On the rest of the island, it sounds much like the “ch” in “Christmas” or “chorus.” One of the differences between Ulster Irish and the other canúintí is that, in the middle or at the end of a word, “ch” is softened to an “h” sound. This accent variety is present in the Irish language too, with different pronunciation norms in Ulster, Connacht, and Munster. Modern day Aoifes include singer Aoife Scott, writer and illustrator Aoife Dooley, and English footballer Aoife Mannion.įor an island roughly the size of South Carolina, Ireland has significant accent diversity: it is not unusual for locals to speak in four distinctly different accents an hour’s drive in each direction from any given point. It was the name of the princess who married Strongbow (the subject of one of Ireland’s most famous paintings) as well as stepmother to the Children of Lir. The triple vowel combination “aoi” sounds like “ee” in English when it follows a consonant, there is a short “w” sound before it.Īoife, meaning beauty, has been one of the top 20 Irish girl names for more than thirty years. Silent consonant combinations in Irish might appear confusing at first glance, but they do give readers clues to where syllable changes happen, and break up long runs of vowels. Are they all necessary? Could the same sound be produced with fewer letters? What clues are there to tell a reader that a new syllable starts at the letter “i”? It can be very confusing. The English word “queueing” has five vowels in a row. For a closer view, click the photo top left of page and scroll right. The first six will be illustrated by the artist Fatti Burke, and the last six by Una Gildea.Ĭollage by Una Gildea. In part two of our Irish Word of the Week series, which runs from July 20 through October 5, curator Darach Ó Séaghdha of uses popular Irish names to explain how different features of Irish spelling and pronunciation work. For most of the world, Irish names are the only interaction with the Gaeilge they’ll ever have, and are therefore the language’s best opportunity to make a good first impression. Are Irish names so hard to pronounce? Only if you don’t know how.
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