Dialects of Irish
Content
Dialects of Irish Irish dialects today§ Dialects and the teaching of Irish§ Southern Irish§ Western Irish§ Northern Irish§ The Doegen Tapes§ Dialects of English in Ireland§ References§
( Click on the any of the location labels in the above map to listen to typical sound files )
Irish dialects today The term for an Irish-speaking area is Gaeltacht ‘Irish region’ (Ó Riagáin 2007: 224ff.). In present-day Ireland a distinction is made between two types of Gaeltacht, depending on the numbers of Irish-speakers living there: (1) Fíor-Ghaeltacht, lit. ‘true Irish-area’ refers to those areas with a high-percentage of
speakers (though the threshold for this has not been officially defined) and (2) Breac-Ghaeltacht, lit. ‘part Irish-area’ which has considerably fewer Irish speakers. Occasionally, the English-speaking areas are referred to collectively as Galltacht ‘region of the non-Irish’, the stemGall- meaning ‘foreign(er)’. The standard dialect survey of Irish is Heinrich Wagner’s comprehensive atlas (see Wagner 1958-64). But even when this was being compiled in the mid twentieth century the speakers were older males whose Irish was frequently moribund. The situation today is that large tracts of both halves of Ireland have no historically continuous Irish-speaking areas any more. There are no such areas in Northern Ireland or in Leinster. In Munster there are remnants in Ring in Co. Waterford and in Muskerry in Co. Cork. along with a more robust community at the end of the Dingle peninsula in Co. Kerry. The community on Clear Island off the south-west coast of Cork contains virtually no native speakers, see Ó Buachalla 2003 for a treatment of this dialect. Irish in Mayo receded dramatically in the second half of the twentieth century, so that the studies of de Búrca (1958) and that of Mhac an Fhailigh (1968) are now of largely historical interest. The areas in coastal Co. Galway and on the two minor Aran Islands, as well as that on Tory Island in Donegal and the mainland opposite it, represent the most vibrant communities today.
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Dialects and the teaching of Irish If there is no standard pronunciation of Irish how and what do students of the language learn? The answer is quite simple: for grammar and vocabulary students learn from textbooks and dictionaries. They are taught pronunciation from their teachers. These will have a single pronunciation based on the dialect which they in turn followed when they were learning the language. In general one can say that people from the south follow a southern pronunciation and those from the north a northern pronunciation. Those from the centre or east of the country follow a western or southern pronunciation but rarely if ever a northern one. Put in terms of colleges and universities this rule of thumb works out as follows. At the universities in Cork and Limerick a southern pronunciation is the rule, at the university in Galway a western pronunciation is usual. At northern universities, i.e. at Queen’s University in Belfast and at the various campi of the University of Ulster (in Belfast, Coleraine and Derry) a northern pronunciation dominates. In Dublin universities (University College Dublin, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin City University) either a western or a southern pronunciation is common as these institutions tend in the main to service students from the Republic of Ireland, south of Ulster. It is true that Donegal is in the republic, but in language it receives its greatest support from universities in Northern Ireland. Similar to the universities, the institutes of technology§ tend to follow the accent of the region in they are located, assuming that they have academic programmes for Irish. An additional factor is the question of where students of Irish go to practice the spoken language. There are three choices here: the summer schools and colleges in the Kerry, Connemara or Donegal Gaeltacht. For students, spending time in a Gaeltacht will strengthen their pronunciation for that region. And of course students are encouraged by their college teachers to decide on one dialect and keep to this. For students of Irish it is important to grasp what features are typical of what dialect region. In the following sections, the main phonological differences between the dialects of Irish, as recorded in the available literature, are given in summary form. The references are to individual studies. More general literature is also available, from the mid-19th century grammar by O’Donovan (1845) to the influential study by O’Rahilly (1932) to later works like Ó Cuív (1951) and Ó Siadhail (1989). The main differences between the dialects are to be found among vowels which is why it is so difficult to arrive at a common pronunciation for all three main dialect areas (but see Ó Baoill 1986 and Ó Baoill (ed.) 1990). Most general works on Irish often fudge the issue by not giving pronunciations (the official standard does not either). One or two are based on a particular dialect, such as Ó Siadhail (1980) which relies on western Irish pronunciation. For more information on different pronunciations and for active maps, consult the module on dialect variation§.
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Southern Irish
This refers to a few areas in the southern province of Munster. The main one is the end of the Dingle Peninsula (Irish: Corca Dhuibhne). The others comprise a small area on the Iveragh Peninsula, an inland area in Co. Cork, the island of Cape Clear as well as the area of Ring in West Waterford (see map above). For all dialects areas, the reflexes of historical vowels before former geminate sonorants play an important role in differentiation. In Southern Irish the following realisations are found: /i/ > /ai/ cinn ‘heads’, /o/ > /au/ trom ‘heavy’, /a/ > /au/ crann ‘tree’. The following features are also important in delimiting southern Irish from forms in the west and north. The realisation of <ao> This is pronounced /e:/, e.g. glaoch /gle:x/ ‘call’. See O’Rahilly (1932: 27-38) for an overview in all the dialects including Scottish Gaelic. Sonorants A two-way distinction is found for N and L. Velar stops are retained in post-nasal position, i.e. teanga is [tjæŋgə] ‘tongue’. /v/ before a back or low vowel is realised as [v]. The realisation of coronal stops These are realised with very slight palatalisation. The non-palatal stops /t/ and /d/ are alveolar. Word stress Long vowels in non-initial syllables attract stress, e.g. cailín /kaˡlji:nj/ ‘girl’. This may be the result of Anglo-Norman influence (in the south-east) after the 12th century as older authors like O’Rahilly seem to think (1932: 86-98) and certainly applied to many French loanwords, e.g.buidéal /bəˡdje:l/ ‘bottle’. See Hickey (1997) for further discussion. Literature Déise Irish, Ring (South Co. Waterford), Henebry (1898), Breatnach (1947), Sheehan (1944). West Muskerry (West Co. Cork), Ó Cuív (1944). Dunquin (Dingle Peninsula, Co. Kerry), Sjoestedt-Jonval (1931, 1938), Ó Sé (1995, 2000).
