Irish Words Can Mutate!

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  • Опубліковано 30 бер 2017
  • Before you pronounce Irish names or thumb through a dictionary, you should know that Irish words do something quite unusual. They can mutate their starting sounds.
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    ~ CREDITS ~
    Outro theme - Celtic by Joshua LF Mitchell
    / joshualfmitchell
    / jlfm97
    / @jdm_score
    Art, narration and animation by Josh from NativLang
    Doc full of sources for claims and credits for imgs, music and sfx:
    docs.google.com/document/d/10...
    ~ CORRECTIONS ~
    "i nGaeilge" : "as Gaeilge" is the expected phrase here! Thank you to multiple commenters for pointing this out.
    ~ I GCUPLA FOCAL, BRIEFLY ~
    I'm preparing a video that explores the entire history of Irish. As I stitch together my notes, I'm noticing I often just have time to name-drop terms like "Proto-Celtic" and "Ogham". Today let's spend time on one of the more unusual ones: "initial mutations".
    Archaic or "Primitive Irish" had neat Celtic syllables, but when Old Irish pops in just a couple centuries later, it's already full of worn-out endings and these strange mutations.
    Two types. First, lenition: a word's starting sound gets softer, like /p/ turning into /f/. Second, eclipse: the starting sound gets more voiced or nasalized. The textbook Sengoídelc adds a third type, aspiration: adding h before a vowel.
    What makes these devious is that they're triggered by grammar. We'll take a look at a few examples.
    I'll close out by thinking about how Irish's "will mutate for grammar" strategy likely developed. I'll also consider how, even though they now look so uniquely Celtic, mutations are not inherited from the common Proto-Celtic ancestor.

КОМЕНТАРІ • 1,5 тис.

  • @gufcfan
    @gufcfan 7 років тому +1436

    I am a native speaker.
    I have never seen a video of this type about the language done as accurately as this.
    I could hardly fault the pronunciation either.

    • @jimmy27paul
      @jimmy27paul 7 років тому +61

      Its a wonder....Usually Irish people come to videos like this just to bitch and moan.....Typical.......

    • @joehollow2505
      @joehollow2505 6 років тому +45

      jimbob jim All people do that crap and it's tiresome.

    • @sgrygiel99
      @sgrygiel99 5 років тому +21

      I guess it's a feat to make a proper video about Irish

    • @fhearrbod858
      @fhearrbod858 5 років тому +12

      @@jimmy27paul what do you mean bitc- oh yeah

    • @bean-phaidin
      @bean-phaidin 5 років тому +7

      Cinnte!!!

  • @seanosull2884
    @seanosull2884 7 років тому +694

    Native speaker here. And I have to say I am very impressed by your pronunciation. A few hiccups here and there but I have rarely met a foreigner with such a grasp of the pronunciation. Maith thú

    • @NativLang
      @NativLang  7 років тому +130

      Thank you for that!

    • @seanosull2884
      @seanosull2884 7 років тому +43

      As someone who also is very interested in linguistics, how do you manage to master the pronunciation and grammatical rules of so many complicated languages?

    • @teutorixaleria918
      @teutorixaleria918 7 років тому +48

      Sean O'Sullivan pronunciation is helped by understanding​ IPA which if you don't know is like an alphabet for sounds. makes it easier to transcribe words as they are actually spoken and allows people to read the sounds instead of letters.

    • @Great_Olaf5
      @Great_Olaf5 6 років тому +14

      Darren Mc Yeah, but the superscrpts attached to EVERY, SINGLE, CONSONANT, throw me off. If someone could give me anything better for those than assuming that every consonant has just the slightest hint of two different y sounds, that'd be great.

    • @ashtarbalynestjar8000
      @ashtarbalynestjar8000 6 років тому +21

      You can ignore the mark on the broad consonants, at least if you’re doing a phonemic transcription.
      As for the slender consonants, the official IPA diacritic for palatalization used to be a little j-shaped tail at the bottom of the consonant before they switched it to a superscript j in 1989. Maybe you can still use that...

  • @deepvoicedick4925
    @deepvoicedick4925 7 років тому +1295

    St 🅱atrick

  • @DublinAviation
    @DublinAviation 7 років тому +589

    As a native Gaeilge speaker I commend you on your pronunciations!! Maith thú!

    • @sakurapetrescu4932
      @sakurapetrescu4932 6 років тому +7

      Dublin Aviation Dia dhuit. I'm looking for someone to help me learn gaeilge

    • @CrispyCian
      @CrispyCian 5 років тому +4

      sakura petrescu learn ulster irish

    • @garygillespie8213
      @garygillespie8213 5 років тому +1

      Ma(h)t hu that's how u pronounce it

    • @MasterMichelleFL
      @MasterMichelleFL 4 роки тому +1

      @@sakurapetrescu4932 if you are still looking, Duolingo is amazing!

    • @yerdasellsavon9232
      @yerdasellsavon9232 4 роки тому +4

      I speak Scottish Gaelic

  • @TheAnthraxBiology
    @TheAnthraxBiology 7 років тому +327

    I'm fluent in Irish and have been speaking it since I was extremely young and because of that I'd never thought about this XD It was there under my nose the whole time but to me it was just "Yeah, a seimhú goes there or an orú" and so on. It's funny how the languages we understand the least are often the ones we know the best.

    • @RedHair651
      @RedHair651 7 років тому +39

      That's called being a "naive speaker" :)

    • @weskos
      @weskos 7 років тому +4

      Which dialect do you speak, if I may ask?

