Appendix:Scottish Gaelic pronunciation

The Scottish Gaelic language (called Gàidhlig in Gaelic) has 18 letters. The Latin/English letter set is used, but Gàidhlig assigns its own sounds and usages to the letters. It is this difference that confuses English speakers when they see "impossible" combinations like raon, dealbh, and cridhe. Fortunately, the pronunciation of Gaelic words is fairly regular and it is usually possible to predict the pronunciation from the spelling.

The letters j, k, q, v, w, x, y, and z are not included in the Gaelic alphabet, but are sometimes found in borrowed words. When present, these letters have their English sounds.

There are regional differences in Scottish Gaelic pronunciation, but standard Scottish Gaelic is understood by Scottish Gaelic speakers everywhere. The pronunciation guide below approximates the Gaelic letter sounds by using standard British English examples.

Vowels

Gaelic vowels have a grave accent, with the letters à, è, ì, ò, ù. Traditional spelling also uses the acute accent on the letters á, é and ó, but texts which follow the spelling reform only use the grave.

A table of vowels with pronunciations in IPA

Spelling	Pronunciation	English equivalent	As in
a, á	[a], [a]	cat	bata, lochan
à	[aː]	cad	bàta
e	[ɛ], [e]	let, late	le, teth
è, é	[ɛː], [eː]	led, lade	sèimh, fhéin
i	[i], [iː]	tin, sweet	sin, ith
ì	[iː]	evil	mìn
o	[ɔ], [o]	top, boat	poca, bog
ò, ó	[ɔː], [oː]	jaw, door	pòcaid, mór
u	[u]	brood	tur
ù	[uː]	brewed	tùr

Vowel digraphs

A table of digraphs with pronunciations in IPA

Spelling	Pronunciation	As in	English equivalent
ai	[a], [ə], [ɛ], [i]	caileag, iuchair, geamair, dùthaich	wall, answer, air, pick
ài	[aː], [ai]	àite, bara-làimhe	father, kite
ao(i)	[ɯː], [ɯi]	caol, gaoil, laoidh	no true equivalent; try saying "cool" without rounding the lips, wheel
ea	[ʲa], [e], [ɛ]	geal, deas, bean	y'all, great, hen
eà	[ʲaː]	ceàrr	y'all
èa	[ɛː]	nèamh	ever
ei	[e], [ɛ]	eile, ainmeil	jail, gel
èi	[ɛː]	cèilidh	ever
éi	[eː]	fhéin	rain
eo	[ʲɔ]	deoch	jock
eò(i)	[ʲɔː]	ceòl, feòil	lock
eu	[eː], [ia]	ceum, feur	became, Maria
ia	[iə], [ia]	biadh, dian	Maria
io	[i], [jũ]	fios, fionn	fit, young
ìo	[iː], [iə]	sgrìobh, mìos	sheet, Camille
iu	[ʲu]	piuthar	you
iù(i)	[ʲuː]	diùlt, diùid	few
oi	[ɔ], [ɤ]	boireannach, goirid	top, ugly
òi	[ɔː]	fòill	lost
ói	[oː]	cóig	alone
ua(i)	[uə], [ua]	ruadh, uabhasach, duais	wash, squash
ui	[u], [ɯ], [ui]	muir, uighean, tuinn	to, we
ùi	[uː]	dùin	two

Consonants

Many consonants come in plain and lenited varieties, and also in slender (palatalized) and broad (non-palatalized or velarized) varieties, giving four combinations. Lenition is denoted with a h following the letter. A consonant or group of consonants is slender when they are next to e or i, broad when next to a, o or u. A consonant is never preceded by one kind of vowel and followed by the other kind at the same time, to avoid ambiguity. However, this does often lead to extra "silent" vowels being added to adhere to this rule.

A table of consonants with pronunciations in IPA. Based on Gillies (1993).

Plain					Lenited
Spelling		Pronunciation		English equivalent	Spelling	Pronunciation		English (or other language) equivalent
		Broad	Slender			Broad	Slender
b	initial	/p/*	/pj/*	span	bh	/v/	/vj/	veil
	final	/p/	/jp/	lap			/jv/	give
c	initial	/kʰ/	/kʲʰ/ or /cʰ/	cold, cute	ch	/x/	/ç/	loch, German ich
	final	/xk/	/çkʲ/ or /çc/	rack, pick
d		/t̪/*	/tʲ/*	stare, itch	dh	/ɣ/	/ʝ/	Spanish lago, Spanish hierba
f	initial	/f/	/fj/	fall, fear	fh	silent
	final		/jf/	laugh, grief
g		/k/*	/kʲ/ or /c/*	scuba, skew	gh	/ɣ/	/ʝ/	Spanish lago, Spanish hierba
l (initial) ll		/l̪ˠ/ or /ɫ̪/ (velarized)	/ʎ/	full, million	l	/l̪ˠ/ or /ɫ̪/	/l/	filth, land
m		/m/	/mj/	mad, mean	mh	/v/	/vj/	vain
n (initial) nn		/n̪ˠ/ or /n̴̪/	/ɲ/	name, annual	n	/n/		annual, name
p	initial	/pʰ/	/pʰj/	passion, pew	ph	/f/	/fj/	fashion, few
	final	/hp/	/jhp/	wrap, cape			/jf/	roof, reef
r (initial) rr		/rˠ/ or /r̴/		Spanish perro	r	/ɾ/	/ɾʲ/	Spanish pero
s		/s̪/	/ʃ/	sing, shine	sh	/h/	/hj/	hang, Hugh
t	initial	/t̪ʰ/	/tʃʰ/	tread, check	th
	final	/ht̪/	/htʲ/	hat, hatch		/h/ or silent	/jh/ or /j/	raw
*An unaspirated voiceless stop, as in English spot, stick, or skate.