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Western Irish This refers to forms of Irish spoken west of Galway and on the Aran Islands. Irish is still a daily language for most of the population in Cois Fhairrge (immediately west of Galway city) and the areas around An Cheathrú Rua (Carraroe), Ros Muc, Cill Chiaráin, Carna (on the peninsula known in Irish as Iorras Aithneach) further along the coast. This is encompasses the area known as Ceanter na nOileán ‘district of the islands’, especially because the largest of these, Leitir Móir ‘Lettermore’ is a strong Irish-speaking area. Western Irish also includes the two smaller Aran Islands (in Galway Bay), Inis Meáin and Inis Oírr as well as the main island Inis Móir, especially outside the main town of Cill Rónáin. Western Irish would also include the area of Tuar Mhic Éadaigh (Tourmakeady) in south Mayo. Reflexes of historical vowels before former geminate sonorants: /i/ > /i:/ cinn, ‘heads’, /o/ > /u:/ trom ‘heavy’, /a/ > /a:/ [ɑ:] crann ‘tree’. The realisation of <ao> This is generally pronounced /i:/, e.g. glaoch /gli:x/ ‘call’. Sonorants A three-way distinction is found for N and L, i.e. /nˠ – n – nj/ and /lˠ – l – lj/. Velar stops are not retained in post-nasal position in Cois Fhairrge, i.e. teanga is [tjæŋə] ‘tongue’, but these are found in this position further to the west. /v/ before a back or low vowel is realised as [w]. The realisation of coronal stops These are realised in western Irish as true palatals without noticeable affrication. The stops /t/ and /d/ are dental. Word stress Initial stress applies to virtually all words with the exception of one or two loanwords such as tobac /təˡba:k/ ‘tobacco’. Literature Cois Fhairrge (Mid-West Co. Galway), de Bhaldraithe (1945, 1953). Iorras Aithneach (West Co. Galway), Ó Curnáin (2007). Inishmaan (middle Aran Island, Galway Bay), Finck (1899). Tourmakeady (South Co. Mayo), de Búrca (1958). Erris (North-West Co. Mayo), Mhac an Fhailigh (1968). Achill (West Co. Mayo), Stockman 1974. Remnants of Irish in Co. Clare (transitional between the west and south) are described in Holmer (1962-5).
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Northern Irish (Ulster
Irish)
Up to the early 20th century there were still remnants of Ulster Irish spoken in central Tyrone (in the
Sperrin Mountains), in the Glens of Antrim and on Rathlin Island (both in the extreme north-east of Ireland). Somewhat earlier still Irish could be found in south Armagh and on the Cooley Peninsula in Co. Louth. Today the Irish language is spoken in Ulster in two main areas on the coast of Co. Donegal. The first is in the south-west of this country (Wagner 1979 [1959]) and the second and larger area is in the north-west, particularly the region around Gaoth Dobhair. Irish is also spoken on Tory Island off the north-west coast. The Irish term for the Donegal Gaeltacht is Tír Chonaill (‘country of Connell’). The region in the vicinity of Gaoth Dobhair is often referred to as Cloich Cheannfhaola (‘Kineely’s stone’). Reflexes of historical vowels before former geminate sonorants: /i/ > /i/ cinn ‘heads’, /o/ > /ɔ/ trom ‘heavy’, /a/ > /a/ crann ‘tree’. The realisation of <ao> This is pronounced as a retracted high front vowel: /ɨ:/, e.g. glaoch /glɨ:x/ ‘call’. The degree of retraction for this vowel is greatest in the north of Donegal. Other vowels There is a general fronting of vowels in northern Irish. The /u:/ is pronounced as a high rounded vowel, much as in the rest of Ulster (an areal feature covering both Irish and English), e.g. cúl [kʉ:l] ‘rear’. The long low vowels, pronounced [ɑ:] in western Irish, is often fronted to a value nearer [æ:] or [ɛ:], e.g. tá [tæ:, tɛ:] ‘(it) is’. A lowered and retracted variant of /e:/ is found as the reflex of /a/ and a velar fricative, e.g.slaghdán [slˠɛdˠənˠ] ‘cold (illness)’. The mid back vowel /o:/ is also lowered, e.g. pósta [pɑ:stə] ‘married’. Sonorants A three-way distinction is found for N and L, i.e. /nˠ – n – nj/ and /lˠ – l – lj/. Velar stops are variably retained in post-nasal position, i.e. teanga is [tjæŋ(g)ə] or [tjæŋ(g)i] ‘tongue’. /v/ before a back or low vowel is realised as [w]. The realisation of coronal stops These are realised in northern Irish as palatals with audible affrication. The stops /t/ and /d/ are dental. Word stress Stress is on the first syllable though there is considerable shortening of post-initial long vowels (as opposed to western Irish), e.g.sceireog ‘fib, lie’ /ˡsjkjɛrəg/. The Mayo dialects in the north-west of this county, which are spoken by very small numbers today, are not simply transitional between the central western and the northern dialects. They show a large number of Ulster features due the resettlement of people from Ulster in north-west Mayo in the 17th century. The Irish of this region has been studied, in particular in Erris (North-West Co. Mayo) by Mhac an Fhailigh (1968) and in Achill(West Co. Mayo) by Stockman (1974). For East Co. Mayo, see Ó Catháin (forthcoming). See Ó Dochartaigh (1987) for a general overview. Literature Teilinn (South West Co. Donegal), Wagner (1979 [1959]). Glenties (Central South Co. Donegal), Quiggin (1906). Torr (Gweedore, Co. Donegal), Sommerfelt (1922). Tory Island (North West Co. Donegal), Hamilton (1974). Ros Goill (North Co. Donegal), Lucas (1979).
