How to Pronounce Irish Names 🗣️👂🇮🇪☘️ (and other Irish words): A quick guide

[@irishpolyglot]

I'm so happy this video is so well received. Thank you everyone!! For further tips on any Irish pronunciations I couldn't get to in the video, see my comments below on that. If you liked it, please subscribe to my channel for more fun tips on language learning and much more, and feel free share this video with whoever you think would benefit from watching it! For a next recommended video along the same general theme to watch on my channel, check this one out for a laugh: kzbin.info/www/bejne/h3upkqx8hKaGg8k

[@fiannamorgan1165]

Benny Lewis what about fianna?

[@paoloelialombardo8676]

Hi Benny, could you please tell me the pronunciation of the term "Mo Cuishle"?

[@goudagirl6095]

As one of Irish descent here in the states, I love the Irish language and just general "Irishness." :-) Thanks for the language info. I knew some of the language rules but not all (eg, I have a cousin names Sean, and I just recently figured out that Siobhan was pronounced shih-von). As well your accent is adorable, IMO! :)

[@petermartin6705]

Benny Lewis: Do you know the name of the artist and song played in the background? I love the tune. Thank you!

[@kathleenvh]

You are easy on the eyes (and ears) dude haha

[@oof-madone]

People who can't pronounce niamh properly is my biggest pet piamh.

[@raesosa1108]

Lol

[@peachwood8884]

W O W.

[@peachwood8884]

Same tho

[@basakaybasakay5000]

That was brilliant

[@angeloflovesteph]

😂😂😂😂

[@TheTopazGrove]

My irish teacher always said there’s no thugs in irish only hugs.

[@sharpeslass5452]

The irony...

[@fightinandirish]

There are Feics too :)

[@crystalheart9]

That's cute, a good way to remember.

[@jordantampubolon8694]

Thugs but the ‘T’ is not silent

[@gizmogoose.2486]

T'ugs

[@DrelvanianGuardOffic]

Irish: "Once you learn a letter or letter combination, you can pronounce any new word." English: "Through tough thorough thought"

[@tatianaG]

Throughout

[@theMosen]

True, though.

[@11dallis]

Bough, enough

[@11dallis]

Bought, caught

[@tatianaG]

I thought it through thoroughly. It was tough. I had enough.

[@PattyBandAidz]

My grandmother, who has been in the US for about 90 years now (she's 98) still pronounce my name as padrig (Patrick) ... more specifically she says, "yer moi padrig"

[@Flowering_Glume]

Your Gran is moi storin!

[@MadisonWestfield]

My husband speaks the language and he's from Ireland. I swoon every time he speaks it. It's so pretty.

[@irishpolyglot]

My (American) wife still finds me cute. Hopefully the feeling lasts through the decades :D

[@Blaisem]

My girlfriend also swoons over the Irish accent. Unfortunately I'm not one of the lucky to have an Irish accent.

[@chloe-vl2bv]

Madison Mukbang aww thanks

[@Elemiriel]

Blaisem now you can!

[@johnnieshreve5018]

Omg lucky you!

[@twistedcoffee1187]

Love the Irish sounds. It gives me the image of good old times where the globe were more diverse in terms of culture and language. Mystic and enchanting Irish pronunciations.

[@cestmoi5702]

Agreed.

[@fiedelmina]

why not do some travelling. The world is full of languages and cultures. Try the mediterranean.

[@kevinkarnes4067]

More diversity = more interesting. For example, check out the Bright Side channel's video about all 7 billion people speaking a 'Universal Common Language'. ✌❤

[@spiritmatter1553]

@@kevinkarnes4067 Spoken like a globalist. "Mono" cultures, such as the American Amish, are quite interesting and textured just as they are. They don’t need an "injection" of a totally different culture to make them "interesting."

[@whatsonhermind1768]

The world is super diverse in terms of language…ummm in America it’s probably the most diverse, save for the uk, but we use English despite background which can be seen as a good or bad thing

[@richardoshaughnessy1669]

I don’t know why I’m watching this I’m already Irish

[@moonlight_ooo9235]

lol same and I already know the language XD XD XD XD

[@sharondiviney4383]

Same

[@BenHeffernan337]

Tá mé cosúil leis

[@whyamihereeeeeeeeeee1400]

Yeah

[@felixcoleosullivan1294]

Ya me too

[@billmoran3812]

I’m an old man, but I still dream of spending quality time in Ireland while I learn the Irish language.

[@97AshleyRose]

@My Dixie Wrecked so it is English I’d love to go to Ireland or some other country one day

[@monicamurray5090]

@My Dixie Wrecked yes we speak English now but it wasn't always so. When you have lived under Imperial rule, be it France, Spain, The Netherlands, Portugal and in our case, England for a few hundred decades, in Ireland's case, 800, and you are forbidden to speak your native language, well then you have no choice but to learn to speak English. But we do have areas in Ireland where they still speak Gaelic (Irish) on a day to day basis but they also know how to speak English too. But in Ireland nowadays, we are a melting pot of different nationalities, languages, creeds and colour but Gaelic is still part of our school curriculum so everyone gets a chance to learn another language apart from English and their own language. Some of these folk immerse themselves in not only the traditions of the areas they reside in, like learning to play Gaelic football and Hurling but the language too. There is a guy from Japan who travels to Ireland every year to one of our Gaelic speaking areas on order to learn to speak Gaelic. Maybe not in the last couple of years cos of the pandemic but maybe next year he'll come back.

[@monicamurray5090]

@My Dixie Wrecked eh and your point is?

