irish dialects

This article is about dialects of the Irish language. For dialects of English used in Ireland, see Hiberno-English and Ulster-Scots.

There are three major dialects of Modern Irish: Munster, spoken in Counties Cork, Kerry, and Clare; Connacht, spoken in Counties Galway and Mayo; and Ulster, spoken in County Donegal. In addition, a committee at the Institiid Teangeolaochta ireann has devised a standardized pronunciation known as the Lrchanint ('Central Dialect'), which is based closely on the standard spelling of Irish. Although the Lrchanint is an artificial dialect, every aspect of it corresponds to some spoken dialect. So nothing in the Lrchanint is completely made up.

Lexical variation

Here are some examples of lexical items that vary across the dialects of Irish. U = Ulster, C = Connacht, M = Munster, N = Ulster and northern Connacht, S = Munster and southern Connacht. Forms marked with * are not recognized in the standard language.

cluinim (N)	cloisim (S)
'cattle'	eallach (N)	beithgh (S)
'calf'	gamhain (N)	lao (S)
'sick'	tinn (N)	breoite (S)
'fox'	madra rua (UM)	sionnach (C)
'wings'	eiteoga (U)	sciathin (C)
'at all'	ar chor ar bith (UC)	in aon chur (M)
'soap'	*spa (U)	*gallaoireach (C)	gallnach (M)
'cabbage'	cl (U)	gabiste (CM)
'under'	*f (U)	faoi (C) \| *f (M)
'Irish'	*Gaeilig (U)	Gaeilge (C)	*Gaeilinn (M)
'will see'	*tchfidh (U)	feicfidh (C)	*chfidh (M)
'what is?'	cad at (U)	card t (C)	cad a th (M)
'table'	tbla (U)	bord (CM)
'when?'	c huair (U)	cn uair (C)	cathain (M)
'seagull'	*faoileog (U)	faoilen (C)	*faoileann (M)
'after'	i ndiaidh (U)	*thar is (C)	tar is (M)

Phonological variation

The phonemic inventories and surface realizations of the spoken dialects differ from the general pattern discussed on the page Irish phonology in the following ways:

Munster

The fricative v is found in syllable-onset position.
Some, but not all, varieties have a phoneme /h/ distinct from /h/.
There are the additional diphthongs /əi/, /ou/, and /ia/.
Word-internal clusters of obstruent + sonorant, m + n/r, and stop + fricative are broken up by an epenthetic ə, except that stop + liquid remains in the onset of a stressed syllable.
Orthographic short a is diphthongized (rather than lengthened) before word-final m and the Old Irish tense sonorants /N L N L m m/ (e.g. ceann kaun 'head').
Word-final /j/ is realized as g.
Stress is attracted to noninitial heavy syllables: kər^|ka:n 'pot', malə^|vo:g 'satchel'. Stress is also attracted to ax in the second syllable: kə^|lax 'rooster', bə^|naxt 'blessing', bə^|kaxə 'lame' (pl.).
Unstressed /a/ surfaces as a, rather than ə, when the following syllable is stressed and contains a high vowel: ka^|li:n 'girl'; kar^|tu: 'correct' (v.n.).
In some varieties, long /a:/ is rounded.

Connacht

There is vowel lengthening before word-internal clusters of voiced stop + liquid.
Some varieties have maintained some or all of the Old Irish tense sonorants /N L N L/ (but not /R R/), often without lengthening of orthographic short vowels before them.
In the variety spoken in Cois Fhairrge, underlying short /a/ is realized as a long front a: while underlying long /a:/ is realized as a back ɑ:.
/n/ is realized as r (or is replaced by /r/) after consonants other than s. This happens in Ulster as well.

Ulster

The glide w is found for /v/ in all positions.
Some or all of Old Irish /N L N L/ (but not /R R/) have been retained.
Orthographic short vowels remain short before ll, m, nn.
There is an additional long vowel, the mid-open back rounded /ɔ:/ (cf. the vowel of British English thought). This corresponds to the /o:/ of other dialects. The Ulster /o:/ corresponds to the /au/ of other dialects.
The short mid vowel phoneme has three +back allophones: o adjacent to labials, ɞ (a mid central rounded lax vowel) before a voiced stop, a nasal or /L/, and ɔ elsewhere.
The short high vowel phoneme has two +back allophones: u before word-final /w/ and /h/; ɞ elsewhere.
Long vowels are shortened when in unstressed syllables.
/n/ is realized as r (or is replaced by /r/) after consonants other than s. This happens in Connacht as well.
Long /a:/ surfaces as a low front :.
Orthographic -adh in unstressed syllables is always u (this includes verb forms).
Unstressed orthographic -ach is pronounced ax, ah, or a.

