{"id":8598,"date":"2016-11-19T19:48:46","date_gmt":"2016-11-19T19:48:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=8598"},"modified":"2017-11-07T10:54:25","modified_gmt":"2017-11-07T10:54:25","slug":"tips-for-pronouncing-the-thdh-combination-in-some-irish-words-from-the-list-of-gaolta-teaghlaigh-family-relationships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/tips-for-pronouncing-the-thdh-combination-in-some-irish-words-from-the-list-of-gaolta-teaghlaigh-family-relationships\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips for Pronouncing the “thdh” Combination in Some Irish Words from the List of ‘Gaolta Teaghlaigh’ (Family Relationships)"},"content":{"rendered":"

(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>

An leathdheirfi\u00faracha n\u00f3 leasdeirfi\u00faracha at\u00e1 ag Luaithr\u00edona sa sc\u00e9al seo? Freagra th\u00edos (faoin n\u00f3ta). “Cinderella” by Carl Offterdinger, c. late 19th C. Public Domain image. – See more at: http:\/\/www.revivingherstory.com\/rhblog\/2015\/6\/3\/from-prostitute-to-princess-cinderellas-dark-history#sthash.rNfmW3rC.dpuf<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

There are a few pairs of words in our most recent blog about gaolta teaghlaigh<\/strong> (family relationships) that might be a little puzzling to pronounce, for newcomers to the language.\u00a0 This blogpost will deal with the following pairs; if you have questions about others, please feel free to write in and ask.<\/p>\n

leasdeirfi\u00far, leathdheirfi\u00far<\/strong><\/p>\n

leasdearth\u00e1ir, leathdhearth\u00e1ir<\/strong><\/p>\n

For a review of the translations, please see the note at the end of the article.<\/p>\n

With the first pair, we see an “s\/d” combination and with the second a “th\/dh” combination.\u00a0 They’re not actually difficult to pronounce — it’s just a matter of interpreting the spelling.<\/p>\n

For “leasdeirfi\u00far<\/strong>,” we have the “leas<\/strong>-” [ly<\/sup>ass-] prefix and then “deirfi\u00far<\/strong>” [DJERzh<\/sup>-uh-fy<\/sup>oor].\u00a0 And the good news is we simply have a slight break between the “s-” and the “-d” sounds.\u00a0\u00a0 The “deirfi\u00far<\/strong>” part retains its initial stress, so in the end, we have [Ly<\/sup>ASS-DJERzh<\/sup>-uh-fy<\/sup>oor].\u00a0 There is a slight vowel sound between the “r” and “f” of “deirfi\u00far<\/strong>” that is not indicated in the spelling.<\/p>\n

“Leasdearth\u00e1ir<\/strong>” works the same way: the “leas<\/strong>-” [ly<\/sup>ass-] prefix and then “dearth\u00e1ir<\/strong>” [DJAR-haw-ir zh<\/sup>], so the full word is [Ly<\/sup>ASS-DJAR-haw-irzh<\/sup>].<\/p>\n

“Leathdheirfi\u00far<\/strong>” and “leathdhearth\u00e1ir<\/strong>” may seem a little trickier but the sound isn’t really difficult, it’s just the correlation to the spelling (an endless issue in learning Irish, it seems).\u00a0\u00a0 The key is that the “-th” of “leath<\/strong>-” is basically silent, at most a slight puff of breath and the “dh” is basically a “y” sound.\u00a0 That may seem like a strange way to spell a “y” sound but so be it.\u00a0 You’ve probably already used that sound many times, in phrases like “a Dhiarmaid<\/strong>,” “mo dheirfi\u00far,<\/strong>” “mo dhearth\u00e1ir<\/strong>,” or “a Dhia<\/strong>,” or as the latest buzzword has us saying, for OMD (which the popular, though not “caighde\u00e1nach,” translation of the English phrase “OMG”), “\u00d3 mo Dhia<\/strong>.”\u00a0 I know, I know, people object to the use of “mo<\/strong>” here as non-traditional, since the trad way would be “\u00d3, a Dhia<\/strong>,” but I’m not trying to prescribe usage for anyone, just indicate what it sounds like if you’re going to say it.\u00a0 So the “dh-” at the beginning of “dheirfi\u00far<\/strong>” and “dhearth\u00e1ir<\/strong>” is basically a “y” sound, giving us: .<\/p>\n

