Page:Aids to the Pronunciation of Irish - Christian Brothers.djvu/32

 difference between and  is that  is  (§ 3),.

Throughout the most of Ireland the English sounds of “th” are never heard. The vast majority of Irishmen employ the broad sounds of and. In English “th” is not a “stop,” it is a spirant, the tongue being placed between the teeth in such a way that the breath is not completely stopped.

(a) Broad in Irish has not quite so hissing a sound as the English “s.” The tongue is placed on the “hard rim” for the production of the English “s,” whilst it is placed between the slightly opened teeth for the Irish broad, and a softer sound is the result.

(b) The sounds of slender and  are perhaps the most difficult sounds for a learner to acquire. Pronounce several times the English words “no” “now” “new” and “Newry” For the “n” in the first two words (i.e., hard “n”) the point of the tongue is pressed straight against the “hard rim” whilst for the “n” in “new” and “Newry” it is the front of the tongue that is pressed against the “hard rim” the point of the tongue touching the inside of the upper teeth.

To produce the slender sound of and  the tongue is put into position for the “N” of “Newry,” and then a  or a  is pronounced. The contact between the front of the tongue and the “hard rim” is broken gradually, and consequently an incipient spirant is heard with the slender and. This gradual breaking of the contact is necessary for the production of the true slender sounds. The incipient