Page:Graimear na Gaedhilge.djvu/17

 PART I.—ORTHOGRAPHY.

CHAPTER I.

The Letters.

The Irish alphabet contains eighteen letters, five of which are vowels, the remaining thirteen are consonants.

The vowels are, , , , ; and the consonants are , , , , , , , , , , , ,.

The vowels are divided into two classes.


 * (1) The broad vowels:, ,.
 * (2) The slender vowels:,.

The vowels may be either long or short. The long vowels are marked by means of an acute accent (´) placed over the vowel, as (big) pronounced like the English word more; a short vowel has no accent, as  (praise), pronounced like mul in the English word mulberry. Carefully distinguish between the terms "broad vowel" and "long vowel." The broad vowels are not always long vowels, neither are the slender vowels  always short.

In writing Irish we must be careful to mark the accents on long vowels. See words distinguished by accent, par. 14.