I think the problem is that I'm hearing 3 different sounds for f. I can hear the broad sound in faoi, and the slender sound in fiú. But fós and fios both sound like an English f to me. Neither one has the broad glide I hear in faoi, or the slender glide I hear in fiú.

And it's not just f. I'm having the same problem with b, c, g and p.


No, I'm not talking about long and short. I think the proper term is back vowels and front vowels. I was calling back vowels "broad" and front vowels "slender."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back_vowel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Front_vowel

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Táim ag foghlaim fós. Fáilte roimh gach aon cheartúchán.

there's not always a glide,
for instance in :
/ f'i, f'e, f'a, fo, fu, b'i, b'e, b'a, bo, bu...

The labial consonants b, p, f, m, when slender and followed by /i/ and /e/, (short) /a/ don't have any glide, same thing when they are broad and followed by /o/, /u/, /a:/ (in C and M).

it's mainly what is written iú, eo, eá (in M and C), uí, aí, oí, aoi, ae... that makes glides between themsellves and the preceding consonant.

But the difference between slender and broad g and c is always clear, it's not only the glides that make a difference, the sound isn't pronounced in the same place in the mouth.

With the b m, f, p, the broad and slender sounds are pronounced in the same places (the lips) but it's the lips that don't take the same shape: rounded for the broad versions and spread (as if smiling) for the slender ones.

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Is fearr Gaeilg na Gaeltaċta ná Gaeilg ar biṫ eile
Agus is í Gaeilg Ġaoṫ Doḃair is binne

Not to me it ain't. It's only the glides that make it clear. Without them, I'm at a loss.


So you would put m in the same category as b, f and p? This is helpful, because I can pronounce a broad and slender m without relying on the glides.

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Táim ag foghlaim fós. Fáilte roimh gach aon cheartúchán.

Record a short paragraph Mick and we will be able to hear if you are saying it correctly.

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It is recommended that you always wait for three to agree on a translation.
I speak Connemara Irish, and my input will often reflect that.
I will do an mp3 file on request for short translations.
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Irish consonants aren't all completely different from English ones all the time, there is some overlap. I think you have actually probably "got it" already and the ones you can't hear are most likely the ones that are very close to English (or many other languages) anyway.

Bríd's suggestion that you make a recording and let us hear it is an excellent idea.

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Múinteoir Gaeilge - Irish Teacher
My "specialty" is Connemara Irish, particularly Cois Fhairrge dialect, but I can also speak Ulster and Munster Irish with native-level pronunciation.
Is fearr Gaeilge ḃriste ná Béarla cliste, cinnte, aċ i ḃfad níos fearr aríst í Gaeilge ḃinn ḃeo na nGaeltaċtaí.
Gaeilge Chonnacht (GC), go háraid Gaeilge Chois Fhairrge (GCF), Gaeilic Uladh (GU), Gaelainn na Mumhan (GM), agus Gaeilge an Chaighdeáin Oifigiúil (CO).

I had a bit of a breakthrough today. When I say the "cáca" and "cic" my tongue is in a slightly different position for the broad and slender c. I never noticed that before, but Lughaidh's post made me pay more attention to it. Maybe I had it right all along, and just didn't realise it.

I definitely need to make a recording now. I have no mic on this computer, but I'll sort something out after the bank holiday weekend.

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Táim ag foghlaim fós. Fáilte roimh gach aon cheartúchán.