irish course

7/30/2019 Irish Course

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Lesson 1

The purpose of the course is to give Americans, whether of Irish descent or not, a working knowledge of the Irish language. This course beginswith the basics and is entirely self-contained. We have planned it especially for persons who are studying alone or in small groups without ateacher, books or recordings. To keep your past study lessons handy, each week remove the lesson from the paper and paste or staple it into anotebook, so that you will have the lessons available for review or reference. Pronunciation and study methods are important for you who arelearning Irish in this way. We will say a few words about these two subjects first.

PronunciationAmericans studying Irish have always learned pronunciation from either an Irish speaker or from one of several recordings accompanying text-

books. Because we will not be able to teach pronunciation in these ways, we will give you a simple pronunciation guide system and then extrainstruction from time to time. If you have the chance to listen to a native speaker, however, do so. There are differences in regional pronunciationin Irish, as in other languages, but if the speaker talks slowly and clearly, you should have little trouble in understanding the words you know.The pronunciation given in the guide for this lesson series is not based exclusively on any one region of Ireland. Where the differences are sig-nificant, we will give you some of the other pronunciations and usage, to make it easier to talk to all speakers.

Study Method

Learn the pronunciation guide system and do the practice work for English words that we will give you.

For each Irish word, phrase, or sentence, first look at the pronunciation guide (which will always be in parentheses) and say the word or wordsseveral times out loud. Then look at the Irish word and pronounce it several more times. After you have gone over the lesson in this way, writethe Irish words, copying them from the lesson and saying them out loud as you copy them.

Each time you say an Irish word or phrase, try to form a picture in your mind of the meaning. Although this is difficult with some single words,persist and it will become easier as the phrases and sentences become longer.

Translation is the next step. Read the Irish word or phrase out loud and then translate it into English. Do this several times, until you are surethat you know it. Then translate the English into Irish several times. If you are learning Irish with others, each person can give another a word orphrase to translate and can take a part in the conversation in the lessons.

In the conversation exercises, look first at the pronunciation and meaning, then look up from the lesson before you say the Irish words out loud.Work phrase by phrase at first, until you can memorize entire sentences. If you study with others, take turns in reading what each character says.In the conversation exercises, you will see words and phrases that will seem difficult at first. Memorize them and dont worry about the grammar.It will be explained later.

Pronunciation guide systemMost of the symbols are letters and letter groups for sounds common in familiar English words. If you pronounce them in that way for the firstfew lessons, you will be close enough for a beginning. We will gradually correct you and improve your pronunciation as you advance, so thatyou will soon have a genuine Irish pronunciation.For most consonants, such as b, d, f, g, h, l, m, n, p, r, s, and t we will use the letters themselves as pronunciation symbols. In the lessons youwill get instructions on how to pronounce these sounds in the Irish way. Nearly all these consonants have two sounds in Irish, depending onwhat vowels are next to them. (English c and g also have this characteristic. Notice how you start to pronounce king and coat, and thengive and go.)

The vowel symbols may need some explanation, so here are the symbols and description of their pronunciation:

Symbols and pronunciation(ah) as in English ah-hah.(a) as in English at.(aw*) as in English tot. but held for a longer time

(ay*) as Irish pronounce English say without a trace of (ee) as in English mean.(i) as in English pin.(eye) as in English eye.(oh) as in English toe, but without the trace of (oo) sound at the end as in English food.(oo) as in English food.(u) as in English put.(uh) as in English but.(ou) as in English shout

We will capitalize the letters in the accented part of the word or phrase. We will use asterisks, as in some symbols above, to indicate a soundfairly different from usual English sounds. Remember, too, that many Irish sounds are not exactly like their English counterparts. Some Englishsounds, such as z and th are not in Irish.

Now try these English words as practice in using the pronunciation guide system:

(boht) (HAM-muhr) (kin) (KUH-stuhm-ayr-ee) (de-LIV-uh-ree) (giv) (trans-LAYT) (ad-MEYE-uhr) (ful-FIL) (fuhn-duh-MENT-uhl) (wohnt)(wawnt) (tawt).

The actual English words for these are: boat, hammer, kin, customary, delivery, give, translate, admire, fulfill, fundamental, wont, want,taught. These sounds are not always exact, as you can see, but are close enough to be understood.


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Lesson 2

You are now ready to make a classic entry into the Irish language, by way of an important verb: T (taw*).T serves to tell where something is or what its condition is, and therefore it has some of the functions of English is.

For the (t) sound next to an a, o or u, put the front part of your tongue up along the top of your mouth, with the tip against the upper frontteeth and almost--but not quite--protruding between the teeth. Pronounce the (t) sound a few times. If you extend the tongue too far between theteeth, you will say English th as in that or throw. Irish does not have those sounds.

For the (aw*) sound, say the English word tot, but start the word with the Irish (t) you have just learned. Repeat several times, then drop the

final t and lengthen the (aw*) sound. As a check, try making the (aw*) sound in another way: Say English awful several times slowly, andnotice that your lips are pushed far out. Try the word with your lips held in closer and more rounded. You may recognize the sound as the waysome Irish pronounce awful.

Now learn these words, referring back to the Lesson 1 pronunciation guide as necessary:

T s (TAW* shay*) he is, it ist s (TAW* shee) she ist m (TAW* may) I amfuar (FOO-uhr) coldmr (mohr) bigte (te) hotg (ohg) youngsean (shan) old

ln (law*n) full

Next, learn these sentences, then translate them. Form a mental picture each time.

T s fuar. T m mr. T s g. T s ln. T s te. T s sean.

Learn these new words thoroughly:

fear (far) man, a mancat (kaht) cat, a catbean (ban) woman, a womancailn (kah-LEEN) girl, a girlbord (bohrd) table, a tableard (ahrd) high, tallgairid (GAH-rid) shortanseo (un-SHUH) hereansin (un-SHIN) therefada (FAH-duh) longbosca (BOHSK-uh) box, a boxseal (EE-shuhl) low, shortsrid (sraw*d) street, a streetagus (AH-guhs) andlidir (LAW*-dir) strongtana (TAH-nee) thinramhar (ROU-wuhr) fatcam (koum) crooked

We can substitute these into the basic sentence T s fuar, he is cold, to make new sentences:T fear anseo (taw* FAR un-SHUH). A man is here.T Sen anseo (taw* SHAW*N un-SHUH). John is here.T bean agus fear ansin (taw* BAN AH-guhs FAR un-SHIN). A women and a man are there.T Brd lidir (taw* BREED LAW*-dir). Bridget is strong.T is irregular, one of only ten or eleven Irish verbs that are. For the negative of t, the basic word is nl (neel).

Read these:Nl s mr (NEEL shay* mohr). He is not big.Nl m fuar (NEEL may* FOO-uhr). I am not cold.Nl Sen ramhar (NEEL shaw*n ROU-wuhr). John is not fat.

For questioning with t, the basic group is an bhfuil (un VWIL). In the West of Ireland this may be pronounced (un WIL).

Read these:An bhfuil fear ansin? (un vwil FAR un-SHIN) Is a man there?An bhfuil Nra g? (un vwil NOH-ruh ohg) Is Nora young?An bhfuil bosca anseo? (un vwil BOHSK-uh un-SHUH) Is there a box here?


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PronunciationIrish t and d. Every Irish consonant has two different sounds. The one selected depends on what kind of vowel is next to the consonant. The vow-els a, o and u are called broad and give the broad sound to consonants next to them. The slender vowels are e, i, ea and often ai.

You learned how to pronounce broad t above, in the word t. Pronounce a broad d with the front part of the tongue in the same position,along the roof of the mouth, with the tongue tip almost protruding between the teeth.

Try: d (daw*), d (doh), dn (doon), drom (drohm), dl (dloo), dath (dah).

For slender d and t, place the tongue tip, and only the tip, on the hard ridge just behind your upper front teeth. Then pronounce the t or

d. (In the West there is a tendency to pronounce these by sliding the tongue off the ridge, giving sounds closer to ch or j). Practice on these:deil (del), dan(day*n), dlis (DEE-lish), ding (ding), deacair (DAK-uhr), dl (dlee), te (te), tann (TAY*-uhn), timire (TEEM-i-re), teas (tas).

ConversationRead this carefully until you can go from one language to the other quickly, phrase by phrase and sentence by sentence.

Do not try to understand the grammar of the words or phrases yet. Pay special attention to duit. This is generally pronounced with a (g) soundat the start, and we will do that in this lesson. The letter u in the word merely tells you that the d or g gets its broad sound. The t mustget a slender sound.

Samas: (SHAY*-muhs): Dia duit, a Nra (DEE-uh git, uh NOH-ruh). Hello, Nora.Nra: Dias Muire duit, a Shamais (DEE-uhs MWIR-uh git, uh HAY*-mish). Hello James.Samas: Conas t t? (KUN-uhs TAW*too). How are you?Nra: T m go maith, agus conas t t fin? (TAW* may* goh MAH, AH-guhs KUN-uhs TAW* too fay*n). I am well, and how are you?

Samas: T m go maith, leis. (TAW*may* goh MAH, lesh). I am well, too.


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Lesson 3One of the characteristics of modern printed Irish is the frequency of the letter h after consonants in words.Generally the h is not sounded by itself but instead indicates a pronunciation change in the consonant directly ahead of it. This change, calledaspiration, occurs in other languages, too. In English, for example, you know that the word philosophy is pronounced with f sounds, notp sounds. The h after the p tells you this, as it does in Philip and triumph. A German pronounces ach differently from ac or ak,too, because he knows that the h indicates a change, which we call aspiration in Irish.

Aspiration is nothing more than a relaxation of the tongue as you say a consonant, so that air can flow out of the mouth more easily. Aspirationcan occur for initial consonants under the effect of preceding words or word groups, such as my or in the. Aspiration can also occur in themiddle or at the end of a word. We will now give you an aspiration vocabulary, so that you will be able to pronounce aspirated consonants

more easily as you read them.

Nearly all the aspirated sounds are close to English sounds, but the aspirated c sounds are somewhat different. Learn them separately first:

When ordinary, unaspirated c is next to a, o, or u, pronounce it like the c in coat or coal. This is called broad c. Notice thatyour tongue rises at the back and touches the roof of your mouth for the c sound. Try these Irish words: cil (kaw*l), cta (KOH-tuh), cpla(KOOP-luh).

To make the aspirated sound, pronounce the c without letting the tongue rise so high. Try the German word ach first. Then try the aspiratedsounds in: lach (lahk*), loch (lohk*), dchas (DOOK*-uhs).

Next, try the sound at the start of words: chil (k*aw*l), chta (K*OH-tuh), chpla (K*OOP-luh). We will use the symbol (K*) for the aspiratedbroad c sound.

Pronounce c next to e, i, or before ea like the k in kill or kit. Notice that the tongue top touches the roof of the mouth fartherforward than for broad c. Try these Irish words: ceil (kel), cos (kees), ceannaigh (KyAN-ee).

To aspirate, say the c without letting the tongue touch the roof of the mouth. The sound will be like a y in English with a slight h soundbefore it; we will use (hy) as the symbol.

Try: cheil (hyel), chos (hyees), cheannaigh (HYAN-ee). In parts of Ireland, the sound is closer to English h.