The Doegen Tapes There is a collection of tape recordings made of native speakers by the German scholar Dr. Wilhelm Doegen between 1928 and 1931. The tapes in questions have been digitised and a selection of them are available at the following address: http://www.nuacht.com/colm/recordings.html§. They provide invaluable insights into the nature of Irish about a century ago and help to fill in certain gaps of our knowledge of areas which no longer contain any native speakers, e.g. Co. Clare, an important transition area between Munster and Connacht. More information on the tapes from Ulster is available at http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/~oduibhin/doegen/index.htm§ (provided by the Scottish Gaelic College, Sabhal Mòr Ostaig§.
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Dialects of English in
Ireland
The following map shows the dialect regions for varieties of English in Ireland. There is a certain correlation with Irish inasmuch as Ulster is a separate area here as well. The large west and south-west English dialect area corresponds to the region which contains western and southern Irish. These varieties previously filled the entire region. Historically, it is the presence of Irish in this region which is responsible for the linguistic characteristics of English there: speakers who shifted from Irish to English transferred features of their first language to the new target language and many of these became established features of English in the west and south-west of Ireland.
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References Breatnach, Risteard B. 1947. The Irish of Ring, Co. Waterford. Dublin: Institute for Advanced Studies. de Bhaldraithe, Tomás 1945. The Irish of Chois Fhairrge, Co. Galway. Dublin: Institue for Advanced
Studies. de Bhaldraithe, Tomás 1953a. Gaeilge Chois Fhairrge. An deilbhíocht. [The Irish of Cois Fhairrge. The morphology] Dublin: Institute for Advanced Studies. de Búrca, Seán 1958. The Irish of Tourmakeady, Co. Mayo. Dublin: Institute for Advanced Studies. Finck, Franz N. 1899. Die araner mundart. Ein beitrag zur erforschung des westirischen, 2 Bde. Marburg: Elwert’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung. Hamilton, Noel 1974. A phonetic study of the Irish of Tory Island. Belfast: Institute for Irish Studies. Henebry, Richard 1898. A contribution to the phonology of Déise-Irish. PhD thesis: University of Greifswald. Hickey, Raymond 1997. ‘Assessing the relative status of languages in medieval Ireland’, in: Jacek Fisiak (ed.), Studies in Middle English linguisticsBerlin: Mouton, 181-205. Hickey, Raymond 2011. The Dialects of Irish. Study in a Changing Landscape. Berlin: de Gruyter Mouton. Holmer, Nils 1962-5. The dialects of Co. Clare. 2 vols. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. Lucas, Leslie 1979. Grammar of Ros Goill Irish. Belfast: Institute of Irish Studies. McCone, Kim et al. 1994. Stair na Gaeilge. In ómós do Pádraig Ó Fiannachta [The history of Irish, in honour of Patrick O’Finaghty] St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth [National Unversity of Ireland]: Department of Irish. Mhac an Fhailigh, Éamonn 1968. The Irish of Erris, Co.Mayo. Dublin: Institute for Advanced Studies. Ó Baoill, Dónall 1986. Lárchanúint don Ghaeilge. [A common pronunciation for Irish] Dublin: Linguistics Institute. Ó Baoill, Dónall (ed.) 1990. Úsáid agus forbairt na lárchanúna. [Use and development of the common pronunciation] Dublin: Linguistics Institute. Ó Buachalla, Brendán 2003. An teanga bheo: Gaeilge Chléire. Dublin. Ó Catháin, Brian forthcoming. The Irish of East Mayo: A Phonetic Study. Dublin: Institute for Advanced Studies. Ó Dochartaigh, Cathair 1987. Dialects of Ulster Irish. Belfast: Institute of Irish Studies. O’Donovan, John 1845. A grammar of the Irish language. Dublin: Hodges and Smith. Ó Cuív, Brian 1944. The Irish of West Muskerry, Co. Cork. Dublin: Institute for Advanced Studies. Ó Cuív, Brian 1951. Irish Dialects and Irish-Speaking Districts. Dublin: Institute for Advanced Studies. Ó Cuív, Brian (ed.) 1969. A view of the Irish language. Dublin: Stationary Office. Ó Curnáin, Brian 2007. The Irish of Iorras Aithneach, County Galway. 4 vols. Dublin: Institute for Advanced Studies. Ó Murchú, Mairtín 1969. ‘Common core and underlying representations’, Ériu 21, 42-75. O’Rahilly, Thomas F. 1932. Irish dialects past and present, with chapters on Scottish and Manx. Dublin: Browne and Nolan. Reprinted in 1976. Ó Riagáin, Pádraig 2007. ‘Irish’, in: David Britain (ed.) Language of the British Isles. Cambridge: University Press. Ó Sé, Diarmuid 1995. An Teanga Bheo. Gaeilge Corca Dhuibhne. [The Living Language. The Irish of Corkaguiny (Dingle Peninsula)] Dublin: Linguistics Institute. Ó Sé, Diarmuid 2000. Gaeilge Corca Dhuibhne. [The Irish of Corkaguiny (Dingle Peninsula)] Dublin: Linguistics Institute. Ó Siadhail, Mícheál 1980. Learning Irish. Dublin: Institute for Advanced Studies. Ó Siadhail, Mícheál 1989. Modern Irish. Grammatical structure and dialectal variants Cambridge: University Press. Ó Siadhail, Mícheál and Arndt Wigger 1975. Córas fuaimeanna na Gaeilge. [The sound pattern of Irish] Dublin: Institute for Advanced Studies. Quiggin, E. C. 1906. A dialect of Donegal being the speech of Meenawannia in the parish of Glenties. Cambridge: University Press. Sheehan, M. 1944. Sean-chaint na nDéise. [The old dialect of the Deise (Co. Waterford)] 2nd edition Dublin. Sjoestedt-Jonval, Marie-Louise 1931. Phonétique d’un parler irlandais de Kerry. Paris: Ernest Leroux. Sjoestedt-Jonval, Marie-Louise 1938. Description d’un parler irlandais de Kerry. Paris: Champion. Sommerfelt, Alf 1922. The dialect of Torr, Co. Donegal. Christiania: Dybwad. Stockman, Gerald 1974. The Irish of Achill. Belfast: Institute of Irish Studies. Wagner, Heinrich 1958-64. Linguistic atlas and survey of Irish dialects. 4 Vols. Dublin: Institute for Advanced Studies.
