Slender dh disappears after an unstressed vowel.

cruaidh /kruəj/ hard

suidh /sɯj/ sit down

bòidheach /bɔjəx/ beautiful

f /f/ Broad f is as f in English ‘fast’:

fosgladh /fɔsk

ˆəγ/ opening

fàg /fak/ leave

fuireach /furj

əx/ living

/fj_/ _{– while slender f (which occasionally occurs at the beginning of}

words) is like f in ‘few’.

feadhainn /fjo-i/ some

feòil /fj_ɔl/ _meat

ﬁughar /fj_u-ər/ _expectation

fh /-/ Broad fh is generally not pronounced:

dh’ fhairich e /γarj_iç

ε/ he felt

(a) fhacal [ə] axkə

ˆ/ his word

glé fhada /gle atə/ very long

/h/ – except in the following, where fh is pronounced as h.

fhathast /ha-əst/ yet, still

fhuair /huərj_/ _got

(32)

/-/ Likewise, slender fh is generally not pronounced:

an fheadhainn /ə jj_o-i/ _{the ones}

an fheòil /ə jɔl/ the meat

is fheàrr leam /ʃar ləm I prefer

/h/ – except in the following, where fh is pronounced as h.

g /g/ Broad g at the beginning of a word is like g in ‘gone’:

goirt /gɔr-stj_/ _sore

glan /g

ˆan/ clean

gorm /gɔrɔ m/ blue

/k/ – otherwise it is pronounced like k in ‘took’.

agam /akəm/ at me

basgaid /baskεtj_/ _{a basket}

beag /bek/ small

/g/ Before a slender vowel g may be like broad g above, i.e. like

g in ‘gone’.

geata /gehtə/ a gate

gearan /geran/ a complaint

ginealach /ginə

ˆəx/ a generation /gj_/ _{Slender g is like g in ‘argue’ at the beginning of a word.}

geal /gj_a

ˆ/ white

gearradh /gj_ar

əγ/ a cut

giuthas /gju-əs/ ﬁr, pine

/kj/ Elsewhere it is pronounced like c in ‘secure’. But note that the

y sound is not evident when not followed by a vowel.

sgeilp /skj_ε

ˆp/ a shelf

thig /hikj_/ _come

aig /əkj_/ _at

gh /γ/ Broad gh is a ‘voiced’ ch.

lagh /

ˆγ˜/ law

o chionn ghoirid /_{ɔ çu~n˜ γr}j_ətj_/ _recently

ghabh mi /γav mi/ I took

/j/ Slender gh is like the y of ‘yes’.

gheall mi /jau

ˆmi/ I promised

a’ ghealach /ja

ˆəx/ the moon

a’ ghinealach /ə jj_in

ə

ˆəx/ the generation /-/ In the middle, or at the end of a word, both broad and slender gh

may be silent.

taghta /ttə/ ﬁne

deagh /dj_ɔ/ _good

nigh /i/ wash

l /

ˆ/ Broad l is like a hollow ll as in ‘full’ with the tongue touching_{the upper teeth.}

loch / ˆɔx/ loch, lake latha / ˆa-ə/ a day cùl /ku ˆ/ a back

(33)

/ʎ/ Slender l is like ll in ‘million’ at the beginning* of a word (*except when lenited – see below).

litir /ʎihtj

ərj

/ letter

liath /ʎiə/ blue, grey

gu leòr /gə ʎɔr/ plenty

/l/ Elsewhere slender l is pronounced like ll in ‘hilly’.

bliadhna /bli_ən˜ə/ a year

céilidh /keli/ ceilidh

a litir /ə lihtj

ərj_/ _{his letter*}

*This is lenited l.

ll /

ˆ/ Broad ll in the middle or end of a word is the same as broad l_above.

Galldachd /gau ˆtaxk/ Lowlands ball /bau ˆ/ ball sealladh /ʃau ˆəγ/ a view /ʎ/ Slender ll is like ll in ‘million’.

till /tj_i

ʎ/ return

caill /kaiʎ/ lose

foillsich /fiʎʃiç/ publish

m /m/ Broad m is pronounced as in English.

móran /moran/ much

math /ma/ good

/m/ Before a slender vowel, m may also be pronounced like m in English:

mear /mεr/ merry

caismeachd /kaʃmaxk/ alarm

ainmeil /εnεmεl/ famous

/mj_/ _{– but,when slender, it is pronounced like m in ‘muse’.}

meal /mj_a ˆ/ enjoy meàirleach /mj a¯r ˆəx/ thief, robber meann /mj

aun˜/ kid (goat)

mh /v/ Broad mh is like broad bh (i.e. like v in ‘very’).

