Hello
On a website I was using, in the phrase - Cnamh an mhadra, they pronounced mhadra with a V. As the vowels on either side are broad, shouldn't it start with a W instead?

thankyou.

Depends on the dialect. In Munster you'd have [v], in Ulster you'd have [w] (but they say "cnámh a' mhadaidh", not "... an mhadra"). For Connemara it depends on the place.

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How did they say cnámh? If /kn.../ it is Munster dialect.

Roughly (in my ears):
/kna:v ə vadərə/ -> Munster dialect
/kra:v ə wadə/ -> Connacht dialect
/kræ:w ə wadi/ -> Ulster dialect


(corrected acc. to following discussion)

it was pronounced like knarv

You might like to have a look at this page -
www.teanglann.ie/en/fuaim/madra
In fact in Ulster it's written madadh and in Munster the word I think they use as well as madra is gadhar - (Guy-yer).

rather

/kræ:w ə wadi/ -> Ulster dialect
(genitive case)

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We say "mada(dh)" and "gadhar" in Conamara too. Never "madra".





Funny with those teanglann recordings none of the dialects say it as MADRA.

Not so funny to me... it's another way to dumb down the language and to make its diversity disappear. They make people believe that all the words exist in all dialects - even words that don't exist anywhere in the Gaeltacht actually...

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Looks like an intrusive-r, either in your ear or the speaker

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__̴ı̴̴̡̡̡ ̡͌l̡̡̡ ̡͌l̡*̡̡ ̴̡ı̴̴̡ ̡̡͡|̲̲̲͡͡͡ ̲▫̲͡ ̲̲̲͡͡π̲̲͡͡ ̲̲͡▫̲̲͡͡ ̲|̡̡̡ ̡ ̴̡ı̴̡̡ ̡͌l̡̡̡̡.___

Or is "ar" a way to transcribe the sound [ɑː] ?

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Agus is í Gaeilg Ġaoṫ Doḃair is binne