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

Рет қаралды 3,322,674

7 жыл бұрын

Seán, Niamh, Ciara, Oisín, Cathal... can you say these right? Maybe this video will help!
It can seem daunting to meet someone whose name you've seen written down, but have no idea how its pronounced & this is especially true with Irish people. This is because a lot of our names are based on Irish orthography (spelling & pronunciation rules).
Having a full understanding of this can take some getting used to, so instead of giving a thorough lesson, I decided to simplify things and give the most practical tips that work the majority of the time. I realize that I had to generalize and there are a few exceptions, but what I covered in this video will genuinely help you the vast majority of the time :)
(I also referred to lenition, implying that it only happens with the letter 'h', but this ignores when it happens with a 't' at the start of words. I didn't bring that up in this video because making notes of all the little things like that would have made this much longer and the remaining rules don't apply as much to names)
I hope I show in this video that it's really not that bad - Irish spelling is very consistent actually, especially when compared to English. If you keep the rules of thumb from the video in mind, you should find it much easier, whether you have Irish friends, or are learning the Irish language :)
To prove the point, here is the video I mentioned near the end, where I read a ridiculous poem in English:
• "The Chaos" (English i...
Otherwise, I referenced some other links, so be sure to check out my page on Irish resources here: www.fluentin3months.com/irish...
And here is a playlist of videos about learning Irish and videos that I've made IN Irish (with subtitles):
• Irish: Videos in and a...
Since a few people were asking, here's a link to the background music: audiojungle.net/item/long-way...
I expect nitpicking in the comments because of things that aren't perfect (not possible to be thorough in a short video), but I hope some of you get genuine use out of this!!
Enjoyed this video? Subscribe to my KZfaq channel: kzfaq.info_c...
Watch me speak at TEDx: • Hacking language learn...
Follow Benny on Twitter: / irishpolyglot
Join thousands of language learners around the world at the Fluent in 3 Months Facebook community: / fluentin3months

Пікірлер: 4 400

@irishpolyglot 6 жыл бұрын

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: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/h7B2lNx3tKe3fZs.html

@fiannamorgan1165 6 жыл бұрын

Benny Lewis what about fianna?

@paoloelialombardo8676 6 жыл бұрын

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

@goudagirl6095 6 жыл бұрын

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 6 жыл бұрын

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

@kathleenvh 6 жыл бұрын

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

@oof-madone 4 жыл бұрын

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

@raesosa1108 4 жыл бұрын

Lol

@peachwood8884 4 жыл бұрын

W O W.

@peachwood8884 4 жыл бұрын

Same tho

@basakaybasakay5000 4 жыл бұрын

That was brilliant

@angeloflovesteph 4 жыл бұрын

😂😂😂😂

@finnicfox8186 4 жыл бұрын

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

@sharpeslass5452 4 жыл бұрын

The irony...

@fightinandirish 4 жыл бұрын

There are Feics too :)

@crystalheart9 3 жыл бұрын

That's cute, a good way to remember.

@jordantampubolon8694 3 жыл бұрын

Thugs but the ‘T’ is not silent

@gizmogoose.2486 3 жыл бұрын

T'ugs

@PattyBandAidz 2 жыл бұрын

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 2 жыл бұрын

Your Gran is moi storin!

@30noir 2 жыл бұрын

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

@fabplays6559 2 жыл бұрын

Huh? What’s her name?

@CharmedKez 2 жыл бұрын

@@fabplays6559 Eimhin which is pronounced Evan

@Cloudy564 2 жыл бұрын

@@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 2 жыл бұрын

@@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 2 жыл бұрын

@@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.

@DrelvanianGuardOffic 4 жыл бұрын

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

@tatianaG 4 жыл бұрын

Throughout

@theMosen 4 жыл бұрын

True, though.

