Irish Language Lessons

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[edit] Pronunciation and Spelling - An Fuaimniú agus an Litriú

[edit] Alphabet - An Aibítir

Irish uses nowadays the following alphabet:

A a

Á á - a fada, or long a

B b

C c - this is always a hard K sound (if it is not part of the digraph ch), never any kind of S, although it is usually given its English name in Irish, too.

D d

E e

É é - e fada, or long e

F f

G g

H h

I i

Í í - i fada, or long i

J j - only used in English loanwords: jab job, jacaí jockey

K k - only used in proper names of foreign or English derivation; as the C is always a hard K sound in Irish, the letter K is not necessary for writing Irish.

L l

M m

N n

O o

Ó ó - o fada, or long o

P p

Q q - again, a letter that is used only in recent loanwords: quinín "quinine"

R r

S s

T t

U u

Ú ú - u fada, or long u

V v - even this letter is only used in English loanwords. The sound does exist in Irish, but is there written as bh or mh, because it is usually related to b or m. Even in loanwords, bh is frequently used for this sound inside the word: seirbhís service, primitíbheach primitive. However, using the bh- in the beginning of the word suggests that the v sound is a lenited b-, which will be delenited back to b- in other grammatical contexts. If this is not the case, i.e. if the initial v sound of the borrowed word does not "change back" to b-, it is more practical to use the letter v-: vóta "vote", veain "van", vearnais "varnish", vaidhtéir water-guard, coastguard

W w - another letter confined to loanwords

X x - another letter confined to loanwords

Y y - another letter confined to loanwords

Z z - another letter confined to loanwords

The letters have the same names as in English, but "English" means in this context English as spoken in Ireland. Speakers of other varieties should note that A is called "ahh" (i.e. the "a" in "bath") rather than "ay" (or the "a" in "hate"); H is called "haitch", not "aitch", i.e. there is an audible initial "h-" in the name of the letter; and R is called "arr" with an audible R sound.

Nowadays, the acute accent ´ is the only diacritic sign used in Irish. When spelling an Irish word, the accent is read as fada (which means "long"): the word for "computer", i.e. ríomhaire, is spelt as "arr"-"ee fada"-"oh"-"em"-"haitch"-"ahh"-"aye"-"arr"-"ee". The word fada itself is pronounced as "fodda" or [fadə], i.e. the first -a- is short but clear, and the second -a is short and obscure. Of course, the first -a- is stressed.

If you want to pronounce the word "fada" in the genuine way, note that the Irish f- can be pronounced as a bilabial sound (i.e. using both lips) while the English f- is usually a labiodental sound (i.e. with upper teeth against lower lip). And, that the Irish -d- sounds as if somewhere between English d and English th as in the word "this". To be quite exact, it is pronounced in the same place as the English th, i.e. your tongue should touch your teeth; but in the same way as the English d, i.e. there should be a closure of the air streaming out of your mouth (as in d), not just a buzzing modulation of the air stream (as in th).

The letters J, Q, V, W, X, Y, Z are only used in recent English loan-words and usually pronounced the English way (but note that a word such as xileafón "xylophone" is pronounced with an initial "zh"- sound reminiscent of the -s- in the English word "pleasure"). The letter K is only needed in foreign names: in Irish words. the hard K is simply written as C. V is necessary only in the beginning of the word, because inside an Irish word it can always be spelt as BH. Note the following words: jaingléir = casual fisherman, quinín = quinine, vóta = vote, wigwam = wigwam, xeireaftailmia = xerophthalmia, yó-yó = yo-yo, zú = zoo.

[edit] The Old Spelling and Punctum Delens: A Note - An Seanlitriú agus an Ponc Séimhithe: Tabhair faoi Deara!

Until the end of the nineteen forties, Irish was printed in a special typeface called Gaelic type, essentially a printed representation of medieval manuscript letters. A salient feature of this type was the punctum delens, a dot over a consonant letter, such as ċ or ġ. In contemporary Irish, the punctum delens isn't used any more. The punctum delens was used in order to indicate a modification of pronunciation called séimhiú or lenition (in older textbooks, it was mistakenly called aspiration, which is in proper linguistic usage something entirely different). It could appear over the letters b, c, d, f, g, m, p, s, and t. Nowadays, lenition is indicated by adding a h after the lenited consonant.

The Gaelic typeface and punctum delens are strongly linked with the older spelling, which was less phonetic than the spelling we use today, and more about being historically correct. Thus, it was cluttered with mute letters. Modern spelling can be used with the Gaelic typeface and punctum delens, but this is extremely rare - mostly you can count on all books in Gaelic type being in the old spelling. In fact, there seems to be just one book around printed in Gaelic type with punctum delens, but using a modern spelling - Niall Ó Dónaill's Na Glúnta Rosannacha.

[edit] Pronunciation - An Fuaimniú

[edit] Stress - An Bhéim

Stress is in Irish usually on the first syllable, except in the southernmost (Munster) dialects, where non-initial syllables are usually stressed, if they include a long vowel or a short a followed by -/ch/. Thus, a word such as díreach = "direct, straight" can in Munster dialect be stressed on the second syllable.

Some borrowed words, notably tobac = "tobacco" are stressed on the second syllable. There are also quite a few of common adverbs which are so stressed, above all these:

abhaile "home" (movement)

abhus "on this side"

aduaidh "from the north" ("northward" is ó thuaidh, "in the north" is thuaidh, and "the North" is an Tuaisceart)

amach "out" (movement)

amuigh "out" (state)

amainiris "the second day after tomorrow"

amanathar "the day after tomorrow" (arú amárach is probably more common)

amárach (dialectally even amáireach) "tomorrow"

anall "from the other side, to this side"

aneas "from the south" ("southward" is ó dheas, "in the south" is theas, and "the South" is an Deisceart)

aniar "from the west" ("westward" is siar, "in the west" is thiar, and "the West" is an tIarthar)

anocht "tonight"

anoir "from the east" ("eastward" is soir, "in the east" is thoir, and "the East" is an tOirthear)

anóirthear (dialectally in Ulster even anóirtheal) "the day after tomorrow"; also "the second day after" - i.e. the second day after what happened last, in a narrative

anonn "from this side, to the other side"

anseo (in Munster, anso) "here"

ansin (in Munster, ansan) "there"

ansiúd (in Munster, ansúd) "out there, yonder"

anuraidh "last year"

aréir (in some Ulster dialects, aréireannas, aréirnas) "last night"

arú is an adverb that is added to amárach "tomorrow" and inné "yesterday" to create arú amárach = "the day after tomorrow" and arú inné = "the day before yesterday"

inné "yesterday"

inniu "today"

isteach "in" (movement)

istigh "in" (state)

laisteas "southside" (also taobh theas)

laistigh "inside" (also taobh istigh)

lasmuigh "outside" (also taobh amuigh)

lastuas "overhead" (also taobh thuas)

laistíos "below" (also taobh thíos)

