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Edwyn
What's the difference between Ulster Irish and another dialect?
Just curious about the differences between sentences in Ulster Irish and other dialects of Irish, such as Munster or Connacht.
May 18, 2015 9:04 PM
Answers · 7
2
There are various differences, the most noticeable are in pronunciation.
- In Ulster the first syllable of a word is always stressed, unlike further south where other syllables may be stressed too.
- long vowels in unstressed syllables tend to get shortened
- Broad "bh" and "mh" are pronounced like [w], not [v]
- the ending "-igh" is pronounced [i], "-adh" is pronounced [u]
- "mn-", "cn-", "gn-" at the beginning of a word are pronounced [mr], [cr], [gr]
- in some areas "ao" is pronounced [ɯ] (like "oo" but with spread lips)
- in some parts of Donegal "-cht" is pronounced [-rt].
There are some differences in grammar too:
- analytical verb forms are preferred over synthetic forms (i.e. "tá mé, tá tú, tá muid" rather than "táim, táir, táimid"
- negative particle "cha, chan" (though "ní" is also used)
Some words have a slightly different form:
scaifte (scata), cruaidh (crua), fríd (trí), domh (dom), foighid (foighne)
There are more differences, but that's what springs to mind at the moment. If you need to know anything else about Ulster Irish, just ask as that's the dialect I speak.
May 19, 2015
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Edwyn
Language Skills
English, Gaelic (Irish), Welsh
Learning Language
Gaelic (Irish)
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