Dh’ionnsaich sinn glè thràth sa chùrsa nach bi sinn a’ sgrìobhadh h às dèidh nan litrichean l, n, agus r.
Gu mì-fhortanach, chan eil sin a’ ciallachadh nach bi iad a’ sèimheachadh, oir bithidh!
Bheir sinn sùil air sèimheachadh le l, n, agus r an seo.
As we know, consonants in Gaelic can either be leathann (broad) or caol (slender), depending on their adjacent vowels
Most consonants can also be unlenited or lenited.
That means that most consonants have four potential sounds; broad unlenited or lenited, and slender unlenited or lenited.
We should all be aware of this with d for example:
dòchasach → ro dhòchasach
dìorrasach → ro dhìorrasach
We do not write a h after the letters l, n and r to show lenition in writing, but lenition does occur, changing the sound of these letters in speech.
There are only three potential sounds with l, n, and r in most dialects of modern Gaelic.
Slender l becomes a weak l when lenited, the same as a normal English l.
leabaidh
bed
Leugh an leabhar!
Read the book!
mo l(h)eabaidh
My bed
L(h)eugh mi an-dè e.
I read it yesterday.
Broad and slender n become weak n when lenited, the same as a normal English n:
nead
a nest
Nigh do làmhan!
Clean your hands!
Nochd do làmh!
Present your hand!
mo nead
my nest
Nigh mi iad mar-thà.
I already cleaned them.
Nochd mi i mar-thà.
I presented it already.
At the start of a word, both broad and slender r are pronounced the same and both become weak broad r when lenited:
rìgh
king
Riochdaich na daoine!
Represent the people!
rathad
road
Ruith!
Run!
mo rìgh
my king
Riochdaich mi iad.
I represented them.
mo rathad
my road
Ruith mi an-dè.
I ran yesterday.
As we know by now, a slender r at the end of a word can sound like English th in the word ‘breathe’.
• air • thachair • athair • màthair
Remember that the LearnGaelic dictionary includes pronunciation. You’ll never be lost again!