This kind of adverbs are historically speaking compound words or word groups, which accounts for their unusual stress. The locative adverbs beginning with la- include the word leath, which means "half" or "direction (towards)". They are most usual in southern dialects; northern dialects prefer taobh "side", with the relevant local adverb added

[edit] Vowels - Na Gutaí

Standard Irish has the following vowels:

[a] (short or long)

[e] (short or long)

[o] (short or long)

[u] (short or long)

[i] (short or long)

[ə] (murmured vowel, auxiliary vowel, in Irish guta cúnta or the "helping" vowel)

and the diphthongs

[uə]

[iə]

[au]

[ai]

The last two diphthongs can in certain words acquire a nasal twang - basically, if there is a nasal consonant in the writing: amhras "doubt" [aurəs] or [ãurəs], but gabha "smith" will be pronounced as [gau], because there is no m. The two diphthongs might as well be written phonetically as [ou] and [oi], or [əu] and [əi].

Basically, it should work the way that if a vowel has an acute accent, i.e. the fada, it is pronounced long, and if it hasn't, then it is pronounced short. This is also the fact in most straightforward positions, i.e. when the vowel is in the stressed syllable of a word. In unstressed syllables, short vowels - i.e. those written without a fada - become murmured auxiliary vowels, but long vowels - those written with a fada - stay long, or at the very least not murmured.

Note, though, that in dialects, a short vowel can be lengthened into a long one and a long one into a diphthong. This "syllable lengthening" is especially typical of Connemara dialects.

Vowels followed by -rd and by -nn are also usually lengthened: ard "high" is [a:rd], but it can even become [aurd] thanks to syllable lengthening. In a similar way, if an one-syllable word ends in -nn, in -rr, or in -ll, the preceding vowel is usually lengthened: ceann "head, end, roof, one" [k'a:N], mall "slow" [ma:L], gearr [g'a:r]. It can even be diphthongized: ceann [k'aun]. Note, though, that the lengthening phenomena are very dialect-specific, and you are advised to pick them up from native speakers.

A more important thing to notice is, that in the combination eo, the o is always long (with the exception of seo "this", anseo "here", and eochair "key" - eochair "border, edge" has a long o, as has eochraí, dialectally also eochair, "fish-roe"). This is why we don't usually write feirmeóir anymore - feirmeoir is correct.

The most difficult thing about the relationship between Irish spelling and pronunciation is, that if we have a short vowel letter followed by a lenited consonant (i.e. a consonant followed by a /h/) in a stressed syllable, this combination is pronounced either as a long vowel or as a diphthong - either [au] or [ai]. (The diphthongs [uə] and [iə] are usually written /ua/ or /uai/, and /ia/ or /iai/, respectively.) More worryingly, pronunciations are often quite different and irregular in different dialects, and to be entirely sure, you should really consult a native speaker, or at the very least the pronunciation guides in the dictionaries Foclóir Póca and Foclóir Scoile.

Note, however, the following model pronunciations. These are based on Foclóir Scoile (An Gúm, Baile Átha Cliath, copyright: Rialtas na hÉireann 1994, see respective entries). However, I have added a tilde for nasalization, where it might occur, as well as other additional information. The Foclóir Scoile pronunciation is a compromise between the three major dialects, devised by three native speakers (Dónall P. Ó Baoill from Ulster, Éamonn Ó Tuathail from Connacht, and Pádraig Ó Maoileoin from Munster), and my own experience suggests that native speakers do not find this pronunciation unnatural or contrived, provided that the person using it has studied Irish literature and folklore and can speak in a fluent and natural way.

togha [tau] "choice(st)"
amharc [ãurk] "sight, look". This is also used as a verb in Ulster: to look. There, though, it is usually pronounced in a worn-down way, as if written "orc" or "onc".
comhar [kõ:r] "partnership, mutual assistance". In Connemara, it is not pronunced nasally, but the trace of nasality turns the long [o:] sound into a long [u:] sound instead, thus [ku:r]. This is what tends to happen with the o's in Connemara even in other words, when they come into contact with nasal consonants. Thus, dona "bad" is pronounced as [dunə], because n is a nasal consonant.
radharc [rairk] "sight"
aontumha [i:ntũ:ə] "celibacy". The long u can be nasal even here. (Note that the word (and prefix) aon "one" is largely pronounced as [e:n] even in those dialects which usually pronounce -ao- as a long [i:]. Thus, in this particular instance the Foclóir Scoile pronunciation recommendation might be somewhat misleading.)

Irish vowels are either slender (caol) or broad (leathan). This means, that they affect the quality of the adjacent consonant. A consonant that is in touch with a slender vowel (e, i, é, í) is slender, i.e. palatalized - the hard palate participates in the pronunciation, so that the consonant is softened. A consonant that is in touch with a broad vowel is broad, i.e. non-palatalized - either velarized (the velum or soft palate participates) or labialized (lips participate). Broadness is above all about not being palatalized, so it depends on the particular occasion, whether it is more natural and easier to emphasize the broadness by velarization or by labialization.

Often, we use sleamhnóga (singular: sleamhnóg) in writing Irish, i.e. extra vowel letters adjacent to a consonant, which above all show the broad or slender nature of the consonant, but are not pronounced in any other way. In the word buí "yellow", for instance, the -u- is a sleamhnóg, showing that the b- shall be pronounced broad, although it is followed by a long slender vowel -í.