@11dallis 4 жыл бұрын

Bough, enough

@11dallis 4 жыл бұрын

Bought, caught

@tatianaG 4 жыл бұрын

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

@MadisonWestfield 7 жыл бұрын

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

@irishpolyglot 6 жыл бұрын

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

@Blaisem 6 жыл бұрын

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

@chloe-vl2bv 6 жыл бұрын

Madison Mukbang aww thanks

@Elemiriel 6 жыл бұрын

Blaisem now you can!

@johnnieshreve5018 6 жыл бұрын

Omg lucky you!

@billmoran3812 2 жыл бұрын

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

@97AshleyRose 2 жыл бұрын

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

@monicamurray5090 2 жыл бұрын

@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 2 жыл бұрын

@My Dixie Wrecked eh and your point is?

@banjobradley3644 2 жыл бұрын

Im middle aged man. I speak Australian

@monicamurray5090 2 жыл бұрын

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

@thekidfromiowa Жыл бұрын

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

@richardoshaughnessy1669 3 жыл бұрын

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

@moonlight_ooo9235 3 жыл бұрын

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

@sharondiviney4383 3 жыл бұрын

Same

@BenHeffernan337 3 жыл бұрын

Tá mé cosúil leis

@whyamihereeeeeeeeeee1400 3 жыл бұрын

Yeah

@felixcoleosullivan1294 3 жыл бұрын

Ya me too

@shemyaza8934 4 жыл бұрын

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

@ellajean3576 4 жыл бұрын

lol irish is not phonetic 😂

@mrrockmonkey1 4 жыл бұрын

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 4 жыл бұрын

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

@mrrockmonkey1 4 жыл бұрын

@@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 4 жыл бұрын

@@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...

@pennylane1268 2 жыл бұрын

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

@catarina2809 3 жыл бұрын

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

@nestorbermudez8590 Жыл бұрын

Spanish too!

@twistedcoffee1187 4 жыл бұрын

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 3 жыл бұрын

Agreed.

@fiedelmina 3 жыл бұрын

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

@kevinkarnes4067 3 жыл бұрын

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 2 жыл бұрын

@@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 2 жыл бұрын

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

@Rin-th6hk 4 жыл бұрын

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

@tomryan914 4 жыл бұрын

Gerald Fitzpatrick and Patrick Fitzgerald !

@liamoore3827 4 жыл бұрын

Erin Young they gave me liadan

@kennemedia01 4 жыл бұрын

I had a friend named Erin lol

@Karlandra 4 жыл бұрын

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

@WreckinPoints11 3 жыл бұрын

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

@jordanhasch2544 2 жыл бұрын

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 2 жыл бұрын

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

@shootingthepastuk3712 3 жыл бұрын

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 3 жыл бұрын

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

@carolj2013 5 жыл бұрын

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

@ReneeandJimmyG 5 жыл бұрын

James Joyce!

@soundsleep5470 7 жыл бұрын

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

@Silent. 7 жыл бұрын

I have friends that thought Irish was English :/

@soundsleep5470 7 жыл бұрын

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

@clara2335 7 жыл бұрын

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

@soundsleep5470 7 жыл бұрын

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

@clara2335 7 жыл бұрын

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

@RickyMacHatton 3 жыл бұрын

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 2 жыл бұрын

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

@SwtGrnEyed86 2 жыл бұрын

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 2 жыл бұрын

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

@RickyMacHatton 2 жыл бұрын

@@SwtGrnEyed86 danke! Und du!

@keysofperception4377 2 жыл бұрын

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

@susanhenderson5001 2 жыл бұрын

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 2 жыл бұрын

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 2 жыл бұрын

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 2 жыл бұрын

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

@florenceobrien2822 2 жыл бұрын

Of course theh can

@cecizeni 5 жыл бұрын

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

@QueenBee-gx4rp 4 жыл бұрын

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

@an_alonez 4 жыл бұрын

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

@annagitana1 4 жыл бұрын

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

@patriciakeats1621 3 жыл бұрын

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

@catmom1322 3 жыл бұрын

I actually took notes.

