— Written by Sarduríur Freydís Sverresdatter

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“Celtic”* Polytheists are largely recognized as part of the overall Heathen Polytheist community, as practitioners who follow any number of pre-Christian European religious tradition(s). For the sake of all-inclusiveness, I am here adding an Irish Gaelic pronunciation key, and will be including significant Irish concepts in the “terms” section.

*I put “Celtic” in scare-quotes, because it is an outdated blanket term that insinuates cultural unity between decentralized, individual tribal cultures, when there absolutely was no cultural unity to speak of. It is meant by those in the Medieval community — those who still use that remnant of outdated scholarship — to refer to a smattering of Continental European tribes, such as the Gauls, Parisii, Canutes, and the Helvetii (some of whom honestly qualify as being “Germanic,” too — another confusing, ultimately useless blanket term).

What most people actually mean to refer to when they erroneously use the term “Celtic,” is Gaelic. Namely, Irish Gaelic, and to a lesser degree, Scots Gaelic language and culture. The term “Gael” refers to an Insular collection of tribes that occupied what is now Ireland and Northern Ireland, and later spread out to what is now Scotland — so named for the Northern Irish tribe (Scots) who supplanted the Picts who lived there. However, it should be noted that theory of migration within the British Isles relative to the “disappearance” of the Picts has become the subject of heated debate within the Medieval Historical community in recent years.*

I spent a fraction of the 6 years (thus far) of my Medieval Studies education studying Irish history, literature, language (to a lesser degree), and culture, part of that time having been spent in the Republic of Ireland. While I am certainly no major authority on Irish language, I have enough of a grasp to provide a bare-bones pronunciation guide for those who stumble over this incredibly difficult language.

CONSONANTS

Consonants, at the beginning of a word, have the same phonetic value as their Modern English equivalent characters. For instance, “c” tends to make a hard “k” sound. However, consonants in the middle and at the end of words in Irish Gaelic tend to behave “erratically,” at least by Modern English standards.

b = The soft vibrational “v” sound in Modern English. Sometimes makes an “r” sound.

c = Hard phonetic “g” or “k.”

ch = A guttural, almost “phlegmy” sound, as the “ch” in Hebrew Chanukah or the “ch” in the German pronoun ich.

d, dh = The vibrational “th” sound in the Modern English then.

g, gh = A very soft guttural — NOT as in Modern English laugh or draught, which make hard phonetic “f” sounds. In the Irish word pog, the “g” does NOT sound like the “g” in Modern English hog. Rather, it sounds more like “p’oh.” The “g” is for all intents and purposes silent, yet one can still tell the “g” is present.

m = The soft vibrational “v” sound in Modern English, as with the aforementioned b; in names like Fedelm and Leborcham, an exception must be made. There, they act as “m” does in Modern English, as in the words mother or mare.

s = When preceded or followed by the vowels “e” or “i,” it makes an “sh” sound, as in Modern English shoe or ship.

t = Hard phonetic Modern English “d.”

th = Makes the same sound as “th” does in Modern English, as in the words thane or threw.



VOWELS

In Irish Gaelic, short vowels have the same value as in Latin. Long vowels — which, on lowercase letters, are accented — are pronounced as the following sounds/words in Modern English:

ACCENTED:

a =awe

e = ay

i = ee

o = owe

u = oo

OTHER VOWELS:

It is important to note that most words and names ending in an “e” are nearly always sounded, as in the word manatee.

ai = “a” in the first syllable (as in the name Ailill, “AL-il”) and “i” elsewhere (as in the name Cúchulainn, “KOO-chuhl-ain”).

ei = as in Modern English “e.”

iu = the “u” is pronounced as in English, but the “i” is only slightly sounded before it. The Irish name Derdriu would be pronounced “Der-drOO.”

ui = the emphasis is placed on the “i,” with the “u” slightly sounded before it. The Irish name Cuillenn would be pronounced “Kw-EE-lunn.”

POPULAR NAMES AND PLACES FROM IRISH HISTORY AND MYTHOLOGY PRONOUNCED PHONETICALLY WITH PROPER SYLLABIC EMPHASIS

Amargin — AV-ar-ghin

Badb — Bad-hv / Bive

Bricriu — BRIK-ru

Brug — BROO

Conchobor — KON-chov-or

Cruachan Aí — KROO-ah-chan ee

Cuailnge — KOO-ling-ee

Dubhlinn (Dublin) — doov-LEEN

Dubthach — DUFF-ach

Emer — AY-ver

Eochaid — (y)OCH-i

Finnabair — FINN-ah-vir

Galeóin — GAL-(y)owe-in

Laeg — LOYgh

Laegaire — loygh-EE-re

Lugh — LOO

Mac Roth — Mok-roth

Maine Athramail — MA-nuh ATH-ra-vil

Medb — MAYv

Morrígan — moh-ree-ghan

Nemain — NEV-in

Noisiu — NOY-shu

Scáthach — SKAW-thach

Síd — SHEEdh

Sliab — shlee-AHV

Táin — toyn