Now learn this aspiration vocabulary. (Mo means my and aspirates the nine aspirable consonants after it.):

bal, mo bhal (bay*l, muh VAY*L) mouth, my mouth.bd, mo bhd (baw*d, muh VAW*D) boat, my boat.cistin, mo chistin (KISH-tin, muh HYISH-tin) kitchen, my kitchen.cta, mo chta (KOH-tuh, muh K*OH-tuh) coat, my coat.deis, mo dheis (desh, muh YESH) opportunity, my opportunity.dthain, mo dhthain (DOH-hin, muh GOH-hin) enough, enough for me.fear, mo fhear (far, mar) man, my man.finne, mo fhinne (FAW*-nye, MAW*nye) ring, my ring.gag, mo ghag (GAY*-ugh, muh YAY*-uhg) arm, my arm.gairdn, mo ghairdn (gahr-DEEN, muh gahr-DEEN) garden, my garden.mian, mo mhian (MEE-uhn, muh VEE-uhn) wish, my wish.mla, mo mhla (MAW*-luh, muh VWAW*-luh) bag, my bag.peata, mo pheata (PAT-uh, muh FAT-uh) pet, my pet.pca, mo phca (POH-kuh, muh FOH-kuh) pocket, my pocket.sire, mo shire (SHAY*-ruh, muh HAY*-ruh) supper, my supper.sl, mo shl (saw*l, muh HAW*L) heel, my heel.tr, mo thr (teer, muh HEER) country, my country.

talamh, mo thalamh (TAH-luhv, muh HAH-luhv) land, my land.ConversationAfter you have learned this conversation, go over it again to look for examples of aspiration in it, and see how the pronunciation is changed.Samas: (SHAY*-muhs): Dia duit, a Nra (DEE-uh git, uh NOH-ruh) Hello, Nora.Nra: Dias Muire duit, a Shamais (DEE-uhs MWIR-uh git, uh HAY*-mish) Hello James.Samas: Conas t t inniu? (KUN-uhs TAW* too in-YOO) How are you today?Nra: T m go maith, agus conas t t fin? (TAW* may* goh MAH, AH-guhs KUN-uhs TAW* too fay*n) I am well, and how are you your-self?Samas: T m go maith leis, ach nl m ag obair anois (TAW* may* go MAH lesh, ahk* NEEL may* eg UH-bir uh-NISH) I am well, too, but Iam not working now.Nra: Nl an aimsir go maith inniu (neel un EYEM-sheer goh MAH in-YOO) The weather isnt good today.Samas: T an ceart agat. T s fuar anseo (taw* un KART uh-GUHT. taw*shay* FOO-uhr uhn-SHUH FRESH-in) Youre right. It is cold heretoo).

Nra: Nl an seomra te, p scal (neel un SHOHM-ruh shuh te, pay* SHKAY*L ay*) The room isnt warm. anyway.


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Lesson 4

We began on the verb t in Lesson 2, and we will continue with it now. Here is the entire present tense:

T m (TAW* may*), I amT t (TAW* too), you (singular) areT s (TAW* shay*), he, (it) isT s (TAW* shee), she isTimid (TAW* mid), we areT sibh (TAW* shiv), you (plural) are

T siad (taw* SHEE-uhd), they are

Nl m (NEEL may*), I am notNl t (NEEL too), you (singular) are notNl s (NEEL shay*), he is notNl s (NEEL shee), she is notNlimid (NEEL-i-mid), we are notNl sibh (NEEL shiv), you (plural) are notNl siad (neel SHEE-uhd), they are not

An bhfuil m? (un VWIL may*), am I?An bhfuil t? (un VWIL too), are you? (singular)An bhfuil s? (un VWIL shay*), is he?An bhfuil s? (un VWIL shee), is she?

An bhfuilimid? (un VWIL-i-mid), are we?An bhfuil sibh? (un VWIL shiv), are you? (plural)An bhfuil siad? (un vwil shee-uhd), are they?

To give you fluency and practice in pronunciation, we now introduce a progressive drill. Repeat the drill several times when the lessons call forit. Each time you repeat it, it becomes easier. The drill takes you through a verb or grammar form progressively, changing from question to nega-tive to declarative and back to the question form. Remember to form a mental picture for each sentence. Here is the basic form:

An bhfuil m sa ghairdn? (un VWIL may* suh gahr-DEEN), Am I in the garden?Nl m sa ghairdn (NEEL may* suh gahr-DEEN), I am not in the garden.T t sa ghairdn (TAW* too suh gahr-DEEN), You are in the garden.An bhfuil t sa ghairdn? (un VWIL too suh gahr-DEEN), Are you in the garden?Nl t sa ghairdn (NEEL too suh gahr-DEEN), You are not in the garden.T s sa ghairdn (TAW* shay* suh gahr-DEEN), He is in the garden.An bhfuil s sa ghairdn? (un VWIL shay* suh ghar-DEEN), Is he in the garden?

[note the progression from M - T - S in the above]Go on from here. Your last sentence will be: T m sa ghairdn (TAW* may* suh gahr-DEEN), I am in the garden.

VocabularyThe Irish word for the is an. Irish nouns can be either masculine or feminine, and an before a feminine noun aspirates most of the initialconsonants that can be aspirated. Exceptions are d, t, and sometimes s. An does not aspirate the initial consonant of a masculine noun.Learn this vocabulary:

Masculine nounsl (law*), dayclog (kluhg), clock

bus (bus), busFeminine nounsbean, an bhean (ban, un VAN), womancos, an chos (kuhs, un K*UHS), footduais, an duais (DOO-ish, un DOO-ish), prizegrian, an ghrian (GREE-uhn, un YREE-uhn), sunfuinneog, an fhuinneog (fwin-YOHG, un in-YOHG), windowteanga, an teanga (TANG-uh, un TANG-uh), languagetr, an tr (teer, un TEER), country

Other words and phrasesag dul abhaile (uh duhl uh-VWAHL-e), going homebre (bir-RAW*), fine

fliuch (flyuk*), wettirim (TIR-im), drylainn (AW*-lin), beautifulfuar (FOO-uhr), cold

Conversation


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Brd (breed): Dia duit, a Shein (DEE-uh git, uh HYAW*in). Hello John.

Sen (shaw*n): Dias Muire duit, a Bhrd (DEE-uhs MWIR-uh git, uh VREED) Conas t sibh go lir? (KUN-uhs TAW* shiv goh lay*r) Hello,Bridget. How are you all?

Brd: Timid go maith (TAW*-mid goh MAH), agus conas t t fin? (AH-guhs KUN-uhs TAW* too fay*n). We are well, and how are youyourself?

Sen: , ar fheabhas (oh er OUS). Nach bre an l ? (nahk* bir-RAW un LAW* ay*). Oh, excellent. Isnt it a fine day?

Brd: Is bre, go deimhin (is bir-RAW*, goh DEYE-in) T an ghrian ag soilsi. (taw* un YREE-uhn uh SEYEL-shoo), agus t an aimsir gohlainn. (taw* un EYEM-sheer goh HAW*-lin). It is fine, certainly. The sun is shining and the weather is beautiful.

Sen: Nl an aimsir chomh fuar agus a bh s inn. (neel un EYEM-sheer hoh FOO-uhr AH-guhs uh vee shay* in-YAY). The weather is not ascold as it was yesterday.

Brd: Agus nl an l chomh fliuch agus a bh s inn. (AH-guhs neel an LAW* hoh flyuk* AH-guhs uh vee shay* in-YAY). And the day is not aswet as it was yesterday.

Sen: T orm dul abhaile anois, a Bhrd. (TAW* OH-ruhm duhl uh-VWAHL-e uh-NISH, uh VREED). Fach, t s a cig a chlog beagnach.(FAY*-uhk*, TAW* shay* un KOO-ig uh K*LUHG BYUHG-nahk*). I must go home now, Bridget. Look, it is almost five oclock.

Brd: Sln leat (slaw*n lat) Good-bye.

Sen: Sln agat, a Bhrd. ( slaw*n uh-GUHT, uh VREED). Good-bye, Bridget.

Note: Sln agat (health be at you) is said to someone staying behind. Sln leat (health be with you) is said to someone going away.


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Lesson 5

You have already noticed the frequent use of what looks like an accent mark over vowels in Irish words. The slanting line (sneadh fada(SHEEN-uh FAH-duh) or sometimes sneadh) is not really an accent mark, however, but instead basically indicates the length of time that youpronounce the vowel. For example, the word psta (POHS-tuh), meaning married, has the same (oh) sound that is in the word cnoc (kuh-NOHK), meaning hill, but for psta the (oh) sound is held longer.Often a short vowel in an Irish word will sound to an American somewhat like the (uh) in unfit. We have represented the sound by (uh) insome cases, because Americans will find the (uh) sound closer to their pronunciation experience. The Irish word clog is an example. We rep-resent it by (kluhg), but as your pronunciation improves, you will learn to pronounce it with a short (oh) sound, rounding your lips more than for(uh).

Irish makes less use of the (uh) sound than does English, and this is important to remember as you refine your pronunciation.

The sneadh fada can indicate significant pronunciation differences. For example, Sen is a name, but sean means old. Fear (far) isman, but far (fay*r) is grass. The word ire (AY-re) means Ireland, but eire (E-re) is burden. On Irish stamps a few years ago,Ireland was called Eire, through either ignorance or malice.

GrammarIn Irish, nearly all adjectives follow the noun, and if the noun is feminine, the initial consonant of the adjective is aspirated. Learn these exam-ples thoroughly:First, masculine nouns:an l mr (un law* mohr), the big dayan fear beag (un far byuhg), the little manbus dearg (bus DYAR-uhg), a red bus

an bord mr (un bohrd mohr), the big tablemo bhord mr (muh vwohrd mohr), my big tabledo bhord beag (duh vwohrd byuhg), your little tabledo bhd beag (duh vwaw*d byuhg), your little boat

Next, feminine nouns:bean mhr (ban vwohr), a big womanan bhean mhr (un van vwohr), the big womanfuinneog bheag (fwin-YOHG vyuhg), a little windowan fhuinneog bheag (un in-YOHG vyuhg), the little windowtr fliuch (teer lyuk*), a wet countryan tr fhliuch (un teer lyuk*), the wet countrycos fhada (kuhs AH-duh), a long footan chos fhada (un k*uhs AH-duh), the long footoche mhaith (EE-hye vwah), a good nightan oche mhaith (un EE-hye vwah), the good night

A few adjectives come before the noun. Sean (shan), meaning old, is one of these. It aspirates the initial consonant of the noun. Learn theseexamples:

sean-bhord (shan vwohrd), an old tablean sean-bhord (un shan vwohrd), the old tablean sean-fhear (un shan ar), the old man

PracticeT X sa chistin (taw* X suh HYISH-tin) means X is in the kitchen.

With this as the basic sentence, go through the progressive drill that you learned in Lesson 4, inserting these word groups for X:bean mhr (ban vwohr), a big womanan bhean bheag (un van vyuhg), the little womancailn lainn (kah-LEEN AW*-lin), a beautiful girlan fhuinneog mhr (un in-YOHG vwohr), the big windowmo bhord seal (muh vwohrd EE-shuhl), my low tabledo chat ramhar (duh k*aht ROU-wuhr), your fat cat

Start with: An bhfuil bean mhr sa chistin? (un VWIL ban vwohr suh HYISH-tin) Is there a big woman in the kitchen? Nl bean mhr sa chistin.T an bhean bheag sa chistin. An bhfuil an bhean bheag sa chistin? And so on. The last two sentences will be: Nl do chat ramhar sa chistin. Tbean mhr sa chistin.

Where you stand

You should now know some basic pronunciation of the simpler words. The words that you have learned were given chiefly to illustrate pronun-ciation. We will devote more space henceforth to vocabulary and grammar. The emphasis will always be on building your speaking ability, withphrases rather than separate words as the basic units. You should also be able to initiate a conversation by now, if you have studied the conversa-tion for each lesson.

Conversation


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Brian (BREE-uhn): Dia duit, a Phdraig (DEE-uh git, uh FAW*-drig). Hello Patrick

Pdraig (PAW*-drig): Dias Muire duit, a Bhriain (DEE-uhs MWIR-uh git, uh-VREE-in.) Conas t t? (KUN-uhs taw* too) Hello, Brian. Howare you?

Brian: T m go maith (TAW* may* goh MAH). Agus conas t t fin? (AH-guhs KUN-uhs taw* too fay*n) I am well. And how are you your-self?

Pdraig: T m go maith, freisin (FRESH-in). T bisteach air anois (taw* BAW*SH-tuhk* er uh-NISH). I am well, too. It looks like rain now.