[@banjobradley3644]

Im middle aged man. I speak Australian

[@monicamurray5090]

@Jon Valler Hey John. Are you a Gaelic scholar by any chance?

[@carolj2013]

This makes reading books set in Ireland, or with Irish characters so much easier to read! Thank you!

[@ReneeandJimmyG]

James Joyce!

[@soundsleep5470]

What I find sad, is that most people dont even know that Irish is a language :(

[@Silent.]

I have friends that thought Irish was English :/

[@soundsleep5470]

Sad... Since I think that Irish is a very beautiful language.

[@clara2335]

Hannibal Barca its dying out not many people use it only in ghaeltacht areas

[@soundsleep5470]

Claire Landers Well, I think the Irish are at fault, for not preserving their real culture...

[@clara2335]

Hannibal Barca spoken like a true foreigner. Read about the plantations for me and them get back to me about not preserving our culture!

[@shemyaza8934]

"Irish is phonetic" Me: yay I can learn it easily *immediately descends into vortex of anti-phoneticness*

[@ellajean3576]

lol irish is not phonetic 😂

[@mrrockmonkey1]

Irish is phonetic though. The rules of pronunciation are practically 100% consistent. If you know the rules, you should have no problem pronouncing virtually any word in Irish.

[@phonaesthem]

@@mrrockmonkey1 having a set of rules that apply consistently is not the same thing as being phonetic though

[@mrrockmonkey1]

@@phonaesthem It is. If the letters or groups of letters in a language always make the same sound (which is the case in Irish), the language is phonetic. A reader with knowledge of the Irish language's phonology can very easily pronounce any word even those which they haven't seen before. The only problem that arises is with dialectal variation but, again, the pronunciation in every dialect of Irish is also phonetic, with slightly different rules for each one.

[@phonaesthem]

@@mrrockmonkey1Maybe we have different definitions there. I understand "phonetic spelling" to mean that there is a one-to-one correspondence between graphemes and phonemes. So a contrast of broad and slender realizations of the same graphemes in different vowel contexts violates that concept. But I do see your point! I guess it all comes down to how you define the units of the orthography...

[@30noir]

Always admired my Irish friend 'Evan' for spelling her name in 8 letters when 4 would have been enough.

[@fabplays6559]

Huh? What’s her name?

[@CharmedKez]

@@fabplays6559 Eimhin which is pronounced Evan

[@Cloudy564]

@@CharmedKez She said 8 letters though? ÉimhÍn (don't foget the fadas ^-^) only has 6 and is a boys name. I think she means Aiobhinn (It's more pronounced like Aveen, though, not Evan).

[@CharmedKez]

@@Cloudy564 I merely gave a suggestion for the name, (although I did misread where it said 8 letters) I do not know this person so obviously I couldn’t know their actual name. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Also many names are gender neutral. My own name used to be predominantly a boys name before it became used more for females.

[@shirleyjenkins11]

@@CharmedKez indeed a lot of names have been tradionally one gender are being used for both same as surnames like Shirley. Traditional a surname but has been given to both males and females same as Marian being used as both male and female.

[@thekidfromiowa]

Learning broad vs slender will definitely help one understand why Irish is written the way it is.

[@Rin-th6hk]

Shout out to my parents for giving me the easiest Irish name to pronounce

[@tomryan914]

Gerald Fitzpatrick and Patrick Fitzgerald !

[@liamoore3827]

Erin Young they gave me liadan

[@kennemedia01]

I had a friend named Erin lol

[@Karlandra]

@@tomryan914 so Gereald son of Patrick and Patrick son of Gereald?

[@WreckinPoints11]

don't forget about Liam, that one's pretty easy

[@shootingthepastuk3712]

NO-ONE has EVER explained that to me as simply and straightforwardly as you have done. I gave up learning years ago, I might just start again. THANK YOU BENNY!!

[@irishpolyglot]

So happy to hear that!! Best of luck then!!

[@catarina2809]

How cool that Tomás is written in the exact same way for both Irish and Portuguese!

[@nestorbermudez8590]

Spanish too!

[@Terri_MacKay]

As a Canadian with 3 Irish grandparents, I found this incredibly interesting. Not only do I think that the names look beautiful when they're written, but, when they are pronounced properly, they sound beautiful as well.

[@joylox]

Just curious, have you seen any road signs in Canada use these types of spellings? Or is that just in places I've been. It seems to be pretty rare, but I thought it was cool to learn some of it by road signs. My Irish ancestry goes way too far back, but it's neat to learn about.

[@Terri_MacKay]

@@joylox I live in Southern Ontario, and I've never seen road signs that use these spellings. I've never travelled Down East, but I wonder if there are any places in the Maritime provinces that use these spellings. I would love to see signs like that, it would be very interesting. You're very lucky to have seen signs outside of Ireland using Irish spelling. Where have you seen them?

[@tomtoyota6479]

nah they sound shite

[@tomtoyota6479]

@@joylox you are not irish and do not have irish ancestors stop lying

[@Terri_MacKay]

@@tomtoyota6479 Just stop!!

[@cecizeni]

I'm going to have to look at this video two maybe three times for it to sink in

[@QueenBee-gx4rp]

Cindy Duran I don’t think I’ll even get it then!

[@scriqu]

Just a tip it's easyer if u don't think about it to much I'm speaking from years of experience

[@annagitana1]

Me too. I need one thing to be repeated a few times. It went too quick.

[@patriciakeats1621]

annagitana1 thought it was just me...too fast for my old brain.

[@catmom1322]

I actually took notes.

