Irish dialects
General
Today's Irish is usually divided into three major dialect zones, named after the provinces in which they are spoken:
So few traces of the extinct Leinster- Irish have survived that no precise description can be reconstructed. These larger zones can, however, be divided into smaller and smallest sub-dialects.
The Ulster dialect is now effectively restricted to the Irish-speaking areas of County Donegal . (The dialect spoken on Rathlin Island is linguistically assigned to Scottish Gaelic .)
The Connacht dialect is spoken in the northern part of County Mayo and County Galway . The two language islands in County Meath are also part of the Connacht dialect.
The Munster dialect is spoken in Counties of County Kerry , County Cork, and County Waterford .
All Irish dialects show clear peculiarities in all areas of the language system ( phonology , morphology , syntax and lexicons ), but these are often significantly less than e.g. B. the differences between the German dialects.
The standard language is specifically not based on any of the three dialects, but rather on a "common denominator" of all three, but is in fact most similar to the Connacht dialect.
Phonology
depend
In contrast to Munster ( M ) and Connacht ( C ), the character sequence abh is pronounced in Ulster ( U ) as a long closed / oː /, so U [ goːr ] gabhar 'goat' opposite M and C / gaur /.
adh, agh
In Ulster, parallel to the pronunciation of abh , adh and agh are articulated as long / eː / in most cases : U / eːrk / adharc 'horn' as opposed to M / C / airk /, U / sleːdaːn / slaghdán 'cold' compared to M / C / slaidɑːn /. Older speakers still have a relatively peculiar sound ([ ɞː ]) here, but this has almost completely disappeared today.
-adh (at the end of the word)
The letters connection adh is the word ending in Munster and South Connacht ( SC , County Galway ) as [ ə ] articulated (d. E. As if only -a would be written) in North Connacht ( NC , County Mayo ) and Ulster but as / uː /. Accordingly, the word samhradh 'summer' is pronounced in Munster and Connacht as / saurə /, in Mayo and Donegal as / sauruː /. However, there are some special features to consider here:
- The ending -adh in the past tense and conditional of the verbs is articulated in Munster and Süd-Connacht as / əx /, in Nord-Connacht as / uː /: M / SC / xir´həx ʃaːn /, NC / U / xir´huː ʃaːn / chuirfeadh Seán 'Seán would lay', M / SC / voləx mə vak /, U / voluː mə vak / 'My son praised'.
- However, if the verb form is followed by a pronoun beginning with s ( i.e. sé, sí, sinn, sibh, siad ), the ending of imperfect and conditional in Connacht and Ulster is pronounced as / ət /. So / xirhət ʃeː / chuirfeadh sé 'he would lay', / volət ʃiv ' / mholfadh sibh ' you would praise '. In Munster this distinction is not made and everywhere / əx / is articulated.
- The impersonal form in -adh is pronounced in North Connacht and Ulster as / uː /, in South Connacht usually also as / uː /, but the form -íodh in verbs of the second conjugation as / iːv /. There are three competing pronunciations in Munster: In ( County Kerry ) (Corca Dhuibhne) / əx / is common, in ( County Cork ) / əɡ / (Muscraí) and / əv / (south coast). Accordingly, the form cuireadh 'man put' is pronounced as follows: Ulster and Connacht / kir´uː /, Munster / kir´əx / (Corca Dhuibhne), / kir´əg / (Muscraí) or / kir´əv / (south coast) .
-idh, -igh
Wortauslautendes -idh or -igh is in Munster as / əɡ' /, in South Connacht (parallel to -adh ) and / ə / and North Connacht and Ulster / i pronounced /: M / saurəɡ' /, SC / saurə /, NC / U / sauriː / samhraidh 'summer' (genitive).
-amh
Spell amh end of the word is in Ulster and North Connacht as / U /, in south Connacht as / ə / and Munster as / əv pronounced /. Corresponding to U / NC / taluː /, SC / talə /, M / taləv / for talamh 'soil, land'. This does not apply - at least in South Connacht - to words that do not belong to the dialect's original vocabulary, such as B. SC / m´ehəv / Meitheamh 'Juni' or SC / akədəv / acadamh 'Akademie'.
-imh
In the final position the connection is imh in South Connacht parallel to -amh only as / ə / (articulated SC / kr'ed'ə / creidimh '(' belief genitive)). In all other dialect areas one speaks / əv´ / ( M / NC / U / kr´ed´əv´ /). However, there are words in both North Connacht and Ulster in which the final imh is pronounced as a long / iː /. this is probably a morphological alignment of the words in -amh with those in -adh .