Wagner, Heinrich 1979 [1959]. Gaeilge Theilinn. [The Irish of Teelin] 2nd edition. Dublin: Institute for Advanced Studies. Wigger, Arndt 1970. Nominalformen im Connemara-Irischen. Hamburg: Lüdke. Williams, Nicholas 1994. ‘Na canúintí a theacht chun solais’ [The coming to light of the dialects], in: McCone et al. (eds), pp. 447-78.
§ Located to the north of Dublin on Ireland’s eastern seaboard, County Meath offers industry an ideal mix of access to major transport and communications nodes, proximity to Ireland’s leading third level educational institutions, a highly skilled and well educated workforce, high quality infrastructure. Manufacturing is a key industry in Meath with an emphasis on furniture for both domestic and commercial use. Other manufacturing includes general engineering, food production and baking, building materials and carpets. The Meath Gaeltacht consists of two adjacent villages of Rath Cairn and Baile Ghib, which are located close to Navan town, in the centre of County Meath. Meath Gaeltacht Facts
1 County Meath is located in the east of Ireland and has a population of 184,135. County Meath saw a population growth of 13% in the 2006-2011 period. 40 per cent of the population is under 25-years-old; 2 The Meath Gaeltacht is the smallest Gaeltacht area and consists of two adjacent villages of Ráth Chairn and Baile Ghib. Navan, 8km from Baile Ghib, is the main centre within the region with a population of 20,000+; 3 The Meath Gaeltacht has a population of 1,771 and represents 1.7% of total
Gaeltacht population; 4 The Meath Gaeltacht encompasses a geographical area of 44km2. This represents 1 per cent of total Gaeltacht land area; 5 The Gaeltacht of Royal Meath has a slightly different history than that of the country’s other Irish speaking regions. The two Gaeltachtaí of Baile Ghib and Ráth Chairn are resettled communities, where the Irish government of the 1930s redistributed the vast estates of absentee landlords as small farm holdings to poor farmers from the Gaeltacht areas of Connemara, Mayo and Kerry. The aim was to redress a centuries old imbalance, where the Irish farmers were forcibly removed from this land by the English under Oliver Cromwell, with the infamous edict to ‘Hell or Connacht’. When the Irish farmers returned to the land in Meath, they brought with them their native language and culture, which today is greatly celebrated in the small Gaeltacht of Baile Ghib and Rath Cairn, 70 km from Dublin city; 6 In 2011 there were 190 people employed in a full-time capacity in Údarás na Gaeltachta client-companies in the Meath Gaeltacht. Local Industries/Enterprises
Údarás na Gaeltachta have selectively targeted certain areas of industry, in particular those which produce sophisticated and high value added products and services. These offer the best growth potential and the best prospects of generating long term sustainable employment. Economic activities in the Meath Gaeltacht include engineering and food manufacturing. Transportation Systems Distance From Ráth Chairn/Baile Ghib to: 7 Dublin Airport 31m/50km 8 Dublin City and Port 27m/43km 9 Shannon Airport 127m/203km Air services
Dublin Airport Dublin Airport handles direct flights to numerous cities in Europe, North America, Africa and the Middle East. Further information: www.dublinairport.com Rail services The Dublin / Sligo line serves County Meath with a station at Enfield, while the Dublin / Belfast line serves the east of the county with a station at Gormanstown. Further information: www.irishrail.ie Bus services Bus Éireann provide services to County Meath from Dublin, Sligo, and elsewhere. Meath is easily accessible by regular bus service to and from Dublin with Bus Éireann. Further information: www.buseireann.ie Medical Services in County Meath 10 Our Lady’s Hospital, Navan Education in the Gaeltacht 11 Pre-Schools: 2 12 Primary Schools: 4 13 Secondary Schools: 1 Third Level Education There is a wide variety of third level education opportunities in nearby Dublin, including: 14 Dublin City University www.dcu.ie 15 Trinity College Dublinwww.tcd.ie 16 University College Dublin www.ucd.ie 17 Dublin Institute of Technologywww.dit.ie 18 Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies www.dias.ie 19 The Royal College of Surgeonswww.rcsi.ie 20 American College Dublin www.amcd.ie Training for Industry FÁS Employment Services Offices provide career advice and guidance including information on job and training opportunities as well as temporary employment options. Recreational Facilities County Meath offers everything you could ask for in terms of recreation and amenities. A natural playground for golf, equestrian, walking, angling, fishing, water sports, arts and crafts and cycling enthusiasts. Further information: www.eastcoastmidlands.ie
www.discoverireland.com Telecommunications services Advanced telecommunications services are critical for the attraction of direct investment, for the development of indigenous industry and the promotion of the knowledge economy. The Gaeltacht regions are fully integrated into Eircom’s National Fibre Network with access to all high speed and advanced services. Broadband availability is comparable with all other rural regions in Ireland and the EU with at least 62 per cent of lines being DSL enabled. In addition wireless based broadband services are available in many regions offering competitive options to companies and the community.