Morphological variation

Initial mutations

In Donegal there is lenition instead of eclipsis of a singular noun after preposition + article: ag an fhear>

Standard ag an bhfear	'at the man'
Don. ar an chrann	Standard ar an gcrann	'on the tree'
Don. as an phirc	Standard as an bpirc	'out of the garden'
Don. leis an chailn	Standard leis an gcailn	'with the girl'
Don. n chat	Standard n gcat	'from the cat'

Nominal system

Many nouns have dialectal plurals different from those of the standard language: caoire>

for caoirigh	'sheep'
fearaibh	for fir	'men'
focla	for focail	'words'
spealta	for speala	'scythes'
tamallacha	for tamaill	'periods of time'

In some dialects of Connacht the plural endings -anna and -acha are always replaced by -anna and -acha. It is also common in Connacht that all 2nd declension nouns end in slender consonants in the nominative singular. Connacht -acha, -anna>

for -acha, -anna	Pl. ending
brig	for brg	'shoe'
ceird	for ceard	'craft'
cluais	for cluas	'ear'
cois	for cos	'foot, leg'
limh	for lmh	'hand'

Verbal system

In Munster synthetic forms (those with personal endings) are more often used than in the standard language, where analytic forms (those with a general ending + personal pronoun) are more common. molair>

Standard molann t	'you (sg.) praise'
Mun. molaid	Standard molann siad	'they praise'
Mun. mholas	Standard mhol m	'I praised'
Mun. mholais	Standard mhol t	'you (sg.) praised'
Mun. mholabhair	Standard mhol sibh	'you (pl.) praised'
Mun. mholadar	Standard mhol siad	'they praised'
Mun. molfad	Standard molfaidh m	'I will praise'
Mun. molfair	Standard molfaidh t	'you (sg.) will praise'
Mun. molfaid	Standard molfaidh siad	'they will praise'

In Connacht the nonstandard synthetic forms are used, if at all, only in responses. (Irish has no words for 'yes' and 'no'; rather, the verb of the question is repeated.) Connacht "An molfaidh t ?" (analytic)>

'Will you (sg.) praise him?'
"Molfad." (synthetic)	'Yes.'
(Standard "Molfaidh.")
"Ar bhris t na gloin?" (analytic)	'Did you break the glasses?'
"Nor bhriseas." (synthetic)	'No.'
(Standard "Nor bhris.")

In Ulster and North Connacht the analytic forms are even more common than in the standard language. molann muid>

Standard molaimid	'we praise'
N mholadh muid	Standard mholaimis	'we used to praise'
N mholadh siad	Standard mholaids	'they used to praise'
N mhol muid	Standard mholamar	'we praised'
N molfaidh muid	Standard mholfaimid	'we will praise'
N mholfadh muid	Standard mholfaimis	'we would praise'
N mholfadh siad	Standard mholfaids	'they would praise'

The 2nd conjugation future stem suffix in Ulster is -ch- ah rather than --. beannchaidh m mə>

Standard beannidh m me:	'I will bless'
Uls. d'inseochadh siad siəd	Standard d'inseoids dinso:di:s	'they would tell'

Some irregular verbs have different forms in the dialects from those in the standard language. 'to do, make' in the present:

Ulster independent nm, nonn t/s/s/muid/sibh/siad

Ulster dependent n dhanaim, n dhean(ann) t/s/s/muid/sibh/siad

Connacht danaim, danaimid, danann t/s/s/sibh/siad

Munster deinim, deinir, deinimid, deinid, deineann s/s/sibh

'to do, make' in the past, independent forms:

Ulster rinn m/t/s/s/muid/sibh/siad

Munster dheineas, dheinis, dhein s/s, dheineamar, dheineabhair,deaineadar

(The dependent forms in all dialects are very similar to the standard.)

