How to Pronounce Scottish Gaelic - Part 1: Slenderisation and Lenition

A number of years ago, I did a video about the Gaelic alphabet which was for linguistics students at my university, but turned out to be really popular and useful for Gaelic learners. I'm re-making it to be more accessible, and it will be in at least two parts. In this one, I explain the processes of slenderisation and lenition in more detail.

[@locheilcameron7102]

Tapadh leibh, I found this incredibly helpful, I have added you to my beginner resources on my website Locheil.com 💙🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿💙 Mòran taing 💙🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿💙

[@andrewbeattieRAB]

EXCELLENT VIDEO I am half Texan and half Scottish. I went to high school in Scotland when I was a teen. I’ve received seven “O” levels. Yes, I am aware that I am old. I wish they taught Scottish Gaelic then. I would probably have taken it!

[@jwill5892]

What is half Texan?

[@andrewbeattieRAB]

@@jwill5892 Dad from Kilmarnock. Mom from Dallas Texas. Dual national. Lived both places.

[@michiveritas1420]

@@jwill5892 Tex...🤔😂 When/where did the '1420' suddenly appear from in my username(?!)🤔

[@jwill5892]

@@michiveritas1420 You're not the only one!? The 5892 appeared randomly in mine as well!

[@jwill5892]

@@andrewbeattieRAB Pretty sure Texas isn't an ethnicity

[@margaretmcnab8582]

Thank you for this - From totally avoiding "Lenition" and any other grammatical terms, I now have some idea, and nowhere near the fear of actually learning about them!

[@JenXOfficialEDM]

7:22 Welsh has three types of mutation (treigladau) and the number of letters affected depend on the rules, and type of mutation -- up to nine letters can change. The best way in Welsh for us learners to get the hang of it is to simply practice. The rules are hard to memorise in most cases. I hope this helps. People will understand us if we miss a mutation here and there so don't be afraid to speak it. :)

[@Seumas-MacDhaibhidh]

6:16 Is toil leam sin leine!

[@jamesestrella5911]

Judging by your pronunciation and some others, many seem to default to schwa vowels. But I don’t know how ubiquitous this is in current Scottish Gaelic, because it isn’t as ubiquitous in current English, compared to Elizabethan/Shakespearean English. I guess I gotta figure this out the old-fashioned way -exposure, albeit more difficult due to the rarity of Gaidhlig and Gaeilge as reference. There’s also the vowel extension no longer found in modern English but commonly found in Japanese, and I don’t know how this plays in current Gaidhlig or other Celtic languages. Once again, the phonology is still all over the place, regardless of the writing. I already know Englishes due to sheer exposure, and have noticed consistent nuances in Japanese, but Gaelic remains an enigma in its phonology thus far.

[@melh5737]

I’m really benefiting from your videos. Thank you for producing them and sharing the information. I really enjoy the content and style. I have a question about the lenition of /b/ When I hear it said, I think I’m hearing a labiodental sound like /v/ in English. Should 'bh' be said with air coming through the lips or is it a labiodental sound. Thank you 😊

[@ENGLISHTAINMENT]

math dha-rireabh!

[@nevem5010]

So interesting, thank you!

[@artvision3695]

Hello I'm here to support you

[@notmyrealname01]

Thank you so much! 1 combination of letters that seems to confuse me while reading is ai, for instance, balach and a bhalaich

[@ruadhagainagaidheal9398]

That combination sounds like the A in hat, A by itself is a long A like aah. I know because it’s in the spelling of my name, which is pronounced like Rogan.

[@thedarkside8380]

Support

[@heatherdawn4875]

Tapadh leibh! Glé chuideachail.

[@jamesmckenzie6687]

Any chance of a Scottish Gaelic person doing this....????

[@RaghnaidAnnaNicGaraidh]

As opposed to what, a Scottish Gael who was born in Australia? Or a random Gall who happens to have a Scottish accent? There are few enough of us fluent speakers around making educational videos for KZbin that we mostly try not to overlap in content.

[@leonarbro_davinci]

Dùin do ghab

[@kitchenlab9578]

Your process in this video was far too slow to follow. Any quicker?