In the Munster dialect, bh / mh often disappears completely within the word: M / lɑː / lámha , / g´iːrə / geimhreadh 'winter'.
ao, aoi
The sound written as ao in today's Irish goes back to a Central Irish long vowel, which arose from the two old Irish diphthongs áe and óe , but whose exact sound value can no longer be determined. In Munster this sound is pronounced today as a long / eː /, in Connacht and Ulster as a long / iː /. In addition, there is an older pronunciation than / ɯː /. Corresponding to M / seːr /, C / siːr /, U / siːr / or / sɯːr / for saor 'free, cheap'.
Before palatalized consonants (orthographic aoi ), / iː / is spoken everywhere (also in Munster) : / siːr´ə / saoire 'free, cheap' (comparative). However, in Munster this mostly only applies to cases in which a consonant actually follows. If aoi stands alone at the end of the word, one speaks / eː /, e.g. B. / neː / naoi 'nine'.
Consonant + n
In Ulster and Connacht an original (and orthographic) is n to another consonant (not s ) as / r / articulates: U / C / MRA / M / MnA / mná , Women '. However, even in South Connacht at individual speakers / n / occur.
bh, mh
In today's Irish with be bh and mh consonants designated generally both pronounced the same, namely as Munster [ v ] (or [ .beta. ] ) and in Connacht and Ulster as [ w ] - M [ mə vuk ], C / U [ mə wuk ] mo mhuc 'my pig'.
In older speakers, however, vowels in connection with mh show more or less pronounced nasality. Likewise, some typical sound changes in vowels only occur in connection with mh , but not in connection with bh .
In parts of South Connacht (mainly in the area around Carna ), mh is also articulated as a consonant in the word interior, e.g. B. / savrə / samhradh 'summer' (opposite M and the rest of the SC / saurə /, NC / U / sauruː /).
Palatalized d and t
The palatalized d and t sounds a clearly perceptible dialect difference shows that in Ulster and partly in North Connacht these are called affricates [ dʒ ] and [ tʃ ] articulated, as in South Connacht clearly palatalized plosives [ dʲ ] and [ tʲ ], in Munster as (post) alveolar plosives [ d̠ ] and [ t̠ ].
Palatalized r
In Donegal, mainly in Gaoth Dobhair , palatalisiertes is r as [ j ] pronounced and can in conjunction with an unstressed vowel a long / i give /. So z. B. [ kɔːj ] cóir 'right', [ mæːjə ] Máire (proper name), [ mahiː ] máthair 'mother'.
cht
Another characteristic of North Donegal is the pronunciation of cht as / rt /, as in / ort / ocht 'eight' or / kosuːlart / cosúlacht .
á
In large parts of northern and central Donegal, with the center in Gaoth Dobhair , the long á is pronounced as [ æː ], e.g. B. [ bæːd ] bád 'boat'. This pronunciation is less common in the southern part of Donegal. All other dialects have a back [ɑː] (corresponding to [ bɑːd ]), which can be shifted to [ ɒː ] , especially in Munster .
In Ulster, long á before th is usually shortened: / lahər´ / láthair 'present'.
O
In Donegal, long ó is usually articulated as an open [ ɔː ]; B. [ kʲɔː ] ceo 'Nebel'. However, if ó is in the immediate vicinity of a nasal ( n, m, mh ), the pronunciation is a closed [ oː ], e.g. B. [ moːr ] mór 'big'.
In South Connacht, the original long / oː / becomes / uː / in the immediate vicinity of a nasal , e.g. B. / muː / mó 'larger', / nuːm´eːd / nóiméad 'minute. The word mór 'big' is an exception .
éa
Orthographic éa (i.e. long / eː / before velarized consonant) is pronounced as / eː / in Ulster and Connacht , but in Munster it is pronounced as / ia / in most cases . So z. B. M / k´iad / céad 'hundred', C / U / k´eːd /. However, there are individual words in M for which this rule does not apply.
Stress and vowel reduction
Emphasis
In Irish, the first syllable is always stressed. An exception to this is the Munster dialect, where a long vowel outside the first syllable draws the stress: M [ skəˈdɑːn ] as opposed to C [ ˈskudɑːn̩ ] and U [ skadan ] scadán 'Hering'. As can be seen from the example, in M the vowel of the first - now unstressed - syllable is often reduced and often disappears completely (e.g. in M barróg 'hug' and bróg 'shoe' are identical). The stress can also be shifted to the third syllable, provided the first two syllables are short (as in [ sp´el´əˈdoːr´ ] speileadóir 'reaper').