'to see' in the present:

Ulster independent tchm, tch(onn) t/s/s/muid/sibh/siad tsi:(m)

Munster independent chm, chmid, chonn t/s/s/sibh/siad

(The dependent forms in all dialects are very similar to the standard.)

'to give' in the present:

Ulster independent bheirim, bheir(eann) t/s/s/muid/sibh/siad

Ulster dependent n thabhraim or n thugaim, n thabhrann or n thugann

Munster independent bheirim, bheirir, bheirimid, bheirid, bheireann s/s/sibh

Munster dependent n thugaim, n thugair etc.; an dtugaim, an dtugair etc.

'to give' in the future:

Ulster independent bharfaidh m/t/s/s/muid/sibh/siad

Ulster dependent n thabharfaidh; an dtabharfaidh

Connacht tiraidh m/t/s/s/sibh/siad, tiraimid

Munster independent bharfad, bharfair, bharfaimid, bharfaid, bharfaidh s/s/sibh

Munster dependent n thabharfad, n thabharfair etc.; and tabharfad etc.

Particles

In Ulster cha(n) instead of n and char instead of nor are sometimes used. Cha dtuigim.>

Standard N thuigim.	'I don't understand.'
Uls. Cha phgfaidh muid.	Standard N phgfaimid.	'We will not kiss.'
Uls. Chan lfadh siad .	Standard N lfaids .	'They wouldn't drink it.'
Uls. Char thuig m th.	Standard Nor thuig m th.	'I didn't understand you.'

In Munster n is used instead of nach. N tuigir m?>

Standard Nach dtuigeann t m?	'Don't you (sg.) understand me?'
Mun. N hlaid bainne?	Standard Nach n-lann siad bainne?	'Don't they drink milk?'

In Munster the particle do is sometimes used in the past. Do thuigeas th.>

Standard Thuig m th.

'I understood you.'

Syntactic variation

In Munster go (gur) is used instead of a (ar) as the indirect relative particle

Munster	an fear go bhfuil a dheirfir san ospidal
\|\| Standard \|\| an fear a bhfuil a dheirfir san ospidal
\|\| \|\| 'the man whose sister is in the hospital'
(2)	Munster	an seomra gur chodlaos ann
\|\| Standard \|\| an seomra ar chodail m ann
\|\| \|\| 'the room that I slept in'

All other important dialectal differences in the syntax relate to the use of the copula.

Ulster

In Ulster all present forms of the copula besides is and chan (= standard n) end in b; furthermore it is very frequently the case that only the pronoun is used after the copula, regardless of whether it refers to a masculine or feminine noun in the singular or plural.

Ulster	Chan Caitln an minteoir.
\|\| Standard \|\| N h Caitln an minteoir.
\|\| \|\| 'Caitln is not the teacher'
(4)	Ulster	Ab Rnn an minteoir?
\|\| Standard \|\| An Rnn an minteoir?
\|\| \|\| 'Is Rnn the teacher?'
(5)	Ulster	Deirtear gob na daoine sin na minteoir.
\|\| Standard \|\| Deirtear gurb iad na daoine sin na minteoir.
\|\| \|\| 'It is said that those people are the teachers.'
(6)	Ulster	Deirtear nab an minteoir.
\|\| Standard \|\| Deirtear nach an minteoir.
\|\| \|\| 'It is said that he isn't the teacher.'

Also in Ulster the pronouns , , iad may be absent between an indefinite noun in the predicate and the subject.

Ulster	Is minteoir Cit.
\|\| Standard \|\| Is minteoir Cit.
\|\| \|\| 'Cit is a teacher.'
(8)	Ulster	Is scolir na fir sin.
\|\| Standard \|\| Is scolir iad na fir sin.
\|\| \|\| 'Those men are scholars.'
(9)	Ulster	Is sagart m'uncail.
\|\| Standard \|\| Is sagart m'uncail.
\|\| \|\| 'My uncle is a priest.'

In the standard language a pronoun may optionally be repeated at the end of a sentence after a definite predicate. Both possibilities are recognized by the standard language, but in practice the pronoun is there in Connacht and Munster, and is absent in Ulster.

