Orthography

The spelling of Irish can seem unusual at first. This is mainly because of two key features: the “broad with broad, slender with slender” rule, which adds extra vowels to show how consonants are pronounced, and the use of the letter ‘h’ to show lenition.

Irish orthography is etymological, meaning it often reflects how words were pronounced centuries ago, similar to English or French. While there are significant pronunciation differences between dialects, the spelling follows consistent rules. Once you understand these rules, the relationship between spelling and pronunciation is more predictable than in English.

The Alphabet

The modern Irish alphabet officially consists of 18 letters:

• Vowels (gutaí): a, e, i, o, u
• Consonants (consain): b, c, d, f, g, h, l, m, n, p, r, s, t

The letters j, k, q, v, w, x, y, z are used only in a few loanwords and names, such as jíp (jeep) or vóta (vote).

Vowels can be short (a, e, i, o, u) or long. A long vowel is marked with an acute accent called a síneadh fada (“long extension”): á, é, í, ó, ú.

The consonant h is primarily used to indicate lenition (e.g., bh, ch, dh) or as a prefix before vowels (h-a, h-e, h-i). It rarely appears on its own in native words.

Abbreviations

In older texts, you may encounter special abbreviations (noda) derived from a medieval shorthand system. The most common one still in use is the Tironian ‘et’ (⁊), which stands for agus (and).

Another common abbreviation is .i., from the Latin id est (“that is”), equivalent to “i.e.” in English. The full Irish phrase is eadhon.

Broad and Slender Sounds

The most important rule in Irish spelling is caol le caol agus leathan le leathan, which means “slender with slender and broad with broad”. This rule governs how vowels and consonants interact.

Vowels are divided into two groups:

• Slender vowels (gutaí caola): e, é, i, í
• Broad vowels (gutaí leathana): a, á, o, ó, u, ú

Consonants are described as “slender” or “broad” depending on the vowels next to them.

• A slender consonant (conson caol) is surrounded by slender vowels.
• A broad consonant (conson leathan) is surrounded by broad vowels.

This distinction is important because the quality of a consonant (whether it’s broad or slender) can change the meaning of a word. For example, a broad n sounds different from a slender n'. To make this distinction clear in writing, the caol le caol rule is applied consistently.

The ‘Caol le Caol’ Rule

The rule states that a consonant or group of consonants must be surrounded by vowels of the same type (either all broad or all slender). This means that a consonant cannot have a broad vowel on one side and a slender vowel on the other.

To follow this rule, extra vowels are often inserted into words. These vowels are usually silent; their only job is to indicate whether the adjacent consonant is broad or slender.

Here are the most common patterns:

• An i is inserted between a broad vowel and a slender consonant.
  • báid [baːdʲ] - boats (The i makes the d slender but is not pronounced itself).
• An o is inserted between í and a broad consonant.
  • bíodh [bʲiːx] - let it be
• An a is inserted between é and a broad consonant.
  • féar [fʲeːr] - grass
• An e is inserted between a slender consonant and a.
  • fear [fʲar] - man
• An e is inserted between a slender consonant and o.
  • teo [tʲoː] - warmer
• Instead of ó after a slender consonant, eo is used.
  • éireoidh mé [eːrʲoːiː meː] - I will rise
• An i is inserted between a slender consonant and u.
  • fliuch [fʲlʲux] - wet

The distinction between broad and slender consonants is often what distinguishes singular from plural, or one grammatical case from another.

Exceptions to the Rule

The caol le caol rule is very consistent, but there are a few exceptions:

• Compound words: The rule is generally not applied across the boundary of a compound word, e.g., neamhbheo (neamh + beo).
• Adverbs and Prepositions: Words like ansin, anseo, arís, and ina were originally compounds and do not follow the rule.
• Loanwords: Some loanwords are exceptions. For example, in ospidéal (hospital), the s is broad and the p is slender. Spelling it oispidéal would wrongly imply a slender s, while ospaidéal would wrongly imply a broad p.

Pronunciation Guide

This section provides a general guide to pronunciation, but be aware that it varies significantly between the major dialects (Munster, Connacht, and Ulster).

Vowel Digraphs

• ao: Pronounced as a long ‘ee’ sound [iː] in Connacht and Ulster, but like a long ‘ay’ sound [eː] in Munster. Despite its pronunciation, it is a broad vowel group. If a slender consonant follows, it is written aoi, which is pronounced [iː] in all dialects.
• ae: Always pronounced like a long ‘ay’ sound [eː]. This is also treated as a broad vowel group. If a slender consonant follows, it is written aei.
  • Gaelach [geːlax] - Gaelic
  • Gaeilge [geːlʲgʲə] - Irish language

Vowel Combinations

• ei, éi: Although e/é is slender, an i is usually written after it before another slender consonant.
  • Éire [eːrʲə] - Ireland
• ea: The e marks the preceding consonant as slender. The combination is usually pronounced [a] or [æ].
  • fear [fʲar] - man
• éa: Pronounced [eː] in Connacht and Ulster, but often [iə] in Munster.
• ai: Pronounced [a] or [æ]. The i marks the following consonant as slender.
• eo: Usually a long ‘o’ sound [oː]. It is used instead of ó after a slender consonant.
• io: Can be pronounced as [i], [o], or even [u] depending on the word and dialect.
• oi: Can be pronounced as [o], [i], or [e] depending on the word and dialect.