[@Suebee1988]

My friend...In less than 10 minutes, you have just explained something to me that has boggled my mind for years....How in the world do you get Shivon from Siobhán?? Now I know! Thank you, thank you....I am more interested than ever in learning Irish/Gaelic. My next question is - how much of a difference in the spoken language is there between various parts of Ireland? I know that there is such a thing as Ulster Irish and I believe there is a form of Gaelic spoken in Scotland also? Are people who speak these forms able to understand each other? thanks!

[@Cloudy564]

There's as many different dialects as there are regions. Now the most differences will be noticeable in the 4 counties (Ulster, Munster, Leinster, Connacht) but don't dismiss that there might not be more than that. Scottish has more letters, "Gàidhealtachd" (Scottish) vs "Gaeltacht" (Irish)... and is pronounced slightly differently as well. There used to be a saying I remember that said there's as many different dialects as there is (Scottish) clans and they always fought because they misunderstood each other, lol... so I leave the rest to your imagination ^-^ Can Irish and Scottish understand each other? I guess just as well as if they speak English (which means not really, because their English is completely differently pronounced, lol, for everyone who doesn't get that joke). In Ireland there's "An Caighdeán Oifigiúil" (The official standard) that is taught in schools, so I would go for that if you choose Irish over Scottish as most Irish speakers will now speak or understand this "Official version" apart from a few old folks maybe. (Also keep in mind that around 60% of Irish people can speak or understand Irish to some degree, but only an estimated of 2% of Scottish people speak Scottish Gaelic, thought last I heard the numbers are rising!).

[@redsharkills_7137]

In ireland its called gaeilge and in scotland it is gaelic and the scottish language comes from ulster irish from about 1500 years ago

[@Ruadh13]

It's not pronounced shivon, it's shivawn because of the long á at the end.

[@florenceobrien2822]

Of course theh can

[@tsmeman63]

Dankjewel! (Thank you!) from a Dutch 🇳🇱 girl, living in Ireland for 6,5 years now, but here to stay forever ! 💚🤍🧡☘️

[@pennylane1268]

Beautiful language, beautiful people, beautiful country. Love from Buenos Aires, Argentina.

[@RickyMacHatton]

I’m learning Irish, but I won’t lie at a beginners level I find it the hardest I’ve ever attempted. Tá brón orm. However, I’m determined to master it. The language of my ancestors

[@marypatelhattab6253]

I know what you mean. How about the word shillelagh? That one had me stumped for quite some time!

[@SwtGrnEyed86]

It definitely takes determination to learn the languages of our ancesters... I've been struggling with German for months lol good luck in your adventure!

[@RickyMacHatton]

@@marypatelhattab6253 there’s no Irish word that I guess correctly!

[@RickyMacHatton]

@@SwtGrnEyed86 danke! Und du!

[@keysofperception4377]

I'm not even Irish and I don't have Irish relatives but a few weeks ago I decided to give it a try. Oh my god, its so hard but I'm not giving up. Hope I'll master it one day

[@jordanhasch2544]

As delighted as I am to hear some of this broken down for me, I can't stop looking at the man speaking. He's gorgeous! And his warm voice sounds skin to a warm breeze.

[@stephj9378]

Yes, very good looking . And I like the music!

[@zoibaeza3475]

I'm learning Irish because I'm trying to write a novel set in Ireland. It's a beautiful language indeed.

[@zoibaeza3475]

@Jon Valler It will be set in present time and I know about the British domination. I am trying to learn as much as I can about irish history, culture and language to understand Irish people better. I respect them a lot 💚

[@zoibaeza3475]

@Jon Valler Thank you so much for the insights 😃

[@dallaslane6927]

@Jon Valler If by "based" you mean headquartered...then none of the companies you mentioned are based in Ireland...

[@hildaelson4203]

I wish Irish was still the principal language in Ireland, like actually every Irish’s first language.

[@gutworm686]

Yes because all the international companies would be there if you all spoke gibberish.

[@Kat-yv1yq]

Jacklyn Demon It’s more like the education system fails spectacularly at making Irish any way enticing to learn, its as if they purposely make it drab and purely academic. The few attempts to make the language relatable have been overwhelmingly cringy and of course, all media (which would make the most difference to people’s drive to learn) “as Gaeilge” is piss poor. TG4 is pathetic

[@gutworm686]

Kat nobody wants to learn it because there’s no point. It won’t get you work in anything other than teaching Irish.

[@fiedelmina]

@@gutworm686the Gaelic languages in Ireland and Scotland were deliberately destroyed 200 years ago when the "British" (rather: English) empire was just one big nationalist international company itself destroying everything it laid hands on. If that hadn't happened, maybe we'd actually live in a world with no international companies that keep destroying people and people's basis for living all over the globe.

[@Kat-yv1yq]

GuTWorm68 Not true. There’s point to learning any language. I’m not going to try and convince you otherwise, because people who whine about Irish never really change. Except a handful of Irish people who realise its value too late. My friend’s grandad is an example, he spent the last few years of his life wishing he’d taken the time to learn. Irish is a part of us, so much so that it bleeds in to the way we speak English. And besides, if there were decent Irish media forms about, it would seem a lot less “pointless.”

[@madderHare]

"A quick guide" *leaves more confused*

[@miriamhappe1066]

thankfully im not the only one :D

[@taraelizabethdensley9475]

I'm more confused

[@JojajoDam]

From dutch to Irish, help, I will need to take the beginners for real beginners lessons . How?!