    • @TracksWithDax
      @TracksWithDax 6 років тому +22

      Lol, a "naive speaker" may well be far different from a "native speaker" :D

    • @isabellafelipedeoliveiraca6698
      @isabellafelipedeoliveiraca6698 6 років тому +5

      That has happened to me with my native language Portuguese, when I noticed many years after learning about grammatical cases that Portuguese doesn't seem to have grammatical cases! (we have some cases on some pronouns, but only that)

    • @Huntracony
      @Huntracony 6 років тому +12

      Yup :D I make the claim that my English is actually better than my native language as I had to learn English, and keep improving my English, one by one getting rid of mistakes even native speakers frequently make, while my native language of Dutch I feel I have the right to completely butcher, because after all, it's my language. So I never learned 'proper' Dutch and I am not improving my Dutch because nobody's got the right to tell me how to speak it, because after all, I am Dutch.

  • @MultaVerba
    @MultaVerba 7 років тому +1013

    I wish Irish was still our majority language

    • @Robstar100
      @Robstar100 7 років тому +100

      I like the idea of it but I'd say we'd need to be bilingual, English and American media is too good to suddenly not be able to understand, and we'd be cutting ourself off from so much of the world.
      Still though if everyone were bilingual it would be fantastic to behold.

    • @Mercure250
      @Mercure250 6 років тому +178

      I think he meant that Irish should be the majority *native* language

    • @MWBlueNoodles
      @MWBlueNoodles 5 років тому +62

      If people put in the effort of sending their children to bunscoils and naíscoils we would all speak it fine. But too many people don't want to deal with learning the language to help the child with homework.

    • @cian2075
      @cian2075 5 років тому +104

      It's the way we teach it here in Ireland that's wrong. Students are taught Irish to pass an exam instead of being taught to actually speak it. When I was learning Irish in school we never spoke it, it was mostly written work and we never learned the vital aspects of learning any language like grammar, sentence structure, etc. So it's the schools way of teaching it that's wrong, if we change it and focus more in the students speaking the language we may find more people speaking the language.

    • @flarenimbus4444
      @flarenimbus4444 5 років тому +1

      Same

  • @finnsalsa9304
    @finnsalsa9304 7 років тому +1004

    People of Ireland! I beg please don't let this language die!

    • @arcticmog8517
      @arcticmog8517 5 років тому +21

      かたつむり were gonna let it die

    • @PaulEIvory
      @PaulEIvory 5 років тому +120

      It's mandatory in schools which makes a lot of people hate it as they never say how it can be used apart from extra points in exams.

    • @bussdownthotiana5245
      @bussdownthotiana5245 5 років тому +130

      It's on it's way out. People are letting it die because schools are doing a shit job at teaching it.

    • @Odinsday
      @Odinsday 5 років тому +36

      FinnSalsa It will only die when people stop caring. People haven’t stopped caring just yet.

    • @ballinrobeapache2040
      @ballinrobeapache2040 5 років тому +10

      We won't. search up where the first word of my name is in ireland

  • @atty877
    @atty877 3 роки тому +51

    I'm from a gaeltacht, where we speak Irish often if not daily, your pronunciation is perfect, you sound like a local. And Hollywood stars can't come close to getting the accent even close to anyone on the island of Ireland, yet you have managed to sound like some fellah from the village.... Niiiiiiiiice 👍

  • @jaxonlag
    @jaxonlag 7 років тому +870

    A pleasant change to see a video about Gaeilge with no mistakes. Pronunciation wasn't too bad either. Great video!
    Athrú deas chun físeán faoin nGaeilge a fheiceáil atá gan bhotúin. Ní raibh an fhoghraíocht ródhona ach an oiread. Físeán iontach!

    • @NativLang
      @NativLang  7 років тому +214

      Go raibh maith agat!

    • @celtofcanaanesurix2245
      @celtofcanaanesurix2245 7 років тому +78

      NativLang how many languages do you know?

    • @eoinharrington2692
      @eoinharrington2692 7 років тому +11

      Jack Lagan gaeilge maith a Jack

    • @abuslakhan8360
      @abuslakhan8360 6 років тому +3

      Jack Lagan /v

    • @tara345
      @tara345 6 років тому +3

      An nglacann Florida le bh nó an ceart dó a bheith “in Florida” mar nach focal ceart i nGaeilge atá ann?

  • @lentilsoup90
    @lentilsoup90 7 років тому +164

    As a Welsh learner, these mutations are SO hard to get down, I guess it's the tradeoff for the super easy verbs! Celtic languages are so interestingly divergent from their neighbors!

    • @talideon
      @talideon 7 років тому +42

      It's easiest to think of the mutations as what they are: hidden letters at the end of the previous word. So in Irish, it _looks_ like there's only one singular nominative definite article 'an', when there are actually two: an+ø (nothing) - the masculine one, and an+h (seimhiú) - the feminine one. Thinking of them that way makes everything much more regular.

    • @obretao1470
      @obretao1470 6 років тому +15

      I learne Breton (a celtic language of Brittany in France related to Cornish and Welsh) and we have also mutations

    • @SimonS44
      @SimonS44 5 років тому +2

      JebediahMD what do you mean by super easy verbs? Because of the construction with forms of bod or are the "normal" conjugations easy too?

    • @FunTime-jw5dz
      @FunTime-jw5dz 4 роки тому +2

      The great thing with all Celtic languages is that they are the only languages in the world with mutations

    • @tennesseedarby5319
      @tennesseedarby5319 2 роки тому +1

      @@FunTime-jw5dz except for like one language in far east Siberia. I think it also has some other features like Welsh/Celtic languages

  • @EmmetWA
    @EmmetWA 7 років тому +378

    mh being pronounced /v/ is still very common in irish, not lost at all! (for example in the word séimhiú :P)

    • @NativLang
      @NativLang  7 років тому +63

      Even the nasal v phoneme cited for Old Irish? Haven't heard it, but, yes, definitely the w/v allophones.