Vowel and Consonant Combinations

The pronunciation of lenited consonants (bh, mh, dh, gh) combined with vowels varies greatly.

• abh, ogh, odh: Often pronounced [au] (like “ow” in “cow”) in Connacht and Munster, but [oː] in Ulster.
• amh: Pronounced [au] or [av] in Connacht, but [oː] in Ulster.
• adh, agh: Often pronounced [ai] (like “eye”) in Connacht and Munster, but [eː] in Ulster.
• omh(a), umh(a): Pronounced as a long, sometimes nasalised, o or u.
• -th-: Pronounced [h], but often becomes silent between vowels in Connacht, causing the vowels to merge and lengthen.
  • athair [ahərʲ] can become [æːrʲ]
• -ch-: Slender ch [xʲ] between vowels is often pronounced as [h], which can also become silent in some dialects.
  • oíche [iːxʲə] can become [iːhə] and then [iː]

Nasalisation

In some dialects, particularly in Connacht, vowels can be raised or changed when they appear before or after a nasal consonant (n, m).

• o can become u: dona [donə] -> [dunə]
• e can become i: déanamh [dʲeːnəv] -> [dʲiːnəv]

Word Endings

The pronunciation of unstressed word endings is one of the most variable features across dialects.

The Ending -(a)idh / -(a)igh

This ending appears on verbs, nouns, and prepositional pronouns.

The future ending -óidh is pronounced [oːigʲ] in Munster, [oː] in Connemara, and [oːiː] in the Standard. Ulster uses an older form, -ochaidh.

The Ending -(e)adh

This ending is used for verbal nouns, the imperfect tense, and the autonomous form of the past tense. Its pronunciation depends on its function and the dialect.

The Ending -(e)abh / -(e)amh

This is a noun ending, often found on verbal nouns.

The Ending -(a)ibh / -(a)imh

This is the old dative plural ending for nouns.

The Future Tense Marker -f-

The -f- in future and conditional verb endings is often pronounced as [h] or is silent, rather than [f].

• After b, d, g: The -f- ([h]) devoices the preceding consonant to p, t, k and then disappears.
  • tuigfidh mé -> pronounced like tuicidh mé [tikʲə mʲeː]
• After bh, mh: The -f- ([h]) devoices the preceding consonant to f.
  • scríobhfaidh mé -> pronounced [sʲkʲrʲiːfə mʲeː]
• After c, ch, p, s, t: The -f- is completely silent.
  • bacfaidh mé -> pronounced like bacaidh mé [bakə mʲeː]
• After l, n, r, m: The -f- is pronounced [h], sometimes devoicing the preceding consonant. In parts of Connacht, it is silent.
  • glanfaidh mé -> pronounced [glanhə mʲeː]
• After a vowel: Pronounced [h] in Connacht, but often [f] in Munster and parts of Donegal. In some Connacht sub-dialects, the [h] is silent.
  • léifidh mé -> [lʲeːhə mʲeː] (Connacht) or [lʲeːfʲə mʲeː] (Munster)

Capitalisation with Prefixes

When a word that begins with a capital letter is eclipsed or has a prefix like t- or n- added, the prefix is written in lowercase.

• Poblacht na hÉireann - Republic of Ireland
• Tír na nÓg - Land of Youth
• an tAlt - the article

If the entire phrase is in uppercase, the prefix is often written in small caps.

• POBLACHT NA HÉIREANN
• DÚN NA NGALL

The Spelling Reform

In the mid-20th century, the official spelling of Irish was simplified to better reflect modern pronunciation. This reform, known as An Caighdeán Oifigiúil (The Official Standard), removed many silent letters and standardised certain endings.

While the reform made the spelling more consistent, it also created some complexities. For example, the old present tense ending -(e)ann was replaced by two endings, -(e)ann and -(a)íonn, depending on the verb class. The new standard does not always reflect the pronunciation in every dialect, some of which remain closer to the older spellings.

Punctuation

Punctuation in Irish is broadly similar to English, with a few key differences.

The Comma (an chamóg)

• Commas are used to set off non-essential relative clauses.
• A comma separates a fronted subordinate clause (e.g., a clause starting with “if” or “when”) from the main clause.
• In lists, no comma is placed before agus (and), nó (or), or ná (nor).
• Clauses beginning with go (that) or nach (that…not) are never separated by a comma.
• The adverb áfach (however) is always set off by commas.

The Exclamation Mark (an comhartha uaillbhreasa)

The exclamation mark is used less frequently than in some other languages. Imperative sentences (commands) can end with a full stop (lánstad) instead.