It is not always easy to tell a mere sleamhnóg from a vowel letter which is pronounced more fully. When the sleamhnóg comes between a long vowel and a consonant, it is obvious that it is only a sleamhnóg, but when we have two short vowel letters in one syllable, it might not be quite clear, which of them is just a sleamhnóg and which is the real thing. Especially /io/ is often problematic: words such as tiomáint "driving" and tiontú "turning" can be pronounced either way ([t'oma:n't'] or [t'ima:n't], [t'ontu:] or [t'intu:]) depending on dialect.

In such words as scéalaíocht "story-telling" the pronunciation suggested by the spelling is [s'k'e:li:xt], but in Ulster dialect, the real pronunciation is more like [s'k'e:lajaxt] and would suit the old spelling scéalaidheacht better.

The /ao/ of writing is basically a long [i:] preceded and followed by a broad consonant: saol "life, world" [si:l]. However, the two broad consonants tend to strongly influence the vowel between them, and it can sound like a Russian ы. When names including this sound were borrowed into English, the /ao/ was in many instances interpreted in very different ways: thus, the name Ó Maolagáin could become Mulligan or Milligan.

A long [e:] sound both followed and preceded by a broad consonant is written /ae/. Thus, the consonant N in the word traenach "of a train, a train's" (genitive form of traein, a train) is broad, although it touches an e: [tre:nax]. Thus, we need a sleamhnóg after the -e- in the nominative form to signal that the -n is slender there: traein [tre:n'].

[edit] Consonants - Na Consain

To start with, let's look at the non-lenited consonants in Irish, thus, the way how consonant letters are pronounced when they are not followed by the letter h. In order to pronounce such a consonant correctly, you must pay attention to the vowel letters around it. If it is surrounded by broad vowels (a, o, u, á, ó, ú), then you must pronounce it broad, and if it is surrounded by slender vowels (e, i, é, í), then you must pronounce it slender.

Broad (Irish: leathan) means velarized or labialized. Velum is the soft palate, and when a consonant is velarized, the velum or the soft palate takes part in the way it is pronounced. Labia are the lips, and when a consonant is labialized, the lips take part in how it is pronounced. Broad consonants are velarized or labialized according to how it feels natural. Thus, the [k] sound in the word carr (which, of course, means "car") is velarized, because that is the natural way to broaden the [k] in such a word. On the other hand, the [k] sound in the word cuid (which means "part, share") is labialized, becoming like the English "qu" (and the word sounds almost like "quidge").

Slender (Irish: caol) means palatalized. Palatum means specifically the hard palate, and it tends to soften the consonant - give it a taste of the [j] or English "y" sound. The Spanish ñ, for instance, is a slender n, and the Spanish ll used to be a slender L sound, but these days it is of course the same as the Spanish y for most speakers of that language. The English ll in the word "million" is an excellent example of a slender L, which is appropriately enough also found in its Irish equivalent, milliún.

As we already saw, mute short vowels (sleamhnóga) are often inserted in writing just to signal that the consonant is, say, slender although it stands next to a long broad vowel, or the other way round. So, in the word móin "peat, turf" the long ó is indeed pronounced as a vowel, while the -i- signals that the final -n is slender.

[edit] Lenition - An Séimhiú

Lenition (séimhiú) is a modification of pronunciation of the first letter of the word - a kind of initial mutation (claochlú tosaigh). Lenition means different things for different consonants, but it is always expressed by adding a -h- after the consonant:

B -> BH. The /bh/ is pronounced very much like the English W, when it is followed by a broad vowel (a, o, u). When it is followed by a slender vowel (e, i), it is more like the English V.

C -> CH. The /ch/ is pronounced as a German "ach" sound before a broad vowel, as a German "ich" sound before a slender vowel.

D -> DH. This is a little more difficult. You might think that it is like the English voiced th, but if you thought so, you were mistaken. Really, /dh/ is pronounced as a [γ] sound if it is followed by a broad vowel, but as a [j] - that is, an English /y/ - if it is followed by a slender vowel. The [γ] sound is the voiced equivalent of the German ach sound - you let your vocal chords vibrate while you try to pronounce a German ach sound. The "Parisian r" is also a good approximation.

F -> FH. FH means simply, that there is nothing there. Nothing. Zilch. Nada. FH is only a kind of graphic symbol for showing, that normally there used to be a F- here, but it was taken away by the lenition.

G -> GH. GH is pronounced exactly as DH. Note, though, that G is lenited in a somewhat more regular way, while D sometimes resists regular lenition. This will be especially noted in the lessons.

M -> MH. MH is pronounced as BH, but it might give the adjacent vowel a nasalized sound.

P -> PH. This PH is pronounced as F, sensibly enough. Note though that the Irish F tends to be bilabial.

S -> SH. The Irish SH is pronounced as the English H. The S can only be lenited if it is immediately followed by a vowel or by one of the consonants N, L, R. Such words as strainséir (which, of course, means "stranger" or "foreigner", and is either a very old English loanword or has been borrowed from Norman French into Irish and English at the same time) cannot be lenited even when in a position where it would be grammatically required.

Note that instead of being lenited, a "lenitable" S can turn into a T sound, which is then written ts or tS (when the S is written in upper case). This exception will be mentioned in the lessons.

In Kerry Irish, SM- might be lenited, too. This is however seldom shown in writing, as it is a local dialectal trait. In fact, it is so local that a person who isn't familiar with the dialect (or is only familiar with it from more or less standardized texts, such as Peig Sayers's notorious autobiography) will perceive it as a learner's error.

T -> TH. The Irish TH is pronounced as the Irish SH, i.e. as a H sound. And it can only be lenited when it is followed by a vowel or one of the consonants N, L, R. It also resists lenition according to the same rules as the D does.