@Terri_MacKay 3 жыл бұрын

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 2 жыл бұрын

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 2 жыл бұрын

@@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 2 жыл бұрын

nah they sound shite

@tomtoyota6479 2 жыл бұрын

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

@Terri_MacKay 2 жыл бұрын

@@tomtoyota6479 Just stop!!

@zoibaeza3475 2 жыл бұрын

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

@zoibaeza3475 2 жыл бұрын

@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 2 жыл бұрын

@Jon Valler Thank you so much for the insights 😃

@dallaslane6927 2 жыл бұрын

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

@ram00_ 3 жыл бұрын

world's most attractive irish teacher

@laurenotoole1910 5 жыл бұрын

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 😂😅

@hildaelson4203 5 жыл бұрын

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

@gutworm686 4 жыл бұрын

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

@Kat-yv1yq 4 жыл бұрын

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 4 жыл бұрын

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

@fiedelmina 4 жыл бұрын

@@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 4 жыл бұрын

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.”

@NiaJustNia 2 жыл бұрын

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 Жыл бұрын

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

@Atlantis93 Жыл бұрын

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

@Atlantis93 Жыл бұрын

Ha ha! Welsh is crazy!

@lgmcquiston241 11 ай бұрын

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 9 ай бұрын

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

@nk_saucy2394 2 жыл бұрын

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

@Zombie_Burger 6 жыл бұрын

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.

@noemiedillon7069 3 жыл бұрын

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

@sarahh1007 2 жыл бұрын

Is it pronounced as 'Keeve'?

@RadCelt 2 жыл бұрын

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

@shivadizayin 10 ай бұрын

It’s Greek to me

@tsmeman63 2 жыл бұрын

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

@shannonquinn9757 7 жыл бұрын

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

@caoimhemcguinness9605 7 жыл бұрын

Shannon Quinn my name is caoimhe😁😁

@IDKHowButIDied 6 жыл бұрын

Caoimhe McGuinness same

@acoolcat2325 6 жыл бұрын

i love niamh

@ily.saoirse918 6 жыл бұрын

My names Saoirse 😊

@LifeWithLeah123 6 жыл бұрын

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!

@scoobyloo3157 3 жыл бұрын

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!

@SandyRivers-dr3uy 6 ай бұрын

You are a great teacher. This was outstanding!

@PeanutButterfly92 2 жыл бұрын

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 2 жыл бұрын

My daughter’s name too!

@pauljordan4452 2 жыл бұрын

Pronounced as Keera.

@karenbrooks2116 2 жыл бұрын

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

@greatgownsbeautifulgowns 2 жыл бұрын

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

@karenbrooks2116 2 жыл бұрын

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

@madderHare 4 жыл бұрын

"A quick guide" *leaves more confused*

@miriamhappe1066 3 жыл бұрын

thankfully im not the only one :D

@taraelizabethdensley9475 3 жыл бұрын

I'm more confused

@JojajoDam 2 жыл бұрын

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

@lindac6919 2 жыл бұрын

"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.

@a.genesisd.g.7931 6 жыл бұрын

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 6 жыл бұрын

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!

@MetaSiren 2 жыл бұрын

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

@fabplays6559 2 жыл бұрын

There are many Irish accents. :)

@tracitries9514 2 жыл бұрын

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.

@rulersreachfan243 5 жыл бұрын

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

@FirstnameLastname-es1ko 5 жыл бұрын

Andrea Kinney lmao

@bOBazOZA 5 жыл бұрын

phew, though i was alone!

@alzorama2876 5 жыл бұрын

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

@Floral_Green 5 жыл бұрын

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 5 жыл бұрын

I did the exact same thing

@ericmgarrison 3 жыл бұрын

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

@dawnstudley6296 3 жыл бұрын

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!

@Juliukas101 2 жыл бұрын

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!