Brian: Bh s ag cur bist arir (vee shay* uh kur BAW*SH-tee uh-RAY*R). Fach! T an t-srid fluich fs (FAY*-ahk*! taw* un traw*dflyuk* fohs). It was raining last night. Look! The street is still wet.

Pdraig: T an aimsir fuar fliuch, go cinnte (taw* un EYEM-sheer FOO-uhr flyuhk*, goh KIN-te). The weather is cold and wet, certainly.


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Lesson 6PronunciationThe pronunciation of l in Irish differs somewhat from English pronunciation of l. If the l starts a word and is followed by a, o, or u,the tongue is spread wider than for English l and is pressed against the upper front teeth. Try: l (law*), ln (law*n), ln (lohn), lb (loob).This is the broad sound. In English, you probably point the tongue and touch it to the hard ridge behind the upper front teeth.For an l that starts a word but is followed by e or i, hold the tongue with the tip against the back of the lower front teeth and raise thefront of the tongue so that it touches the upper front teeth and the hard ridge behind them. This is a slender l. Try: lan (lay*n), lir (lay*r) leis(lesh), leat (lat), ln (leen), lia (LEE-uh), lios (lis), litir (LI-tir).

If inside a word, l is more likely to be pronounced with the tongue tip on the hard ridge, much as in English.

You should now be able to understand why some Irish persons pronounce English words with l as they do. Take lovely as an example. Re-member what Lesson 5 told you--that in Irish the (uh) sound is not as common as in English. Then try the word lovely with the broad l youhave just learned and with a vowel sound closer to (oh) than to (uh). For another example, try pronouncing English line with either the broadl or the slender l that you have just learned.

Most persons learning a foreign language tend to apply the sounds of their native language to the new language.

This is what gives us German, French, Russian and Spanish accents. The Irish, similarly, have applied the sounds of Irish to English to create anIrish accent. Do not call it a brogue.

VocabularyMasculine Nounsaon duine (ay*n DIN-e), anyone

aon rud (ay*n ruhn), anythingseomra *SHOM-ruh), roombosca (BOHSK-uh), boxbord (bohrd), tableireannach, an t-ireannach (AY*R-uh-nahk*, un TAY*R-un-nahk*), Irishman or Irish personMeiricenach (mer-i-KAW*-nahk*), an American

Feminine Nounsoche, an oche (EE-hye, un EE-hye), night, the nighttraein (tray*n) traincathair, an chathair (KAH-hir, un K*AH-hir), city, the citysa seomra (suh SHOHM-ruh), in the roomsa bhaile (suh VWAHL-e) at homeeile (EL-e), otherseo (shuh), thissin (shin), thereanseo (un-SHUH), hereansin (un-SHIN), thereag teacht isteach (uh tyahk*t ish-TYAHK*) coming inag dul amach (uh duhl uh-MAHK*), going out

GrammarC bhfuil X? (kaw* vwil eks) means Wher is X? Nach bhfuil s anseo? (nahk* VWIL shay* un-SHUH) means Isnt he here?

The complete tense for the nach bhfuil form is:Nach bhfuil m? (nahk VWIL may*) am I not?Nach bhfuil t? (nahk VWIL too) are you (singular) not?

Nach bhfuil s? (nahk VWIL shay*) isnt he?Nach bhfuilimid? (nahk VWIL-i-mid) arent we?Nach bhfuil sibh? (nahk VWIL shiv) arent you (plural)?Nach bhfuil siad? (nahk VWIL SHEE-uhd) arent they?

To make you more proficient in the vocabulary and verb forms of this lesson, go through this progressive drill:

Nach bhfuil Sen anseo? (nahk* vwil SHAW*n un-SHUH) Isnt John here?Nl s anseo (NEEL shay* un-SHUH). Hes not here.T s ansin (TAW* shay* un-SHIN) Hes there.

Continue with: Nach bhfuil Sen ansin? Nl s ansin. T s sa seomra. Then continue with: sa bhaile, ag teacht isteach, ag dul amach, ag teachtamach, ag dul isteach.

If you have time, replace Sen by: an t-ireannach, an Meiricenach, an bhean mhr, an fear mr.

For the form C bhfuil___?, go through this progressive drill:

C bhfuil m? (kaw* vwil may*) Nach bhfuil m sa chistin? (nahk* VWIL may* suh HYISH-tin)Nl m sa chistin (NEEL may* suh HYISH-tin).


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T t sa chistin (TAW* too suh HYISH-tin).

Continue with: C bhfuil t?, and go through s, s, __ imid, sibh, and siad, coming back to T m sa chistin.ConversationBrian: (BREE-uhn): A Phdraig, c bhfuil an fear a bh sa seomra eile? (uh FAW*-drig, kaw* vwil un far uh vee suh SHOHM-ruh EL-e)Patrick, where is the man who was in the other room?

Pdraig: Nl a fhios agam (neel is uh-GUHM). Bfhidir go bhfuil s sa bhaile (BAY*dir goh vwil shay* suh VWAHL-e). I dont know. Per-haps he is home.

Brian: Nach bhfuil t fin ag dul abhaile anois? (nahk* VWIL too fay*n uh duhl uh-VWAHL-e uh-NISH) Arent you yourself going homenow?

Pdraig: Is dcha (is DOHK*-uh). Fach! (FAY*ahk*) t bus ag teacht sos an tsrid (taw* BUS uh tyahk*t shees un traw*d). I suppose so.Look! Theres a bus coming down the street.

Brian: Isteach leat, a mhic, (ish-TYAHK* lat, uh vik). In with you, son.

Notes on conversationNl a fhios agam means literally There is not its knowledge at me. Fios is knowledge, and agam is at me. Learn it as a phrase anduse it as a quick reply to questions.

Bfhidir is often followed by go bhfuil. Learn it as a phrase, to which you can add other phrases, such as __ Sen ag teacht.


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Lesson 7

PronunciationThe sounds of the letter r in Irish differ from those of the r in English. When next to an a, o, or u, the sound is usually rolled. To pro-nounce this r, bring the tip of the tongue near the hard ridge behind your upper front teeth and vibrate the tongue as you say the r. Keep thetongue relaxed. Then try: r (raw*), rn (rohn), rn (roon).If the r begins a word and is followed by e or i, it usually has this broad sound, too, as in: r (ray*), r (ree).

The rolling or vibration of the tongue is in the front of the mouth, not in the back as in some other European languages.

Inside a word, the broad r sound may not be rolled or trilled as much as it is at the beginning of a word. A double r next to an a, o, or uis more likely to be rolled, as in: carraig (KAHR-rig).

When the r is next to an e or i inside a word or at the end of a word, it gets its slender sound. To make this sound, which is a difficult onefor most Americans, place the tongue tip close to the top of your upper teeth and form a shallow pocket or hollow in the tongue tip. Dont makethe hollow too deep. Then pronounce r by blowing air at the tongue tip and dropping the tongue tip down. Try this several times, and try say-ing tr (teer).

Notice how you start with your tongue tip on the hard ridge behind your upper front teeth and then move the tongue tip forward into position forthe slender r. The r sound may remind you somewhat of the slender d of Lesson 2, but there is a clear difference.

Now try: fir (fir), mr (meer). Next, try it beside a consonant: tr (tree), briste (BRISH-te), creid (kred). Work on the t and d in these words,too. See Lesson 2.

For a little more help with this sound, think back to the way in which some Irish persons pronounce the sentence Where is it? You may haveheard this imitated on radio or television by persons attempting to speak with an Irish accent. The sound is the slender r of the Irish language,brought by Irish from their own language into the foreign language of English.

VOCABULARYMasculine Nounsmac (mahk), sonbthar (BOH-uhr), roadcarr (kahr), car, automobiledoras (DUH-ruhs), doornuachtn (NOO-uhk*-taw*n), newspaperceacht (kyahk*t), lessonathair, an t-athair (A-hir, un TA-hir), father, the fatherag scrobh (uh shkreev), writingag caint (uh keyent), talkingag rith (uh ri), runningag lamh (uh LAY*-uhv), reading

Feminine nounsmthair, an mhthair (MAW*-hir, un VWAW*-hir), mother, the motherinon, an inon (in-EEN, un in-EEN), daughtersa bhus (suh vus), in the bussa charr (suh k*ahr), in the carsa stisin (suh STAW*-shoon), in the stationsa chathair (suh K*AH-hir), in the citysa tsrid (suh traw*d), in the streetsa train (suh tray*n), in the train

READING PRACTICETimid sa bhaile anois. Nl aon duine sa tsrid inniu. T an aimsir go dona (DUHN-uh). T s fuar fliuch, agus t s ag cur bist. Sa teach, t anseomra seo te tirim. T bord sa seomra, agus bord eile sa chistin. Fach! T fear ag teacht isteach. Mathair, is dcha, agus t mo mhthair ansin,freisin. Nach bhfuil siad fliuch? T, go cinnte.

(TAW*-mid suh VWAHL-e uh-NISH. neel ay*n DIN-e suh traw*d in-YOO. taw* un EYEM-sheer goh DUHN-uh. taw* shay* FOO-uhr flyuk*,Ah-guhs taw* shay* uh kur BAW*SH-tee. suh tyahk*, taw* un SHOHM-ruh shuh te TIR-im. taw* bohrd suh SHOHM-ruh, AH-guhs bohrd EL-e suh HYISH-tin.)

(FAY*-ahk*! taw* far uh tyahk*t ish-TYAHK*. MA-hir, is DOHK*-uh, AH-guhs taw* muh VWAW*-hir un-SHIN, FRESH-in. nahk* vwilSHEE-uhd flyuk*? taw*, goh KIN-te).

We are at home now. There is no one in the street today. The weather is bad. Its cold and wet, and its raining. In the house, this room is warm

and dry. There is a table in the room, and another table in the kitchen. Look! A man is coming in. My father, probably, and my mother is there,too. Arent they wet? They are, indeed.

Notes: In Irish, the word agus (AH-guhs), and, is often omitted between adjectives starting with the same letter. Fuar fliuch and te tirimare examples.


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CONVERSATIONLiam (LEE-uhm): A Shle, seo dhuit nuachtn (uh HEEL-uh, shuh git NOO-uhk*taw*n). Sheila, heres a newspaper for you.

Sle (SHEEL-uh): Nuachtn ireannach, an ea? (NOO-uhk*-taw*n AY*R-uh-nahk*, un a) An Irish paper, is it?

Liam: N hea, ach nuachtn Meiricenach, agus t ceacht Gaeilge ann (nee ha, ahk* NOO-uhk*-taw*n mer-i-KAW*-nahk*, AH-guhs taw*kyahk*t GAY*lig-e OUN). It is not, its an American paper, and theres an Irish lesson in it.

Sle: C bhfuair t ? (kaw* VOO-ir too ay*) Where did you get it?

Liam: Sa siopa sin, thos an tsrid (suh SHOHP-uh shin, HEE-uhs un traw*d). In that store, down the street.

Notes on the conversationN hea does not mean no. Irish has no words for yes and no. Instead, the verb or form of the question is always in the answer. For exam-ple, you answer, An bhfuil __ ? or Nach bhfuil __? by T __ or Nl __.Gaeilge means Irish language, or Irish for short.The adjective Irish is ireannach. Leabhar Ghaeilge (LOU-wuhr GAY*-lig-e) is an Irish-language book, but cta ireannach is an Irishcoat.


