Page:Aids to the Pronunciation of Irish - Christian Brothers.djvu/23

 corresponding long vowel. If we remove the quantity mark— the (&prime;) — from any long vowel we immediately denote the short sound of that vowel, if there are no disturbing influences present.

(d) (long). This vowel is called the second or mid vowel. The jaws are not so far asunder in the production of this vowel as they are for, the lips are rounded, but not protruded; the back of the tongue is arched more towards the soft palate, and consequently the point of the tongue is drawn a little farther back than for , but is kept close to the bottom of the mouth (Fig. II.).

(e) (short). When stressed this vowel has the short sound of the previous vowel—the tongue and lips assuming the same positions for both; so that this short sound does not correspond with the sound of “u” in the word “but.”

In Ulster is generally pronounced like the “o” in “lord” or “adorn”; but when followed by, it is pronounced like in Connaught and Munster as described in (c). Short “o” is like the “o” in “for,” but when the “o” is followed by or  it has the sound of  in the other dialects (Craig).

In Dēsi (Waterford) beside is usually pronounced —e.g.,, &c, also in the words  (Henebry).

In Desmond (Cork and Kerry) and are usually pronounced  and.