    • @EmmetWA
      @EmmetWA 7 років тому +24

      ah, missed the nasal diacritic.

    • @ciarfah
      @ciarfah 7 років тому +51

      NativLang It's also quite dependant on region. For example mhuc does not become 'wuk' but closer to 'vuc' where I live.

    • @irishlongswordboland3114
      @irishlongswordboland3114 7 років тому +16

      Your pronunciation is good though its sounds wrong its a funny thing to say.Its as if your underlying accent is getting in the way sliightly preventing you from getting it 100%,but thats not unusual even for irish people very few speak it as a first language and hardly anyone over the age of 4 is monolingual

    • @acanpc333
      @acanpc333 7 років тому +7

      And it's always a V in Scottish Gaidhlig isn't it?

  • @ImColmss
    @ImColmss 7 років тому +95

    Native Irish speaker here, kinda surprised how well your pronunciation was! You must have had some help cause Irish people can't even tell the difference sometimes! Of course there are a few pronunciations a little off but I understood everything without having to look at the screen and that's all that matters! Some people on yt try speak Irish and I've got no idea what the hell theyre saying so I turn on sub titles, not for you though!

  • @llinoswilliams3715
    @llinoswilliams3715 7 років тому +263

    Can you also look at Welsh mutations and it's various 'double letters'? I'd love to see what you make of my language. Frankly anything to do with Welsh will make me happy though!

    • @LBOROststudios
      @LBOROststudios 7 років тому +13

      du - So single 'd' is pronounced /d/
      roedd - So double 'd' is pronounced /θ/
      ... doe - Wait, what...

    • @llinoswilliams3715
      @llinoswilliams3715 7 років тому +7

      LSS MediaGroup.
      Dd, as in 'Y ddafad' would be pronounced like a 'th' would be in "the", whereas D is pronounced like 'duh'

    • @LBOROststudios
      @LBOROststudios 7 років тому +1

      I realise that, I was more alluding to how as in the case of "doe", it can also be spelt as "ddoe", but it's correct pronunciation regardless of its spelling is /ðɔɪ/

    • @llinoswilliams3715
      @llinoswilliams3715 7 років тому +10

      LSS MediaGroup
      I don't think "doe" is a word that exists in Welsh, or at least where I live it doesn't. Correct me if I'm mistaken, I love learning.

    • @Parker8752
      @Parker8752 7 років тому +5

      I've never come across "doe"; I'm pretty sure it's pretty much only written as "ddoe". Welsh writing is reasonably consistent, and so long as you know what each letter (or double letter) is meant to represent, it's usually quite easy to get the pronunciation right from the spelling.

  • @hentehoo27
    @hentehoo27 7 років тому +335

    Could you do a video about the *Uralic languages*, please?

    • @hentehoo27
      @hentehoo27 7 років тому +47

      or at least a video about *Finnic languages*

    • @alwinpriven2400
      @alwinpriven2400 7 років тому +33

      Well he already did about Hungarian, so I would like to see a video about the rest of the Uralic languages, especially the Finnic languages. I love Finland and Estonia.

    • @namingisdifficult408
      @namingisdifficult408 7 років тому +1

      Alwin Priven agreed

    • @BigBad-Wolf
      @BigBad-Wolf 7 років тому

      He already did Hungarian, he should do Lithuanian.

    • @alwinpriven2400
      @alwinpriven2400 7 років тому +14

      But Lithuanian isn't related to any Uralic language. Do you mean Estonian (if so, how did you confuse them?!)?

  • @rzeka
    @rzeka 7 років тому +19

    You explained eclipsis better than I've ever seen, and you did it in like 2 sentences.

  • @HogandDice
    @HogandDice 7 років тому +21

    "mhór" is still pronounced "voor" in some dialects. That's the way I learned to pronounce it in school growing up. I'd also pronounce "mhuc" as "Vuc".
    It get's really confusing doing oral exams because we learn one dialect but have to answer questions based on recordings of people speaking lots of different dialects.

    • @talideon
      @talideon 5 місяців тому +1

      It's the nasalisation of the /v/ with 'mh' he was referring to, which has since been lost.

    • @everettduncan7543
      @everettduncan7543 2 місяці тому

      Sounds like Dublin at the very least needs a standard that mixes the provincial dialects (since Leinster Irish is extinct), and the historical three provinces outside it get their limelight in their local Irish schools

  • @DoctorWhoFan224
    @DoctorWhoFan224 7 років тому +32

    From an Irish person, your have excellent pronunciation. I commend you on it, and thank you for actually taking time to learn how to say it. Keep up great work.

  • @kentaeusbreizh
    @kentaeusbreizh 3 роки тому +17

    Me, a breton : wow, those mutations are simple compared to ours
    Everyone else : 😲

  • @Moistcraictical
    @Moistcraictical 7 років тому +75

    About the "mhór" part: there are still certain dialects here that do still pronounce the "mh" like "v" (and not "w"), Munster Irish for example in Kerry and Cork. I tend to alternate between the two because I was educated by teachers from different dialectical provinces of the country. It definitely still exists and neither way is an incorrect pronunciation. :)

    • @MrBobbybobson
      @MrBobbybobson 6 років тому +9

      Áine you're right. Grew up in munster irish and we always pronounced it as a "v" sound

    • @adaptablesmile9201
      @adaptablesmile9201 5 років тому +3

      Iirc there's a rule that if the mh is at the start of the word it's pronounced as "w" and elsewhere as a "v" eg Naomh Mhuire. I'm from Donegal though so it could be one of our quirks.