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Lesson 8

PronunciationYou may have wondered about the meaning of the letters bhf in bhfuil. The basic word is fuil (fwil), but Irish speakers change the (f)sound by using the vocal cords, or humming, while they pronounce the f, causing a (v) sound.Certain words and phrases, such as an or nach, or ar an (er un), which means on the, bring about this change. They also cause thespeaker to close off the flow of air somewhat for other consonants, altering the sound to a nasal hum: d becomes n, and b becomes m.The changes are called eclipsis, but you will learn them easily from the reference list below. You already know the sounds themselves. r(aw*r) means our and is one of the words that cause eclipsis in following initial consonants.

bia, r mbia (BEE-uh, aw*r MEE-uh) food, our foodcistin, r gcistin (KISH-tin, a*wr GISH-tin) kitchen, our kitchendeis, r ndeis (desh, aw*r nesh) opportunity, our opportunityfear, r bhfear (far, aw*r var) man, our manpeata, r bpeata (PAT-uh, aw*r BAT-uh) pet, our pettr, r dtr (teer, aw*r deer) country, our countrypca, r bpca (POH-kee, aw*r BOH-kee) pockets, our pocketstalamh, r dtalamh (TAH-luhv, aw*r DAH-luhv) land, our landbd, r mbd (baw*d, ar*r maw*d) boat, our boatcta, r gcta (KOH-tee, aw*r GOH-tee) coats, our coatsdthain, r ndthain (DOH-hin, aw*r NOH-hin) enough, enough for usfinne, r bhfinne (FAW*-nye, aw*r VAW*-nye) ring, our ring

One more, which will be a little harder for you to pronounce at first, although you know the individual sounds from English:

When eclipsed, the initial letter g takes the sound of ng that is at the end of the English word sung. This is a little difficult at first to putbefore a word. Try this: r ngeata (aw*rng A-tuh), our gate. Join the (aw*r) sound to the (ng) sound, saying it separately at first and then addingon the (A-tuh). Try r ngairdn (aw*rng ahr-DEEN). Practice on: r ngluaisten (aw*rng LOOSH-taw*n), our auto; r ngr (aw*rng raw*), ourlove; r ngu (aw*rng ee), our prayer; r ngna (aw*rng OON-ee), our dresses.

VocabularyMasculine Nounscpla (KOOP-luh), a couplesneachta (SHNAHK*-tuh), snowstaighre (STEYE-ruh), stairsurlr, an t-urlr (oor-LAW*R, un toor-LAW*R) flooruisce, an t-uisce, (ISH-ke, un TISH-ke), waterbainne (BAHN-ye), milk

Feminine Nounsaimsir (EYEM-sheer), weathermaidin, an mhaidin (MAH-din, un VWAH-din), morninglmh (law*v), handsil, an tsil (SOO-il, un TOO-il), eyeach (ahk*), but shin (oh HIN), agoach oiread (ahk* IR-uhd), eitheristigh (ish-TEE), insideamuigh (uh-MWEE), outsideag foghlaim Gaeilge (uh FOU-lim GAY*-lig-e), learning Irishag dul suas an staighre (uh duhl SOO-uhs un STEYE-ruh), going upstairs

ag dul sos (SHEE-uhs) an staighre , going downstairsT s thuas (HOO-uhs) an staighre, Hes upstairsT s thos (HEE-uhs) an staighre, Hes downstairsGRAMMARUse the words isteach (ish-TYAHK*) and amach (uh-MAHK*) when movement is meant. To indicate that someone is remaining inside oroutside, use istigh and amuigh.

DRILLtranslate: a good hand, a good eye, the good eye, a long morning, the long morning, a crooked street, the crooked street. The proper forms aregiven below, after the conversation.

Next, go through a progressive drill on:

An bhfuil m ag dul suas an staighre? Nl m __. T t __. Etc. Repeat with sos an staighre.

CONVERSATIONamann (AY*-muhn): C bhfuil Samas anois? (kaw* vwil SHAY*-muhs uh-NISH) Where is James now?

Citln (kaw*t-LEEN): Nl a fhios agam (neel is uh-GUHM).Bh s ag dul suas an staighre cpla noimad shin (vee shay* uh duhl SOO-uhsSTEYE-ruh KOOP-luh NOH-may*d oh hin.) I dont know He was going up the stairs a couple of minutes ago.


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amann: Bfhidir go bhfuil s thuas an staighre anois (BAY*-dir goh vwil shay* HOO-uhs un STEYE-ruh uh-NISH). Perhaps hes upstairsnow.

Samas: T m ag teacht anois (taw* may* uh tyahk*t uh-NISH). Bh m istigh an l go lir (vee may* ish-TEE un law* goh lay*r). Im comingnow. I was inside the whole day.

DRILL FORMS: Lmh mhaith (law*v vwah); sil mhaith (SOO-il vwah); an tsil mhaith (un TOO-il vwah); maidin fhada (MAH-din AH-duh);an mhaidin fhada (un VWAH-din AH-duh); srid cham (sraw*d k*oum); an tsrid cham (un traw*d k*oum).


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Lesson 9

PRONUNCIATIONWe will now look more closely at some vowel sounds before taking up any more consonants. First comes o.We represent its sound by (oh) for simplicity, but the actual Irish sound is noticeably different from English oh. To see this, stand before amirror and watch your lips as you pronounce the word oh slowly. You will see them contract and move out to make an (oo) sound at the end.English oh is really a diphthong, a close combination of two vowels.

The Irish sound is a single vowel, made with lips held rounded. Watch you lips again as you say English oak slowly. Then try to say it withoutcontracting your lips. You will have the distinctive sound that has sometimes come into English. Try: g, l, n, r, s. This vowel sound should

be held longer than in English.

If there is no sneadh fada (SHEEN-uh FAH-duh) over an o which is nevertheless stressed in a word, pronounce it in the same way but do nothold it as long. Try: obair (OH-bir), oscail (OH-skil), ocht (ohk*t). Notice that this shorter sound may resemble (uh), but in Irish you should notmake the error of saying (uh) for this shorter o. Keep your lips more rounded and contracted than for (uh). Next, try ocht and then ucht(uk*t), and notice the difference.

REFLEX EXPRESSIONSIn everyday speech in any language, there are certain phrases or sentences with which a speaker reacts instantly to given situations. The expres-sions are closer to reflex action than to careful selection of words. Nl a fhios agam (neel is uh-GUHM) is one example. You must learn someof these to be fluent in speech and to understand written and spoken Irish.

N bac leis (naw* bahk lesh), never mind, dont worry about it.Buochas le Dia (BWEE-uhk*-uhs le DEE-uh), Thanks be to God, thank Heaven.

T go maith (taw* goh mah), All right.Is cuma liom (is KUM-uh luhm), I dont care, its all the same to me.An ndir t liom ? (un NAY*R too luhm ay*), You dont say (literally: Do you say it to me?)Fan go fill (fahn goh FOH-il), Wait a minute, take it easy.

CHECK LISTAre you working on your pronunciation of d, t, c, and g, with the instructions in Lesson 2 and 3?Are you reading aloud?Do you translate back and forth from Irish to English and then from English to Irish in the Vocabulary and Conversation?Do you form a picture in your mind every time you say an Irish word or phrase?If you answered No to any of these questions, you can benefit from reading Lessons 1 to 3 over again.

GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARYTo give a command to another person, you must know the imperative form of the verb. This form is almost always the shortest and most basicpart of the verb. Later on, you will learn how to change and add to this basic part to tell, for example, that an action happened in the past or willhappen in the future.

Here are some imperatives to learn. Note that if you want to tell a person not to do something, you put N (naw*) before the imperative.

Dan (day*n ay*), Do it.

N dan (naw* day*n ay*), Dont do it.

Ligh (lay* ay*), Read it.

N ligh (naw* lay* ay*), Dont read it.

Scrobh (shkreev ay*), Write it.N scrobh (naw* shkreev ay*), Dont write it.

Cuir ar an mbord (kir er un mohrd ay*), Put it on the table.

N cuir an bosca ar an mbord (naw* kir un BOHSK-uh er un mohrd), Dont put the box on the table.

ist liom (ay*sht luhm), Listen to me.

N hist leis (naw* hay*sht lesh), Dont listen to him

l an bainne (ohl un BAHN-ye), Drink the milk.

N hl an tae (naw hohl un tay), Dont drink the tea.

When N precedes a verb that starts with a vowel, an h is put before the verb, as in two examples above. Note also that (ay*), whichmeans him or it, and (ee), which means her or it, are usually put at the end of the sentence.

CONVERSATION


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Mire (MAW*-re): Ar chuala t mo chat arir, a Sheoirse? (er K*OO-uh-luh too muh k*aht uh-RAY*R, uh HYOHR-she) Did you hear my catlast night, George?

Seoirse (SHOHR-she): Chuala m , go cinnte (K*OO-uh-luh may* ay*, goh KIN-te). I heard it, certainly.Bh s ag screadadh an oche go lir (vee shay* uh SHKRAD-uh un EE-huh goh lay*r). It was screeching the whole night.Agus bh cat eile ann, freisin (AH-guhs vee kaht EL-e oun, FRESH-in). And there was another cat there, too.

Maire: Cara leis, is dcha (KAH-ruh lesh, is DOHK*-uh) A friend of his, I suppose.

Seoirse: Codladh smh agat anocht (KUHL-uh saw*v uh-GUHT uh-NOHK*T). Sound sleep to you tonight.

Notes: In pronouncing Mire, you must put a faint (i) sound between the (maw*) and the (re) sounds. This makes the word sound somewhatlike Moyra or Moira, English attempts to represent the sound.


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Lesson 10

PRONUNCIATIONYou know by now how to pronounce broad c and g. These sounds occur when the nearest vowel in the word is a, o, or u. The soundsin general resemble those in the English words coal and go. In some Irish words, however, a sound resembling the (uh) sound follows thec or g. The groups cao and caoi cause this sound to be heard.Caol, meaning slender, is an example.

To learn its pronunciation, first say the English quail.

Notice how your lips close in to form a w sound. Next, try it without closing your lips as much, making a short sound closer to (uh) right afterthe (k) sound.

Now try the Irish word caol (kay*l). Extend the lips for the (k) sound, as you did in quail, but do not close the lips as you go to the (ay*)sound. Practice with: caoin (keen), weep; caoga (kay*guh), fifty; Caoimhn (kee-VEEN), Kevin; caoch (KAY*-uhk*), blind. Notice that ao ispronounced (ay*), but aoi is pronounced (ee).

For g, much of the above holds true. The groups gao, gaoi, gae and gaoi all have the slight (uh) sound between g and the vowel. Tolearn this sound, first pronounce English Guam, and notice again how your lips close in to form the w sound. Next, try it without closing thelips as much after the (g).

Then try the Irish word gaol (gay*l). Extend the lips as you did in starting to pronounce Guam, but do not close them as you go to the (ay*)sound. Then try: gaoth (gay*), wind: gaoithe (GEE-huh), of wind: Gael (gay*l), Gael; gaeilge (GAY*-lig-e), Irish language.

GRAMMARThe useful verb t serves to tell where someone is or how he is. Often it answers the question C bhfuil ___ ? (kaw* vwil), Where? or Co-nas t __ ? (KUN-uhs taw*), how is?

To tell what kind of object something is, we must employ a different verb: is (is). (Never pronounce this (iz); remember that Irish has no (z)sound.)

Learn these examples of how to say that a person or thing is in a general class:

Is bosca (is BOHSK-uh ay*), it is a box; that is, it is in the general class of all boxes.Is cat (is kaht ay*), It is a cat.Is ireannach (is AY*R-uh-nahk* ee), She is an Irishwoman, Irish citizen.

Usually is indicates a permanent state, but you may use it for states that can change slowly, or after a time, or for states that have been attained.For example:

Is cailn (is kah-LEEN ee), She is a girl.Is scolire t (is skuh-LAW*-re too), you are a student.Is dochtir Sen (is dohk*-TOO-ir shaw*n), John is a doctor.Adjectives can make subclasses, as in these examples:Is bosca mr (is BOHSK-uh MOHR ay*), its a big box.Is ireannach g m (is AY*R-uh-nahk* OHG may*), I am a young Irishman, Irish citizen.Is Cailn deas t (is kah-LEEN DAS too), you are a pretty girl.Is minteoir maith Sen (is moo-in-TYOHR MAH shaw*n), John is a good teacher.

One form of question to be answered by is in this way is:

Card seo? (kay*rd ay* shuh), what is this?Card sin? (kay*rd ay* shin), What is that?

