Irish Grammar - Phonology

Phonology

A notable feature of Irish phonology is that consonants (except /h/) come in pairs, one "broad" (velarized, pronounced with the back of the tongue pulled back towards the soft palate) and one "slender" (palatalized, pronounced with the middle of the tongue pushed up towards the hard palate).

Consonant phonemes
Labial Coronal Dorsal Glottal
Bilabial Labio-
velar		 Labio-
dental		 Dental Alveolar Post-
alveolar		 Palatal Velar
Plosives pˠ pʲ t̪ˠ tʲ c k
bˠ bʲ d̪ˠ dʲ ɟ ɡ
Fricative/
Approximant		 fˠ fʲ sˠ ʃ ç x h
w vʲ j ɣ
Nasal mˠ mʲ n̪ˠ nʲ ɲ ŋ
Tap ɾˠ ɾʲ
Lateral l̪ˠ lʲ
Vowel phonemes
Front Central Back
Close iː uː
Near-close ɪ ʊ
Close-mid eː oː
Mid ə
Open-mid ɛ ɔ
Open a ɑː

Diphthongs: /iə/, /uə/, /əi/, /əu/.

Wikisource has original text related to this article: Graiméar na Gaedhilge
Irish linguistics
History
  • Primitive Irish
  • Old Irish
  • Middle Irish
  • Modern Irish
Sociolinguistics
  • Connacht Irish
  • Munster Irish
  • Newfoundland Irish
  • Ulster Irish
  • Status of the language
  • outside Ireland
Grammar
  • Initial mutations
  • Declension
  • Conjugation
  • Dependent and independent forms
  • Phonology
  • Syntax
Writing
  • Orthography
  • Ogham
  • Gaelic type
  • Early literature
  • Modern literature
Names
  • Personal and family names
  • List of personal names

Read more about this topic:  Irish Grammar