Vowel reduction
In Connacht a vowel of the first syllable before a following will á to / u / or / i / changed. The emphasis remains on the first syllable: [ ˈkuʃl´ɑːn ] caisleán 'castle', [ ˈɡ´irˈɡn ] gearán 'complaint'.
In Ulster Irish, all unstressed vowels are shortened, but usually not reduced, so that the difference between originally short and originally long vowels is preserved: [ ˈtaxran ] tachrán 'toddler'. Here is original ó often [ a ] , z. B. [ ɡ´ibaɡ ] giobóg 'scraps'.
Oh
In the compound ach in unstressed syllables is in Munster and Ulster that a not too / ə / been reduced and behaves like a long vowel. Correspondingly, an ach in the second syllable in Munster attracts the stress ( M [ bəˈkɑx ] bacach 'lahm'). In Ulster, the reserves / a / in these cases its original quality: [ ɡ'alax ] gealach , Moon '. This special development is missing in Connacht and unstressed ach is pronounced as [ əx ]: [ k´itəx ] ciotach 'left-handed'.
morphology
The main differences in the field of morphology lie in the different uses of the initial mutations . There are also differences in the use of synthetic or analytical verb forms and sometimes in the formation of the plural .
Initial mutations
- A combination of preposition and article in the singular causes Lenition in the Ulster dialect, in the rest of the Irish language area eclipse: U ar an bh ealach 'on the way', C / M ar an mb ealach .
- In the entire area of the Connacht dialect, after sa 'im / in the' eclipse, instead of the otherwise usual lenition: C sa mbaile 'at home'.
- In Munster (mainly Kerry), eclipse occurs after preposition and article also with nouns that begin with d- and t- : M ag an ndoras 'at the door' (otherwise ag an doras ), ag an dteaghlach 'at the family' (otherwise ag to teaghlach ).
Verb endings
In the south of the Irish language area, synthetic verb forms are more common, the further north you go, the greater the number of analytically formed forms (as an example the verb bris 'break' in the present tense ):
| Muenster | Connacht / Ulster |
| brisim | brisim |
| brisir | briseann tú |
| briseann sé / sí | briseann sé / sí |
| brisimíd | briseann muid |
| briseann sibh | briseann sibh |
| brisid | briseann siad |
At least in Connacht, however, the old synthetic forms are still used as short answer forms.
Short forms of verbs
In Ulster, some verbs in the present tense are mostly used in a lenient, endless form:
| Ulster | Connacht | meaning |
| ghní sé | déanann sé | 'he makes' |
| tchí sé | feiceann sé | 'he sees' |
| bheir sé | tugann sé | 'he gives' |
| gheibh sé | faigheann sé | 'he gets' |
Future ending
In the Ulster dialect, verbs of the 2nd conjugation have the ending -eochaidh (usually spoken as [ ahi ]) instead of -eoidh in the other dialects. So z. B. U imeochaidh sé 'he will go' instead of C / M imeoidh sé .
negation
As a negation particle in the Ulster dialect (with the exception of South Donegal) cha (before vowels chan ) is used instead of the otherwise usual ní : U chan ólann sé 'he does not drink', C / M ní ólann sé . In connection with cha (n) , the present tense is usually used instead of the future tense, so chan ólann sé also means 'he will not drink'.
Particle do
In Munster, the past particle do is often (at least with older speakers) also used in verb forms that begin with consonants. In this position it is fundamentally absent in the other dialects:
M do chuir sé 'he put' instead of C / U chuir sé
vocabulary
In the vocabulary area, there is sometimes a division into a northern and a southern variant (the Connacht dialect sometimes follows the Ulster, sometimes the Munster dialect) -
| North | south | meaning |
| bruith | beirigh | 'boil, cook' |
| cluin | clois | 'Listen' |
| corr- | fo- | 'isolated' |
| deifir | deabha | 'Hurry' |
| madadh | madra | 'Dog' |
| spád | rámhainn | 'Spade' |
partly a separation according to the three dialect areas:
| Ulster | Connacht | Muenster | meaning |
| bomaite | nóiméad | neomat | 'Minute' |
| caidé / goidé | céard | cad | 'What?' |
| fa | faoi | fé | 'over' |
| foirsteanach | feiliúnach | oiriúnach | 'suitable' |
| préata | fata | práta | 'Potato' |
| ruball | drioball | eireaball | 'Tail' |
(However, faoi is also used in Ulster to mean 'under' , so that there is a difference between fá and faoi that is absent in the other dialects.)
literature
- O'Rahilly, Thomas F .: Irish Dialects Past and Present . Dublin, 1932.
- Ó Siadhail, Mícheál: Modern Irish: Grammatical Structure and Dialectal Variation . Cambridge, 1991.