Correct use of is (is) ranks in importance with correct use of t. English does not have two verbs for to be, so you will have to do someexercises to familiarize yourself with the Irish verbs.

VOCABULARYMasculine nounsarn, an t-arn (uh-RAW*N, un tuh-RAW*N), breadcaife (KAH-fe), coffeebainne (BAHN-ye), milkcupn (ku-PAW*N), cupplta (PLAW*-tuh), platetar isteach (tahr ish-TYAHK*), come in

cheana (HAN-uh), already

Feminine nounsspung (spun-OHG), spoonscian (SHKEE-uhn), knifeline (LAY*-ne), shirt


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glan (gluhn), cleansalach (suh-LAHK*), dirtysuigh sos (si SHEE-uhs), sit downtigh amach (tay* uh-MAHK*), go outside

CONVERSATIONMirad (maw*-RAY*D): An bhfuil aon duine sa bhaile? (un vwil ay*n DIN-e suh VWAHL-e) Is anyone home?

Pl (pohl): T m anseo istigh (taw* may* un-SHUH ish-TEE). Tar isteach (tahr ish-TYAHK*). Im here inside. Come in.

Mirad: , t t ag foghlaim Gaeilge anois (oh, taw* too uh FOU-lim GAY*-lig-e uh-NISH). Card seo? (kay*rd ay* shuh). Oh, yourestudying Irish now. Whats this.

Pl: Is cupn . (is ku-PAW*N ay*). Its a cup.

Mirad: T mrn Ghaeilge agat cheana (taw* moh-RAW*N GAY*-lig-e ug-GUHT HAN-uh). You know a lot of Irish already.

Pl: Beaginn gach l (be-GAW*-neen gahk* law*). A little bit every day.


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Lesson 11

PRONUNCIATIONThe pair of letters ea within a word or at a word end often gets an (a) sound like that in the English word hat. Examples: fear (far), man;bean (ban), woman; leat (lat), with you; is ea (sha), it is; n hea (nee HA), it is not.

At the beginning of a word, the ea often gets the (ah) sound in the English word psalm. Examples: eagla (AH-gluh), fear; eaglais (AH-glish),church; each (ahk*), horse.

Sometimes ea is pronounced (ou), as in English out, when it is inside a word.

Examples: ceann (kyoun) head; leabhar (LOU-wuhr), book; gleann (gloun), glen; seabhac (shouk), hawk.

If in an unaccented syllable, ea is usually pronounced (uh). Examples: seisean (SHESH-uhn), he (emphatic); aingeal (ANG-uhl), angel.

We will continue to give you the pronunciation guide for all new words and most of the exercises, but you will gradually develop ability to pro-nounce words by drawing on your experience with similarly spelled words, so that after a time you will not depend on the pronunciation guide.

REFLEX EXPRESSIONS

Here are several more expressions that you should learn for quick use in conversation and thought.

Bfhidir (BAY*-dir), Perhaps.Gan amhras (guhn OU-ruhs), Without doubt.

Fan go bhfeicfidh m (fahn goh VEK-hee may*), Wait till I see.Is maith sin (is MAH ay* shin), Thats good.

Notice that the second f in bhfeicfidh is pronounced like an h. This letter f indicates the future tense.

GRAMMAR

Last week we learned how to say that a person or thing is in a general class. An example:

Is seomra (is SHOHM-ruh ay*), It is a room.

Here are the basic forms for this:

Is scolire m (is skuh-LAW*-re may*), I am a student.Is scolire t (is skuh-LAW*-re too), You are a student.Is scolire (is skuh-LAW*-re ay*), He is a student.Is scolire (is skuh-LAW*-re ee), She is a student.Is scolir sinn(is skuh-LAW*-ree shin), We are students.Is scolir sibh (is skuh-LAW*-ree shiv), You (plural) are studentsIs scolir iad (is skuh-LAW*-ree EE-uhd), They are students.

VOCABULARY

Masculine nouns

dinnar (DIN-yay*r), dinnerIm, an t-im (im, un tim), butter, the butter

sicra (SHOOK-ruh), sugarfo-chupn (FOH-k*upaw*n), saucerith, ag ithe (i, eg I-he), eat, eatingist, ag isteacht (ay*sht, eg AY*shtyahk*t), listen, listening

Feminine nouns

scoil, an scoil (skuhl, un skuhl), school, the schoolsubh, an tsubh (soov, un toov), jam, the jamcathaoir, an cathaoir (KAH-heer, un K*AH-heer), chair, the chairl, ag l (ohl, eg ohl) drink, drinkingmilis (MIL-ish), sweetdna (DAW*-nuh), bold

DRILL

Go through the basic forms for is (is), with:

dochtir, dochtir (dohk*-TOO-ir, dohk*-TOO-IR-ee), doctor, doctorsminteoir, minteoir (moo-in-TYOHR, moo-in-TYOHR-ee), teacher, teachers


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pintir, pintir (PAY*N-tay*r, PAY*N-tay*r-ee), painter, painters

CONVERSATION

Mirn (maw*-REEN), Maureen: Tar isteach sa chistin agus suigh sos (tahr is-TYAHK* suh HYISH-tin AH-guhs si SHEE-uhs). T do dhin-nar ullamh (taw* duh YIN-yay*r UL-uhv). Come into the kitchen and sit down. Your dinner is ready.

Dnall (DOHN-uhl), Donald: Ach c bhfuil Pdraign? (ahk* caw* vwil PAW*-dri-geen) Nach bhfuil s abhaile n scoil fs? (nahk* vwil sheeuh-VWAHL-e ohn skuhl fohs) But where is Patricia? Isnt she home from school yet?

Mirn: Nl s (neel shee). Nl a fhios agam c bhfuil s (neel is uh GUHM kaw* vwil shee). Shes not. I dont know where she is.

Dnall: T gach rud ar an mbord, go cinnte, ach t an fochupn seo salach (taw* gahk* rud er un mohrd, goh KIN-te, ahk* taw* un FOH-k* u-paw*n shuh suh-LAHK*). Everythings on the table, certainly, but this saucer is dirty.

Mirn: Nigh , mar sin (ni ay*, mahr shin). T m an ghnthach (taw* may* AHN-gnoh-huhk*). Wash it then. Im very busy.

Dnall: , t Pdraign ag teacht anois (oh, taw* PAW*-dri-geen uh tyahk*t uh-NISH). T s ag sil tr gach it fhliuch ar an tsrid. (taw* sheeuh shool tree gahk* aw*t lyuk* er un traw*d). Oh, Patricias coming now. Shes walking through every wet place on the street.

Mirn: Agus gan a buatais! (AH-guhs ee guhn uh BOO-ti-shee) And she without her boots!

Notes: In Irish, an- before an adjective means very. It usually aspirates the next consonant, as in an-fhliuch (AHN-lyuk*), very wet. Ac-cent is usually on the an- prefixed to the word.


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Lesson 12

The letter pair eo usually represents the sound oh. Hold it somewhat longer than if it were in an English word, and do not add the short (oo)sound in English (oh). Examples of eo beginning a word: eolas (OH-luhs), knowledge; eorna (OHR-nuh), barley.If a consonant comes before the eo, the consonant gets its slender sound, and there is often an audible (y) sound, between consonant and eo.Examples, with slender consonants you learned to pronounce in Lessons 1 and 2: ceo (kyoh), mist; deo (dyoh), end; geoin (GYOH-in), hum; teo(tyoh), warmth. Other examples: beo (byoh), living; feoil (FYOH-il), meat; meon (myohn), mind; neodrach (NYOH-druhk*), neutral.

If an s comes before the eo, no (y) sound is heard, only the (sh) of slender s. Examples: seoid (SHOH-id), jewel; seomra (SHOHM-ruh),room; se (shoh), show. Do not confuse se with seo (shuh), meaning this. Seo is an exception to the general (oh) pronunciation for

eo. Deoch (dyuhk*), a drink, is also an exception.

The word seomra is another exception in parts of Ireland, where it is pronounced (SHUHM-ruh). In general, the (oh) sound in seomra is notheld as long as in most eo examples.

GRAMMAR

To say that a person or object is not in some general class, use these forms:

N dochtir m (nee dohk*-TOO-ir may*), I am not a doctor.N dochtir t (nee dohk*-TOO-ir too), You are not a doctor.N dochtir (nee dohk*-TOO-ir ay*), He is not a doctor.N dochtir (nee dohk*-TOO-ir ee), She is not a doctor.N dochtir sinn (nee dohk*-TOO-ir shin), We are not doctors.

N dochtir sibh (nee dohk*-TOO-ree shiv), You (plural) are not doctors.N dochtir iad (nee dohk*-TOO-ree EE-uhd), They are not doctors.

The questions connected with this are:

An dochtir m? (un dohk*-TOO-ir may*) Am I a doctor?, etc., and: Nach dochtir m? (nahk* dohk*-TOO-ir may*), Am I not a doctor? Etc.

To answer these questions , the forms are:

Is dochtir m, or:Is ea (sha), It is so, I am.

The negative answer is:

N hea (nee HA), It is not so, I am not. A longer answer is: N hea, ach minteoir (nee HA, ahk* moo-inTYOHR), I am not, but I am a teacher.

VOCABULARY

Masculine nounspiste (PAW*SH-te), childpist (PAW*SH-tee), childrenireannaigh (AY*R-uh-nee), Irish personsMeiricenaigh (mer-uh-KAW*-nee), Americansdlodir (dlee-uh-DOH-ir), lawyerdlodir (dlee-uh-DOH-i-ree), lawyersfeirmeoir (fer-im-OH-ir) farmerfeirmeoir (fer-im-OH-i-ree) farmers

Feminine nounsbanaltra, an bhanaltra (BAHN-uhl-truh, un VAHN-uhl-truh), nurse, the nursebanaltra (BAHN-uhl-tree), nursesbuatais, an bhuatais (BOO-tish, un VOO-tish), boot, the bootbuatais (BOO-ti-shee), bootsgarbh (GAHR-ruhv), roughdona (DUH-nuh), bad; (as weather)go leor (goh lohr), enoughar dts (er DOOS), at first, firsttrom (truhm), heavy

DRILL

Go through is, substituting all the nouns above except buatais, in the following pattern: An piste m?, N hea, ach ireannach. An piste t?N hea, ach Meiricenach. An piste ? N hea, ach dlodir. Etc. Continue to: An pist iad? N hea, ach Meircenaigh.

Then change to: An ireannach m? N hea, ach Meircenach. Etc. In each sentence, make sure that you use the proper number, either singularor plural.


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CONVERSATION

Pdraign (PAW*-dri-geen): Dia daoibh, a mham agus a dhaid (DEE-uh-geev, uh vwahm AH-guhs uh gahd). Hello mom and dad.

Mirn (maw*-REEN): Dia duit, a str (DEE-uh git, uh stohr). Conas t t? (KUN-uhs taw* too) Hello, dear. How are you?

Pdraign: T m go maith (taw* may* goh mah). L garbh sa scoil inni (law* GAHR-ruhv suh skuhl in-YOO). Card sin ar an mbord?(kay*rd ay* shin er un mohrd) Im well. Rough time in school today. Whats that on the table?

Mirn: Is subh , ach bain diot an cta agus na brga, ar dts (is soov ee, ahk* bwin DEE-uht un KOH-tuh AH-guhs nuh BROHG-uh er

DOOS). T do chosa fliuch (taw* duh K*UH-suh flyuk*). Its jam, but take off the coat and shoes first. Your feet are wet.

Pdraign: T an aimsir dona go leor (taw* un EYEM-sheer DUH-nuh goh lohr), The weathers bad enough.

Dnall (DOH-nuhl): Suas an staighre leat, agus n b ag piocadh ar an arn (SOO-uhs un STEYE-ruh lat, AH-guhs naw* bee uh PIK-uh er unuh-RAW*N). Up the stairs with you, and dont be picking at the bread.

