Cork Irish

The Pronunciation of Cork Irish

My dictionary of Cork Irish used the pronunciation system of the book The Irish of West Muskerry, by Brian Ó Cuív, first published in 1944. The phonological rules set out in that book provide some degree of accuracy in predicting the pronunciation of words in Cork Irish. I am not intending to reproduce the details of the phonological system shown in that book, but rather a key to the phonetic script.

Audio files were read by Eoiní Mhaidhc Ó Súilleabháin, native speaker in the Cork Gaeltacht, August 12th 2010.

Vowels

/i:/ Audio

ím, dlí, fírinne, píosa, buí, Muimhneach, maíomh.

/i/ Audio

uisce, minic, fios, buile, beannaithe, Éire, oileán, billeog, ciotóg, farraige.

/e:/ Audio

éigin, inné, céile, léann.

Note that this sound is quite different initially before broad consonants or after a broad consonant:

Audio

aonach, réidh, Gael.

/e/ Audio

oibre, aige, breibe, meisce, bheadh, raibh, saibhir.

/a/ Audio

(with slight variations in realization in the presence of either broad or slender consonants)

aifreann, ceathair, taithí, cailleach, reatha, teacht

/a:/ Audio

breá, caisleáin, fearr

/ɑ/ Audio

(with slight variations in realisation in the presence of either broad or slender consonants)

eaglais, capall, bainne

/ɑ:/ Audio

áfach, fágaint, áit, Seán, báisteach

/o/ Audio

obair, doras, deoch, scoil

/o:/ Audio

eolas, fónamh, óige, seoladh, móin

/u/ Audio

iomarca, priocadh, cuid, tusa

/u:/ Audio

údar, marú, bunús, Iúil, ciúin, siúl, dúiseacht

/ə/ Audio

aduaidh, bacacha, beagán, bradán

Diphthongs

/iə/ Audio

iasc, dian, fia, diabhail

/ia/ Audio

(the speaker clearly uses the /iə/ diphthong here, reflecting a tendency for the two diphthongs to fall together in more recent Cork Irish)

éan, féar, fiáin

/uə/ Audio

ualach, dua, buachaill, uaigneach, fuaim

/əi/ Audio

aighneas, leá, deimhin, leigheas, adhmad, gadhair, fadhb

/ai/ Audio

aimhleas, caint

/au/ Audio

ampla, treabhadh, seabhaic, feall, namhaid, rang

/ou/ [replaced by /au/ in the speech of younger speakers] Audio

Ultach, togha, leabhair, leabhar, modhúil, bodhar

Triphthong

/uəu/ Audio

chuabhair

Consonants

/bʹ/ Audio

beo, beann

/b/ Audio

braon, bolg

/pʹ/ Audio

peann, plé

/p/ Audio

póca, plaosc

/dʹ/ Audio

This sound is alveolar in most cases in younger speakers, under the influence of English.

deora, dealg

Note that /dlʹ/ is quite distinctive, being laterally exploded:

Audio

dlí, dlithe.

Note that a dental /dʹ/ is generally used before slender r and when unstressed and before slender r:

Audio

dréimire, láidir.

/d/ Audio

A dental sound.

dubh, doren

/tʹ/ Audio

This sound is alveolar in most cases in younger speakers, under the influence of English.

tigh, teann

Note that /tlʹ/ is quite distinctive, being laterally exploded:

Audio

tslí, tsléibhe.

Note that a dental /tʹ/ is generally used before slender r and when unstressed and before slender r:

Audio

trí, leitir.

/t/ Audio

A dental sound.

tuí, taobh, tlú, tnúth

/gʹ/ Audio

geit, geata, gné, grian

/g/ Audio

guala, grá

/kʹ/ Audio

cíos, cleas, cneasta, cré

/k/ Audio

cú, cnoc, Corcaigh

/vʹ/ Audio

Traditionally bilabial, rather than labiodental. The speaker here has a clear labiodental pronunciation.

ana-bheag, uimhir

/v/ Audio

Traditionally bilabial, rather than labiodental. The speaker here has a clear labiodental pronunciation.

mhaise, admháil

Note: at the beginning of a word or breath-group or after a g /v/ approaches /w/:

Audio

gabháil, sábháil.

