(le Róislín)

You may have recently read the dialóg bheag I wrote for practicing the slender “dh” sound (as in “a Dhiarmaid,” “a Dhearbháil,” “trí dhearcán,” “ar dheis,” srl.).  In that post, I explained the names I created for the baby squirrels (Dealrúilín, Deannóidín, Deidimín, Dreochlóigín, Drithleóigín), but I didn’t have space to do additional vocabulary and pronunciation, so here’s a sampler of some additional words from that “comhrá” (nasc thíos).

ana-dheas [AH-nuh-YASS], very nice.  This is the Munster pronunciation and spelling, to give one more opportunity to practice the “dhe” sound.  I usually use just the “an-” prefix, not “ana-,” which means “deas” stays the same.

ar dheis [er^zh yesh], on the right, to the right; NB: this phrase also sometimes shows up as “ar deis” [er^zh desh], but of course that version doesn’t give us practice with the “dhe” sound

ar chlé [er^zh h^yl^yay], on the left, to the left.  There’s no real equivalent in English that I know of to this initial “chl” sound.   It’s sort of like “huh,” “yuh,” and “luh” all pronounced at the same time.  The “c,” at any rate, is completely silent, so this “chl-” is nothing like English “chlorine” or similar words.  This phrase also shows up, fairly frequently, I’d say, as “ar clé,” in which case the “cl” cluster is easier to pronounce, at least from the English perspective.  This “cl” is slender, so it’s like the “cl-” of “cliúsaí,” the Irish word for “a flirt.”  It’s not exactly like the “cl” in Irish “cluain” or like the typical English “cl” in words like “Clunes” or “clue.”

b’fhéidir [BAY-djir^zh, the “fh” is completely silent], perhaps; NB: this is followed by words like “go” (that) or “nach” (that not), which would not be needed in English following “perhaps”

cnó [knoh, with the “k” pronounced], nut; cnónna [KNOH-nuh], nuts

cruinn, specific, exact

dair [dar^zh], oak tree

dair dhearg [dar^zh YAR-ug], red oak tree (“dhearg,” not “dearg,” because “dair” is grammatically feminine)

dearbhchara [D^jAR-uv-KHAH-ruh], true friend

díograiseach, enthusiastic

fadhb /faib/ (using the IPA transcription system here, since it’s impossible to indicate the vowel sound clearly in my usual “rough guide” system.  The word “fadhb” is a close rhyme to English “vibe” or “tribe.”  In other words, the vowel sound is as in the following English (or loan) words: I, chai, aye, eye, lie, kaleidoscope, sigh, my, and lye).  The “dh-” is silent, except for affecting how the “a” is pronounced.  It’s the same “-adh” sound as in “Tadhg.”

glas, normally means “green,” but for animals, it can mean “gray” (grey)

go bhfaighidh muid [guh wee mwidj], that we will get.  That’s the pronunciation I use.  There are at least two more pronunciations of the “bhfaighidh” part, which again, I’ll have to show in IPA, because of the “I/aye/eye/chai/lie, etc.” issue that English analogies present:  Connemara: /wai/ and Munster: /waihig/.  And that’s the “Irish-modified” IPA, as used in Foclóir Póca; otherwise we’d have /waihIg/ for the second one, with the second “i” in upper case.

folach, hiding (as in something being hidden, not the other type of hiding)

fómhar [FOH-wur], autumn, fall, harvest

moll, heap, large amount

séasúr [SHAY-soor], season

taobh [teev OR tayv], side

tochailt, to dig, digging; tochlaíonn [TOKH-lee-un], dig, digs

TSAGCSSL — Róislín

Nasc: https://blogs.transparent.com/irish/comhra-diarmaid-agus-dearbhail-agus-na-dearcain/ (Comhrá: Diarmaid agus Dearbháil agus Na Dearcáin, Posted on 10. Oct, 2015 by róislín in Irish Language)