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EXERCISE V
§44 Sounds of L and N
In irish there are three sounds of l and three sounds of n.
§ 45 I. As already stated, l and n are often pronounced as in English words, e.g., as in look, lamb, noon.
§46 II. There are also what they all the thick sounds of l and n. If the upper part of the tongue be pressed against the back of the upper teeth, while the English word "law" is being pronounced, a thick sound of "l" will be heard. This sound does not exist in English. In the key-words we shall represent whit sound by the symbol L (capital).
Similarly, if the tongue be pressed against the back of the upper teeth while the word "month" is being pronounced, a thick sound of "n" will be heard. This sound does not exist in English, and in the keywords it will be represented by N (capital)
§ 47 III. The third sound of l is that given in English to the L in Luke, the l in valiant, or to the ll in William, million, as these words are usually pronounced. We shall represent this sound by italic l. In the same way, n has a third sound like that given in English to n in Newry and we shall use n, italic, as a symbol for this sound. ¹
§ 48. We can now add to our table of consonant sounds the following—
| In the key-words the letters | Are to be sounded like: | In the English words |
| l | l | look, lamb |
| L | thick sound not in English | |
| l | l | valiant |
| n | n | noon |
| N | thick sound ont in English | |
| n | n | new |
1. In English, in reality, the ll in William, the l in waliant, etc., are pronounced exactly the same as the l in law, or in all. It is the lli or li, preceding a vowel, that gets the special sound. So, too, with the n in onion, Newry, etc.
note that
phonetic
symbols
are
not
necessarily
pronounced
as in English