Mirn: C bhfuair m an piste sin? (kaw* VOO-ir may* un PAW*SH-te shin) Where did I get that child?

Note: In the word aimsir, the first syllable approximately rhymes with the English word chime not with the phrase buy em.


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Lesson 13

You learned in Lesson 2 that each Irish consonant has two sounds:

A broad sound if the nearest vowel in the word is a, o, or u.A slender sound if the nearest vowel in the word is e, or i.Two closely related consonants, p and b, are a good example of this. They are closely related because they are pronounced in the same wayexcept that the vocal cords are vibrated for the b but mot for the p. You can feel the vibration or humming in your vocal cords as you start tosay bet but not as you start to say pet.

To pronounce broad b or p, extend your lips much farther than for the English sounds and round the opening. Then pronounce the letter. Try:bd, b, bun (bun), blth (blaw*), blire (BLOO-i-re), brg, br, brd, p, post, punt (punt), plir (PLOO-ir), prta (PRAW*-tuh).

For the slender sound of b and p, spread the lips somewhat, as if you were beginning to smile. Try: bean, beir (ber), b (bee), bith (bi), bliain(BLEE-in), bre (bir-RAW*), bris (brish). Then try b next to eo, which usually gets a (yoh) sound: beo (byoh), alive.

You can now realize the clear difference in Irish between brch (braw*k*), meaning ever, and bre (bir-RAW*), meaning fine. Erin gobragh is actually a badly anglicized form of ire go brch, meaning Ireland forever.

In going from a broad b or p sound to a slender vowel such as i, you will naturally make a sound somewhat like English w. Try: bu(bwee), bain (bwin). Notice that the u and a in these words are there chiefly to tell you to make the broad b sound instead of the slender, asin b (bee), beir (ber). Last, try: buochas (BWEE-uhk*-huhs), thanks.

The sounds for m are akin to those for b, except that air is expelled through the nose for m. Protrude and round the lips, then try: m

(moh), mr (mohr), m (maw*), mla (MAW*-luh) mch (mook*), min (MOO-in), mn (muh-MAW*), mura (MUR-ruh).

For slender m, hold the lips as for slender b and p Try: mn (meen), minic (MIN-ik), mad (may*d), Meirice (MER-i-kaw*).

VOCABULARY

Masculine nounsbricfeasta (brik-FAS-tuh), breakfastln (lohn), lunchtae (tay*), teatr bhile bidh (tree VAY*L-uh bee) three mealsprta, na prta (PRAW*-tuh, nuh PRAW*-tee), potato, the potatoes

Feminine nounsfeoil, an fheoil (FYOH-il, un OH-il), meatmias, an mhias, na miasa (MEE-uhs, un VEE-uhs, nuh MEE-uhs-uh) dish, the dishes

Verbs

faigh (feye), getcuir (kir), putith (i), eattigh (tay*), gonigh (ni), wash

Other words

ridh (ray*), readyDRILL

To help you learn the difference between is and t, do the following drill, either alone or with classmates:

Ask Card seo? (kay*rd ay* shuh), pointing to an object or person mentioned in the Vocabularies of the previous lessons. Use drawings ifnecessary.

Answer Is ____ , or Is ___ . Use some adjectives, too.

Ask Nach ___ ?

Answer N hea, ach ____. (nee HA, ahk*)

Ask: C bhfuil s?, or C bhfuil s?, meaning Where is it?

Answer T s ___. Use phrases from past vocabularies.Repeat this for at least ten objects or persons. Some words are: arn, feoil, bainne, uisce, cupn, spng, fear, bean, cailn, piste, feirmeoir,dochtir, lmh, sil.


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REFLEX EXPRESSIONS

Here are additional expressions that you should learn for quick use in conversation and thought.

Ceart go leor (kart goh lohr), Right enoughIsteach leat anois (ish-TYAHK* lat uh-NISH), In with you now.Ar chor ar bith (er HUHR er BI), at all. (Put at sentence end.)

CONVERSATION

Sen: An bhfuil an bricfeasta ridh? (un vwil un brik-FAS-tuh ray*) Is the breakfast ready?

Brd: T, ach nl na miasa ar an mbord fs (taw*, ahk* neel nuh MEE-uhs-uh er un mohrd fohs) It is, but the dishes are not on the table yet. Cuirar an mbord iad (kir er un mohrd EE-uhd). Put them on the table.

Sen: Danfaidh m sin (DAY*N-hee may* shin). Ill do that.

Brd: go raibh maith agat (gu-ruh MAH huh-guht). T m an-ghnthach anois (taw* may* AHN-gnoh-huhk* uh-NISH). Faigh spng mhrdom (feye spun-OHG vwohr duhm), ms do thoil (MAW* shay* duh HIL ay*). Thank you. I am very busy now. Get me a big spoon, please.

Sen: Seo duit (shuh git ay*). Here it is.

Brd: Go raibh maith agat (gu-ruh MAH huh-guht). Cad ba mhaith leat le haghaidh an dinnir? (kahd buh vwah lat le HEYE-ee un din-YAY*R)Thank you. What would you like for dinner?

Sen: Ba mhaith liom feoil, prta, agus cabiste (buh vwah luhm FYOH-il, PRAW*-tee, AH-guhs kuh-BAW*SH-te). I would like meat, pota-toes, and cabbage. Nach maith an dinnar sin? (nahk* mah un din-YAY*R ay* shin) Isnt that a good dinner?

Brd: Nach agatsa at an ceart? (nahk* uh-GUHT-suh uh-TAW* un kart) Arent you the one whos right?


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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 Tolearn 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. Thenpronounce n. Try: n (naw*), nach (nach*), nire (NAW*-re), n (noh), nua (NOO-uh), nis (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 ridgein 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 manywords. try: nall (nyay*l), nead (nyad), neamh (nyav), n (nee), nl (neel), neodrach (NYOH-druhk*).

In pronouncing slender n, do not pronounce a separate (yuh) sound. For example, dont pronounce nall as (nyuh-AY*L), but as (nyay*l). In

nl, 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), bn(baw*n), ln (lohn), dnadh (DOON-uh).

This gives you most of the pronunciation for n. One more sidelight will show how noticeable is the difference between broad and slendersounds in Irish. In Lesson 10 you learned that aoi is pronounced (ee), as is (ee). If n is before aoi, the n gets its broad sound, made asdescribed in the first paragraph above. Say naoi (nee) and then n (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 thevowel next to the consonant, as Irish people do when they read Irish.

GRAMMARBefore we return to t next week, we will look at another use for is (is). Irish speakers often make a statement stronger by is. For example,

instead of saying T an l go bre (taw* un law* goh bir-RAW), meaning the day is fine, they will say Nach bre an l ? (nahk* bir-RAW* un law* ay*), Isnt it a fine day? The answer is Is bre, go deimhin (is bir-RAW* goh DEYE-in), Its fine, certainly.

Here are some examples to repeat until you understand how the Irish do this:

Nach fliuch an aimsir ? (nahk* flyuk* un EYEM-sheer ee)Is fliuch, go deimhin (is flyuk* goh DEYE-in), It is indeed wet.Is deas an cailn (is das un kah-LEEN ee), Shes a pretty girl.Is deas, go deimhin, She is indeed pretty.Is mr an fear (is mohr un far ay*), Hes a big man.Is mr, gan amhras (is mohr, guhn OU-ruhs), Hes big, without a doubt.Nach fada an bthar seo? (nahk* FAH-duh un BOH-uhr ay* shuh), Isnt this a long road?Is fada, go cinnte (is FAH-duh, goh KIN-te), Its long, certainly.N dona an l (nee DUH-nuh un law* ay*), Its not a bad day.N dona, ar chor ar bith (nee DUH-nuh, er HUHR er BI), its not bad at all.

This last sentence pair shows you how to disagree with the original statement or question. For example:

Nach fuar an l ? N fuar, ar chor ar bith, ach t.

Note that in all sentences above, the verb t could have been used, as in T an aimsir fliuch. Irish speakers like variety, however, and oftenthink that T an aimsir fliuch will sound flat and dull. They say Nach fliuch an aimsir ? instead.

CONVERSATION

Brd (breed): Seo duit do uibreacha agus do bhagn (shuh git duh IV-ruh-huh AH-guhs duh vwuh-GOON). t an bagn beagn dite, ach n bacleis (taw* un buh-GOON beg-AW*N DOH-i-te, ahk* naw* bahk lesh). Here are your eggs and bacon. The bacon is a little burned, but dont

worry about it.Sen (shaw*n): Is cuma liom (is KUM-uh luhm). T an caife te, ar aon chuma (taw* un KAH-fe te, er AY*N K*UM-uh). Cuir braon bainneair, mas do thoil (kir BRAY*-uhn BAHN-ye er, MAW* shay* duh HIL-ay*). I dont care. The coffee is hot anyway. Put a drop of milk in it,please.

Brd: Danfaidh m sin (DYAY*N-hee may* shin). Ill do that.

Sen: Ba mhaith liom s oriste (buh VWAH luhm soo oh-RAW*SH-te), mas do thoil . I would like orange juice, please.

Brd: seo duit gloine de (shuh git GLIN-e de). Heres a glass of it.

Sen: Go raibh maith agat, a Bhrd (guh ruh MAH huh-guht, uh vreed). Anois, rud amhin eile (uh-NISH, rud uh-WAW*-in EL-e. Cuir chugamposa arn (kir HOO-uhm PEES-uh uh-RAW*-in), mas do thoil . Thank you, Bridget. Now, one other thing. Pass me a piece of bread, please.

Brd: Seo duit , agus bodh im agat, freisin (AH-guhs BEE-ohk* im uh-GUHT FRESH-in). Here it is, and have butter, too.

Sen: Beidh m chomh ramhar le muc (beg may* hoh ROU-wuhr le muk). I will be as fat as a pig.

Brd: Bfhidir (BAY*-dir). Perhaps.


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Lesson 15

PRONUNCIATIONThe Letter s in Irish is sounded (s), as Americans pronounce s in sun, if the nearest vowel in the word is a, o, or u. This is the broads. Try: sl (saw*l), saol (say*l), s (soh), solas (SUH-luhs), s (soo), sil (SOO-il). If s is next to an e or an i, pronounce it (sh), like thesh in English shawl. This is the slender s. Examples: sean (shan), sid (shay*d), seilide (SHEL-i-de), sn (sheen), siar (SHEE-uhr).

If another consonant is between the s and the e or i, the broad sound may be heard. For example: smig (smig), spir (spay*r), srian(SREE-uhn), stroc (streek).

Remember that is is an exception. Always say (is), never (ish), and of course never (iz).

GRAMMAR

We return to t this week, following your introduction to is. Before we take up the new work, review t quickly by reciting t m, t t,etc. Nl m, nl t, etc. An bhfuil m, an bhfuil t, etc. Nach bhfuil m, nach bhfuil t, etc. Review lessons 4 to 6 if you have forgotten any ofthis. It is vital to know.

To say the equivalent of I am reading in Irish, we add a word called a verbal noun to t m, with the preposition ag, meaning at, beforethe verbal noun. Learn these examples:

T m ag lamh (taw* may* uh LAY*-uhv), I am reading.Nl s ag scrobh (neel shay* uh shkreev), He is not writing.An bhfuil siad ag imeacht? (un vwil SHEE-uhd eg im-AHK*T), Are they departing?

Nach bhfuil t ag isteacht? (nahk* vwil too eg AY*SH-tyahk*t), Arent you listening?

Pronounce the ag as (uh) before a verbal noun starting with a consonant, and as (eg) before a verbal noun starting with a vowel.

This grammar form serves as in English--to show that an action is going on at present. There is also a way, as in English, to say that an actiontakes place off and on but may not be going on now. To understand the difference, compare I am walking with I walk.

A few verbs do not follow this pattern.. Irish is much like English in this. In Irish we say:

I understand you, not I am understanding you.I see it, not I am seeing it.I hear him, not I am hearing him.