[edit] Lenited Consonants inside the word - Na Consain Shéimhithe laistigh den Fhocal

When you see lenited consonants inside a word, note that they usually interact with the previous vowel, so that long vowels or diphthongs arise:

the -amh- in samhradh "summer" is pronounced as [au]

the aimh- in aimhréidh "entanglement" is pronounced as [aiv-]

the -omha- in comhar "cooperation" is pronounced as [o:], i.e. a long o; in Connemara though, it is pronounced as [u:], because out there the touch of nasal consonants (or of what used to be a nasal consonant) usually changes an [o] sound into an [u] sound. (Similarly, in Connemara cnoc "hill" is pronounced as [kruk], and dona "bad" as [dunə].)

the -ogha in togha "pick, choice, excellent thing" is pronounced as [au]

the -abhadh in rabhadh "warning" is pronounced as [au]

Final, unaccented -dh or -gh can often be left unpronounced, especially in Connemara. Note, though, that a final -idh/-igh is a short, but clear [i] sound in Ulster, and an audible [ig'] in Munster; and final -adh is a short, but clear [u] sound in Ulster.

[edit] RABHADH - WARNING

Vowels CANNOT BE LENITED. Repeat after me: VOWELS CANNOT BE LENITED. Among learners, many seem to think that the h- that is sometimes added to the first vowel of the word, equals to lenition. THIS IS WRONG. It would be more appropriate to say, that this h- is added to the vowel in positions where a consonant would NEITHER be lenited NOR eclipsed.

[edit] Eclipsis - An tUrú

Eclipsis is called in Irish urú, an older form is urdhubhadh, from the intensifying prefix ur- "very" and dubhadh "blackening". So, it is really eclipse, as in solar eclipse (urú na gréine) or in lunar eclipse (urú na gealaí). As with lenition, eclipsis is triggered by the preceding word - the "eclipsing" word so to speak, which kind of "casts its shadow" over the word.

Eclipsis means, basically, that unvoiced stops become voiced, and voiced stops become nasal. Thus, c, p, and t become g, b, and d respectively, and b, d, and g become m, n, and ng respectively. Although f is a fricative sound, it is eclipsed too - it becomes voiced, i.e. either a w or a v sound - in Irish, these are perceived as variants of one sound that is written as bh, as we saw.

The disquieting thing is, that the actual pronunciation is written in addition to the original pronunciation of the first consonant letter. Thus, we see words beginning with gc-, bp-, dt-, mb-, nd-, and even bhf-, and people start panicking about, how such a monster should be pronounced. In reality, it is much more easy than it looks like:

mb- is pronounced like m-

gc- is pronounced like g-

nd- is pronounced like n-

bhf- is pronounced like bh-

ng- is pronounced like...well, ng in the English word "sing"; you would expect it to be written ngg-, but that's not how it works in this case

bp- is pronounced like b-

dt- is pronounced like d-

Note that if the word is to be written in upper case, it's the letter showing the original pronunciation that is capitalized, not the letters showing the actual pronunciation:

Gaillimh Galway, i nGaillimh in Galway

Corcaigh Cork, i gCorcaigh in Cork

Baile Átha Cliath Dublin, i mBaile Átha Cliath in Dublin

Prág Prague, i bPrág in Prague

Fear Manach Fermanagh, i bhFear Manach in Fermanagh

Tír Eoghain Tyrone, i dTír Eoghain in Tyrone

Deilginis Dalkey, i nDeilginis in Dalkey

While it was said earlier that a vowel can't be lenited, it definitely can be eclipsed. In that case, a n- is added to it. It is hyphenated before a lower-case letter, but not before an upper-case one:

go n-éirí an bóthar leat bon voyage, Go nÉirí an Bóthar Leat Bon Voyage

Note, though, that when the eclipsis is caused by the preposition i, "in", the recommendation is to perceive this n- as part of the preposition. Thus, we write in Éirinn, not i nÉirinn. In sloppily edited books, you can of course see even i nÉirinn and i n-Éirinn. The different ways to write it of course don't affect the pronunciation.

[edit] Prefixed h- - An Réamhlitir h-

The prefixed h-, the hiatus consonant, is often grammatically required in positions where neither lenition nor eclipsis occurs. See the following example:

mo ghluaisteán "my automobile" - m'aiste "my essay"

do ghluaisteán "your automobile" - d'aiste "your essay"

a ghluaisteán "his automobile" - a aiste "his essay"

a gluaisteán "her automobile" - a haiste "her essay"

ár ngluaisteán "our automobile" - ár n-aiste "our essay"

bhur ngluaisteán "your automobile" - bhur n-aiste "your essay"

a ngluaisteán "their automobile" - a n-aiste "their essay"

This rule is not without its exception, however. The little word cá, which is used for creating "wh-" questions especially in Ulster Irish, prefixes a h- to a following vowel (cá haois é? "what age is he", i.e. "how old is he?") but lenites a following noun expressing the grade of a quality: cá fhad é ó tháinig sé go Conamara? "how long is it since he came to Connemara?", i.e. "how long has he been in Connemara?" - Note that cá is in other dialects more often used in the sense "where?", and in this sense it usually eclipses the following verb: cá bhfuil sé? "where is he?"

[edit] Prefixed t- - An Réamhlitir t-

In Irish, there are two kinds of prefixed t-:

[edit] The t- that is prefixed to vowels

This t- is, of course, added to the word, both in writing and pronunciation. Most typically, it comes after the singular form of the definite article in the nominative singular of masculine nouns:

árthach "a vessel, a ship" - an t-árthach "the vessel, the ship"

éan "a bird" - an t-éan "the bird"

iontas "a wonder" - an t-iontas "the wonder"

[edit] The t- that is prefixed to words beginning with a lenitable initial s-

- i.e. s + vowel, sl-, sn-, sr-. This t- is somewhat similar to the eclipsing consonant, because while it is added to the written form of the word, it ousts the initial s- in pronouncing. We see this instead of lenition after the definite article in the nominative singular of feminine nouns:

sráid "a street" - an tsráid [tra:d'] "the street"

sornóg "a stove" - an tsornóg [torno:g] "the stove"

saoirse "liberty, freedom" - an tsaoirse [ti:r's'ə] "the liberty, the freedom"

sleamhnóg "a glide letter (in writing Irish)" - an tsleamhnóg [t'l'ãuno:g] "the glide letter"

snaidhm "a knot" - an tsnaidhm [tnaim'] "the knot"

[edit] Lesson One - Ceacht a hAon/An Chéad Cheacht

[edit] The Copula - An Chopail

In Irish, there are two verbs for "to be". One of them should actually be called a part of speech of its own, and is called the copula. The name is cognate with the English word "couple" and serves the purpose of combining two notions - two nouns, a noun and a pronoun, or a pronoun and a pronoun. Copula tells us who somebody is, or what something is. For telling what somebody or something is like, or where she, her or it is, we use another verb "to be", which is more like a proper verb, not such a particular part of speech as the copula. It is called the substantive verb.