    • @Maggot91ify
      @Maggot91ify 5 років тому +9

      As far as I'm aware of the v or w pronunciation of mh and bh is dependant on the vowel (broad/slender distinction) generally when in the presence of broad vowels (a o u) it'd be /w/ and in the presence of slender vowels it'd be /v/.
      The sound Nativlang seems to be talking about is /ṽ/ which is a nasally "v" sound.

    • @Maggot91ify
      @Maggot91ify 3 роки тому +1

      @@aduantas Of course, I should have specified that I'm aware that Munster is consistent with /v/ but I'm not 100% sure if what I described is done in Connacht and/or Ulster
      I was under the impression such was the case but I came across one explanatory post that seemed to suggest /w/ was consistently used so I'd need to look up to be sure

    • @anmise
      @anmise 2 роки тому +1

      Wait people outside munster pronounce it as w??? Damn

  • @TensileStrength
    @TensileStrength 7 років тому +16

    With almost every video you show me something about another language's grammar that makes me think "WHAT ON EARTH!?" Languages are such a bizarre yet wonderful thing.

  • @TheHorrorDevotee
    @TheHorrorDevotee 7 років тому +21

    Can we have a video about Welsh next? Continuing the Celtic theme?

  • @tomatoe682
    @tomatoe682 7 років тому +8

    I'm a native speaker of Gaeilge and it makes me so happy to see my language being given the attention it deserves! Thank you so much! Also your pronunciation is nearly perfect, I am very impressed!

  • @dziugasvaitkevicius7905
    @dziugasvaitkevicius7905 7 років тому +107

    your lrish Is better than like 90% of all the Irish speakers I've ever met

    • @NativLang
      @NativLang  7 років тому +36

      You're kind to say so! Looks like I'm getting fairly mixed reviews on it so far.

    • @dziugasvaitkevicius7905
      @dziugasvaitkevicius7905 7 років тому +8

      NativLang lol yeah the pronounciation could've been better but everything else was pretty good.

    • @thomasodonoghue3239
      @thomasodonoghue3239 6 років тому

      Dziugas Vaitkevicius he cant pronounce and any of the words not one

    • @hughoreillyfitzgerald5039
      @hughoreillyfitzgerald5039 5 років тому +8

      @@thomasodonoghue3239 thats very untrue, as somebody who speaks the language fluently, his pronunciation was almost perfect

    • @thomasodonoghue3239
      @thomasodonoghue3239 5 років тому

      @@hughoreillyfitzgerald5039 what province you from?

  • @nicolasespindola2852
    @nicolasespindola2852 7 років тому +17

    I always have to watch these videos at least 5 times before I barely start to understand them. Your work is simply amazing

  • @cadr003
    @cadr003 7 років тому +530

    Irish scares me. Actually Gaelic in general.

    • @Maggot91ify
      @Maggot91ify 7 років тому +31

      tisn't that bad really

    • @ruairimasun1073
      @ruairimasun1073 7 років тому +115

      ghriangrafadóireachta

    • @gearaltach
      @gearaltach 7 років тому +70

      ná bíodh eagla ar bith ort a dhuine cóir - baol ar bith í an Ghaeilge duit (let you not have any fear upon you fair person - Gaelic is no danger on earth to you)

    • @clockman5472
      @clockman5472 7 років тому +17

      cadr003 Níl an Ghaeilge ró-dheacair i ndáiríre, Tá sé éasca a labhairt as Gaeilge. Ach tá a lán rialacha casta sa ghramadach is baolach.

    • @celtofcanaanesurix2245
      @celtofcanaanesurix2245 7 років тому +23

      cadr003 it's just too beautiful to be scary

  • @BrancheOrtiz
    @BrancheOrtiz 8 місяців тому +3

    I have seen this video many times, like since it first aired. It’s one of the few hidden gems that speak about Celtic languages and their particular grammar. I wish there was more content like this, showing respect for this languages that have been unceremoniously displaced and oppressed by English and French. I don’t know if you’re interested in continuing doing videos on Celtic languages, since you’re busy, but it’s nice to revisit this video time and time again !

  • @stjacquesremi
    @stjacquesremi 7 років тому +74

    This is crazy! I like it!
    Please, can you make a video about basque language, please? Their verb conjugation is worth it

    • @lh2738
      @lh2738 7 років тому +1

      Yes, please. I'd like to see that.

    • @dagoeneko
      @dagoeneko 7 років тому +3

      Yeah, that would really be amazing.

    • @magister343
      @magister343 7 років тому +2

      You mean how it is ergative-absolutive?

    • @stjacquesremi
      @stjacquesremi 7 років тому +4

      that too, but I really mean the conjugation with the verbs. the verb conjugates not only according to the subject, but also the object. I'd like to see that

    • @dagoeneko
      @dagoeneko 7 років тому +1

      Good ol' Nor-Nori-Nork

  • @lynchpinthescriptdoctor8803
    @lynchpinthescriptdoctor8803 4 роки тому +22

    I've never heard an American pronounce Irish so perfectly ❤

  • @NativLang
    @NativLang  7 років тому +397

    This time, zoom in for grammar. Next time, zoom out for history.

