Page:Aids to the Pronunciation of Irish - Christian Brothers.djvu/46

, and hence the consonant becomes a continuous sound or spirant.

From the table of consonants given in the last chapter it will be seen that and  are the only pure consonants (the liquids are semi-vowels) which are spirants. It will be also seen that all the aspirated letters come under the heading “Spirants.”

35. The following examples will show how the aspirated consonants are formed. To produce the sound of the consonant the lips are pressed firmly together for an instant, and voiced breath is forced out on separating them. If we wish to produce the sound of aspirated (or ), we must breathe the whole time whilst trying to form the sound of —i.e., we must not close the lips entirely, and the resulting sound is like the English consonant “v.” Hence we say the sound of  (in some positions) is “v” (or better, the voiced sound of ).

(a) To produce (broad) the back of the tongue is raised so as to make contact with the soft palate; but for  the back of the tongue is brought very close to the soft palate, but does not touch it, so as to leave a small passage for the continuous stream of voiced breath.

When initial,  has the same sound as  broad.

(b) For the sound of the inside of the lower lip is pressed against the edge of the upper teeth, and the breath is forced out between them. For the teeth and the lower lip do not touch at all, and the result is an inaudible stream of air. Hence is silent.