( Click on the any of the location labels in the above map to listen to typical sound files )
Irish dialects today The term for an Irish-speaking area is Gaeltacht ‘Irish region’ (Ó Riagáin 2007: 224ff.). In present-day Ireland a distinction is made between two types of Gaeltacht, depending on the numbers of Irish-speakers living there: (1) Fíor-Ghaeltacht, lit. ‘true Irish-area’ refers to those areas with a high-percentage of
speakers (though the threshold for this has not been officially defined) and (2) Breac-Ghaeltacht, lit. ‘part Irish-area’ which has considerably fewer Irish speakers. Occasionally, the English-speaking areas are referred to collectively as Galltacht ‘region of the non-Irish’, the stemGall- meaning ‘foreign(er)’. The standard dialect survey of Irish is Heinrich Wagner’s comprehensive atlas (see Wagner 1958-64). But even when this was being compiled in the mid twentieth century the speakers were older males whose Irish was frequently moribund. The situation today is that large tracts of both halves of Ireland have no historically continuous Irish-speaking areas any more. There are no such areas in Northern Ireland or in Leinster. In Munster there are remnants in Ring in Co. Waterford and in Muskerry in Co. Cork. along with a more robust community at the end of the Dingle peninsula in Co. Kerry. The community on Clear Island off the south-west coast of Cork contains virtually no native speakers, see Ó Buachalla 2003 for a treatment of this dialect. Irish in Mayo receded dramatically in the second half of the twentieth century, so that the studies of de Búrca (1958) and that of Mhac an Fhailigh (1968) are now of largely historical interest. The areas in coastal Co. Galway and on the two minor Aran Islands, as well as that on Tory Island in Donegal and the mainland opposite it, represent the most vibrant communities today.
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Dialects and the teaching of Irish If there is no standard pronunciation of Irish how and what do students of the language learn? The answer is quite simple: for grammar and vocabulary students learn from textbooks and dictionaries. They are taught pronunciation from their teachers. These will have a single pronunciation based on the dialect which they in turn followed when they were learning the language. In general one can say that people from the south follow a southern pronunciation and those from the north a northern pronunciation. Those from the centre or east of the country follow a western or southern pronunciation but rarely if ever a northern one. Put in terms of colleges and universities this rule of thumb works out as follows. At the universities in Cork and Limerick a southern pronunciation is the rule, at the university in Galway a western pronunciation is usual. At northern universities, i.e. at Queen’s University in Belfast and at the various campi of the University of Ulster (in Belfast, Coleraine and Derry) a northern pronunciation dominates. In Dublin universities (University College Dublin, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin City University) either a western or a southern pronunciation is common as these institutions tend in the main to service students from the Republic of Ireland, south of Ulster. It is true that Donegal is in the republic, but in language it receives its greatest support from universities in Northern Ireland. Similar to the universities, the institutes of technology§ tend to follow the accent of the region in they are located, assuming that they have academic programmes for Irish. An additional factor is the question of where students of Irish go to practice the spoken language. There are three choices here: the summer schools and colleges in the Kerry, Connemara or Donegal Gaeltacht. For students, spending time in a Gaeltacht will strengthen their pronunciation for that region. And of course students are encouraged by their college teachers to decide on one dialect and keep to this. For students of Irish it is important to grasp what features are typical of what dialect region. In the following sections, the main phonological differences between the dialects of Irish, as recorded in the available literature, are given in summary form. The references are to individual studies. More general literature is also available, from the mid-19th century grammar by O’Donovan (1845) to the influential study by O’Rahilly (1932) to later works like Ó Cuív (1951) and Ó Siadhail (1989). The main differences between the dialects are to be found among vowels which is why it is so difficult to arrive at a common pronunciation for all three main dialect areas (but see Ó Baoill 1986 and Ó Baoill (ed.) 1990). Most general works on Irish often fudge the issue by not giving pronunciations (the official standard does not either). One or two are based on a particular dialect, such as Ó Siadhail (1980) which relies on western Irish pronunciation. For more information on different pronunciations and for active maps, consult the module on dialect variation§.
§
Southern Irish
This refers to a few areas in the southern province of Munster. The main one is the end of the Dingle Peninsula (Irish: Corca Dhuibhne). The others comprise a small area on the Iveragh Peninsula, an inland area in Co. Cork, the island of Cape Clear as well as the area of Ring in West Waterford (see map above). For all dialects areas, the reflexes of historical vowels before former geminate sonorants play an important role in differentiation. In Southern Irish the following realisations are found: /i/ > /ai/ cinn ‘heads’, /o/ > /au/ trom ‘heavy’, /a/ > /au/ crann ‘tree’. The following features are also important in delimiting southern Irish from forms in the west and north. The realisation of <ao> This is pronounced /e:/, e.g. glaoch /gle:x/ ‘call’. See O’Rahilly (1932: 27-38) for an overview in all the dialects including Scottish Gaelic. Sonorants A two-way distinction is found for N and L. Velar stops are retained in post-nasal position, i.e. teanga is [tjæŋgə] ‘tongue’. /v/ before a back or low vowel is realised as [v]. The realisation of coronal stops These are realised with very slight palatalisation. The non-palatal stops /t/ and /d/ are alveolar. Word stress Long vowels in non-initial syllables attract stress, e.g. cailín /kaˡlji:nj/ ‘girl’. This may be the result of Anglo-Norman influence (in the south-east) after the 12th century as older authors like O’Rahilly seem to think (1932: 86-98) and certainly applied to many French loanwords, e.g.buidéal /bəˡdje:l/ ‘bottle’. See Hickey (1997) for further discussion. Literature Déise Irish, Ring (South Co. Waterford), Henebry (1898), Breatnach (1947), Sheehan (1944). West Muskerry (West Co. Cork), Ó Cuív (1944). Dunquin (Dingle Peninsula, Co. Kerry), Sjoestedt-Jonval (1931, 1938), Ó Sé (1995, 2000).