    • @NoNo-wj6js
      @NoNo-wj6js 7 років тому +18

      NativLang My school teaches Irish and sometimes words have nothing to do phonetically with how they're written:
      Aghaidh - Face
      Guess how that's pronounced:
      Eye
      And that's just the tip of the pile of nonsensical phonemes
      (・Д・)

    • @CyanH
      @CyanH 7 років тому +7

      NativLang my school always taught us to pronounce mhór with a "v" sound at the start, so i dont think it's disappeared from the language yet! Don't know which regional accent still uses it though, since i went to school in Dublin so the irish accent here is a smattering of all the regional accents since the whole thing with the Brits and the Pale and all. Funny enough, i'd pronounce "mhór" like "vore" but id pronounce the word "mháith" as "wah", never noticed that linguistic weirdness till you pointed it out! Love the videos btw. Tá siad go han mháith!

    • @honeybee3269
      @honeybee3269 7 років тому

      Raid HRI O'Shay
      Hmm! We say Eyeg if that makes sense.

    • @Maggot91ify
      @Maggot91ify 7 років тому

      From my knoweldge, I think the bh and mh w/v sound would stem from the vowel used as well as where they are in the word

    • @VindicusVore
      @VindicusVore 7 років тому +2

      Such delicious knowledge, keep it up man, you help give me my fix for my linguistics addiction, lol.

  • @tehhamstah
    @tehhamstah 7 років тому +12

    It would be cool if you could explain where some languages got genders from to begin with - that always confused me when learning foreign languages because it felt so arbitrary.

  • @gearaltach
    @gearaltach 7 років тому +31

    moladh mór duit - well done! - a small note: there's a norm in standard Irish to use 'in' for all non-Gaelic(/ised) placenames; regardless of the first consonant; so we don't use (in the standard anyways) i bhFlorida, but in Florida, in Birmingham etc. but i Nua-Eabhrac (in New York, i mBostún (in Boston)!

    • @NativLang
      @NativLang  7 років тому +8

      Ah, I appreciate the info. I didn't realize I was deviating from the Caighdeán!

    • @gearaltach
      @gearaltach 7 років тому +8

      not sure when it came in - standards can have their quirks not everyone follows - that's the nature of things! Standardisation can help a small language gain status and a common orthography/grammar; but it also entails a loss - the standards of English, French, Italian, Spanish etc. were all once just prestige dialects which with printing and mass education went on to wipe out a great diversity of dialects

    • @tjstarr2960
      @tjstarr2960 7 років тому +3

      Are there any other words for pumpkin and squash in Irish? I know that both vegetables are related, and are indigenous to North America. The word "squash" is one of the few loanwords in English from a Native American language (Massachusetts language). I would be surprised if there was a word for it in Irish that wasn't a loanword

    • @weskos
      @weskos 7 років тому +1

      An é sin cúirséad nó ubhthoradh nó rud mar sin?

    • @aaronodonoghue1791
      @aaronodonoghue1791 6 років тому +2

      @TJ Starr Scuais is the Irish for squash (I checked). As there's no Q in Irish, they use C instead (e.g. Quinn (last name) = Ó Cuinn, quilt = cuilt, quark = cuarc (there's no K either)).

  • @bethanysimpson5310
    @bethanysimpson5310 7 років тому +2

    I LOVE THESE VIDEOS XXXX please don't stop making them! Would love a vid on Georgian writing/language

  • @dg-hughes
    @dg-hughes 7 років тому +14

    I think this is a big reason Irish is seen as hard to learn you can't just say what you see without knowing a lot of rules for pronunciation first. Other languages (Romance) you see a word you say the word maybe a slight pronunciation difference but what you see in the word 99% of the time is all you need .

    • @EamonnFlynn
      @EamonnFlynn 7 років тому +6

      David Hughes The language we're speaking right now probably has the worst spelling system of any language in Europe, if not in the world. There are simply no rules.

    • @eruno_
      @eruno_ 6 років тому +7

      @Éamonn Flynn
      I think worst spelling system in Europe goes to Danish or French

    • @dennisdelany9098
      @dennisdelany9098 6 років тому +6

      Ta ceart agat Eamonn. There certainly are rules for Irish spelling and they are not hard to learn. English spelling by contrast is chaotic. Ask anyone who has had to learn English as a foreign language. Lenition and gender are tricky though.

  • @PragmaticCulture
    @PragmaticCulture 7 років тому +3

    Love your work man. Language has such a fascinating history and not enough people know it. Thank you.

  • @blanska
    @blanska 7 років тому +2

    I wouldn't mind more videos abut celtic languages, they were always a mystery to me, especially their pronounciation. and I understand things better when I hear someone explaining it. I loved the video^^

  • @DailyFunFacts
    @DailyFunFacts 7 років тому +33

    awesome video as always!

  • @MilanTheAngel
    @MilanTheAngel 7 років тому +101

    You shall do a video about Quechua and other Andean languages!

    • @yesete777
      @yesete777 6 років тому +3

      Carrot Slice I love the Andean flag for unity you have

    • @wearealreadydeadfam8214
      @wearealreadydeadfam8214 4 роки тому

      TKD rulez! Viva Morales. The CIA are pigs.

    • @Rolando_Cueva
      @Rolando_Cueva 2 роки тому

      Shall? That sounds like a command.

  • @NetherTaker
    @NetherTaker 3 роки тому +4

    As someone learning Gàidhlig (Scottish Gaelic) it's kind of crazy how similar Irish is. I guess it makes sense since Gàidhlig originally came from Ireland but like, I actually understood and recognized some words. Kinda makes me wonder, could you do a video on Gaeilge's Scottish descendent, Gàidhlig?