[@lindac6919]

"It's easy if you learn a few rules." Sure, if I bring this encyclopedia of rules and refer to it for every word and name that I encounter. I'll never get my tea, at that rate.

[@Dr.Scorpio]

Ireland is an awesome country ❤️ the heavenly magically beautiful country and the west coast with it’s beautiful scenery. Nothing comes close to that. Thanks for the video 👌🏼 Best wishes to all.

[@mikontisott]

the landscape is lovely, it's the people and culture that is magical imho

[@alexg5513]

Excellent starting point for non speakers to get their heads around. Lovely tutorial

[@shannonquinn9757]

I think Irish names are some of the most beautiful names! My favorites are Caoimhe, Aoibheann, and Saoirse.

[@caoimhemcguinness9605]

Shannon Quinn my name is caoimhe😁😁

[@IDKHowButIDied]

Caoimhe McGuinness same

[@acoolcat2325]

i love niamh

[@ily.saoirse918]

My names Saoirse 😊

[@Chloe_xoxo_123]

My name is Shannon too & I named my daughter Saoirse. I heard it from the lovely actress Saoirse Ronan & loved it. I love Irish culture & language. I so wanted to use the Irish spelling, but I knew in America everyone would mispronounce it. I used the spelling of the pronunciation Seersha. I later saw a Scottish version "Saorsa" & wish I'd used it, as it seems a little easier for Americans. Sláinte!

[@rulersreachfan243]

I spent way too long pronouncing Siobhan as "see-ob-han" and now I'm cringing at myself

[@FirstnameLastname-es1ko]

Andrea Kinney lmao

[@bOBazOZA]

phew, though i was alone!

[@alzorama2876]

I was spared only because I went to school with a Siobhan!

[@Floral_Green]

A natural reaction, but logically, it makes no sense to blame yourself, since you had no idea how to read Gaelic phonetics. I’d like to see the average Irish person attempt to pronounce almost any Danish word, for instance

[@Ashley-iv8lc]

I did the exact same thing

[@RadCelt]

Is Meiriceánach mé agus táim ag foghlaim Gaeilge - míle buíochas as do chuid iarrachtaí - glacadh go maith leat!

[@shivadizayin]

It’s Greek to me

[@PeanutButterfly92]

My sister's name is Ciara. We pronounce it as "Sierra". Excuse me, while I go tell my sister that her whole life has been a lie.

[@sheshe6166]

My daughter’s name too!

[@pauljordan4452]

Pronounced as Keera.

[@karenbrooks2116]

My daughter’s name is Catriona and we learned later on it should be pronounced like Katrina. 😞

[@greatgownsbeautifulgowns]

@@karenbrooks2116 So the whole time I was pronouncing the actress from 'Outlander's name as Cat-tree-ohna🤦🏾‍♀️😂

[@karenbrooks2116]

@@greatgownsbeautifulgowns and that is how we pronounce my daughter name. 😊 most people in the US here can’t even pronounce it at all. 😂

[@Zombie_Burger]

5.22 minutes and you made more sense than all my Irish teachers though out the years. of course, we didn't have the internet back then.

[@scoobyloo3157]

WOW! That is SO hard! I'd like to say that your idea of easy is probably overestimating a tad! I speak fluent Greek, but find Irish much harder to pronounce. I've tried a few times, but my tongue won't co-operate! 😅 What a lovely, smiley guy you are and I've always thought that Irish names are the most beautiful in the world! I'd LOVE to have been named something like Siobhan or Sinead!

[@nk_saucy2394]

This just randomly showed up on my feed an honestly I don't regret watching. This has been the most educational 5 min 22 sec of my life

[@timward3116]

Geez, Benny, you make pronounciation seem easy. Learning the vocabulary and sentence structure, though, is probably the true challenge.

[@everlasting9292]

My mother thinks I'm crazy because if I ever have a daughter, I want to name her Saoirse. She says, "No one will ever be able to pronounce that!!" Well. No one can pronounce Rhianna properly, either. I doubt my girl will meet another girl with her name, unlike the 7 Ashleys and 12 Katies I know. Besides, it's beautiful. I adore old Irish and Welsh names.

[@sarahwalker4017]

Brittberrycrush I’m not sure about her but the celebrity Rihanna pronounces it like “Ree- Ann - Nuh” but most people say “Ree - Awe - Nuh”.

[@RE-qj9hh]

Brittberrycrush it has a few pronunciations. I'm from Dublin so we pronounce it like 'sur-sha'.

[@MinxyXoX]

Saoirse is on my girls name list too. I haven't had the guts to use it yet ☹️ I love Irish names though

[@chanteldyson7954]

Rhianna Williams one of my friends has just had a baby and named her that

[@Rhi16]

I get a lot of people who see my name badge, or my name written down and say 'Rhianna (Ree-an-na), like the singer?' And I go 'no, Rhiannon (Ree-an-non), like the song'. It is so frustrating the amount of people who dont see the 'on' at the end of my name and assume it is 'a'. In Aus, everyone I've met says 'Ree-an-na' for the singer, I only hear Americans call her Ree-ah-na on TV haha

[@irishpolyglot]