@comatronic 4 жыл бұрын

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

@irishpolyglot 4 жыл бұрын

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

@DelfinaM 7 жыл бұрын

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

@Steve.909 6 жыл бұрын

Delfina - Sláinte, from Dublin, Ireland.

@DelfinaM 6 жыл бұрын

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

@mandycolville8527 6 жыл бұрын

glad to hear save up then and book a holiday

@cianw2942 6 жыл бұрын

Delfina 🇮🇪❤️🇦🇷

@DelfinaM 6 жыл бұрын

Callum love back 😊❤️❤️❤️

@timward3116 Жыл бұрын

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

@LRose-lo3ux 3 жыл бұрын

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

@Dr.Scorpio 3 жыл бұрын

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 Жыл бұрын

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

@KatalinaKristina 6 жыл бұрын

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 ✨❤️

@writemydreams7 3 жыл бұрын

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.

@aeternalslime9670 2 жыл бұрын

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 9 ай бұрын

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

@aeternalslime9670 9 ай бұрын

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

@Elemiriel 6 жыл бұрын

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

@irishpolyglot 6 жыл бұрын

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

@everlasting9292 6 жыл бұрын

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 5 жыл бұрын

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 5 жыл бұрын

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

@MinxyXoX 5 жыл бұрын

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

@chanteldyson7954 5 жыл бұрын

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

@Rhi16 5 жыл бұрын

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

@moniquecampher1979 2 жыл бұрын

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

@SanDra-zr9he 3 жыл бұрын

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.

@cbliss4046 5 жыл бұрын

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

@Ryan-ze9fz 2 жыл бұрын

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

@Layla-vj1yc 2 жыл бұрын

I'm irish

@kaylabloodmoon5481 2 жыл бұрын

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.

@Lucy-oh2pl 7 жыл бұрын

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

@ciaranwobodike941 6 жыл бұрын

Lucy same

@rioghnankelly102 6 жыл бұрын

Same

@Black.Rabbit_ 5 жыл бұрын

Our language is weird

@taritorrez3506 6 жыл бұрын

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!

@ynotchristian1366 2 жыл бұрын

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

@laurenlettiere1381 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for your hard work, Benny! I'm an American with Irish heritage and for years I've been wanting to know more about where my ancestors came from. I decided I wanted to learn at least the basics of Irish when I realized that I could pronounce Spanish or French words from school but had no earthly idea how to pronounce Irish words. I learned a lot about the language just from this video and I'm excited I found your channel! If you haven't already, would you consider a video about Irish words adopted by the English language? We have so many borrowed words from other languages, a good chunk of them have to be descended from Irish and I'm not realizing it.

@kikidi4461 3 жыл бұрын

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 3 жыл бұрын

Isn’t that like a phonetic German käilie?

@matthijsbouma3393 3 жыл бұрын

Have they never heard of Marillion there?

@RealPumpkinJay 3 жыл бұрын

@@matthijsbouma3393 No.

@franniepan 3 жыл бұрын

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

@sheonamiller9329 2 жыл бұрын

My daughter is Ceilidh

@irishpolyglot 7 жыл бұрын

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 7 жыл бұрын

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

@liammcwatt5508 7 жыл бұрын

Benny Lewis an bhfuil geailge líofa agat?

@liammcwatt5508 7 жыл бұрын

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 7 жыл бұрын

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

@liammcwatt5508 7 жыл бұрын

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

@mkapadia917 3 жыл бұрын

Beautifully explained and I'm sold!!! I can't wait to try out more Irish words on my own.

@kathleenem9207 2 жыл бұрын

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

@Lizsi1812 6 жыл бұрын

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

@MasterMichelleFL 5 жыл бұрын

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

@irishpolyglot 7 жыл бұрын

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 7 жыл бұрын

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 7 жыл бұрын

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 6 жыл бұрын

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 6 жыл бұрын

Benny Lewis i speak irish with the connemara dialect

@wjmurray2125 6 жыл бұрын

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

@robinhanning4345 2 жыл бұрын

Irish have the most lyrical sounding speech. So easy on the ear. Thank you for explaining. I am thoroughly confused. You did great and if I listen a few more times, I should get it.