    • @CuFhoirthe88
      @CuFhoirthe88 5 місяців тому

      It didn't come to Scotland from Ireland. Consider that Dal Riada was a thalassocratic power to start with. The nature of geography before modern vehicles lends itself to a language continuum in western Scotland and Ireland. Argyll--there are no Brittonic/P-Celtic place names in Argyll not even river names and hydronyms are notoriously conservative--always had easier access to Ireland via boat from Mull of Kintyre than with the forbears of the Picts over the mountains. Since there's no real archaeological evidence for an invasion from Ireland it makes more sense that at least the western part of Scotland--so defined by the druim Alban "spine of Britain"--transitioned from whatever accent of proto-Celtic there was endemic there into Goidelic at the same time as Ireland, with the two forming a language continuum since the Iron Age. Things like the ages of the crannog settlement types may indicate more significant cultural influence from Scotland to Ireland rather than vice versa.
      As for Dal Riata's kings claiming descent from Irish figures, I'll note the kingship of Tara starting to centralise into the High King of Ireland probably gave Dal Riada cause to try to bolster the legitimacy of their claims to county Antrim.
      And that's not to get into competing models of how the Celtic languages branch out, spread, and related to each other, vis-a-vis the chronology of Q/P vs Insular/Continental.
      Beannachdan leibh.

  • @TheEagleOfTheShadows
    @TheEagleOfTheShadows 7 років тому +3

    For someone who has never heard the language properly before your pronunciation is pretty impressive!
    Here's a bit of trivia for you:
    In the gaeltacht regions in Ireland most families who speak Irish have a few of their own family specific Irish words for things. It can sometimes get to the point where two families could be speaking almost completely different Irish.

  • @shinydewott
    @shinydewott 7 років тому

    Finally! A new video I will watch without getting bored over and over again until new video comes out
    I am in love with this channel

  • @flibbertygibbet
    @flibbertygibbet 7 років тому +5

    One of my family names in Lafferty. The old spelling is Flaithbheartaigh. In some areas this became Flaherty. The who reason I go by flibbertygibbet is because that's what a friend read when they were trying to sound out the old spelling.

  • @Michael-vs1mw
    @Michael-vs1mw 7 років тому +4

    Notification squad right here! Amazing video, as always! Would love to watch more about Slavic and Hindustani languages from you.

  • @keetrandling4530
    @keetrandling4530 7 років тому

    Really love the education - what an insight into and connection​ to other peoples, but also wanted to say I enjoy your illustrations!

  • @oioioi6664
    @oioioi6664 5 років тому +7

    Ive been learning Irish since I was four... im 16 now (and no I am not fluent in irish at all) but looking at this I never really questioned all this irish grammar until now.. like wow it looks so diffucult. If i had started learning irish today instead of 12 years ago, i would be VERY confused

  • @cararobinson6956
    @cararobinson6956 7 років тому +22

    Some may say that your pronunciation was weird but to my ears, it was pretty great. Its a hard language to get a grip onto, especially pronunciation for some. Bhain mé sult as an video seo, maith thú!

    • @kateolwill8645
      @kateolwill8645 6 років тому +2

      Cara Robinson Yeah, and I mean, pronunciation is so different everywhere in the country. I went to primary school on the Roscommon side of Athlone, and go to secondary school on the Westmeath side, and you'd be surprised at the amount of pronunciation difference you'd get by travelling 15 minutes. I never pronounce "igh", but everyone in Westmeath pronounce it with a hard g, for example.

  • @monkeywithplutonium
    @monkeywithplutonium 7 років тому +8

    Your videos actually makes linguistics fun. Have you ever thought about delving into native american languages?I saw the one you did over Aztec and then I realized, I've yet to see or read anything over N.A. natives.

  • @peterfitzgibbon4699
    @peterfitzgibbon4699 5 років тому +2

    Your Connacht dialect pronunciation is great! I loved the whole difference between mac (son) and muc, plural for Mac is mic, but then you’ve got arás na mHic léinn! Which means students hahah. Then muc becomes muice, which is actually part of a well used proverb ‘I muid na muice’ which means amongst pigs literally, but actually is meant to be doing great! Irish is very complicated, I speak it fluently since I went to an all Irish primary school. Ar ndóigh, tá sé níos éasca chun labhair as Béarla, ach, gach lá, táim ag dhéanamh iarracht chun mo teanga féin a caint. Maith thú. This was a great video!

  • @counsellingwords
    @counsellingwords 7 років тому

    What a video! I learned a lot today. Amazing how languages can change over time.

  • @Guksir
    @Guksir 6 років тому +19

    Greetings from Russia. I've heard about Irish and it's grace before but I never thought It's THAT beautiful...

    • @what2636
      @what2636 4 роки тому +4

      its not that beautiful when you have exams about it lol

    • @what2636
      @what2636 3 роки тому

      @Lalealyn it also sounds awful to the people learning it in school 💀😭

    • @Perririri
      @Perririri 2 роки тому

      Пирляндия!

  • @NativLang
    @NativLang  7 років тому +12

    We're starting a Commonlounge discussion on how mutations evolved from "sandhi" effects. Learn and share more: www.commonlounge.com/discussion/cc821edd1d1a4ae19520bdf66121252e/all/ad43fc4f9cb34a40a2a0eb7dc890cb10

  • @SHDUStudios
    @SHDUStudios 4 роки тому +1

    I was just about to create a Celtic conlang and this really helped me nail down the morphological features.

  • @Blackmercyable
    @Blackmercyable 3 роки тому

    Really liked it, learnt Irish in school but never thought about it like this.
    Your pronounciation is good too.

  • @niamh-learns
    @niamh-learns 7 років тому +40

    Go hiontach!
    More Irish videos, le do thoil!

