a-cat (cat) as the letter o in the English cot,lot

 e-abhaile (home) as the letter e in the English met,let

 i-litir (letter) as the letter i in the English fit,sit

 o- gol ( crying) as the letter u in the English smut.smug u=dul (going) as the letter u in the English pull
 
 

 e-cé ( wh o?) as the letter a in the English came.same

 i-cailín ( girl) as the letter ee in the English see

 o-ól (drinking) as the letter o in the English so

 u=úilll (apple) as the letter oo in the English too
 

Vowels may be Broad = a-o-u =á ó ú, or Slender= e-i or é -í
 

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They may be either broad or slender.

 Consonants are broad (have a velar quality) when they are preceded or followed by a broad vowel (A,O,U,).

Consonants are Slender (with a palatal quality) when they are preceded or followed by a slender vowel- (E,I).

 bo=cow is broad b as in English - big

 beo=alive is slender b as in beau in English- beautiful

 I.If a consonant is followed by ae,ao,ui insert a fleeting 'w' sound asin the French word

 bois- buid`eal- bottle or Gael-Irishman

 2.When a consonant is followed by - each. eag, eann, eat, eo or - iu insert a fleeting Y sound as in the word beautiful as in beo-alive or ceol=music.

 Aspiratable consonants are: B,C,D,F,G,M,P,S,T.

 B-bh (slender)= v as in an bhean -the woman

 bh (broad) = w as in sa bhád-in the boat
C-ch (slender) = k as in sa chistin -in the kitchen

 ch (broad) = ca as in sa charr-in the car
D-dh (slender) = Y as in ni dherna me -I didn't do

dh (broad) = wah as in a dhaidi
f- fh (slender) as in don fhear- to the man

 g - gh(slender) = Y as in an ghealach-(the moon)

 m- mh (slender) as in ca mhéad=(how much)

 mh (Broad) "W" mo mahc (my son)

 P -ph “F” mo phíopa (my pi pe)

 S- sh (slender) “H+Y” shiúil mé (I walked)

 sh (broad) "H” mo shac (my sack)

 T- th “H” thuas. (up)
Note: bh and mh as well as dh and gh have the same sound when aspirated

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 B becomes mb and is pronounced “ m “ as in i mbád (in a boat)

 C becomes gc and is pronounced g as in i gcarr (in a car)

 D becomes nd and is pronounced n as in i ndán (in a poem)

 F becomes bhf and is pronounced v as in i bhféar (in grass)

w as in an bhfuil me (am I)

 G becomes ng and is pronounced g as in i ngrá (in love)

 P becomes bp and is pronounced b as in bpl ata (their plate)

 T becomes dt and is pronounced d as in dtram (in a tram)
There are three dialects in Irish: Ulster, Munster,Connaught.

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http://www.ibiblio.org/gaelic/gaelic.html

Contents

Bha An t-Àite Gàidhlig stèidhichte 1mh de'n Lùnasdal, 1994.

http://babel.uoregon.edu/yamada/fonts/celtic.html

has font tools to download

http://www.namenerds.com/irish/celtic.html

Many people have written to me with questions like "The name Kyle--is it Irish or Celtic?" and "can you help me find a Gaelic name?" So what do these terms mean? It's somewhat confusing to find a name when you're not sure what you're looking for. This page is an attempt to clarify some terminology to help you get onto the right path.

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