Irish Lesson 14

Irish has two sounds for the letter "n". If "n" starts a word and is followed by a broad vowel--"a", "o", or "u"--then "n" gets its broad sound To learn this sound, place the front part of the tongue along the mouth top, with the tongue end touching the inside of the upper front teeth. Then pronounce "n". Try: ná(naw*), nach (nach*), náire (NAW*-re), nó(noh), nua (NOO-uh), nóis (NOH-ish), Nollaig (NUHL-ig).

If "n" starts a word and is followed by a slender vowel--"e" or "i"--then "n" gets its slender sound. Place the front of the tongue on the hard ridge in the roof of the mouth behind your upper front teeth and pronounce "n". It will have a faint (yuh) sound at the end as you go to the rest of many words. try: néall (nyay*l), nead (nyad), neamh (nyav), ní(nee), níl (neel), neodrach (NYOH-druhk*).

In pronouncing slender "n", do not pronounce a separate (yuh) sound. For example, don't pronounce "néall" as (nyuh-AY*L), but as (nyay*l). In "níl", the faint (yuh) sound disappears in the (eel).

If "n" is inside or at the end of a word and has "a", "o", or "u" near it, pronounce it more like an English "n". Examples: bean (ban), bán (baw*n), lón (lohn), dúnadh (DOON-uh).

This gives you most of the pronunciation for "n". One more sidelight will show how noticeable is the difference between broad and slender sounds in Irish. In Lesson 10 you learned that "aoi" is pronounced (ee), as is "í" (ee). If "n" is before "aoi", the "n" gets its broad sound, made as described in the first paragraph above. Say "naoi" (nee) and then "ní" (nee) with a slender "n", described in the second paragraph.

There is a clear difference. Remember that our simple pronunciation guide does not show this difference, so you must learn to watch for the vowel next to the consonant, as Irish people do when they read Irish.

<== попередня сторінка	\|	наступна сторінка ==>
CONVERSATION	\|	GRAMMAR

Не знайшли потрібну інформацію? Скористайтесь пошуком google:

Генерація сторінки за: 0.003 сек.