  • @IsaacMayerCreativeWorks
    @IsaacMayerCreativeWorks 7 років тому +4

    A similar topic to this one - could you talk about the Hebrew begedkefet letters (בגד-כפת), which originally could symbolize either a fricative or a plosive? When vowel markings are added, you can tell the difference because the plosive has a "dagesh" - בּ is /b/ while ב is /v/, כּ is /k/ while כ is /x/, פּ is /p/ while פ is /f/. But these are not written in the abjad.
    When Jews adopted the Hebrew alefbet for new pronunciations, some phonemes disappeared (the fricative ד and plosive דּ merged in almost all pronunciation into /d/) while others evolved (the fricative ת became /s/ in German pronunciation, dropped out in Spanish pronunciation, and was preserved in Yemen).

  • @MrAlvarogame
    @MrAlvarogame 7 років тому

    Another great work, as always! Let's see if you cover Basque some time soon - it's one of the hidden gems of European linguistics, up there with Hungarian.

  • @viridian_nights
    @viridian_nights 5 років тому

    Fabulous video - thanks for doing a Gaeilge video!

  • @mariascanlan8238
    @mariascanlan8238 4 роки тому +4

    in munster they still prenounce mhór as vore and beidh is said as beg. other than that i think this is the most accurate take ive seen on this language!

  • @talideon
    @talideon 7 років тому +13

    So, how long till you do a video about how palatalisation in Irish, and how Irish spelling, in spite of appearences, is a reasonable product of its history and actually simpler than that of many languages?

  • @yellow-mountain
    @yellow-mountain 7 років тому

    Tbh, it's only like 40% to 60% of the info I get, but your videos are so interesting and your love for language is so cool I can't help but to run a playlist of them ! Fun to know where our languages rooted from 😁

  • @HuevoBendito
    @HuevoBendito 7 років тому

    I love it! It'd be awesome if you did a video about affixing in Austronesian languages!

  • @colonelsanders6976
    @colonelsanders6976 7 років тому +4

    Irish guy here, great video and great pronunciation lad!

  • @annelieseocallaghan801
    @annelieseocallaghan801 7 років тому +3

    "ó mo chroí" , whenever the word "mo" meaning "my" , is before a word, that word takes a h. As a point, in 9 years of speaking Irish I have never once encountered someone who put a dot above their letter to make a sheimiú, if I did I would assume they were joking or ask them where they got their time machine from.

  • @zippersocks
    @zippersocks 4 роки тому

    I saw this video a long time ago, and now that I’m interested in learning Irish, I’m really impressed by explanations in this vid. Well done!

  •  7 років тому

    @NativLang Thanks for making this content on youtube, i like your videos a lot.

  • @maximebeaudoin4013
    @maximebeaudoin4013 7 років тому +10

    please do more videos on dead languages (latin, aramaic, sanskrit, ancient greek...) and how they work. It would be very interesting.

    • @maximebeaudoin4013
      @maximebeaudoin4013 3 роки тому

      @Cormac Mac donnacha No relation😂 don't worry

    • @shambhav9534
      @shambhav9534 2 роки тому

      I've tried. It's super hard to find anything about ancient Greek or Sanskrit, however the internet, for some reason, lloves Latin.

  • @ebteam96
    @ebteam96 7 років тому +5

    Do one about welsh mutations. Three styles with multiple reasons to mutate. Very similar to old irish mutations

  • @MWBlueNoodles
    @MWBlueNoodles 5 років тому

    Your pronunciation is so good!!

  • @brandonstolz6283
    @brandonstolz6283 7 років тому

    your videos are so well made!

  • @PC_Simo
    @PC_Simo 3 роки тому +3

    Thank God for Irish lopping off those ”P”’s, as ”périu” to my Finnish eyes/ears looks/sounds like ”pieru”, meaning: ”fart”. 😆

    • @servantofaeie1569
      @servantofaeie1569 2 роки тому +1

      I think it would have actually turned out like fériu

    • @PC_Simo
      @PC_Simo 2 роки тому +1

      @@servantofaeie1569 Okay. Thank you for the correction. 😎👍🏻

  • @yusacetin4235
    @yusacetin4235 7 років тому +4

    2:16 We have almost the exact chart in Turkish. In some cases p ç t k can turn into b c d g. Very interesting.
    I can't say the same rule tho, it happens at the end of words when a suffix is added.

    • @erkinalp
      @erkinalp 5 років тому +3

      No, Turkish lenition is different. It is caused by vowel contact, not consonant contact.

  • @LangThoughts
    @LangThoughts 4 роки тому

    My phonology professor is giving us extra credit based on this video and the weird phonemes one.....little does she know I'm subscribed to you (and am learning Irish)!

  • @oliviamacarthur18
    @oliviamacarthur18 7 років тому +1

    Maith thu!!! (well done in Irish). Great pronunciations! And it is a little weird you uploaded this today as I have just done my Irish oral exams for the Leaving Cert.(The Irish exams to determine if you get into college)

  • @thenextshenanigantownandth4393
    @thenextshenanigantownandth4393 4 роки тому +4

    I have to say the narrator does sound pretty Irish when he's speaking the language. Better than most Iv'e heard anyway.

  • @Robobagpiper
    @Robobagpiper 7 років тому +29

    Mhòr still is "vor" is Scottish Gaelic.

    • @x00018572
      @x00018572 7 років тому +8

      Also still "vor" in certain Irish dialects!

    • @NativLang
      @NativLang  7 років тому +5

      Oh yeah! I'm still looking for one that keeps the old Goídelc phoneme /ṽ/ though.

    • @weskos
      @weskos 7 років тому +2

      Look in Ó Siadhail and Wigger's Córas Fuaimeanna na Gaeilge, if you can find a copy.

