Page:Aids to the Pronunciation of Irish - Christian Brothers.djvu/35

 manner the sound of Whilst the tongue is pressed against the upper teeth send a current of voiced air through the nose (because  is a nasal consonant). A distinct hum is again produced. Notice the effect of tapping the side of the nose with the finger. No effect is produced if we tap the cheek, because all the air is passing out through the nostrils.

The sonant portion of (also of  and ) is a short nasal neutral —i.e., a  formed by keeping the tongue flat in the mouth.

23. Initial broad, and  broad have a strong sound not heard in English. To produce this sound the tongue is pressed firmly against the inside of the upper teeth, whilst for the English “l” the tongue is pressed against the “hard rim.”

Initial slender, and  slender have a sound resembling the “l” in the words “valiant,” “William,” “million”: the point of the tongue presses against the lower teeth, and the front of the tongue touches the upper teeth and the “hard rim.”

Single when between vowels, or at the end of words, has the sound of the English “l” in “well,” “will,” “wall” &c. The point of the tongue is pressed against the “hard rim.”

Single following  or  has its full broad or slender sound according to the adjoining vowels—e.g.,.