Standard	Is an minteoir ().
\|\| Ulster \|\| Is an minteoir.
\|\| Conn./Mun. \|\| Is an minteoir .
\|\| \|\| 'He is the teacher'
(11)	Standard	Is an scolire ().
\|\| Ulster \|\| Is an scolire.
\|\| Conn./Mun. \|\| Is an scolire .
\|\| \|\| 'She is the scholar.'
(12)	Standard	Is iad na sagairt (iad).
\|\| Ulster \|\| Is iad na sagairt.
\|\| Conn./Mun. \|\| Is iad na sagairt iad.
\|\| \|\| 'They are the priests.'
(13)	Standard	Is sin fear mo ghruagaire ().
\|\| Ulster \|\| Is sin fear mo ghruagaire.
\|\| Conn./Mun. \|\| Is sin fear mo ghruagaire .
\|\| \|\| 'That is my hairdresser's husband'

Connacht/Ulster

In the standard language there are two ways of forming a sentence like "I am a scholar": Is scolire m and T m i mo scolire. These sentences have slightly different shades of meaning: Is scolire m is more permanent (individual-level predicate), T m i mo scolire more temporary (stage-level predicate). In Connacht and Ulster there is a third construction, which corresponds to both meanings. The predicate is topicalized and the sentence ends with "which is in me" etc.

Is	scolire	at	ionam.'''
\|\| COP \|\| scholar \|\| D.R.-is \|\| in-me

'I am a scholar' (= Standard Is scolire m/T m i mo scolire)

Is	mangach	at	ann.
\|\| COP \|\| pollock \|\| D.R.-is \|\| in-it

'It is a pollock' (= Standard Is mangach )

Is	ireannach	at	inti.
\|\| COP \|\| Irish person \|\| D.R.-is \|\| in-her

'She is Irish.' (= Standard Is ireannach /T s ina hireannach)

This construction is only possible when the logical subject is a pronoun. It cannot be used with nouns. (17) * Is scolire at i m'athair. (18) * Is ireannach at i mBrd.

South Connacht

In South Connacht the past tense form ba is not fused with a preceding particle, but remains an individual word. n ba, an mba, nach mba, go mba for standard nor(bh), ar(bh),nr(bh), gur(bh)

SC	An mba mhinteoir t?	(20)	SC	An mb'iascaire t?
\|\| Standard \|\| Ar mhinteoir t? \|\| \|\| Standard \|\| Arbh iascaire t?
\|\| \|\| 'Were you a teacher?' \|\| \|\| \|\| 'Were you a fisherman?'
(21)	SC	N ba mhinteoir m.	(22)	SC	N b'iascaire m.
\|\| Standard \|\| Nor mhinteoir m. \|\| \|\| Standard \|\| Norbh iascaire m.
\|\| \|\| 'I was not a teacher.' \|\| \|\| \|\| 'I was not a fisherman.'
(23)	SC	Nach mba mhinteoir t?	(24)	SC	...go mba mhinteoir m
\|\| Standard \|\| Nr mhinteoir t? \|\| \|\| Standard \|\| ...gur mhinteoir m
\|\| \|\| 'Weren't you a teacher?' \|\| \|\| \|\| '...that I was a teacher'
(25)	SC	...go mb'iascaire m	Standard	...gurbh iascaire m	'...that I was a fisherman'

Munster

In Munster, when an indefinite noun, an adjective, or a prepositional phrase forms the predicate of the copula, it is normal for the predicate to come at the beginning of the sentence; next comes is ea ('it is'), and the subject comes at the end. Predicate + is ea (ab ea in the past) + subject

Munster	Feirmeoir is ea .
\|\| Standard \|\| Is feirmeoir .
\|\| \|\| 'He is a farmer'
(27)	Munster	Bean de Mhuintir Thuathail ab ea .
\|\| Standard \|\| Ba bhean de Mhuintir Thuathail .
\|\| \|\| 'She was a woman of the O'Toole Family.'
(28)	Munster	Leis an r is ea na heala.
\|\| Standard \|\| Is leis an r na heala.
\|\| \|\| 'The swans belong to the king.'
(29)	Munster	n bhFrainc ab ea an bhean uasal.
\|\| Standard \|\| Is n bhFrainc a bh an bhean uasal.
\|\| \|\| 'The lady came from France.'

Irish Dialects

Lexical variation

Phonological variation

Munster

Connacht

Ulster

Morphological variation

Initial mutations

Nominal system

Verbal system

Particles

Syntactic variation

Ulster

Connacht/Ulster

South Connacht

Munster

See also