làmh /

ˆa

v/ a hand

sàmhach /sa vəx/ quiet

a’ phìob-mhór /ə ﬁb vor/ the bagpipes

/vj_/ _{Slender mh may be like slender bh (i.e. like v in view).}

caileag mheallta /kalak vjau

ˆtə/ a deceitful girl

air a’ mheann /εrj_{ə v}j

aun˜/ on the kid

a’ mhealag /ə vj_a

ˆak/ the milt /-/, /j/ Broad or slender mh may disappear or leave the sound of y in

‘yes’.

roimhe /rɔ jə/ before

an comhnaidh /aŋ koni/ always

coimhead /kɔ jət/, /k əjət/ looking

(34)

n _/n˜/ Broad n at the beginning of a word is produced rather like the hollow l described above i.e. with the tongue pressed against the upper teeth:

nochd _/n˜ɔxk/ appear, show

naidheachd _/n˜ε-əxk/ news

nurs _/n˜r s/ a nurse

/n/ – otherwise it is like the n of English, e.g. ‘narrow’.

sporan /spɔran/ purse

glanadh /g

ˆanəγ/ cleaning // Slender n, when used initially, is like the n in ‘new’:

nigh /i/ wash

Niall /iə

ˆ/ Neil

air neo /ər ɔ/ or

n – otherwise slender n may be like n in ‘need’.

seachdain /ʃεxkεn/, /ʃaxkεn/ a week

This is also the lenited n:

nigh sinn /ni ʃi/ we washed

// – or, in other instances, it may be like // above.

slàinte /s

ˆat

j

ə/ health

ciùin /kju/ calm

ng /ŋ/, /ŋg/, /ŋk/ Broad ng may be like ng in ‘song’ or ng in ‘longer’, often tending towards nk of ‘pink’.

long /

ˆɔuŋ/ ship*

pong /pɔuŋ/ point*

brangas /braŋkas/ pillory

*also /

ˆɔuŋk/ or /ˆɔuŋg/ and/pɔuŋk/ or /pɔuŋg/ /ŋj_{/, /}

ŋk/ Slender ng is like ng in ‘sing’, tending towards nk in ‘pink’.

cuingichte /kuiŋj_giçtj

ə/ restricted

an Fhraing /_{ən˜ r aiŋk}j/ France

puingean /pəŋj_kj_ən/ _points

/~ -/ Both broad and slender ng may be silent in the middle of a word, leaving nasalisation.

iongantach /ju əntəx/ surprising

ingnean /i nən/ (ﬁnger)nails

nn _/n˜/ Broad nn is produced in the same way as the hollow n /n˜/described above.

ionnsaich /ju _n˜siç/ learn

ceannach /kj

an˜ əx/ buying

amannan /am_ən˜ən/ times

// Slender nn is like // above.

seinn /ʃei/ sing, singing

uinneag /uəg/ window

beinn /bei/ mountain

(35)

p /p/ Broad p is like p in ‘pat’.

ròpa /rɔhpə/ a rope

pòg /pɔk/ a kiss

port /pɔr st/ a port; a tune /p/ Before a slender vowel, p may be like p in ‘pet’.

peacadh /pεxkəγ/ sin

pìob /pib/ pipe

pinc /piŋj

kj/ pink /pj_/ _{But, when slender, is like p in ‘pew’.}

peann /pj

aun˜/ a pen

piuthar /pj

u-ər/ sister

ph /f/ When broad, and often before a slender vowel, ph is like the

ph of ‘phone’.

a’ phòg /ə fɔk/ the kiss

a pheacadh /ə fεxkəγ/ his sin

oifis a’ phuist /ɔfiʃ ə fuʃtj_/ _{post office}

/fj_/ _{Slender ph is like the f of ‘few’.}

a pheann /ə fj

au~n / his pen

do phiuthar /də fj_u-ər/ _{your sister}

r /r / Broad r, used initially*, is a strongly rolled r which gives the following vowel a hollow sound.

rathad /r a-əd/ road

ruadh r uəγ/ dark red

ràdh /r a/ saying

*But broad rolled r /r / may be used medially before a broad

s sound, or before l.

seòrsa /ʃr ɔr sə/ sort, kind

cùrsa /kur sə/ a course

bàrdachd /bar sdəxk/ poetry*

meàirleach /mj_a¯r ˆəx/ thief, robber pàrlamaid /par ˆəmεt j_/ _parliament Beurla /bjr ˆə/ English *See rd / rt in introduction to Spelling and Pronunciation. r Elsewhere broad r is pronounced like r in ‘red’.

craobh /krɯv/ a tree

seòmar /ʃɔmər/ a room

grunn /gru_n˜/ a lot

/r / Before a slender vowel, r may be like broad rolled r /r / above.