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Western Irish This refers to forms of Irish spoken west of Galway and on the Aran Islands. Irish is still a daily language for most of the population in Cois Fhairrge (immediately west of Galway city) and the areas around An Cheathrú Rua (Carraroe), Ros Muc, Cill Chiaráin, Carna (on the peninsula known in Irish as Iorras Aithneach) further along the coast. This is encompasses the area known as Ceanter na nOileán ‘district of the islands’, especially because the largest of these, Leitir Móir ‘Lettermore’ is a strong Irish-speaking area. Western Irish also includes the two smaller Aran Islands (in Galway Bay), Inis Meáin and Inis Oírr as well as the main island Inis Móir, especially outside the main town of Cill Rónáin. Western Irish would also include the area of Tuar Mhic Éadaigh (Tourmakeady) in south Mayo. Reflexes of historical vowels before former geminate sonorants: /i/ > /i:/ cinn, ‘heads’, /o/ > /u:/ trom ‘heavy’, /a/ > /a:/ [ɑ:] crann ‘tree’. The realisation of <ao> This is generally pronounced /i:/, e.g. glaoch /gli:x/ ‘call’. Sonorants A three-way distinction is found for N and L, i.e. /nˠ – n – nj/ and /lˠ – l – lj/. Velar stops are not retained in post-nasal position in Cois Fhairrge, i.e. teanga is [tjæŋə] ‘tongue’, but these are found in this position further to the west. /v/ before a back or low vowel is realised as [w]. The realisation of coronal stops These are realised in western Irish as true palatals without noticeable affrication. The stops /t/ and /d/ are dental. Word stress Initial stress applies to virtually all words with the exception of one or two loanwords such as tobac /təˡba:k/ ‘tobacco’. Literature Cois Fhairrge (Mid-West Co. Galway), de Bhaldraithe (1945, 1953). Iorras Aithneach (West Co. Galway), Ó Curnáin (2007). Inishmaan (middle Aran Island, Galway Bay), Finck (1899). Tourmakeady (South Co. Mayo), de Búrca (1958). Erris (North-West Co. Mayo), Mhac an Fhailigh (1968). Achill (West Co. Mayo), Stockman 1974. Remnants of Irish in Co. Clare (transitional between the west and south) are described in Holmer (1962-5).
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Northern Irish (Ulster
Irish)
Up to the early 20th century there were still remnants of Ulster Irish spoken in central Tyrone (in the
Sperrin Mountains), in the Glens of Antrim and on Rathlin Island (both in the extreme north-east of Ireland). Somewhat earlier still Irish could be found in south Armagh and on the Cooley Peninsula in Co. Louth. Today the Irish language is spoken in Ulster in two main areas on the coast of Co. Donegal. The first is in the south-west of this country (Wagner 1979 [1959]) and the second and larger area is in the north-west, particularly the region around Gaoth Dobhair. Irish is also spoken on Tory Island off the north-west coast. The Irish term for the Donegal Gaeltacht is Tír Chonaill (‘country of Connell’). The region in the vicinity of Gaoth Dobhair is often referred to as Cloich Cheannfhaola (‘Kineely’s stone’). Reflexes of historical vowels before former geminate sonorants: /i/ > /i/ cinn ‘heads’, /o/ > /ɔ/ trom ‘heavy’, /a/ > /a/ crann ‘tree’. The realisation of <ao> This is pronounced as a retracted high front vowel: /ɨ:/, e.g. glaoch /glɨ:x/ ‘call’. The degree of retraction for this vowel is greatest in the north of Donegal. Other vowels There is a general fronting of vowels in northern Irish. The /u:/ is pronounced as a high rounded vowel, much as in the rest of Ulster (an areal feature covering both Irish and English), e.g. cúl [kʉ:l] ‘rear’. The long low vowels, pronounced [ɑ:] in western Irish, is often fronted to a value nearer [æ:] or [ɛ:], e.g. tá [tæ:, tɛ:] ‘(it) is’. A lowered and retracted variant of /e:/ is found as the reflex of /a/ and a velar fricative, e.g.slaghdán [slˠɛdˠənˠ] ‘cold (illness)’. The mid back vowel /o:/ is also lowered, e.g. pósta [pɑ:stə] ‘married’. Sonorants A three-way distinction is found for N and L, i.e. /nˠ – n – nj/ and /lˠ – l – lj/. Velar stops are variably retained in post-nasal position, i.e. teanga is [tjæŋ(g)ə] or [tjæŋ(g)i] ‘tongue’. /v/ before a back or low vowel is realised as [w]. The realisation of coronal stops These are realised in northern Irish as palatals with audible affrication. The stops /t/ and /d/ are dental. Word stress Stress is on the first syllable though there is considerable shortening of post-initial long vowels (as opposed to western Irish), e.g.sceireog ‘fib, lie’ /ˡsjkjɛrəg/. The Mayo dialects in the north-west of this county, which are spoken by very small numbers today, are not simply transitional between the central western and the northern dialects. They show a large number of Ulster features due the resettlement of people from Ulster in north-west Mayo in the 17th century. The Irish of this region has been studied, in particular in Erris (North-West Co. Mayo) by Mhac an Fhailigh (1968) and in Achill(West Co. Mayo) by Stockman (1974). For East Co. Mayo, see Ó Catháin (forthcoming). See Ó Dochartaigh (1987) for a general overview. Literature Teilinn (South West Co. Donegal), Wagner (1979 [1959]). Glenties (Central South Co. Donegal), Quiggin (1906). Torr (Gweedore, Co. Donegal), Sommerfelt (1922). Tory Island (North West Co. Donegal), Hamilton (1974). Ros Goill (North Co. Donegal), Lucas (1979).