Hey everyone - I hope you enjoy the video!! Note that I wanted this to be as easy to watch as possible, and squeezing ALL the rules into a 5 minute video would have made it less watchable, so I glossed over a few points in favour of the Pareto principle I'm a fan of (learn just enough to get you what you need *most* of the time). So for instance, lenition actually applies to more than just the letter 'h'. You can have a 't' at the start of a word in some cases too, but for names especially this isn't something worth getting into if you are introducing yourself to the language. And technically 'r' and some other letters have slightly different pronunciations. When you have learned enough Irish to get started, it's handy to learn these rules, but you'll never have to worry about what Irish speakers think of you if you don't get those right at first. Applying what I said in this video will help you say the vast majority of Irish words/names correctly. So if you apply these rules, and say people's names based on them, you will make an Irish friend much quicker as they breath a sigh of relief in not having to correct you if they introduce themselves, or if you read their name aloud :) Anything beyond what I said in this video is fair game, and totally OK for you to say it based on your best guess. In fact, making mistakes in favour of speaking sooner - a philosophy that I talk about a long for language learning in general, is in part inspired by a philosophy we have in Ireland, which I think is encapsulated best by a phrase you'll hear or see on signs in the Gaeltacht to encourage people to speak Irish regardless of their level: "*Is fearr Gaeilge bhriste, ná Bearla cliste*" (Broken Irish is better than clever English) Go raibh míle maith agaibh (Thank you very much)!

[@panlan1]

excellent video..i'm second generation american..i can recall my grands all speaking gaelic and i loved their pronunciations in english..but we were a military family and wandered from base to base so were most often far from them..they were in brooklyn..i wish i could have spent more time with them..before their passing..your english is well understood and makes the struggle to learn a little easier than any i have viewed....good stuff man.appreciated..thanks.. go raibh maith agat i cheated by copy and paste...but hell man..it got me through the state sponsored schooling..lol..thanks again;()

[@notamused3715]

Both my parents were Irish and my mother taught me the few phrases I have. Now I have been living in Ireland, I'm learning the spellings a bit! Thanks for this, you were very clear and I'm relived to know I haven't made a complete hames of the few words I know,lol! Slan!

[@tinalurtzing5377]

Thank you so much for this video! I'm from Germany and I'm reading a book about Ireland, whose author uses the Gaelic names instead of anglicized versions. I appreciate that, but it also made it hard for me to read fluently, since I couldn't pronounce them correctly. Your lesson helped me a lot to enjoy the book. Thanks!

[@aoifemariamolloyagainstisl399]

Benny Lewis i speak irish with the connemara dialect

[@wjmurray2125]

Great video. My "old" family name in Co Monahan was spelled McNamurrig. Which is now Murray. How do you pronounce McNamurrig? Thank you!!

[@fatguy4994]

Learned more from this video than I have in 9 years in school

[@KatalinaKristina]

I’ve learned way more in this video in such a short amount of time than I have ever in my entire life of trying to study it on my own. THANKS MAN ✨❤️

[@MetaSiren]

I’m a very small percentage of Irish and I’ve always loved Irish accent, language and culture. Thank you for the lesson.

[@fabplays6559]

There are many Irish accents. :)

[@a.genesisd.g.7931]

Ireland really amazes me. I seriously don't know how I fell for Ireland. I love your language, your arts, your land, your waters, your music. I just don't know why. I've never been there. Thanks for this anyways. Lots of love from Philippines 😄💙

[@irishpolyglot]

Look around my channel to see my videoke clip, where I sing in Tagalog. All Philippines visitors will appreciate what their language sounds like with an Irish accent!

[@SandyRivers-dr3uy]

You are a great teacher. This was outstanding!

[@irishpolyglot]

I'll add a rolling list here (& update it based on your comments or whatever I remember) of any other crucial ones that could have been added to the video: - 't' before e/i is pronounced like the 'ch' in chair. So *Fáilte* (welcome) is pronounced more or less as "fawl-chuh" - even if another consonant separates it from the vowel, the rule still applies as if it were directly attached, so the 's' in *scéal* still has the 'sh' sound, giving "sh-kayl" - 'd' before e/i is pronounced like the letter 'j'. So the "Dia" in the phrase I showed is pronounced as 'jee-ya' (it means "god" and the full "dia dhuit" means "god be with you" as a greeting, typically used regardless of your religious leanings) - while the short vowels a/e/i/o/u are pronounced more or less as they are in many English words, the long vowels are á [aw], like "paw", é [ay] like "pay", í [ee] like fee, ó [oh] like snow, ú [oo] like "do" - Note that several of the rules I gave here don't apply universally, as there are different dialects in Ireland that have their own pronunciation rules. I tried to use what tends to be as universally applied as possible, especially with names.

[@irishpolyglot]

Cinnte. Scríobhfaidh mé go mbraitheann sé😉. Ní féidir liom canúintí na gaeilge a mhíniú... Níl ach 5 nóiméad sa físéan seo 😂

[@liammcwatt5508]

Benny Lewis an bhfuil geailge líofa agat?

[@liammcwatt5508]

agus cén sort geailge atá agat, geailge as carraí nó as cúige laigean mar shampla. Cloiseann sé go bhfuil sé as thiar na hÉireann, nach bhfuil?

[@liammcwatt5508]

ar aon nós, is é an clár íontach a bhí agat. An air mhaith ar fad! fanann sé suas.

[@liammcwatt5508]

tá brón orm as mo butún, déan dearmaid ar "air"

[@NiaJustNia]

Being a first language Welsh speaker, starting English at 7 and coming across silent letters for the first time was definitely the most boggling thing for all of us. Going from a fully phonetic language where silent letters just don't exist, to English and all its nonsense, fair credit to our teachers because I'm not sure I'd have got my head around it if they'd left English reading and writing until we were older 😂 Imagine trying to explain to a bunch of 7 year olds "Wednesday". We had an entire lesson on the days of the week in English because the others being phonetic made us even more baffled by Wednesday

[@doylejodi7502]

Yes, I’m even Canadian, English speaking and I never understood why silent letters were ever placed in words anyways. Useless. 🤷🏼‍♀️

[@Atlantis93]

@@doylejodi7502 We can't understand your pronunciation and spelling and weird grammar and putting words in where they're not necessary.