Note pronounced friction (ie a v rather than a w) at the end of a word or syllable or before l, n or r:

Audio

marbh, tiubh, amharc, mo bhlúire, droch-mhná, mo bhróg.

/fʹ/ Audio

Traditionally bilabial, rather than labiodental.

file, fearg

/f/ Audio

Traditionally bilabial, rather than labiodental.

faobhar, fuar

/ʒ/ Audio

a very rare phoneme in Irish (this is an English word, rós, taken into Irish and given a genitive):

róis

/ʃ/ Audio

síocháin, seans

/z/ Audio

an infrequent sound:

rós, Múscraí

/s/ Audio

suí, saol

/j/ Audio

a Dhia, ana-dheas, deá-ghníomh, do ghléas, sa ghleann, mo ghreim, an ghrian, mo dhriotháir

/ɣ/ Audio

dhá cheann, a dhuine, de gnáth, mo ghrá

/xʹ/ Audio

chím, a Sheáin, le chéile, sa chliabhán, ana-chneasta, do chreid sé, sa chré

/x/ Audio

chuaidh, choíche

/h/ Audio

sheasaimh, cheana, rithfead

Note the following, where the h is often heard only slightly, merely partly devoicing the previous letter:

/lh/: molfad, díolfad Audio
/lhʹ/: caillfead, oilfead Audio

There is a clear /mh/ in cúmtha below, but the speaker prefers stuama without an h; stuama was spelled stuamdha in the old spelling and transcribed as /stuəmhə/ in the Irish of West Muskerry, but the standard Irish spelling does not indicate any hint of an h.

/mh/: cúmtha, stuama Audio
/mʹh/: léimfead, géimfidh Audio
/nh/: dúnfad, leanfad, tráthnóna, Breathnach Audio
/nʹh/: caoinfidh, múinfead Audio
/ŋh/: teangthacha Audio
/ŋʹh/: taithnim, taithneamh Audio
/rh/: muinteartha Audio
/rʹh/: búirth, cheithre Audio

/tʃ/ Audio

baitsiléar, duitse

/mʹ/ Audio MORE WORDS NEED TO BE RECORDED HERE

roimis

/m/ Audio

muing, mála

/nʹ/ Audio MORE WORDS NEED TO BE RECORDED HERE
(the first syllable of inniu below was not captured by the recording, but the slender n was)

inniu, coinnleach

/n/ Audio MORE WORDS NEED TO BE RECORDED HERE

gnúis

/hnʹ/ Audio MORE WORDS NEED TO BE RECORDED HERE
(this recording needs to be redone, because é shníomh was not captured at all, and the t of toirneach was missed, but the /hnʹ/ is audible)
a devoiced equivalent of /nʹ/: é shníomh, toirneach

/hn/ Audio MORE WORDS NEED TO BE RECORDED HERE
(this recording needs to be redone, because do shnámh was not captured at all)
a devoiced equivalent of /n/: do shnámh, mo shnáthad

/ŋʹ/ Audio

aingeal, fuinneog, Suibhneach, taithneamh, teinn

/ŋ/ Audio

ceangal, teanga, long, comhgar

/lʹ/ Audio

leis, leor, fiacail, fáilte

/l/ Audio MORE WORDS NEED TO BE RECORDED HERE

asal

/hlʹ/ Audio
(notice how the speaker prefers to pronounce the t in meilt below; some of these lt examples being pronounced as lh are optional)
a devoiced equivalent of /lʹ/:

shleamhnaigh, mo shlí, meilt, muinchille /minʹirhlʹi/

/hl/ Audio

a devoiced equivalent of /l/: do shloinne, banaltra, alt, shloig

/rʹ/ Audio

do rug, Laoghaire, cuir, láithreach, breab, grinn

/r/ Audio

rian, rogha, cara, tabharfar

/hrʹ/ Audio

a devoiced equivalent of /rʹ/: mo threise, a thrian

/hr/ Audio

a devoiced equivalent of /r/: mo shrón, mo thráth

Nasalization
Traditional sources say that these are differentiated by the absence or presence of nasalization, but my speaker had no nasalization, so no examples were recorded.