The Doegen Tapes There is a collection of tape recordings made of native speakers by the German scholar Dr. Wilhelm Doegen between 1928 and 1931. The tapes in questions have been digitised and a selection of them are available at the following address: http://www.nuacht.com/colm/recordings.html§. They provide invaluable insights into the nature of Irish about a century ago and help to fill in certain gaps of our knowledge of areas which no longer contain any native speakers, e.g. Co. Clare, an important transition area between Munster and Connacht. More information on the tapes from Ulster is available at http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/~oduibhin/doegen/index.htm§ (provided by the Scottish Gaelic College, Sabhal Mòr Ostaig§.
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Dialects of English in
Ireland
The following map shows the dialect regions for varieties of English in Ireland. There is a certain correlation with Irish inasmuch as Ulster is a separate area here as well. The large west and south-west English dialect area corresponds to the region which contains western and southern Irish. These varieties previously filled the entire region. Historically, it is the presence of Irish in this region which is responsible for the linguistic characteristics of English there: speakers who shifted from Irish to English transferred features of their first language to the new target language and many of these became established features of English in the west and south-west of Ireland.
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References Breatnach, Risteard B. 1947. The Irish of Ring, Co. Waterford. Dublin: Institute for Advanced Studies. de Bhaldraithe, Tomás 1945. The Irish of Chois Fhairrge, Co. Galway. Dublin: Institue for Advanced
Studies. de Bhaldraithe, Tomás 1953a. Gaeilge Chois Fhairrge. An deilbhíocht. [The Irish of Cois Fhairrge. The morphology] Dublin: Institute for Advanced Studies. de Búrca, Seán 1958. The Irish of Tourmakeady, Co. Mayo. Dublin: Institute for Advanced Studies. Finck, Franz N. 1899. Die araner mundart. Ein beitrag zur erforschung des westirischen, 2 Bde. Marburg: Elwert’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung. Hamilton, Noel 1974. A phonetic study of the Irish of Tory Island. Belfast: Institute for Irish Studies. Henebry, Richard 1898. A contribution to the phonology of Déise-Irish. PhD thesis: University of Greifswald. Hickey, Raymond 1997. ‘Assessing the relative status of languages in medieval Ireland’, in: Jacek Fisiak (ed.), Studies in Middle English linguisticsBerlin: Mouton, 181-205. Hickey, Raymond 2011. The Dialects of Irish. Study in a Changing Landscape. Berlin: de Gruyter Mouton. Holmer, Nils 1962-5. The dialects of Co. Clare. 2 vols. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. Lucas, Leslie 1979. Grammar of Ros Goill Irish. Belfast: Institute of Irish Studies. McCone, Kim et al. 1994. Stair na Gaeilge. In ómós do Pádraig Ó Fiannachta [The history of Irish, in honour of Patrick O’Finaghty] St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth [National Unversity of Ireland]: Department of Irish. Mhac an Fhailigh, Éamonn 1968. The Irish of Erris, Co.Mayo. Dublin: Institute for Advanced Studies. Ó Baoill, Dónall 1986. Lárchanúint don Ghaeilge. [A common pronunciation for Irish] Dublin: Linguistics Institute. Ó Baoill, Dónall (ed.) 1990. Úsáid agus forbairt na lárchanúna. [Use and development of the common pronunciation] Dublin: Linguistics Institute. Ó Buachalla, Brendán 2003. An teanga bheo: Gaeilge Chléire. Dublin. Ó Catháin, Brian forthcoming. The Irish of East Mayo: A Phonetic Study. Dublin: Institute for Advanced Studies. Ó Dochartaigh, Cathair 1987. Dialects of Ulster Irish. Belfast: Institute of Irish Studies. O’Donovan, John 1845. A grammar of the Irish language. Dublin: Hodges and Smith. Ó Cuív, Brian 1944. The Irish of West Muskerry, Co. Cork. Dublin: Institute for Advanced Studies. Ó Cuív, Brian 1951. Irish Dialects and Irish-Speaking Districts. Dublin: Institute for Advanced Studies. Ó Cuív, Brian (ed.) 1969. A view of the Irish language. Dublin: Stationary Office. Ó Curnáin, Brian 2007. The Irish of Iorras Aithneach, County Galway. 4 vols. Dublin: Institute for Advanced Studies. Ó Murchú, Mairtín 1969. ‘Common core and underlying representations’, Ériu 21, 42-75. O’Rahilly, Thomas F. 1932. Irish dialects past and present, with chapters on Scottish and Manx. Dublin: Browne and Nolan. Reprinted in 1976. Ó Riagáin, Pádraig 2007. ‘Irish’, in: David Britain (ed.) Language of the British Isles. Cambridge: University Press. Ó Sé, Diarmuid 1995. An Teanga Bheo. Gaeilge Corca Dhuibhne. [The Living Language. The Irish of Corkaguiny (Dingle Peninsula)] Dublin: Linguistics Institute. Ó Sé, Diarmuid 2000. Gaeilge Corca Dhuibhne. [The Irish of Corkaguiny (Dingle Peninsula)] Dublin: Linguistics Institute. Ó Siadhail, Mícheál 1980. Learning Irish. Dublin: Institute for Advanced Studies. Ó Siadhail, Mícheál 1989. Modern Irish. Grammatical structure and dialectal variants Cambridge: University Press. Ó Siadhail, Mícheál and Arndt Wigger 1975. Córas fuaimeanna na Gaeilge. [The sound pattern of Irish] Dublin: Institute for Advanced Studies. Quiggin, E. C. 1906. A dialect of Donegal being the speech of Meenawannia in the parish of Glenties. Cambridge: University Press. Sheehan, M. 1944. Sean-chaint na nDéise. [The old dialect of the Deise (Co. Waterford)] 2nd edition Dublin. Sjoestedt-Jonval, Marie-Louise 1931. Phonétique d’un parler irlandais de Kerry. Paris: Ernest Leroux. Sjoestedt-Jonval, Marie-Louise 1938. Description d’un parler irlandais de Kerry. Paris: Champion. Sommerfelt, Alf 1922. The dialect of Torr, Co. Donegal. Christiania: Dybwad. Stockman, Gerald 1974. The Irish of Achill. Belfast: Institute of Irish Studies. Wagner, Heinrich 1958-64. Linguistic atlas and survey of Irish dialects. 4 Vols. Dublin: Institute for Advanced Studies.
