13
is slender whenever it is immediately preceded or followed by e or i in the same word.
In the above table the large letters denote the broad, and the small the slender, consonants.
18. All the Irish consonants, except the aspirated ones, require a much stronger contact than the English consonants. Likewise all the Irish long vowels are about half as long again as the normal long vowels in English.
Voiceless stops, such as p, t, c have no sound whatever in themselves, and are rendered audible only by the puff of breath or explosion which accompanies them.
The Irish mutes (i.e., the voiceless stops) are pronounced with much greater force than the corresponding consonants in English; hence such spellings as “bhoy” by Englishmen, who wish to mimic our Anglo-Irish pronunciation.
P, B, and M.
19. In pronouncing p, b, or m (broad) the lips are protruded as far as possible, and are rounded as in the production of a long ú (the lips then making contact in order to produce a stop). The only difference between P and B) (broad and slender) is that B is voiced, P is voiceless. As already explained (§ 9) the difference between B and M is the passing of the voiced air through of the nose for M, but not for B.
When pronouncing P, B, or M (slender) the lips are
