Gaelic for Morons (Like Me)

[Roger O'Keeffe]

whiskEy might be a better choice

Well said, a Iosfhairíne dhílis.

Here's a rough guide that I found on the Mudcat, posted by one Bill Kennedy, with a few edits by myself. I would take issue with some of his other suggestions, but don't want to over-complicate things.

BASIC pronunciation, discounting regional dialects, and not getting into the broad and slender characteristics are:

a - between short a and short o
á - as aw in maw
e - as e in bet
é - as ay in say
i - as i in bit
í - as ee in feel
o - as u in up
ó - as o in go
u - as u in up
ú - as oo in boot

b - as in boy
c - as in cat, ALWAYS a hard c, never like an s
d - voiced American-style th as in they
f - as in fit
g - as in good
h - as in hat
l - as in luck
m - as in Mary
n - as in nut
p - as in Paul
r - as in rat
s - as in sam (when before or after a, o or u) or sh as in shim (beside i or e)
t - as in american thing

dots over certain consonants cause lenition (commonly misnamed "aspiration", which is what it's called in Irish - séimhiú)

bh - as v or w as in will or vwill
ch - as in German ach, a gutteral sound, as in chutzpah
dh - as in y in yell or silent, Gaelic was spelled Gaedhelic once
fh - silent
gh - as y
mh - v or w
ph - as f
sh - as h
th - as h, silent if at the end of a word

another consonant change at the start of words (as in welsh) is called eclipsis, always pronounce the first letter in the combination

mb - as m
gc - as g
nd - as n
bhf - as v
bp - as b
dt - as d

[djm]

I would question a couple of those, Roger, though I am no expert.

o - short as in cot, bottle

gh - guttural h lower in the throat, versus ch, which is guttural h in the back of the mouth. If "gh" were like a "y" as in your example, the word "lough" would be pronounced "loy" which I think you'd agree isn't right.

Another weird one is d, which may be pronounced more as "dj" when it appears as the first letter syllables other than the first .... sometimes ... hard to nail down.

djm

[Nanohedron]

I found out Uilleann only had 2 syllables & sounded more like 'Ellen'

For a long time I thought it was Willy-in' pipes...

There's a new one on me. Often as not I hear "uilleann" pronounced as Swede might render "Julian". Around here that's probably logical enough.

Although rumor has it that it's sort of okay to pronounce it as "Ill-yun", I wouldn't do so. Pronounce it "Illun" or otherwise everyone mis-hears it and thinks you said "Alien Pipes". It's a good hobbyhorse for jokes, though.

[djm]

Pronounce it "Illun"

Wouldn't it be be easier if you just said you were sick?

djm

[Nanohedron]

Pronounce it "Illun"

Wouldn't it be be easier if you just said you were sick?

djm

I've always thought a recording called Uilleann 'n' Chillin' -- Gettin' Jiggy Wid It should be done. Not by me, though.

[Caroluna]

...and thinks you said "Alien Pipes". It's a good hobbyhorse for jokes, though.

"What do you get if you cross the uilleann pipes with a theremin?"

[djm]

What do you get if you cross the uilleann pipes with a theremin?

A thermometer that drones up your regulator.

djm

[chrisoff]

what else do I need to get under my tongue?

Whisky?

Since Chatterton (great name, btw) seems to be referring to Irish, whiskEy might be a better choice

Pfffft. Whiskey is never a better choice over whisky.

[ketida]

Ok, I'll bite. What's the difference between whisky and whiskey?

Be gentle, please.

[izzarina]

Ok, I'll bite. What's the difference between whisky and whiskey?

WhiskEy is in reference to Irish Whiskey (like Bushmill's or Jameson's). Whisky without the "E" is in reference to Scotch Whisky, or just simply Scotch (like Glenlivit or Talisker's).

[izzarina]

Whisky?

Since Chatterton (great name, btw) seems to be referring to Irish, whiskEy might be a better choice

Pfffft. Whiskey is never a better choice over whisky.

Yeah yeah yeah...as if we're going to listen to you Mr I'm Totally Biased

I actually do like whisky, but it has to be good stuff...single malt, aged at least 10 years. None of that blended stuff

[CHasR]

Ok, I'll bite. What's the difference between whisky and whiskey?

In Pennsylvania, about $25.00

[chrisoff]

but it has to be good stuff...single malt, aged at least 10 years. None of that blended stuff

True, although I'll drink a blend in a pinch. There's supposedly, although I haven't tried them, some really nice blends around just now that are designed for specific tastes and occasions. Hard to find amongst the crap like bells and famous grouse though.

[AaronMalcomb]

I thought I had the whisky/whiskey thing down then got all turned around on a thread here a few months ago. Some North American "whiskies" use either spelling.

Best whisky I've tried lately was Caol Ila, an Islay malt. I found it a nice, light Islay with a subtle hint of peat and not too smoky but I like heavier Islay malts like Ardbeg as well. I also tried a cask strength Ardbeg which I really liked but it did need a fair bit of water to open it. Clynelish is a Speyside a tried this past winter and really enjoyed.

For a blend I think Famous Grouse is the most agreeable.

One of my locals is called "Uisge" and has a growing selection of whiskey and whisky. The most jaw-dropping and mouth-watering collections I've seen is at Pints Pub in Denver. It will bring tears to any whisky lovers eyes. They brew some great beer too. Here's a pic of the bar and you can get a rough idea of the vastness of the collection.



What were we talking about again? Oh, yeah, the language. Would a thread of clips of people speaking common Irish words in ITM be useful?

At a festival a couple weeks ago there was an open mic and some girl was singing Siuil A Run and mispronounced it "sool a run". I wouldn't claim I have the Gaelic but that did give me a little twinge of pain.