The present forms of the copula are:

is = is

an = is...?

ní = isn't

nach = is...not? isn't...?

gur (before vowels gurb) = that...is

nach = that...is not, that...isn't

más = if...is

mura = if...isn't, unless...is

Note that más means "if...is" only as in "if he is a doctor, he can cure you", in Irish más dochtúir é, is féidir leis tú a leigheas. But if you use the English "if" in the sense of "whether", i.e. "I don't know if he is a doctor", then you use the direct question form an: Níl a fhios agam an dochtúir é - i.e. the Irish version means literally "I don't know: is he a doctor?". Substituting a más for the an in the second example would be definitely an error.

In some dialect texts from Munster, nach might be spelled nách. In Ulster, there is a parallel form of ní, i.e. cha or, before vowels, chan, but it is not exactly the same as ní as to its meaning. If at all, it is usually used when you either deny or confirm a statement, but not when answering questions.

[edit] The Pronouns - Na Forainmneacha

Irish personal pronouns have both normal (shorter) and emphatic (longer) forms, the latter used when the contrast between two different persons has to be especially stressed. Some, but not all of the pronouns have different forms for subject and object, comparable with the English contrast between we and us, or I and me.

Singular:

1. person ("I"): mé, mise

2. person ("you" to one person, "thou" in archaic English): tú, tusa; object forms thú, thusa

3. person, masculine ("he"): sé, seisean; object forms é, eisean

3. person, feminine ("she"): sí, sise; object forms í, ise.

Plural:

1. person ("we"): muid, muidne (or: muide); also sinn, sinne

2. person ("you" to more than one person, i.e. "you all" or "you people" in different varieties of colloquial English): sibh, sibhse

3. person ("they"): siad, siadsan; object forms iad, iadsan.

Notes:

- Object forms are used as direct objects of transitive verbs: Tá sé sásta = "He is happy" (subject form), but Buaileann Máire é = "Mary beats him" (object form). However, indirect object is not expressed with the object form, but rather with a preposition - or, to put it more plainly: while English can say both "I gave the thing to him" and "I gave him the thing", in Irish you have only the "to him" way - it is grammatically required. By the way, "I gave him the thing" (or whichever way) is in Irish Thug mé an rud dó, thug = gave, mé = I, an rud = the thing, dó = to him.

- For the third person form, the contrast between subject (sé, seisean, sí, sise, siad, siadsan) and object (é, eisean, í, ise, iad, iadsan) forms is absolute, at least in standard Irish. I.e. saying *buaileann Máire sé (instead of buaileann Máire é) is entirely incorrect. The difference between tú, tusa vs. thú, thusa is less absolute, because tú and tusa are usually used instead the forms thú, thusa, if this fits better in with the flow of speech. It is especially common that tú and tusa are used if the preceding word ends in d, n, t, l, or s (remember: "dentals").

- Object forms are also used with copula: is dochtúir é he is a doctor, is múinteoir í she is a teacher, is Éireannaigh iad they are Irish, Irishmen, Irishwomen, Irish people.

- The forms ibh, ibhse, inn, inne as object forms corresponding to sibh/sibhse, sinn/sinne do exist, but are only used in marginal, probably moribund Ulster dialects. It seems that they were also used in the dialects once spoken in East Ulster (i.e. today's Northern Ireland).

- Many speakers use muid for "we", but sinn for "us". This might be a commendable and practical usage, but note that not all observe it. Some dialects have lost sinn altogether. Note that muid is historically speaking an inflectional ending, which has detached itself and become an independent word.

- In Northern Mayo, though, sinn is used even as the subject of a verb: tá sinn mar a fheiceanns tú sinn "we are as you see us" (Mícheál Mac Ruairí: Mac Mic Iascaire Buí Luimnigh, Cló Iar-Chonnachta, Indreabhán 1992, page 24). In a more standard Irish, this would be tá muid mar a fheiceann tú sinn.

- English has generalized "you" both for the second person singular ("thou", "just you") and the second person plural ("yiz", "y'all", "you guys", "you people"). In Irish, though, you must always use tú and related forms when talking to one person, sibh and related forms when talking to several persons. While Scots Gaelic uses the second person plural form in deferential address, in Irish even the President of the Republic (Uachtarán na hÉireann) is tú. In Ulster, though, it has been traditional to address a priest as sibh, but this is hardly a particularly widespread or well-known usage these days. You might, however, encounter it in Séamus Ó Grianna's novels and short stories.

[edit] Sample Texts/Téacsaí Samplacha

Some Classification Sentences. In a classification sentence, we tell what class an identified person belongs to. For example, telling the profession of someone. Here are some persons and their professions.

Cad é is gairm bheatha duit? Cén tslí bheatha atá agat? Cén cineál oibre atá agat? What is your profession?

Is múinteoir mé. I am a teacher.

Is scoláire thú. You are (thou art) a scholar, a pupil. (Scoláire is obviously the same word as the English scholar, but the Irish word is more often used in the sense of a school pupil, which, incidentally, can also be dalta. In the Irish-speaking districts, a person who could read and write - in those days when analphabetism was still common - could also be called a scoláire. Note that the word for "school" is scoil.)

Is dlíodóir í Siobhán. Siobhán (Joan) is a lawyer. (Dlíodóir - in Ulster Irish, dlítheoir - comes from the word for law, dlí.)

Is feirmeoir é Seán. Seán (John) is a farmer. (Feirmeoir is obviously related to feirm, a farm. In Connacht, there are the parallel forms feilméir and feilm, respectively.)

Is pluiméir é Máirtín. Máirtín (Martin) is a plumber.

Is bríceadóir é Colm. Colm (Malcolm) is a bricklayer. (Instead of bríceadóir, you can also use the obvious English loan-word brícléir. A brick is called bríce in Irish.)