Compare the following:

lá, lámha
ní, nimhe
fóir, fómhair
cú, cumha
abhras, amhras

Other examples: geimhreadh, comhairle, reimhirse, aimhleas, amhlaidh, amhastar, scanradh, samhradh, leamh, neamh, Róimh, amhrán

Intonation

Questions

These have a falling intonation with a rise on the final word:

Audio

an maith leat misleáin?
cá rabhais inné?
ar mhaith leat siúl?
cá bhfuil an gadhar?
conas tá Seán?

or when the principal syllable is non-final, the intonation is a falling one until the prinicipal syllable, which forms the lowest note, followed by a rise:

Audio

cé hé sin ar an mbóthar?
cé léigh an t-aifreann ar maidin?
cé tá ag ceangal?
cár fhágais í?
cad na thaobh nár dheinis é?
an raibh an aimsir go maith?

the principal stress may vary with the meaning, thus shifting the intonation too:

Audio

cé bhí ag BAINT inné?
cé bhi ag baint INNÉ?

sometimes there are two strongly stressed syllables, both forming low points, followed by rises:

Audio

ar airís Seán a bheith pósta?
an ag baint a bhí Dónall?

Commands

These start high and fall sharply on the syllable with principle stress, remaining low thereafter.

(some of the recordings in this section are better than others, but the general principles should be clear)

Audio

dún an doras, a Mháire
las an lampa
oscail an fhuinneog
faigh cathaoir dó
éist do bhéal
inis scéal dúinn
tabhair leat í

Syllables before the main stress can gradually rise, building up to the main stress:

bígis go maith anocht (the speaker said bígí, probably because bígis is not used any more)

Where more than one word is stressed, the intonation can gradually step down, plateauing on each stressed word:

bailígis na ba ar an mbóthar (the speaker said bailídh, as bailígis is not used any more)
tair abhaile go luath
ná loit orm é

Special emphasis is shown by a lengthening of the stressed syllable where the voice falls:

ná creid in aon chor é

Statements

These also have a falling tone, beginning high, falling on the stressed syllable and thereafter remaining low. (This is referred to a Tune 1 by Brian Ó Cuív.)

do scríobh an file páipéar dó
d’fhill sé abhaile go brónach
siúd chun an tsagairt é
sidé go léir agat

The intonation pattern can climb before the first stressed syllable, which would be the high point, and then fall on the last stressed syllable:

do deineadh an pósadh
dhein sé ana-shioc aréir

An emphatic reply to a question can have a sharp down tone:

níl

Special emphasis is shown by lengthening the down tone:

ní dhéanfad
níorbh fhearr, mhuise
bhí go deimhin, mhuise

A variant is where the overall falling pattern is broken by a phrase at a higher tone before resuming the descent:

ní raibh sé ro-chruinn ar fad ann féin

A sing-song tone is adopted for less emphatic statements. (This is referred to as Tune 2 by Brian Ó Cuív.) The first stressed syllable is low and thereafter the intonation begins to climb, falling before the last stressed syllable, which then rises sharply:

dhíol Diarmaid an bhó bhán

In more complex variants of this pattern, each stressed syllable is low, with a wave, first high then falling, between them, and a rise on the last stressed syllable:

dhíol Séamas an capall agus cheannaigh Tadhg asal dubh
dúirt Tadhg Crón liom ná raibh na cearca ag breith ag a mhnaoi
b’fhéidir gurbh fearr leat do cheisteanna féin anois
tá an méid seo dhuitse

Monosyllabic statements have a rising tone:

’sea
tá
níl

Tune 1 and Tune 2 may be combined in complex sentences, as with the following, where Tune 2 first occurs and the sentence ends with Tune 1:

bhíodh sé i gcónaí ag cuimhneamh ar phósadh ach níorbh aon chabhair do é, mar ná pósfadh éinne é

Doubt or surprise is expressed by Tune 2, often with great stress:

ní raibh
an raibh?
ar dhein?
cad chuige?
ní chreidfinn go ndéanfadh