reic /r eçk/ sell

rìgh /r i/ a king

rionnag /r u_n˜ak/ a star

(36)

/rj_/ _{When slender r may be similar to the English r in tree.}

This may vary from dialect to dialect.

riamh /rj_i

əv/ ever

a-màireach /ə marj

əx/ tomorrow

rr /r / This is the same as broad r /r / above.

freagarrach /fregər əx/ suitable

iarr /iər / ask

comharradh /kɔ hər əγ/ sign

s s Broad s is pronounced as in English.

sona /sɔnə/ happy

cùrsa /kur sə/ a course

suidh /sɯj/ sit

/ʃ/ Slender s is the same as sh in English ‘sheep’.

sin /ʃin/ that

toiseach /tɔʃəx/ a beginning

creidsinn /krj_edj_ʃi/ _believing

sh /h/ When broad, and usually before a slender vowel, sh is like

h in English ‘hat’.

shreap e /hrehpε/ he climbed

shuas /huəs/ up

sheinn i /hei i/ she sang

/ç/ But slender sh is like slender ch /ç/ i.e. like h in ‘hew’.

sheall iad /çau

ˆiat/ they looked

mo shiùcar /mə çuhkər/ my sugar

a Sheònaid! /ə çɔnatj_/ _Janet!

sr /str/, /sr/ In most dialects initial sr is pronounced as str in street, but it may also be sr.

sràid /strahtj_/ _{a street}

sreap /strehp/ climb

sròn /strɔn/ a nose

t /t/ Broad t is like t in ‘tar’. As with broad d, the tongue touches the upper teeth.

coltas /kɔ

ˆtəs/ appearance*

tog /tɔk/ lift, raise

turas /turəs/ journey, trip

*often /kɔ ˆəs/

/tj_/ _{Slender t is like ch in ‘chew’.}

àite /ahtj_ə/ _{a place}

teaghlach /tj ˆəx/ a family tighinn /tj_i-i /, /tj i-ən/ coming

(37)

t Recent borrowings from English may retain the English t before a slender vowel.

tidsear /titj_ʃεrj_/ _teacher

tiocaid /tgj_ədj_/ _ticket

telebhisean /tεləviʃən/ television

th /h/ When broad, or before a slender vowel, th may be like broad sh i.e. like h in English ‘hat’.

tha mi /ha mi/ I am

beatha /bεhə/ life

thoir dhomh /hɔrj

γ ɔ / give (to) me

thig /hikj_/ _come

/ç/ Slender th is often like slender ch /ç/ i.e. like the h of ‘hew’:

thionndaidh mi _{/çun˜ti mi/} I turned

thilg e /çilikj

ε/ he threw

a theaghlach /ç

ˆəx/ his family /-/ – but th may be silent in the middle or at the end of a word.

dùthaich /du-iç/ country

liath /ʎiə/ (pale) blue, grey

fhathast /ha-əst/ yet, still

But note also:

thu /u/ you

t- t Before a broad vowel t-is like t in ‘tar’, i.e. just as if the word began with broad t.

an t-aran /_{ən˜ taran/} the bread

an t-airgead /_{ən˜ tεrεgət/} the money

an t-acras /_{ən˜ taxkrəs/} the hunger

/tj_/ _{Before a slender vowel t-is like ch in ‘chew’, i.e. just as if the}

word began with slender t.

an t-eun /_{ən˜ t}j_{ian/, /} ən˜ tj_e n/ the bird an t-eagal /_{ən˜ t}j_ek ə ˆ/ the fear

an t-ìm /_{ən˜ t}j_im~/ _{the butter}

t–s /t/ When t-s precedes a broad vowel, the s is mute and the t is pronounced like t in ‘tar’.

an t-sùil /_{ən˜ tul/} the eye

fad an t-samhraidh /fa_{t ən˜ tau} ri/ all summer /tj_/ _{When it precedes a slender vowel, the s is also mute and the t is}

like ch in ‘chew’.

an t-seachdain seo /_{ən˜ t}jεxkεn ʃɔ/ this week*

fad an t-siubhail /fat ə tj_u-əl/ _{all the time}

*also /tj_axkεn/

/- / Before l, n and r, however, the s is mute.

air an t-slighe /εrj

ən˜ tli-ə/ on the way

san t-sloc /sən t

ˆɔxk/ in the pit

(38)

The combination t-sn, however, is pronounced as /trj_{/ with}

nasalisation of the vowel.

san t-sneachda /sən trj_a _xk

ə/ in the snow In addition to the vowel sounds shown in the table above, certain combinations of conso-nants may indicate that a preceding short (and stressed) vowel is dipthongised.