Is ríomhinnealtóir é Risteard. Risteard (Richard) is a computer engineer (a computer is called ríomhaire, an engineer is innealtóir).

Is státseirbhíseach í Nóra. Nóra is a civil servant.

Is tiománaí tacsaí í Máire. Máire (Mary) is a taxi driver. In Irish, "a driver of taxi". The English of is understood.

Is spásaire é James Tiberius Kirk. James Tiberius Kirk is a spaceman, an astronaut.

Is arrachtach é The Incredible Hulk. The Incredible Hulk is a monster.

Is aisteoir í Nana Visitor. Nana Visitor is an actress (actually, in Irish it is perfectly OK to use the word aisteoir, actor, even for a female actor; if you want to stress the fact that she is female, you can say Is ban-aisteoir í Nana Visitor or Is aisteoir mná í Nana Visitor.)

An dochtúir é Liam? Is ea. Is dochtúir é. Is dochtúir maith é. "Is Liam a doctor? Yes. He is a doctor. He is a good doctor." Irish doesn't actually have words for the English "yes" and "no" - this might feel a little funny, but the way Irish does it is actually quite common as languages go. If you ask a question in the form of a classification sentence, such as "is he a doctor?" -an dochtúir é? it is answered either is ea ("is") or ní hea ("isn't"). Please note that the attributive adjective maith, good, comes after the noun it qualifies.

The little word ea (in Ulster and in older texts, eadh) means "it", but it is only used in copula constructions. There is an alternative sort of classification sentence, which uses the word ea and is especially common in southern dialects:

Is dlíodóir í. = Dlíodóir is ea í. She is a lawyer.

Is feirmeoir é. = Feirmeoir is ea é. He is a farmer.

Is pluiméir é. = Pluiméir is ea é. He is a plumber.

Is brícléir é. = Brícléir is ea é. He is a bricklayer.

Is imreoir sacair é. = Imreoir sacair is ea é. He is a soccer player (imreoir player, sacar soccer, imreoir sacair player of soccer)

Is peileadóir thú. = Peileadóir is ea thú. You are (thou art) a player of Gaelic football.

Is ríomhinnealtóir mé. = Ríomhinnealtóir is ea mé. I am a computer engineer.

Is siúinéir thú. = Síúinéir is ea thú. You are a carpenter. (Siúinéir, which comes from the English word "joiner", is probably the most common word for "carpenter" in Irish nowadays, but you might want to know that there are the alternative terms cearpantóir and saor adhmaid.)

Is fisiceoir í. = Fisiceoir is ea í. She is a physicist.

Is ceimiceoir mé. = Ceimiceoir is ea mé. I am a (research) chemist (i.e. a laboratory kind of chemist).

Is poitigéir thú. = Poitigéir is ea thú. You are a (pharmaceutical) chemist (i.e. you work at the chemist's).

Is matamaiticeoir í. = Matamaiticeoir is ea í. She is a mathematician.

Is geolaí mé. = Geolaí is ea mé. I am a geologist.

Is geoiceimiceoir thú. = Geoiceimiceoir is ea thú. You are a geochemist.

Is réalteolaí í. = Réalteolaí is ea í. She is an astronomer.

Is réaltfhisiceoir mé. = Réaltfhisiceoir is ea mé. I am an astrophysicist.

Is geoifisiceoir thú. = Geoifisiceoir is ea thú. You are a geophysicist.

[edit] A Reading/Lón Léitheoireachta

You should be able to understand all this, with the help of the added vocabulary.

An múinteoir é Dáithí? Ní múinteoir é. An dlíodóir é? Ní hea ach an oiread. Is ceimiceoir é ag Truailliú Teoranta. Cad é an rud é Truailliú Teoranta? Is gnólacht mór é i mBaile Átha Cliath. Ní poitigéir é, mar sin. Is poitigéir é Gearóid, áfach.

An matamaiticeoir é Albert Einstein? Ní hea. Ní matamaiticeoir é. Is fisiceoir é (= Fisiceoir is ea é). Is fisiceoir cáiliúil é.

An fisiceoir é Linus Pauling? Ní hea. Is ceimiceoir é (= Ceimiceoir is ea é). Is ceimiceoir Meiriceánach é.

An réalteolaí é Clyde Tombaugh? Is ea. Is réalteolaí Meiriceánach é (= Réalteolaí Meiriceánach is ea é).

An sceimhlitheoir é Osama bin Laden? Is ea. Is sceimhlitheoir Arabach Sádach é (= Sceimhlitheoir Arabach Sádach is ea é).

An sceimhlitheoir é Ali? Ní hea. Is fear macánta é (= Fear macánta is ea é).

An polaiteoir é George W. Bush? Is ea. An polaiteoir Éireannach é? Ní hea. Is polaiteoir Meiriceánach é (= Polaiteoir Meiriceánach is ea é).

An bríceadóir é Máirtín Mháirtín Mhóir Shéimí Rua? Ní hea. Is pluiméir é (= Pluiméir is ea é).

An bainisteoir é Amhlaoibh? Ní hea. Is innealtóir é (= Innealtóir is ea é).

An úrscéalaí é Máirtín Ó Cadhain? Is ea. Is úrscéalaí clúiteach é (= Úrscéalaí clúiteach is ea é).

múinteoir teacher

Dáithí Dave

dlíodóir lawyer. "Law" is dlí in Irish.

ach an oiread (used after a negative expression) ...either

ceimiceoir (laboratory) chemist. This comes from ceimic, chemistry.

cad what (is)...? This is often followed by a redundant é, especially in the more northern dialects. Goidé, the colloquial corruption of cad é is one of the shibboleths of Ulster Irish. However, before a definite article this é is mandatory, as here.

an rud the thing

cad é an rud é...? what is...? ("what is the thing...is?")

ag at

Truailliú Teoranta a facetious name for an imaginary company: "Pollution Ltd"

gnólacht (commercial) company, firm. Gnó is "business".

mór great, big

poitigéir (pharmaceutical) chemist. A chemist's shop is siopa poitigéara. An American-style drugstore is druglann.

mar sin so, thus

áfach however (also ámh)

matamaiticeoir mathematician, math specialist. Maths, mathematics is matamaitic.

fisiceoir physicist. Physics is fisic.

cáiliúil famous, celebrated. Cáil means "fame", but also "quality".

réalteolaí astronomer, from réalta, star, and eolaí, scientist. Science is eolaíocht in Irish, astronomy is star-science, réalteolaíocht. Eolas means knowledge.

sceimhlitheoir terrorist. This comes from sceimhle, horror, terror.

