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spirant which is heard, we sometimes refer to as, “a suggestive y sound.” Learners should pay particular attention to these two consonants, because there is a great tendency at present, even with Irish speakers, to drop the true Irish sounds altogether. In Connaught the English sound of “ch” is being substituted for that of slender t; and the sound of “j” for slender d; whilst in many places in Munster an opposite tendency prevails—viz., the substitution of the hard English “t” and “d” for the true Irish slender sounds. This arises from two causes: (1) the direct influence of the English language being spoken so generally throughout the country; (2) from slovenly pronunciation; just as we hear the words “tune” “dew” &c, pronounced by mutterers chune, jew, &c.
(c) Slender s in Irish corresponds fairly well with the sound of “sh” in English: shun, shine.
Whenever s is followed immediately by p, m, r or tr, in the same word, it does not get its slender sound,[1] but has a sound similar to the English hard “s”: (“some” “same” “saw” &c.)., e.g.—speal, spéar, srian, smig, stríoc, streanncán.
In Clare s is pronounced slender in all these and similar words.
(d) There is a great tendency in the spoken language to add a “t” to verbal nouns ending in “n”—e.g., leanaṁain(t), cailleaṁain(t), féaċain(t) &c. In Munster it is often added to other words ending in “n,” e.g., éigint (or éicint).
- ↑ The working of this law is quite evident in the difficulty experienced by Irish speakers (and country people generally) in pronouncing the “sh” in the English words—shrill, shrink, shriek, shrimp, shrine, &c.