leathdheirfi\u00far<\/strong>: Ly<\/sup>A-YERzh<\/sup>-uh-fy<\/sup>oor].\u00a0 The “a” of the “Ly<\/sup>A-” part is like the “-ea-” in Irish “deas<\/strong>” or “geal,<\/strong>” or American English “bat” or “cat,” not like the “la” in “do-re-mi-fa-so-la<\/u>-ti-do.”<\/p>\n

leathdhearth\u00e1ir<\/strong>: Ly<\/sup>A-YAR-haw-irzh<\/sup>], with the “leath<\/strong>– ” as noted above.<\/p>\n

To sum it up, we could simply say that the “dh” in “-dheirfi\u00far<\/strong>” and “-dhearth\u00e1ir<\/strong>” is silent, but that wouldn’t lead us to include the “y” sound.<\/p>\n

So, while on the surface, the prefixes “leas<\/strong>-” and “leath<\/strong>-” may seem to work very similarly, in reality, they don’t, at least as far as pronunciation goes.\u00a0 “Leath<\/strong>-,” with its “-th” ending, causes lenition (s\u00e9imhi\u00fa<\/strong> or “softening”) of the “d” of “deirfi\u00far<\/strong>” and “dearth\u00e1ir<\/strong>.”\u00a0 The “d” changes to “dh” and is no longer pronounced.\u00a0 But a final “s,” as in “leas<\/strong>-,” doesn’t.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 The so-called DNTLS rule, which reminds us that “d” resists lenition after a preceding “s.”\u00a0 And, for that matter, it also resists lenition after “n,” which is why Irish has words like “an-dona<\/strong>” (no change from basic “dona<\/strong>“) but “an-mhaith<\/strong>” (with “maith<\/strong>” getting lenited, i.e. changing to “mh” and changing in pronunciation). \u00a0\u00a0But all the aspects of the DNTLS rule, including the “ana-dhona”<\/strong> variation, will have to wait for blagmh\u00edr \u00e9igin eile<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

If anyone wants, I can rewrite these pointers for the “driof\u00far<\/strong>” and “drioth\u00e1ir<\/strong>” versions of the words, but since those are considered dialect to begin with, there’s probably less need for pronunciation guidelines.\u00a0 Hope this helped clarify any pronunciation questions you might have.\u00a0 SGF — R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/strong><\/p>\n

N\u00f3ta (na haistri\u00fach\u00e1in)<\/strong><\/p>\n

leasdeirfi\u00far<\/strong> (stepsister), leathdheirfi\u00far\u00a0<\/strong> (half-sister)<\/p>\n

leasdearth\u00e1ir<\/strong> (stepbrother), leathdhearth\u00e1ir<\/strong> (half-brother)<\/p>\n

Freagra don cheist faoin bpicti\u00far:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

leasdeirfi\u00faracha, ar nd\u00f3igh — fad \u00e1r n-eolais \u00a0; \u00a0)<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn) There are a few pairs of words in our most recent blog about gaolta teaghlaigh (family relationships) that might be a little puzzling to pronounce, for newcomers to the language.\u00a0 This blogpost will deal with the following pairs; if you have questions about others, please feel free to write in and ask. leasdeirfi\u00far…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":8599,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3898],"tags":[278784,278653,49766,474621,474612,5853,6542,474620],"class_list":["post-8598","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-irish-language","tag-dearthair","tag-deirfiur","tag-family-relationships","tag-gaolta-teaghlaigh","tag-leas","tag-leath","tag-pronouncing","tag-thdh-irish"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t