Arabach Arabian

Sádach Saudi(an)

fear man

macánta honest, meek, inoffensive

polaiteoir politician. Politics is polaitíocht.

Meiriceánach American. Meiriceá is America, but in Munster dialect, you might also encounter the form Aimeirice.

Éireannach Irish

bríceadóir bricklayer. A brick is called bríce.

Máirtín Mháirtín Mhóir Shéimí Rua is an example of the kind of names you might come across in the Gaelic world: "Red-haired Jimmy's Big Martin's Martin". This name probably means that Máirtín is the son of a man known as Máirtín Mór or Big Martin, and Big Martin himself is the son of Séimí Rua or Red-haired Jimmy.

pluiméir plumber

bainisteoir manager

innealtóir engineer

úrscéalaí novelist, the writer of novels

Máirtín Ó Cadhain (1905-1970) is indeed a celebrated writer of novels in Irish, although he wrote even more short stories. A novel is called úrscéal, a short story is gearrscéal, and a writer of short stories is called gearrscéalaí, of course. Úr is new, novel, original, gearr means short. So, an úrscéal is a "novel story", a new kind of story, quite literally.

[edit] Exercise/Cleachtadh

Now, make use of the construction you have learned for telling what your or your friend's occupation is. Here are some professions:

aisteoir actor

aistritheoir translator

amhránaí singer

amhránaí sean-nóis traditional Irish-style singer. Sean-nós means "old way, old style", and it refers to the traditional a cappella singing style still extant in the Irish-speaking communities. Sean-nóis is the genitive form meaning "of old way". Thus, literally translated, amhránaí sean-nóis means "a singer of old style", but "an old-style singer" captures the sense better.

bean rialta nun

bitheolaí biologist

breitheamh judge

ceoltóir musician

cóipscríbhneoir copywriter

craoltóir broadcaster

cuntasóir accountant

díoltóir leabhar bookseller

dochtúir doctor

eaglaiseach churchman, clergyman

easpag bishop

fealsamh philosopher (philosophy is fealsúnacht)

fear gnó businessman

feirmeoir farmer

file poet

foghlaí mara pirate

gadaí thief

garda policeman, police officer (in Ireland; in other countries, péas and póilín might be more appropriate)

geallghlacadóir bookmaker, turf-accountant

innealtóir bogearraí software engineer

iriseoir journalist

mac léinn student

mairnéalach sailor

manach monk, friar

ministir (Protestant) minister

múinteoir teacher

nuachtánaí reporter

ollamh professor

peasghadaí pickpocket

ríomhinnealtóir computer engineer, computer specialist

rúnaí secretary (a secret is rún)

sagart (Catholic) priest

saighdiúir soldier

scoláire scholar

scríbhneoir writer

siopadóir shopkeeper

siúinéir carpenter, joiner

spásaire spaceman, astronaut

táilliúir tailor

teangaire interpreter

tiománaí driver

tiománaí leoraí lorry-driver

tiománaí tacsaí taxi driver

tuíodóir thatcher

údar author

úinéir owner. Well, of course it makes little sense to say that someone is an "owner" by profession, but you could say, for instance, úinéir monarchan, a factory-owner. Factory is monarcha in Irish, genitive form ("a factory's", "of a factory") is monarchan, and a factory-owner will thus be úinéir monarchan.

[edit] Other Uses of the Classification Construction/Cineálacha Eile Aicmiúcháin

[edit] Nationality - Náisiúntacht

The classification construction can also be used for telling what sort of person someone is, in a more general sense. We can, for example, speak about nationalities:

Is Éireannach mé. I am an Irishman.

Is Breatnach thú. You are (just you are, thou art) a Welshman/a Welshwoman.

Is Albanach é. He is Scottish, a Scotsman.

Is Éireannach í. She is an Irishwoman.

Is Sasanaigh iad. They are English. (Sasanach an Englishman, an Englishwoman, an English person; Sasanaigh is the plural form, meaning "Englishmen", "Englishwomen", "English persons".)

Is Meiriceánaigh sinn. We are Americans. (Meiriceánach an American, Meiriceánaigh Americans.)

Is Gearmánaigh sibh. You (you guys, you people, all y'all) are Germans.

Is Francaigh iad. They are Frenchmen, Frenchwomen, French people. (Francach Frenchman, Francaigh Frenchmen.)

Is Ollannach í. She is Dutch, a Dutch woman. (Ollannach a Dutch person, Ollannaigh Dutch people.)

Is Ollannach é. He is a Dutchman.

Is Beilgigh sinn. We are Belgians. (Beilgeach Belgian, Beilgigh Belgians.)

Is Ceanadach thú. You are a Canadian.

Is Poncán é. He is a Yank. (Poncán is a colloquial word for "Yank", an American; it can also be used of "returned Yanks", i.e. Irish people who come back home after spending a long time in the States, and of Irish Americans, i.e. persons born in the States who have Irish ancestry - a more politically correct term for those is Gael-Mheiriceánach or "Gael-American".)