The first part of a verbal noun nearly always looks and sounds somewhat like the imperative of the verb, although the verbal noun is usuallylonger and has an added syllable. From now on, learn the verbs imperative and verbal noun together, as in the vocabulary below.

The term ag lamh (uh LAY*-uhv) literally means at reading. I am reading a book becomes I am at reading of a book. The word bookin this form takes a slightly different look and pronunciation from the one you have learned, (LOU-wuhr). It changes to leabhair (LOU-wir),the genitive case. We will introduce you to this by the phrase method, so that you will have a good background and an inventory of examples bythe time we begin studying how nouns change.

REFLEX EXPRESSIONSLearn these expressions for quick use in thought and speech:Ms do thoil (MAW* shay* duh HIL ay*), Please.Go raibh maith agat (gu-ruh MAH huh-guht), Thank you.Filte romhat (FAW*L-tye ROH-uht), Welcome to you.Go sabhla Dia sinn (goh suh-VWAW*-luh DEE-uh shin), May God save us.

VOCABULARYtigh, ag dul (tay*, uh DUHL), gotar, ag teacht (tahr, uh TYAHK*T), comescrobh, ag scrobh (shkreev, uh SHKREEV), writeith, ag ithe (i, eg I-he), eatimigh, ag imeacht (IM-ee, ag im-AHK*T) depart, leavel, ag l (ohl, eg OHL), drinkfaigh, ag fil (feye, uh FAW*-il), getdan, ag danamh (day*n, uh DAY*N-uhv) do, makesiil, ag sil (SHOO-il, uh SHOOL) walkrith, ag rith (ri, uh RI) runist, ag isteacht (ay*sht, eg AY*SH-tyahk*t) listenfoghlaim, ag foghlaim (FOU-lim, uh FOU-lim), learn

fan, ag fanacht (fahn, uh FAHN-uhk*t), wait

CONVERSATIONDiarmaid (DEER-mwid): A Dhirn, t s ag ir dorcha (uh GOH-i-reen, taw* shay* eg EYE-ree DUHR-uh-huh). C bhfuil Una? (kaw* vwilOON-uh) Jerry: Doreen, Its getting dark. Where is Una?


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Dirn (DOH-i-reen): Nl a fhios agam (neel is uh-GUHM) cad at s a dhanamh (kahd taw* shee uh YAY*N-uhv). I dont know what she isdoing. Fan nimad go bhfeicfidh m (fahn NOH-may*d go VEK-hee may*) Wait a minute until I see. Go sabhla Dia sinn! (goh suh-VWAW*-luh DEE-uh shin) May God save us! T s ag sil amuigh i lr na sride! (taw* shee uh SHOOL uh-MWEE i law*r nuh SRAW*-de) Shes walk-ing out in the middle of the street!

Diarmaid: Agus t na gluaistein ag dul thairis (AH-guhs taw* nuh GLOOSH-taw*-in uh duhl HA-rish). And the autos are going past her. Tighamach agus faigh (tay* uh-MAHK* AH-guhs feye ee). Go out and get her.

Dirn: T m ag dul amach go dreach anois (taw* may* uh duhl uh-MAHK* goh dee-RAHK uh-NISH). I going out right now. Nach dol truamise? (nahk* DEE-uhl TROO-uh MISH-e). Isnt it an object of pity that I am?


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Lesson 16

PRONUNCIATIONThe letter f in Irish is pronounced almost like the f in English, except that you must start with the inside of the lower lip against the edge ofthe upper front teeth. Then, if a, o or u is the nearest vowel to the f, move both lips out for the vowel sound. Examples: f (faw*), fd(fohd), fuar (FOO-uhr), scrofa (SHKREE-fuh). This is the broad sound of f.

Start the slender sound the same way, but draw the lower lip back a little to make the vowel sound. Try: fear (far), fin (fay*n), fill (fil), deifir(DE-fir), fliuch (flyuhk*).

In some cases f is pronounced (h). We will study this later.

VOCABULARY

Masculine nounssolas (SUH-luhs), lightballa (BAHL-luh), wallsorn (SOHR-ruhn), stovecisneoir (koosh-NYOH-ir), refrigeratorgloine (GLIN-e), glassdoirteal (DUHRT-uhl), sinkforc (fohrk), forkf-chupn (FOH-k*u-PAW*N), saucerciteal (KIT-uhl), kettle

naipcn (nap-KEEN), napkinpota (POHT-uh), potsconna (SKOHN-uh), faucetadach boird, an t-eadach boird (AY*-duhk*BWIRD, un TAY*-duhk*BWIRD), tablecloth, the tableclothoigheann, an t-oigheann (EYE-uhn, un TEYE-uhn), oven, the oven

Feminine nounsscian, an scian (SHKEE-uhn), knifesleil, an tsleil (SHEEL-aw*-il, un TEEL-aw*-il), ceilingcathaoir, an chathaoir (KAH-heer, un K*AH-heer), chair

Phrasesi lr na sride (i LAW*R nuh SRAW*-de), in the middle of the streetag l bainne (eg OHL BAHN-ye), drinking milkag l tae (eg OHL tay*), drinking teaag l uisce (eg OHL ISH-ke), drinking waterag ithe a bhricfeasta (eg I-he uh vrik-FAS-tuh), eating breakfastGo hiontach (goh HOON-tuhk*), Great!

DRILLS

We will try a vocabulary drill first, to help you learn the larger vocabulary that you are acquiring. Go to the kitchen and begin this drill for eachobject you can name:

Card seo? (kay*rd ay* shuh), What is this? Or( Card sin? (shin), What is that?

Is ___ . T an ___ anseo (un-SHUH), The ___ is here.

Continue for as many objects as you can name. If necessary, replace anseo by one of these:

ansin (un-SHIN), there; ar an mbord (er un mohrd), on the table; ar an urlr (er un oor-LAW*R), on the floor; ar an mballa (er un MAHL-luh),on the wall.

The next drill is a mini-conversation drill. Do these short exercises alone or with another student. Repeat them several times to get the full ben-efit from them.

1. C at ag teacht? (kay* taw* uh TYAHK*T), Who is coming?T Samas, an ea? (un A) Samas is it? Is ea (sha), It is.Nach bhfuil Brian ag teacht freisin? (FRESH-in), also., nl. T s amuigh sa tsrid (uh-MWEE), Hes out in the street.

2. C at imeacht? (eg im-AHK*T), Who is leaving?T Ruair (ROH-i-ree) ag imeacht.Nach bhfuil Sen ag imeacht freisin?, nl. T s sa seomra eile fs (suh SHOHM-ruh EL-e fohs), Hes still in the other room.

3. C at ag ithe a bhricfeasta (eg I-he uh vrik-FAS-tuh), eating his breakfast


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Liam, an ea? Is ea.Nach bhfuil s ag obair fs? (eg OH-bir), Isnt he at work yet?Nl s ag obair fs. T s danach (DAY*N-uhk), Hes late.

4. Card at t a dhanamh? (uh YAY*N-uhv), What are you doing?T m ag danamh bid (BAW*-id), Im making a boat.Bd, an ea? (baw*d, un A), A boat, is it? Is ea.Nach maith an buachaill t! (BOO-uhk*-il), Arent you the good boy!

5. C bhfuil Seoirse ag sil? (SHOHR-she uh SHOOL), Where is George walking?

T s ag sil ar an gcosn (er un guh-SAW*N), Hes walking on the sidewalk.Ar an gcosn, an ea? Is ea.Maith an fear ! (mah un far ay*), Hes a good man!

6. An bhfuil t ag l bainne? (eg ohl BAHN-ye), Are you drinking milk?Nl m ag l bainne, ar chor ar bith (er HUHR er BI), not at all.Card at t ag l, mar sin? (mahr shin), What are you drinking, then?T m ag l uisce (ISH-ke), I am drinking water.Uisce fuar, an ea? Is ea.

7. An bhfuil t ag scrobh litreach? (uh shkreev LI-trahk*), Are you writing a letter?Nl m ag scrobh litreach anois (uh-NISH). T m tuirseach (taw* may* toor-SHAHK*), I am tired.Tuirseach, an ea? Is ea.

8. C at ag fanacht amuigh? (uh fahn-uhk*t uh-MWEE), Who is waiting outside?Nach bhfuil do mhthair amuigh ar an gcosn? (duh VWAW*-hir), Isnt your mother out on the sidewalk?M t s, abair li teacht isteacht (maw* taw* shee, AH-bir lay* tyahk*t ish-TYAHK*), If she is, tell her to come in.

Note: To tell someone to give an order to a man, say Abair leis (AH-bir lesh) and add a verbal noun, such as teacht or dul. An example:Abair leis dul abhaile (uh-VWAHL-e), Tell him to come home.


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Lesson 17

PRONUNCIATIONYou know the basics of pronunciation by now. Although you should be able to sound out most new words, we will continue to give you the pro-nunciation guide for all new words--and most of the old ones, too--for a few more lessons. We will also begin reviews to help you maintain yourpronunciation if you have no speakers, records, or tapes available.

We will now begin to take up some of the details of pronunciation and some of the regional variations. First, the word maith (mah), good. Theth at the end of the word means that the vowel sound of (ah) gets cut short, rather than running long as it if were (maaah).

We do the same in English sometimes. For example, when you say ah to indicate pleasant surprise, the sound is held for a much longer timethan when you say ah to indicate disgust or impatience. In the second ah, you cut the sound off short, as you do for the Irish word maith.This cutting short of the sound for th also occurs inside words, usually at the end of a syllable before a vowel, as in: leathan (LA-huhn), wide;athair (A-hir), father. We will indicate where this happens from now on.

At the start of a word, th gets an (h) sound, like English h. For example: tharla s (HAHR-luh shay*), it happened.

Maith is pronounced (meye) in some parts of Ireland, and you must learn to listen for this. If a speaker says (goh MEYE), you will know thatit is the equivalent of the (go MAH) that you have learned. Regional differences exist in Ireland, as in the United States where, for example, theword rifle may be pronounced (REYE-fuhl), (RAH-fuhl) or (ROY-fuhl) along the Eastern seaboard alone.

GRAMMAR

Irish has no word for the verb to have. Instead, Irish speakers say the equivalent of it is at me or the book is at him. The preposition ag

(eg), at, serves here. A man has the book becomes T an leabhar ag fear (taw* un LOU-wuhr eg far), the book is at a man.This is very annoying at first to the average English speaker, because it requires him to rearrange his thought patterns slightly. WIth a little prac-tice and drill, however, it will become second nature to you.

The preposition ag combines with me, t, and other pronouns to form the following, which you should learn now:

agam (uh-GUHM), at meagat (uh-GUHT), at youaige (eg-GE), at himaici (a-KI), at heragainn (uh-GIN), at usagaibh (uh-GIV), at you (plural)acu (ah-KUH), at them

The term ag an (eg un) means at the and it often causes eclipsis. For example, at the man becomes ag an bhfear (eg un VAR). We willdrill on this to make you fluent in the form.

VOCABULARYMasculine Nounscuirtn (koor-TEEN), curtainsspan (SAW*S-puhn), saucepanlampa (LAHM-puh), lampbuicad (bwi-KAY*D), bucketcrscn (kroosh-KEEN), jug, pitchercfra (KOH-fruh), cupboardbuidal (bwi-DAY*L), bottlecisen (ki-SHAW*N), basket; cisen pipir (paw*-PAY*-ir), wastebasket

Feminine Nounsfuinneog, an fhuinneog (fwin-YOHG, un in-YOHG) windowscuab, an scuab (SKOO-uhb), broom, brush

Verbsfaigh, ag fil (feye, uh FAW*-il), getcuir, ag cur (kir, uh-KUHR), putglan, ag glanadh (gluhn, uh GLUHN-uh), cleantg, ag tgil (tohg, uh TOHG-aw*-il), take, liftstad, ag stad (stahd), stop

DRILL

First, for have:

T cupn agam (taw* ku-PAW*N uh-GUHM), I have a cup. T cupn agat (taw* ku-PAW*N uh-GUHT), You have a cup. T cupn aige (taw*ku-PAW*N eg-GE), He has a cup. T cupn aici (taw* ku-PAW*N a-KI), She has a cup. T cupn againn (taw* ku-PAW*N uh-GIN), We have acup. T cupn agaibh (taw* ku-PAW*N uh- GIV), You (pl) have a cup. T cupn acu (taw* ku-PAW*N ah- KUH), They have a cup.