Wagner, Heinrich 1979 [1959]. Gaeilge Theilinn. [The Irish of Teelin] 2nd edition. Dublin: Institute for Advanced Studies. Wigger, Arndt 1970. Nominalformen im Connemara-Irischen. Hamburg: Lüdke. Williams, Nicholas 1994. ‘Na canúintí a theacht chun solais’ [The coming to light of the dialects], in: McCone et al. (eds), pp. 447-78.
§ Located to the north of Dublin on Ireland’s eastern seaboard, County Meath offers industry an ideal mix of access to major transport and communications nodes, proximity to Ireland’s leading third level educational institutions, a highly skilled and well educated workforce, high quality infrastructure. Manufacturing is a key industry in Meath with an emphasis on furniture for both domestic and commercial use. Other manufacturing includes general engineering, food production and baking, building materials and carpets. The Meath Gaeltacht consists of two adjacent villages of Rath Cairn and Baile Ghib, which are located close to Navan town, in the centre of County Meath. Meath Gaeltacht Facts
1 County Meath is located in the east of Ireland and has a population of 184,135. County Meath saw a population growth of 13% in the 2006-2011 period. 40 per cent of the population is under 25-years-old; 2 The Meath Gaeltacht is the smallest Gaeltacht area and consists of two adjacent villages of Ráth Chairn and Baile Ghib. Navan, 8km from Baile Ghib, is the main centre within the region with a population of 20,000+; 3 The Meath Gaeltacht has a population of 1,771 and represents 1.7% of total
Gaeltacht population; 4 The Meath Gaeltacht encompasses a geographical area of 44km2. This represents 1 per cent of total Gaeltacht land area; 5 The Gaeltacht of Royal Meath has a slightly different history than that of the country’s other Irish speaking regions. The two Gaeltachtaí of Baile Ghib and Ráth Chairn are resettled communities, where the Irish government of the 1930s redistributed the vast estates of absentee landlords as small farm holdings to poor farmers from the Gaeltacht areas of Connemara, Mayo and Kerry. The aim was to redress a centuries old imbalance, where the Irish farmers were forcibly removed from this land by the English under Oliver Cromwell, with the infamous edict to ‘Hell or Connacht’. When the Irish farmers returned to the land in Meath, they brought with them their native language and culture, which today is greatly celebrated in the small Gaeltacht of Baile Ghib and Rath Cairn, 70 km from Dublin city; 6 In 2011 there were 190 people employed in a full-time capacity in Údarás na Gaeltachta client-companies in the Meath Gaeltacht. Local Industries/Enterprises
Údarás na Gaeltachta have selectively targeted certain areas of industry, in particular those which produce sophisticated and high value added products and services. These offer the best growth potential and the best prospects of generating long term sustainable employment. Economic activities in the Meath Gaeltacht include engineering and food manufacturing. Transportation Systems Distance From Ráth Chairn/Baile Ghib to: 7 Dublin Airport 31m/50km 8 Dublin City and Port 27m/43km 9 Shannon Airport 127m/203km Air services
Dublin Airport Dublin Airport handles direct flights to numerous cities in Europe, North America, Africa and the Middle East. Further information: www.dublinairport.com Rail services The Dublin / Sligo line serves County Meath with a station at Enfield, while the Dublin / Belfast line serves the east of the county with a station at Gormanstown. Further information: www.irishrail.ie Bus services Bus Éireann provide services to County Meath from Dublin, Sligo, and elsewhere. Meath is easily accessible by regular bus service to and from Dublin with Bus Éireann. Further information: www.buseireann.ie Medical Services in County Meath 10 Our Lady’s Hospital, Navan Education in the Gaeltacht 11 Pre-Schools: 2 12 Primary Schools: 4 13 Secondary Schools: 1 Third Level Education There is a wide variety of third level education opportunities in nearby Dublin, including: 14 Dublin City University www.dcu.ie 15 Trinity College Dublinwww.tcd.ie 16 University College Dublin www.ucd.ie 17 Dublin Institute of Technologywww.dit.ie 18 Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies www.dias.ie 19 The Royal College of Surgeonswww.rcsi.ie 20 American College Dublin www.amcd.ie Training for Industry FÁS Employment Services Offices provide career advice and guidance including information on job and training opportunities as well as temporary employment options. Recreational Facilities County Meath offers everything you could ask for in terms of recreation and amenities. A natural playground for golf, equestrian, walking, angling, fishing, water sports, arts and crafts and cycling enthusiasts. Further information: www.eastcoastmidlands.ie
www.discoverireland.com Telecommunications services Advanced telecommunications services are critical for the attraction of direct investment, for the development of indigenous industry and the promotion of the knowledge economy. The Gaeltacht regions are fully integrated into Eircom’s National Fibre Network with access to all high speed and advanced services. Broadband availability is comparable with all other rural regions in Ireland and the EU with at least 62 per cent of lines being DSL enabled. In addition wireless based broadband services are available in many regions offering competitive options to companies and the community.
