Wikipedia:IPA for Irish:
According to Wikipedia:Manual of Style (pronunciation), Wikipedia uses the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) to indicate pronunciations. This holds true of Irish as much as for any other language. However, learners' materials published elsewhere use slightly different conventions. For example, it is a longstanding tradition to leave velarized ("broad") consonants unmarked and mark palatalized ("slender") consonants with the prime, although this is not standard IPA usage.
This page compares the IPA system used at Wikipedia (which is based on that used by Ailbhe Ní Chasaide in her description of Irish in the Handbook of the International Phonetic Association, ISBN 0-521-63751-1) with the system used in two popular learners' books: Learning Irish by Mícheál Ó Siadhail (ISBN 0-300-04224-8) and the dictionary Foclóir Póca (ISBN 1-85791-047-8).
See Irish phonology for detailed discussion of the phonology of Irish.
| IPA |
Symbol in
Learning Irish |
Symbol in
Foclóir Póca |
Common spellings of this sound
(cf. Irish orthography) |
| a |
æ:, a: |
a |
a, ai, ea, eai |
| aː |
ɑ: |
a: |
á, ái, eá, eái |
| bˠ |
b |
b |
b (next to a, o, u) |
| bʲ |
b′ |
b′ |
b (next to e, i) |
| c |
k′ |
k′ |
c (next to e, i) |
| ç |
x′ |
x′ |
ch (next to e, i) |
| d̪ˠ |
d |
d |
d (next to a, o, u) |
| dʲ |
d′ |
d′ |
d (next to e, i) |
| eː |
e: |
e: |
é, éa, éi, ae, aei |
| ɛ |
e |
e |
e, ei, oi |
| ə |
ə |
ə |
a, ai, e, ea, i (unstressed syllable) |
| əi |
ai |
ai |
aigh, aidh, agh, adh, eagh, eadh, eigh, eidh |
| əu |
au |
au |
abh, amh, eabh, eamh |
| fˠ |
f |
f |
f (next to a, o, u) |
| fʲ |
f′ |
f′ |
f (next to e, i) |
| ɡ |
g |
g |
g (next to a, o, u) |
| ɣ |
ɣ |
γ |
dh, gh (next to a, o, u) |
| h |
h |
h |
h, sh, th |
| iː |
i: |
i: |
í, ío, ao, aoi, uí, uío, aí, aío |
| ɪ |
i |
i |
i, io, ui |
| iə |
i:ə |
iə |
ia, iai |
| j |
ɣ′ |
γ′ |
dh, gh (next to e, i) |
| ɟ |
g′ |
g′ |
g (next to e, i) |
| k |
k |
k |
c (next to a, o, u) |
| l̪ˠ |
L |
l |
l, ll (next to a, o, u) |
| l̠ʲ |
L′ |
l′ |
l (word-initial before e, i), ll (next to e, i) |
| lʲ |
l′ |
l (word-internal or final next to e, i) |
| mˠ |
m |
m |
m (next to a, o, u) |
| mʲ |
m′ |
m′ |
m (next to e, i) |
| n̪ˠ |
N |
n |
n, nn (next to a, o, u) |
| n̠ʲ |
N′ |
n′ |
n (word-initial before e, i), nn (next to e, i) |
| nʲ |
n′ |
n (word-internal or final next to e, i) |
| ɲ |
ŋ′ |
ŋ′ |
ng (next to e, i) |
| ŋ |
ŋ |
ŋ |
ng (next to a, o, u) |
| oː |
o: |
o: |
ó, ói, eo, eoi |
| ɔ |
o |
o |
o, oi |
| pˠ |
p |
p |
p (next to a, o, u) |
| pʲ |
p′ |
p′ |
p (next to e, i) |
| ɾˠ |
r |
r |
r (next to a, o, u, and always word-initially), rr |
| ɾʲ |
r′ |
r′ |
r (next to e, i unless word-initially) |
| sˠ |
s |
s |
s (next to a, o, u) |
| ʃ |
s′ |
s′ |
s (next to e, i) |
| t̪ˠ |
t |
t |
t (next to a, o, u) |
| tʲ |
t′ |
t′ |
t (next to e, i) |
| uː |
u: |
u: |
ú, úi, iú, iúi |
| ʊ |
u |
u |
u, io, iu |
| uə |
u:ə |
uə |
ua, uai |
| vʲ |
w′ |
v′ |
bh, mh (next to e, i) |
| w |
w |
v |
bh, mh (next to a, o, u) |
| x |
x |
x |
ch (next to a, o, u) |
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