More nationalities:

Gael (plural form Gaeil) a Gael, an Irish or Scottish Celt, a person speaking Irish, Scots Gaelic, or Manx Gaelic

Sualannach (plural: Sualannaigh) a Swede

Danmhargach (plural: Danmhargaigh) a Dane

Ioruach (plural: Ioruaigh) a Norwegian

Fionlannach (plural: Fionlannaigh) a Finn

Francach (plural: Francaigh) a Frenchman

Iodálach (plural: Iodálaigh) an Italian

Gearmánach (plural: Gearmánaigh) a German

Íoslannach (plural: Íoslannaigh) an Icelander

Graonlannach (plural: Graonlannaigh) a Greenlander

Seirbeach (plural: Seirbigh) a Serbian

Crótach (plural: Crótaigh) a Croat

Ostarach (plural: Ostaraigh) an Austrian

Seiceach (plural: Seicigh) a Czech

Slóvacach (plural: Slóvacaigh) a Slovak

Afracánach (plural: Afracánaigh) an African

Nigéarach (plural: Nigéaraigh) a Nigerian

Maracach (plural: Maracaigh) a Moroccan

Turcach (plural: Turcaigh) a Turk

Máratánach (plural: Máratánaigh) a Mauritanian

Éigipteach (plural: Éigiptigh) an Egyptian

Súdánach (plural: Súdánaigh) a Sudanese

Ailgéarach (plural: Ailgéaraigh) an Algerian

An Fionlannach é Martti Ahtisaari? Is ea, is Fionlannach é. An Sualannach é Kjartan Fløgstad? Ní hea. Is Ioruach é. An Rúiseach é Marcin Kowalski? Ní hea. Is Polannach é. An Seiceach é Juraj Kovács? Ní hea. Is Slóvacach é. An Iodálach é Juan López Rodríguez? Ní hea. Is Spáinneach é. An Máratánach é Ahmed? Ní hea. Is Maracach é. An Nigéarach é Abdullah? Ní hea. Is Súdánach é.

An Éireannach í Cherie Blair? Ní hea. Is Sasanach í. An Sasanach í Gobnait Ní Ruairc? Ní hea. Is Éireannach í. An Nigéarach í Fatima? Ní hea. Is Máratánach í. An Ailgéarach í Khadidja? Ní hea. Is Maracach í. An Meiriceánach í Joan? Ní hea. Is Nigéarach í.

[edit] What kind of a person is he? Cén cineál duine é? Cén cineál duine atá ann?

Irish is very rich in descriptive nouns, which can be used as answers to this question - not all of them particularly polite or politically correct. Here are some:

amadán an idiot

amhas a goon, a thug

bómán a half-wit, a blockhead

cliobóg a strong girl

cneámhaire crook, con artist

falsóir a lazy-bones. This is typically an Ulster word, at least in this sense. Further south, people prefer to call a lazy-bones leisceoir.

fámaire means actually a summer visitor, a sightseer, a tourist, but this is a relatively new meaning. An older meaning was "an idler, a loiterer", and this may say something about how hard-working country people regarded early tourists who could actually afford not to work! - Other words for "tourist" are turasóir (from turas, which means "tour, journey") and cuairteoir, which is the usual Irish word for "visitor", but can be used of tourists.

leisceoir a lazy-bones

lúbaire a crafty person, a twister, a treacherous person, a con artist, a deceiver, a tricker

meabhróg a bright and intelligent girl

óinseach a stupid woman

plobaire a blubbering person, a puffy-cheeked person, a fat person

seifteoir someone who is resourceful (the word is related to the English word "shift", which was borrowed into Irish as seift = expedient, resource, resort)

slúiste an idle loiterer

slusaí a flatterer

socadán a busybody (who puts his or her soc - muzzle, snout - into other people's affairs)

[edit] Second Lesson - Ceacht a Dó/An Dara Ceacht

A short note regarding the word for second: dara is the standard word, but tarna is also acceptable. The mixed formation darna is somewhat more dialectal. As regards the word ceacht for "lesson", it is nowadays the usual one, but the English borrowing laisín is an old loan-word and can hardly be seen as bad Irish. If anything, it might be somewhat quaint by now.

Note that dara and tarna do not affect the following noun, if it begins with a consonant: an chéad cheacht, but an dara ceacht, an tarna ceacht. They do add a h- to a vowel, though: an dara háit = "the second place", an dara huair = the second time, hour, occasion.

[edit] The Verb tá - An Briathar tá

We saw that being something or being someone is in Irish expressed by the copula, is, which has a syntax of its own and should indeed be seen as a part of speech in its own right, rather than a verb. Being in a particular way, or being like something, or being somewhere is in Irish expressed by what more advanced grammars call the substantive verb. This is somewhat misleading though, because in Irish you don't usually use the verb tá for coupling two nouns or "substantives". Instead, it is better just to call it the verb tá.

The verb tá is in its forms and syntax similar enough to other Irish verbs, but it is irregular, as the verb "to be" in English, and indeed its equivalents in most other languages.

Tá is the punctual present of this verb, i.e. it means "is" - is now.

It can tell where someone or something is - for instance:

Tá Máirtín i mBaile Átha Cliath. Máirtín is in Dublin.
Tá Seoirse i gCorcaigh. Seoirse is in Cork.
Tá Aoife i mBéal Feirste. Aoife is in Belfast.
Tá Tarlach i nGaillimh. Tarlach is in Galway.
Tá Eoin i nDaingean Uí Chúis. Eoin is in Dingle.
Tá Labhcás i gCora Droma Rúisc. Labhcás is in Carrick-on-Shannon.
Tá Máirín i Luimneach. Máirín is in Limerick.

Telling "where" someone or something is, can also be understood in a figurative way. In Irish, emotions and feelings are usually "on" a person. For instance, it is not idiomatically Irish to say that you are tired (although it is not wrong) - instead, you should prefer to say that "tiredness is upon you". To illustrate this, we need to learn the personal forms of the preposition ar, which means "on", "upon":

orm = on me
ort = on you (just you, one person - i.e. on thee)
air = on him, on it
uirthi = on her, on it
orainn = on us
oraibh = on you (i.e. on you guys, on all y'all, on yiz - several persons)
orthu = on them

Note that the use of these personal forms is mandatory. You can't usually say, for instance, "ar mé" for "orm" (except when "mé" is part of a bigger syntactic construction and the ar is referring to this whole, and not just to "me"). Other prepositions have personal forms too which are derived in a relatively similar way.

But we were speaking of the way how emotions are "upon" a person in Irish. Look at these examples:

Tá tuirse orm. I am tired (tuirse = tiredness).
Tá eagla ort. You are afraid/frightened (eagla = fear).
Tá faitíos ort. You are afraid/frightened (faitíos is another word for "fear").
Tá fearg air. He is angry/mad (fearg = anger).

--Panu Höglund (talk) 12:46, 1 September 2008 (UTC)