all, ann, amh

/au/ Has the sound of ow in ‘how’.

seall /ʃau ˆ/ show Galldachd /gau ˆtaxk/ Lowlands ball /bau ˆ/ ball ann _/aun˜/ in it

meann /mjaun / kid (goat)

peann /pj

aun˜/ a pen

ceann /kj

aun˜/ head, end

samhradh /sau rəγ/ summer

geamhradh /gj_au _r

əγ/ winter

oll, onn, om

/ou/ Has a sound like that of o in ‘no’.

toll /tou

ˆ/ a hole

poll /pou

ˆ/ a bog

tom /toum/ a hillock

tonn /_toun˜/ a wave

donn /_doun˜/ brown

bonn _/boun˜/ a base

companach /koumpanəx/ companion

aill, aibh, aimh

/ai/ Like the y of ‘my’.

caill /kaiʎ/ lose

taibhse /taiʃə/ a ghost

dhaibh /γ aiv/ to, for them

aibhne /aiə/ of a river

aimhleas /ailəs/ mischief

aimhreit /airj_itj_/ _discord

einn, eim

/ei/ Like the ay of ‘day’.

seinn /ʃei/ sing

beinn /bei/ mountain

greim /grj_eim/ _bite

oill, aidh, aigh, oigh

/i/, /j/ Has no English equivalent. Somewhat like y in ‘my’, but tend-ing towards oy of ‘toy’. Try saytend-ing ‘fuggy’ without the f or gg!

foillsich /fiʎʃiç/ publish

faighneachd /fiəxk/ /fəiəxk/ asking

(39)

taigh /tj/, /təj/ (a) house

oighre /irj

ə/ an heir

saidhbhir /sivər/ rich

uigh, uill, uinn, uim

/ui,ɯi/ Has no English equivalent, and may be either like the oo sound in ‘pool’ followed by a very short ee sound (as in ‘coo-ee’, but

short), or like the sound of ao described above followed by a

very short ee sound.

ruigheachd /r ɯjəxk/ reaching

duilleach /dɯiʎəx/, /duiʎəx/ foliage

dhuinn /γ ɯi/, /γ ui/ to, for us

suim /suim/ regard

See also ui /ɯ/

It should be noted that a preceding i or a following vowel leave such vowels unchanged:

lionn /_ʎu~n˜/ beer

o chionn /_{ɔ çu~n˜/} recently

donn /_doun˜/ brown sing

but donna /_don˜ə/ brown plural

ceannach /kj

an˜əx/ buying

an taighe /_{ən˜ tεhə/} of the house

(40)

4. Contents of Appendices

Appendix 1: The Gaelic Verb 623

1.0 The verb bi 623

1.1 Independent (or afﬁrmative) form 1.1.1 Present tense 1.1.2 Past tense 1.1.3 Future tense 1.1.4 Imperfect / Conditional Tense 1.2 Imperative mood 1.3 Verbal noun 1.4 Dependent form 1.4.1 Present tense i) Interrogative ii) Negative iii) Negative

interrogative 1.4.2 Past tense i) Interrogative ii) Negative iii) Negative interrogative 1.4.3 Future tense i) Interrogative ii) Negative

iii) Negative interrogative 1.4.4 Imperfect / Conditional tense i) Interrogative ii) Negative iii) Negative interrogative 1.4.5 Relative future form i) Afﬁrmative ii) Negative 1.4.6 Subordinate clauses

2.0 Assertive verb 626

2.1 Independent form 2.1.1 Present tense 2.1.2 Past tense and Imperfect / Conditional tense 2.2 Dependent form

2.2.1 Present tense i) Interrogative ii) Negative

iii) Negative interrogative 2.2.2 Past tense and Imperfect / Conditional tense i) Interrogative ii) Negative iii) Negative interrogative

3.0 Impersonal form 627

3.1 Independent form: Present, Past and Future tenses

3.2 Dependent form: Present, Past and Future tenses i) Interrogative ii) Negative iii) Negative interrogative

4.0 The regular verb – active voice 627 4.1 The Gaelic verb is remarkably regular 4.2 Regular Verbs are usually

divided into three groups 4.3 Present tense 4.4 Past tense 4.4.1 Independent form 4.4.2 Dependent form i) Interrogative ii) Negative iii) Negative interrogative 4.5 Future tense 4.5.1 Independent form 4.5.2 Dependent form i) Interrogative ii) Negative iii) Negative interrogative

4.6 Imperfect / Conditional tense 4.6.1 Independent form 4.6.2 Dependent form i) Interrogative ii) Negative

iii) Negative interrogative 4.7 The relative future form i) Afﬁrmative ii) Negative 4.8 Imperative mood