Irish Consonants Explained
Irish phonology is quite different to that of English and can pose quite a few problems for learners.
There are 18 distinct consonant sounds in Irish. However, every consonant sound in Irish has two distinct pronunciations, often referred to as broad and slender (more on that here).
The aim of this article is to break down how each consonant is pronounced in Irish with audio and examples.
This is an IPA chart of all the consonant sounds which exist in Irish:
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The sound of each consonant
Here is the broad pronunciation of each consonant in Irish. Note that the letter k is not used in Irish and the letter c always has the hard ‘k’ sound (never a ‘s’ sound as in English words like cent).
The letters j, k, q, v, w, x, y, z are not used in the traditional Irish alphabet and where they do appear, they are found in loan words from other languages.
Slender consonants
When a consonant is closest to the vowels i or e, it will slightly alter its pronunciation often called the slender pronunciation. There is an entire article here on how the broad and slender works. This article, as stated, is simply an overview of the consonants themselves.
The audio file below will first give the broad pronunciation of the consonant, followed by the slender pronunciation. Note that the h sound does not have a broad/slender pairing.
Lenited consonants
Many consonants can have a h added after them which alters their pronunciation. The audio file below contains first the broad pronunciation, followed by the slender pronunciation.
Note also the h sound represented by the letters th and sh do not have a broad/slender pairing.