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Next, go through the negatives:

Nl cupn agam (neel ku-PAW*N uh-GUHM), I dont have a cup. Nl cupn agat (neel ku-PAW*N uh-GUHT), You dont have a cup. And so on.

Then the questions:An bhfuil cupn agam? (un vwil ku-PAW*N uh-GUHM), have I a cup? And so on.

Finally, the negative questions:

Nach bhfuil cupn agam? (nahk* vwil ku-PAW*N uh-GUHM, Dont I have a cup? And so on.

You are now ready, after a short rest, for a progressive drill. Go through this form: Nach bhfuil leabhar ag Sen? (nahk* vwill LOU-wuhr egshaw*n), Hasnt John a book? Nl leabhar ag Sen. An bhfuil leabhar ag Mire? (MAW*-re). Has Mary a book? T leabhar ag Mire.

Continue with Mire, but then substitute: Samas, Liam, Brd, na and Diarmaid in succession. Your last sentence will be: T leabhar ag Sen.Each time you say a sentence, form a picture of a person holding a book or without a book.

For the second drill, go to the kitchen again and run through:

Card seo? or Card sin? for each object in the kitchen as given in the vocabularies of Lesson 16 and this lesson. Also, ask the question cbhfuil an _____ (kaw* vwil un _____). Where is the _____? for each object and answer by T s _____, using the phrases in the drill of Les-son 16. Visualization of the object should be easy, since it will be before you.


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Lesson 18

PRONUNCIATIONIn going from the broad vowel in a word to a slender consonant, such as slender d, r, s, or t, the movement of the tongue to get intoposition for the slender consonant will result in an extra sound between vowel and consonant.

The extra sound is called a glide. It is usually shown in writing by the letter i, and this indicates that the following consonant gets its slendersound. The overall effect can be somewhat like (oy) in English boy, but you should not try to pronounce an (oy) for these cases.

To see what this means, first review the pronunciation of slender and broad t in Lesson 2, and then slowly pronounce: t (aw*t), it (AW*-it).

Notice that in it you make a slight (i) sound as your tongue tip goes to the hard ridge behind your upper teeth. In some parts of Ireland, theword it may even sound like (oych).

Here are some examples for practice. Review the pronunciation of slender and broad consonants if necessary, before starting:

bd *baw*d); bid (BAW*-id)pd (paw*d); Pid (PAW*-id)lr (law*r); lir (LAW*-ir)ps (paw*s); pis (PAW*-ish); pista (PAW*-ish-te)trd (traw*d); trid (TRAW*-id)srd (sraw*d); srid (SRAW*-id)i lr na sride (i LAW*R nuh SRAW*-id-e)

It is a shortcoming of our simplified pronunciation guide that we can not show this transition or glide as well as it should be, so it will be your

task to watch for it and make sure that your pronunciation includes it. We will usually show a word like bid to be pronounced (baw*d), andyou must note the id at the word end and give the d its slender sound, with the tongue tip against the hard ridge behind your upper frontteeth.

GRAMMAR

Ag means at, and it also serves to express to have, as in T cta ag Sen (taw* KOH-tuh eg shaw*n), John has a coat. You may thinkthat use of ag for these two purposes would be confusing, but that is not so in the actual Irish language. You can tell from the nature of thesentence and the circumstances in which it is used whether ag is at or is part of the idea of having.

For example, T Sen ag an doras must mean that John is at the door. Obviously the door does not have John. On the other hand, T carr agSen means that John has a car, rather than a car is at John, or even at Johns house. Irish has another expression for at some ones house:tigh Shein (tee HYAW*-in).

PROGRESSIVE DRILL

Go through the following drill for expressing to have in Irish. Remember to recite aloud and form a mental picture for each sentence.

An bhfuil nuachtn agam? (un vwil NOO-uhk*-taw*n uh-GUHM).Nl nuachtn agam (neel NOO-uhk*-taw*n uh GUHM)T nuachtn agat (uh-GUHT).An bhfuil nuachtn agat?Nl nuachtn agat.T nuachtn aige (eg-GE).

An bhfuil nuachtn aige? And so on, until you return to T nuachtn agam as the last sentence.

VOCABULARYHere are some phrases to help you learn how ag an (eg un), at the, causes eclipses. Ag an does not always cause eclipses, especially in thecase of words starting with d or t, but learn the eclipses for all cases initially.

bean, ag an mbean (ban, eg un man), woman, at the womanfear, ag an bhfear (far, eg un var), man, at the mandoras, ag an ndoras (DUH-ruhs, eg un NUH-ruhs), door, at the doorcarr, ag an gcarr (kahr, eg un gahr), car, at the carpista, ag an bpiste (PAW*SH-te, eg un BAW*SH-te), child, at the childgeata, ag an ngeata (GAT-uh, eg ung AT-uh), gate, at the gateteach, ag an dteach (tahk*, eg un dyahk*), house, at the house

CONVERSATION

Pl: (pohl): Dia duit, a Risn (DEE-uh git, uh roh-SHEEN). Hello, Rose.

Risn: Dias Muire duit, a Phil (DEE-uhs MWIR-uh git, uh FOH-il). Conas t t? (KUN-uhs taw* too) Hello, Paul. How are you?

Pl: T m go maith (taw* may* goh mah). Agus conas t t fin? I am well. And how are you?


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Risn: T m go maith leis (lesh). I am well, too.

Pl: An bhfuil aon scal nua agat? (un vwil ay*n shkay*l NOO-uh uh-GUHT) Have you any news? (new story, literally).Risn: Nl. Ach bh m ag lamh an nuachtin arir (uh LAY*-uhv un NOO-uhk-taw*-in uh-RAY*R). I dont. But I was reading the paper lastnight. Rud suimiil a chonaic m (rud sim-OO-il uh K*UHN-ik may*). An interesting thing I saw. T raidi agus teilifsen ag beagnach gachduine sa tr seo (taw* RAH-dee-oh AH-guhs TEL-i-fee-shaw*n eg BYUHG-nahk* gahk* DIN-e suh teer shuh). Nearly everyone in this countryhas a radio and television set.

Pl: Nl teilifsen agamsa (uh-GUHM-suh). I dont have a television. An bhfuil teilifsen agatsa? Have you one?

Risn: O, t, agus t ceann (kyoun) ag gach cara eile liom (KAH-ruh EL-e luhm). Oh, I do, and every other friend of mine has one.


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Lesson 19

PRONUNCIATION

Two letter groups, adh and agh, are usually pronounced (eye) when in accented syllables inside a word. Here are examples for adh:

adharc (EYE-uhrk), hornradharc (REYE-uhrk), sightTadhg (teyeg), Tadhg, a mans namegadhar (GEYE-uhr), hound

fadhb (feyeb), problem

Some examples for agh:

aghaidh (EYE-ee), facelaghad (LEYE-uhd), leastslaghdn (SLEYE-daw*n), a cold, hay fever

Raghallaigh (oh REYE-lee), OReilly

If the letter group adh is at a word end or in an unaccented syllable, it does not take the (eye) sound. For example:

samhradh (SOU-ruh), summer; ionadh (OON-uh), wonder. Many verbal nouns are similar: dnadh (DOON-uh), closing; briseadh (BRISH-uh),breaking; glanadh (GLUHN-uh), cleaning.

VOCABULARYMasculine Nounsnal, na nalta (nay*l, nuh NAY*L-tuh), cloud, the cloudsbiseach (BI-shahk*), recoveryslaghdn (SLEYE-daw*n) a cold

Feminine Nounsfeoil, an fheoil (FYOH-il, un OH-il), meat, the meatbeoir, an bheoir (BYOH-ir, un VYOH-ir), beer, the beerbain, ag baineadh (bwin, uh BWIN-uh), cut, reap; also part of expressions such as bain diot an cta (bwin DEE-uht un KOH-tuh), take offyour coat.ith, ag ithe (i, eg I-he), eatag ithe an arin (un uh-RAW*-in), eating the breadag ithe an bhricfeasta (vrik-FAS-tuh), eating the breakfastag ithe mo lin (muh LOH-in), eating my lunchag ithe feola (FYOH-luh), eating meatag ithe prta (PRAW*-tee), eating potatoes ithe (aw* I-he), eating it ithe sin, eating that ithe seo, eating thisT biseach orm (OH-ruhm), I am recoveringcnag, ag cnagadh (kuh-NAHG, uh kuh-NAHG-uh), knock; as in ag cnagadh ar an doras, knocking at the doorl, ag l (ohl, eg OHL), drinkag l bainne (BAHN-ye), drinking milkag l tae (tay*), drinking teaag l uisce (ISH-ke), drinking water

ag l caife (KAHF-e), drinking coffeeag l mo chaife (muh K*AHF-e), drinking my coffeeag l beorach (BYOH-ruhk*), drinking beer l (aw* ohl), drinking it l sin, drinking that l seo, drinking thisfach, ag fachaint ar (FAY*-ahk, uh FAY*-uhk*-int er) looking atT slaghdn ort (OH-ruht), you have a cold

NOTES ON VOCABULARYThis vocabulary gives you many phrases combining ag ithe and ag l with nouns. The drills for the next few weeks will stress these to famil-iarize you with ways of phrase formation.

The forms ag ithe, ag cur, etc., are often followed by nouns in the genitive case, becoming in English : of the _____. Ag ithe feola is

literally at eating of meat. The genitive case of Irish nouns is formed in several ways. You will gradually learn to recognize these, so that youcan form the case for new words.Some nouns dont change at all for the genitive, such as bainne. Others may change a final broad consonant to a slender, such as ln, an lin,or arn, an arin. A few nouns add a syllable, such as beoir, na beorach or feoil, na feola.

In Irish, you dont have illnesses. Instead, they are on you. T slaghdn ar Shamas means James has a cold. Recovery,happiness, sor-


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row, anger and the like are also on you.

CONVERSATION

Niocls (NEE-klaw*s): ist (ay*sht)! T duine igin ag cnagadh ar an doras (taw* DIN-e AY*-gin uh kuh-NAHG-uh er un DUH-ruhs). Listen!Someone is knocking on the door.

Cra (KOH-ruh): C h sin (kay* hay* shin) ag an doras? Whos that at the door?

Sen: Sen anseo. Oscail an doras agus lig isteach sa teach m. Its John here. Open the door and let me in the house. T s ag cur bist amuigh

anseo (uh KUR BAW*SH-tee uh MWEE un-SHUH). Its raining out here.

Niocls: O, t t anseo faoi dheireadh (fwee YER-uh). Fan nimad, ms do thoil (fahn NOH-may*d, MAW* shay* duh HIL ay*). -- Isteachleat, a Shein (ish-TYAHK* lat, uh HYAW*-in). Oh, you are here at last. Wait a minute please. -- In with you, John.

Sen: Dia daoibh, a Nioclis agus a Chra (DEE-uh yeev, uh NEE-klaw*sh AH-guhs uh K*OH-ruh). Hello, Nicholas and Cora.

Cra: Dias Muire duit, a Shein. Conas t t ar chor ar bith? (HUHR er bi) Hello, John. How are you, anyway?

Sen: T me go maith, agus conas t sibh (shiv) fin? I am well and how are you yourselves?

Niocls: Timid go maith leis, ach t slaghdn ar Chra. We are well, too, but Cora has a cold.

Cra: T biseach orm anois (uh-NISH), fach (AW*-fuhk*). I am recovering now, however.

Niocls: Bain diot an cta, a Shein. Take off your c

irish course

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