[@Atlantis93]

Ha ha! Welsh is crazy!

[@lgmcquiston241]

Even in my class back in elementary our teachers had to explain how "Wednesday" is spelled, and everyone in there was a native English speaker

[@marmac83]

Some speakers of English pronounce the D in Wednesday...@@lgmcquiston241

[@Elemiriel]

I've always loved Irish but no one ever explained it so straightforward before! Thank you!

[@irishpolyglot]

Thanks for watching - I'm glad to have helped!

[@ram00_]

world's most attractive irish teacher

[@cbliss4046]

Don't know how this came to be in my recommendations but I'm glad it was. I'm a linguist and have long wanted to understand how some Irish Gaelic words are pronounced. Will be watching this video through a few times and making notes as I go. Thank you, Benny

[@noemiedillon7069]

i live in france and love introducing my friends to my middle name : Caoimhe

[@sarahh1007]

Is it pronounced as 'Keeve'?

[@laurenotoole1910]

Watching this video as an Irish person makes me realise I completely take for granted that I was reared around people with these names and don’t have to think of the ‘rules’ to try pronounce them 😂😅

[@Juliukas101]

By far THE best vid I've seen so far on the Irish language. Fantastic guy, great presentation, pleasant, clear, helpful and informative. Most of my life my origins were a mystery as my family would never really tell me anything. Now I discover that my granddad was from Nenagh, my great granny was from Limerick and her parents were from Cork - one of them had an affair with a Spanish sailor bringing oranges into Ireland! It means that ancestrally I am 39% Irish so I have got to add Irish to the languages that I speak. I can't wait to learn more! Thanks again! Am suoer excited to be going to Dublin and Nenagh at the end of the month!

[@DelfinaM]

I'm deeply in love with Ireland. Greetings and love from Argentina 😍❤️

[@Steve.909]

Delfina - Sláinte, from Dublin, Ireland.

[@DelfinaM]

Steve Caf Sláinte! When I'm in Dublin we should go for some beers haha

[@mandycolville8527]

glad to hear save up then and book a holiday

[@cianw2942]

Delfina 🇮🇪❤️🇦🇷

[@DelfinaM]

Callum love back 😊❤️❤️❤️

[@katiewest7908]

I've tried teaching myself Irish for years...but hearing it and watching your mouth move to the different sounds makes a huge difference. Thank you. Subscribing.

[@FirstnameLastname-es1ko]

Katie West wow! Are you from Ireland or just learning the language? If you’re not from here, honestly that’s amazing. I would never have expected anyone to even know about our little island’s native language, let alone learn it! I’m actually from Ireland, but like most people here (with the exception of certain areas where Irish is not the main language) I’m not exactly fluent.

[@katiewest7908]

3/4 of my heritage is Irish but I didn't know this until last year when I found my birth families. My adopted father was Anglo -Irish so I've always been drawn to the Island. The language? Just seemed like a way to connect to the culture.

[@FirstnameLastname-es1ko]

Katie West well, welcome into the culture then! (Is that a thing, culture welcoming-in? I don’t know, but welcome in anyway😂) Good luck in the learning of the language anyway, haha😂

[@katiewest7908]

Thank you so much. We're probably related in some way.😅

[@ericmgarrison]

Go hiontach! Rinne tú é sin chomh furasta do dhaoine eile a thuiscint. Go raibh maith agat, Benny!

[@kathleenem9207]

Thank you . I will replay so I can really digest this. You’ve really simplified this.

[@Lizsi1812]

Ireland! Ireland! Ireland!!!! I Love Ireland! And this is perfect for me! I want to know more about irish language!!! Thank you!

[@MasterMichelleFL]

I'm learning Irish on duolingo. 💚 Slánte!!

[@taritorrez3506]

This is actually really helpful!! It's the unusual letter combos that throw me off, so to have them explained simply is incredibly helpful. Thank you!

[@writemydreams7]

Thank you so much for making this video. I've always found Irish to be insanely intimidating, but this video makes it SO much easier/more manageable to learn.

[@dawnstudley6296]

I’ve learned more in the last 5 minutes and 22 seconds than in 3 months from a book my friend had on her shelf! Amazing!

[@fermentedsourdough5462]

My favourite is Siobhan, pronounced nothing like it's written in English.

[@irishcoffeetruecrime]

It's Siobhán 😂

[@whistlingbanshee5038]

Meadhbh and Caoilfhoinn were always my favourites 😋

[@nnnnnnnnnnn7292]

Whistling Banshee Can you transcript those two names, please? No clue how to pronounce them. 😃

[@whistlingbanshee5038]

@@nnnnnnnnnnn7292 Meadhbh = Mayve Caoilfhoinn= Cweel-lin Meadhbh is for the Pirate Queen Meadhbh, Caoilfhoinn in english means slender blonde 😊

[@nnnnnnnnnnn7292]

Whistling Banshee Wow!!!!!!! That is way beyond my imagination! But nevertheless fascinating! Thank you. 🌼 P.S. is it May-v or May-vee?

[@dr.shuvayughosh3330]

Loved it.. and thanks Ireland for beautiful music ..Love from India

[@FirstnameLastname-es1ko]

Dr. Shuvayu Ghosh you really like it? Wow, thank you for appreciating our culture! I never realized people even knew much about our little country!