@jacobmilano1507 2 жыл бұрын

Such beautiful names. I've never heard of anything like this. Thank you sir for sharing this with us.

@katiewest7908 5 жыл бұрын

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 5 жыл бұрын

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 5 жыл бұрын

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 5 жыл бұрын

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 5 жыл бұрын

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

@quasiotter 4 жыл бұрын

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

@a.j.marcantonio153 2 жыл бұрын

Benny, I love your accent! I could listen to you talk all day.

@catmom1322 3 жыл бұрын

You are absolutely right about English rules. This little lesson was very helpful, so thank you! I've always believed in the "fun with phonics" way of learning a language.

@karindixon6405 7 жыл бұрын

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

@asymmetric.4817 5 жыл бұрын

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 😂

@MoonlightSonata214 6 ай бұрын

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

@kfetter9046 7 ай бұрын

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

@cryptidcane 4 жыл бұрын

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

@alexxx7427 3 жыл бұрын

😂

@NunYaO 3 жыл бұрын

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

@minjabisnis3931 3 жыл бұрын

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

@rachelanderson5608 3 жыл бұрын

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

@cryptidcane 3 жыл бұрын

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

@JasonX00 4 жыл бұрын

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

@karenmpbrandon 2 жыл бұрын

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.

@redeemed4993 2 жыл бұрын

The music is so pretty ❤️ thanks for the explanation!

@cheryldolan2812 5 жыл бұрын

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

@SofiaCaetanoVentura 6 жыл бұрын

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

@mer7971 5 жыл бұрын

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

@darlenericotta Жыл бұрын

This is neat! I was looking here for a different reason, but how very interesting to hear! Glad you on KZfaq! You have a good day as well!😮😊😊😊

@whitetyger06 2 жыл бұрын

This was so cool to see, I have Irish heritage and my son's name is Sean so it'll be cool to show him this when he's older!

@dr.shuvayughosh3330 5 жыл бұрын

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

@FirstnameLastname-es1ko 5 жыл бұрын

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!

@cherpylatina 6 жыл бұрын

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 5 жыл бұрын

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

@insertname1857 5 жыл бұрын

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

@alexg5513 2 жыл бұрын

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

@clare3820 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for putting this up. Very useful.

@gioPHL 7 жыл бұрын

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

@irishpolyglot 6 жыл бұрын

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

@asmilespeaks1132 7 жыл бұрын

Wow, I just started the Gaeilge Duolingo course last night, and here you go posting a video that gives me exactly the kind of guide I was looking for. Irish spelling is so intimidating at first (et j'ai appris le français). Go raibh míle maith agaibh, merci mil fois, dankegon, thanks so much Benny!

@irishpolyglot 7 жыл бұрын

Ha - that's great timing! Glad to have given you that boost as you start on Duolingo's Irish course!

@rosagildea3117 6 жыл бұрын

Hey I'm Irish and I thought I might try Irish Dualingo to help with a test, it worked grand with French, but they way they pronounce the words are a bit off on the Irish one

@lilyt7131 6 жыл бұрын

asmilespeaks I'm not sure if how you wrote it is a different spelling, but I think it should be "mille fois" (fois c'est féminin) - i could be mistaken! And I applaud everyone who tried to learn a new language. It's tough but so worth it to expand your repertoire

@lecobra418 6 жыл бұрын

It's "mille" fois, in French "mille" is unvariable no matter if the noun who follow is masculine or feminine.

@Zay1185 6 жыл бұрын

How do you say Irish in Spanish

@TroyBoyleAtheistAdvocate 3 жыл бұрын

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/.

@andrewringrose9246 2 жыл бұрын

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 !