Consonants The phonemic consonant inventory of Ulster Irish (based on the dialect of
Gweedore) is as shown in the following chart (see
International Phonetic Alphabet for an explanation of the symbols). Symbols appearing in the upper half of each row are
velarized (traditionally called "broad" consonants) while those in the bottom half are
palatalized ("slender"). The consonants are neither broad nor slender. Some characteristics of the
phonology of Ulster Irish that distinguish it from the other dialects are: • is always the
approximant . In other dialects,
fricative is found instead of or in addition to . No dialect makes a
phonemic contrast between the approximant and the fricative, however. • There is a three-way distinction among coronal nasals, , and laterals, , as there is in Scottish Gaelic, and there is no lengthening or diphthongization of short vowels before these sounds and . Thus, while "head" is in Connacht and in Munster, in Ulster it is (compare Scottish Gaelic ) • is pronounced as if it is spelled ( or ) after consonants other than . This happens in Connacht and Scottish Gaelic as well. • is often realised as and can completely disappear word finally, hence unstressed - (a common suffix) is realised as , , or . For some speakers is realised as .
Vowels The
vowels of Ulster Irish are as shown on the following chart. These positions are only approximate, as vowels are strongly influenced by the palatalization and velarization of surrounding consonants. The
long vowels have short
allophones in
unstressed syllables and before . In addition, Ulster has the
diphthongs . • Before , where an unstressed schwa is found in other dialects, Ulster has with secondary stress (identical to ), e.g. "angry" and "
hurling". • is more
fronted in Ulster than Connacht and Munster (where it is ), as or even preceding slender consonants. Unstressed and merge with as (). • Stressed word final , , and preceding a syllable containing tend to represent . For example "good" and "chair", in contrast to and found in other regions. • Stressed , , as well as after an initial , represent which generally merges with in younger speech. • has three main allophones:
morpheme finally and after broad consonants, before broad consonants, before slender consonants. • Stressed and represent rather than which is found in the other dialects. • before broad consonants merges with , and vice versa. That is, merges with before slender consonants. • represents for many speakers, but it often merges with especially in younger speech. • and are pronounced , unless beside where they raise to , the main realisation in other dialects, e.g. "mobile phone". • Stressed , , and mainly represent , not as in the other dialects. • Word final unstressed represents , not as in the other dialects, e.g. for "summer". • Word final and merge with and , respectively, e.g. "baby", "make", "summer (gen.)" and "collect". Both merge with in Connacht, while in Munster, they are realised and , respectively. • According to Ó Dochartaigh (1987), the loss of final
schwa "is a well-attested feature of Ulster Irish", e.g. for "long".
East Ulster and West Ulster Differences between the Western and Eastern sub-dialects of Ulster included the following: • In West Ulster and most of Ireland, the vowel written is pronounced (e.g. ), but in East Ulster it was pronounced (e.g. as it is in Scottish Gaelic (). J. J. Kneen comments that Scottish Gaelic and Manx generally follow the East Ulster pronunciation. The name is pronounced in Munster and in West Ulster, but in East Ulster, whence anglicized spellings like
Shane O'Neill and
Glenshane. • In East Ulster, in the middle of a word tended to vanish and leave one long syllable. William Neilson wrote that this happens "in most of the counties of Ulster, and the east of
Leinster". • Neilson wrote was , especially at the beginning or end of a word "is still retained in the North of Ireland, as in Scotland, and the Isle of Man", whereas "throughout Connaught, Leinster and some counties of Ulster, the sound of is substituted". However, broad may become in the middle of a word (for example in "book"). ==Morphology==