[@kaylabloodmoon5481]

I have wanted to learn Irish since I was 10 and I'm now 20. I'm Irish myself but live in the U.S. Learning just the smallest bit feels that I'm closer to my culture. Thank you friend.

[@Ryan-ze9fz]

I’ve always wanted to travel to Ireland and live among my people for a while. The Irish are so cool

[@Layla-vj1yc]

I'm irish

[@quasiotter]

i watched the whole thing because you're so easy to listen to and look at

[@LRose-lo3ux]

As someone who is learning Irish already, I enjoyed this.

[@comatronic]

Hahaha I love how excited you got for "The Letter H!"

[@irishpolyglot]

The whole video was building up to it; a letter combination that throws so many people off, and yet can be explained so simply :)

[@ynotchristian1366]

Oh Thank You! I will definitely watch this video five more times to get this in my head! And I am now subscribed!

[@tracitries9514]

My friend’s daughter’s name is Mairi. I wouldn’t have known how to pronounce it had she not told me. It’s pronounced like Maury.

[@SofiaCaetanoVentura]

I’m from Brazil and I lived in Ireland for 8 months and I miss so much Dublin!

[@mer7971]

I live in Ireland now for 5 months but I will go back to germany next week and I will defently miss Ireland. 😕

[@ilovemydog6847]

Brilliant video. And really helpful ☺️. I was really good at Irish at Primary School but at age 10 I went to live in England. When I came back to Ireland 2 years later I was told I didn’t have to take Irish anymore and I didn’t. I really regret that decision now.

[@moniquecampher1979]

This is the video I’ve needed after 7 years living in Ireland, thanks 😁

[@kikidi4461]

being half german, half british, living in germany, with a sister named kayleigh is kind of fun sometimes. the looks on german faces when they try to pronounce her name 😂 hilarious

[@RealPumpkinJay]

Isn’t that like a phonetic German käilie?

[@matthijsbouma3393]

Have they never heard of Marillion there?

[@RealPumpkinJay]

@@matthijsbouma3393 No.

[@franniepan]

That's so funny, my daughter is half German, half Irish and we live in Northern Ireland. Her nickname is Kiki 😊

[@sheonamiller9329]

My daughter is Ceilidh

[@cherpylatina]

Mom named me Kiara and my niece is Ciara. Same pronunciation. Irish Puerto Ricans are more common than you would think. Catholic Clan lol

[@Daisy-ct3nh]

There's no K in Irish, that's why it's spelt with a C.

[@insertname1857]

kiara is just anglicised, like my cousin keira. otherwise outside of ireland everyone would go around saying "see-air-uh" or "see-ahr-uh"

[@aeternalslime9670]

i grew up in a considerably irish part of the US, full of maeves and siobhans and seans and even the occasional americanized "podrick." i have fond memories of meeting an emer during school and asking how to write her name so i could write it on the worksheet we were working on, and she looked at me like i was an idiot. "e-m-e-r," she said. that was like 15 years ago and i still think about how obvious she thought the spelling of her irish name was

[@drops2cents260]

> _i grew up in a considerably irish part of the US_ So you're a Bostonian? 🙂

[@aeternalslime9670]

not quite! south side of chicago. only a thousand miles or so apart haha@@drops2cents260

[@dequidaqwadoa1553]

I just found your video and I love it !! Go raibh míle maith agat !!! ❤️

[@rahangn8137]

We have the name Cian in Iran too ! That’s interesting because recently I’ve been researching on whether or not Iran and Ireland have had any shared history and some believe that we do . A historian said in some northern parts in Iran the local languages have some Celtic words in it and those people are called “Gilak” . It first caught my attention when I learned the word “Gaelic” and I thought they were similar Edit : excuse me if my English is confusing or bad

[@adhamhmacconchobhair4407]

That's very interesting!

[@rahangn8137]

@Cpt Duck no offense taken ! I just checked it out it’s very beautiful but I don’t think hijab and mantillas have the same origin (?) obviously I’m not a historian but I have this feeling that if our countries have been related in any way it must’ve been way before Islam was a thing in Iran , like more than 1400 years ago . However as far as I know we have had headwear similar to that before islam so .. that still might be a shared culture ?

[@rahangn8137]

@Rimi A I don’t have a lot of information on this matter so excuse me if what you’re going to read sounds stupid . But I did a little research here www.quora.com/Is-Farsi-a-Semitic-language-like-Arabic And if I’m not mistaken Farsi is not actually considered a Semitic language unlike Arabic (umm I don’t really know tho) And there’s one thing that comes to my mind . In Arabic there’s no “g” sound ( as in Gaelic ) in their alphabet . So .. I can say I’m a little bit confused ?

[@rahangn8137]

@@the36lessons11 damn I didn’t know any of that ! Only if they would stop teaching us trash in our history books at school !

[@dougspidermanhappy]

Your English is almost perfect! I’m an editor. The only thing I would change is a small quibble: “the northern parts OF Iran”, not “in.” It’s a tiny thing. “The northern parts in Iran” gets the meaning across, but isn’t the vernacular. Well done! I only speak one language well.

[@JasonX00]

As someone with Irish lineage who has no idea how to speak the mother language, thank you!😃👍🤗

[@SanDra-zr9he]

Super helpful, and cleared up a lot of stuff that were a deterrent for me in just a few minutes. It made me put Irish back on my polyglot goal languages list.

[@kfetter9046]

This is the best explanation of how to pronounce Irish words I have seen. Thank you!

