Let’s take another example! The word mana is fairly self-explanatory as each letter is pronounced as you would expect (mah-nah).

However, in the name Áine, we can see that even though there are only three distinct sounds: aw - ny - eh (IPA: ˈaː - nʲ - ə). So, why don’t we use spell it ‘Áne’?

In Irish, we must always make sure that the vowels match to clarify the pronunciation of all the consonants in a given word. By spelling it like Áne, we are leaving the pronunciation of Áine unclear:

• the á before the n is telling us it has a broad n pronunciation

• the e after the n is telling us it has a slender ny pronunciation

By adding in the extra ‘i’ to the word, we aren’t adding an extra sound, but rather clarifiying that the n has a slender pronunciation. You can listen to both of these words being pronounced here.