How to pronounce Irish

IRISH PRONUNCIATION

 

C.  OTHER VOWEL COMBINATIONS

  1. Other Vowel Combinations
    We have other vowel combinations which aren't surprising in sound.  'aa' is now spelled and pronounced á.  'oo' is now spelled and pronounced ó.  'uu' is now spelled and pronounced ú.  'ee' is now spelled and pronounced é.  'ii' is now spelled and pronounced í.  We don't really use au, eu (which has been almost entirely replaced by ea), ie, iu, oa, ou, oe, ue, uo, in modern Irish.  So that leaves 'io', 'oi' and 'ui.'
  2. Pronunciation Of The Other Vowel Combinations
    This is very simple.  You can pronounce either letter.  It's your call.  In other words, 'io' is a short 'i' or a short 'o' - you get to decide.  Similarly, 'oi' is a short 'o' or a short 'i' - you get to decide.  As for 'ui', the same applies.  You can say it as a short 'u' or as a short 'i' - your call.  There are some dialectal variations on these, but for now, just make your choice and you'll be well understood.    Click on the blue letters below to hear these.  Memorize them.

                            io    

                            oi

                            ui

              Here's a summary of pronunciation for io, oi, and ui:

io  short i or short o - your call
oi short o or short i - your call
ui  short u or short i - your call

            Both Ó Coinn and Ó Cuinn in Irish give us "O'Quinn" in English.

 
Uimhir Bhuillí Ó
1 Samhain, 2004
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