[@asymmetric.4817]

2:31 I have a friend at my gymnastics called Aoife, and because I’ve never seen her name written down, I thought it was spelt “Efa” or something. Then one day I saw her name written down in a coat, and I said “ay-oh-ife? Who’s that?” And Aoife just looked at me and said “um, me aha”. That was pretty embarrassing but oh well 😂

[@cheryldolan2812]

I could listen to accents all day! Irish is my favorite. It's just adorable!

[@CJ-sg3vs]

Number 1 on my bucket list. I shall go to Ireland one day.

[@pooperscooper9176]

Carol Yarbrough you must it’s magical

[@andrewringrose9246]

I have just started to learn Irish about 3 days ago and I am already on learning phrases. Your right once you get know the rules it is a lot easier to pronounce and learn then English. I can barely speak English the only laguage I know and yet I am finding Irish to be easier to learn. I am having a lot of fun learning Irish !

[@cryptidcane]

forwarding this to every single person that calls me "eeyoin" from now on

[@alexxx7427]

😂

[@NunYaO]

My grandsons are named Emmith [Im-Eth] and Eaiden [Uh-Den]...my granddaughter got lucky with Emma [Im-muh]. Lol

[@minjabisnis3931]

Hahah yeah and I bet they can say “John” without trying to pronounce the H, the feckers

[@rachelanderson5608]

May I know how you pronounce your name? Thank you 😊

[@cryptidcane]

@@rachelanderson5608 my name is pronounced like oh-en. it’s similar to owen but with a less pronounced w sound!

[@cjgem80]

My cat's name is Seamus. it took me a few weeks to find the perfect name. I got him around st. Pat's day so I was looking for an Irish name. Seamus was purrfect 🐱🍀

[@NicaeaCreed]

Collenga S just hearing that name I know he’s so handsome.. oh god I love cats that name is so cute oh my god

[@karindixon6405]

thankyou so much for this irish language lesson....I'm happy to report that I learnt a lot!

[@kuzeyboy]

I absolutely loved this, it's the best explanation which I have ever heard - thank you so much!

[@gioPHL]

Thanks for this. I've been desperately trying to learn my Gran's language. This helps a lot.

[@irishpolyglot]

Always happy to demystify things for people - thanks for watching!

[@Lucy-oh2pl]

I mean I'm Irish and can pronounce these all but watching it anyway 😹X Love from the wee county 💗X

[@ciaranwobodike941]

Lucy same

[@rioghnankelly102]

Same

[@Quartz_111]

Our language is weird

[@s.ez.a.7651]

Always been a fan of “Caoilfhoinn” and “Caoimhe”. Really gets em thinking.

[@SirBorisHayter]

I am thinking..... Kelvin and Keith?

[@tfn212]

@@SirBorisHayter No! Keylin and Queeva

[@conexaopolimata]

Thanks very much I am Brazilian and you are good teacher

[@bikkies]

I'm a quarter Irish. My maternal grandfather was a Wexford man. However I've only been over twice; first to Blackrock then Belfast. I'd love to learn at least the basics of the language from a heritage perspective as I'm fiercely proud of my roots. However the written versus spoken language has always baffled me, so this video is most welcome. Nothing could be more maddening than my native tongue with the likes of through/though/tough/trough etc, so knowing there's predictability is a huge plus.

[@flavoured-water7854]

You've been to Blackrock in salthill thats really cool. Galway is one of the nicest places in Ireland in my opinion

[@salomaosoares9230]

Hi Benny, I love the way you show how easy it is to learn different accents and especially we don't have to be afraid to make some mistakes with pronoun or writing because people will surely understand what we mean. Big hug from Brasil!!!

[@dougspidermanhappy]

I’ve always thought this! Our teachers would try to make us feel embarrassed if we didn’t have “perfect” pronunciation. Meanwhile, it’s so charming when people pronounce English in a different way.

[@TroyBoyleAtheistAdvocate]

This just hit my recommendations. Fun. Nice job. I've noticed, also, that regional variations exist with regard to these rules. For instance, the guttural is often pronounced /f/ (loch becomes luff) and the sibilant s in slán is often aspirated and sounds more like /sh/.

[@MoonlightSonata214]

Wonderful information packed into a few minutes - extremely helpful! Thank you!!

[@SykesFW]

I would love to visit one day, my great grandfather was from Dublin

[@MasterMichelleFL]

Me too. Its really the only item on my bucket list. I would move to Ireland in a heartbeat, if I could. 💚

[@hectorlquinonesrodriguez1296]

Great video. This video should be the first lesson in Irish with Duolingo.

[@irishpolyglot]

I agree :D

[@Nicholash69]

This is my favorite Irish name. The spelling to pronunciation is so nuts. “Saoirse”

[@toniboger881]

Nicholas H I’ve seen that name printed, but never knew how to pronounce it. Help, please?🙏🏻

[@lilyraimey3499]

Toni Boger Wow, Nicholas really left your hangin’, huh? Haha, it’s pronounced “Seer-sheh”, my friend. The aoi is pronounced as “ee” when places on the middle of words, and that “sh” sound comes from the S being mixed with a narrow vowel, E.

[@toniboger881]

Ah! Thanks Dear! Much appreciated 😊

[@diesel_dawg]

"Aiobhin" is worse. lol

[@brianmichelle2851]

My daughters name is Saoirse, it means freedom

[@karenmpbrandon]

I'll watch this again and take notes because it went by pretty fast but I really enjoyed it. When there's time, I'd like to see more of this gentleman's videos, too.