    • @chicknorton8839
      @chicknorton8839 6 років тому

      Does Scots Gaelic have the same mutations as Irish? For example, I was told that Irish and Russian were the only 2 languages containing slender consonants. Does Scots Gaelic have them? Does Manx?

    • @keegster7167
      @keegster7167 6 років тому

      +Chick Norton Not sure whether by slender consonants you mean consonants made soft with consonant mutations or a palatalised consonant series. Either way, many languages have either of those.

  • @ciara1424
    @ciara1424 7 років тому +2

    Your pronunciation is quite good, better than some people in my Irish class 😊

  • @mathildastenback9824
    @mathildastenback9824 7 років тому +2

    I have a love/hate relationship with Gaeilge. It's very fascinating, that's why I'm currently learning it. Yet, it's very frustrating with the grammar. Great video!

  • @neilgardener4757
    @neilgardener4757 7 років тому +3

    Mae'n galonogol gweld crybwylliad am y Gymraeg! Diolch.

  • @Tamara-zo3np
    @Tamara-zo3np 7 років тому +11

    BASQUE LANGUAGE PLEASE!! Also pretty good video, the pronunciation wasn't that bad for a non-native irish speaker ⚘

    • @RedHair651
      @RedHair651 7 років тому +1

      You mean it was near perfect

    • @Tamara-zo3np
      @Tamara-zo3np 7 років тому

      Tarin what's the difference?

    • @RedHair651
      @RedHair651 7 років тому +1

      The difference is you said it was a few things short of being bad, I said it was a few things short of being perfect.

    • @Tamara-zo3np
      @Tamara-zo3np 7 років тому

      Tarin ........................okay......................

  • @TheAnthraxBiology
    @TheAnthraxBiology 3 роки тому

    He did a shockingly good job at the pronunciation which is class! In general people aren't arsed with giving it a real shot but you nailed it for the most part.

  • @JMM33RanMA
    @JMM33RanMA 5 років тому +1

    Another very interesting video. My supervisor was a Gaelic and Irish authority. When I had given up on Irish as I had [for similar reasons] given up on Turkish, he told me that the committee to reestablish Irish in Ireland chose the most difficult of all dialects, thus making failure more certain.

  • @riobeard4718
    @riobeard4718 7 років тому +3

    The spelling of the language was reformed in the 1940s and it ruined its look. My grandmother's family spoke it, but specifically the East Ulster dialect here in south Armagh which is very similar to the Gaelic of Ayrshire and Galloway (in Scotland). In East Ulster Gaelic (now extinct as a spoken language but I'm trying to bring it back) we don't use reformed spellings and we call the language "Gaedhlag". We don't use "ní", instead the negative particle we use is "cha" and "I'm not" is "Chan fheil". Very similar to Scotland's "chan eil". Croidhe is Heart, Gaedheal is Gael, Gaedhealtachd is a place where Gaelic is spoken, Sgeul is Story, Sgoil is School (as opposed to Scéal and Scoil in southern dialects). Also in Ulster we pronounced "mh" normally as a "v" so you'd get "vor" for "mhór", but you can also get "worr" as well. We also pronounce "maith" as "my" whereas in the southern dialects and in Scotland they say "mah". Twas a good video, fair play to you. Maith thú a chara, tá d' Gaedhlag go maith.

    • @arcticmog8517
      @arcticmog8517 6 років тому

      What really ruined the look was when we abandoned our old alphabet and typeface,

  • @eimantasurniezius1565
    @eimantasurniezius1565 7 років тому +4

    Please do a video about lithuanian it's a very old interesting language. With some words almost identical to sanskrit.

  • @robinmckay1139
    @robinmckay1139 3 роки тому +2

    As someone from Ireland I gotta say, your pronunciation is top notch most of the time (except maybe when you said "i mBaile Átha Cliath" haha) but I'm curious to know, since this video is 3 years old, if you still have an eastern European accent when speaking Irish? Seriously though well done, it's always great to hear of someone learning gaeilge. The pronunciation can be much different depending which county/province, and honestly, Ulster gaeilge is quite simplified often. GRMA for the video :)

    • @xmvziron
      @xmvziron 3 роки тому

      Apparently another pronunciation of Baile Átha Cliath is like _"blia clia"_

    • @clumbus894
      @clumbus894 3 роки тому

      @@xmvziron I'm used to Balaha Clia

  • @AmandaTroutman
    @AmandaTroutman 7 років тому +1

    This seriously helped me out! Thanks!

  • @venividivici373
    @venividivici373 5 років тому +3

    As Slav i consider Celt's as people with impressive Language Culture and even the rest of their Culture is Cool 😎 🇮🇪🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🍀🍀❤️

  • @Ava-cw3jf
    @Ava-cw3jf 3 роки тому +3

    welsh: first time?

  • @AthroCymraeg
    @AthroCymraeg 5 років тому +1

    Very interesting to see how similar these Irish mutations are to those in Welsh (Cymraeg). I look forward to you doing a video on Cymraeg. Maybe how it turned from Brythonic (Brythoneg) and how it's related to Cornish (Cernyweg) and Breton (Llydaweg) perhaps?

  • @tonyhart97
    @tonyhart97 6 років тому

    Amazing video! If i had one thing to criticise it's that the mh makes a v sound so "mhuc" is actually pronounced "vuc", although it may be different for different dialects

  • @thejollyduck
    @thejollyduck 7 років тому +15

    3:55 In Ireland, we are taught that you pronounce beidh kinda like "beg". It's different to what you pronounced it.
    But overall good vid.

    • @NativLang
      @NativLang  7 років тому +7

      I've heard it with a slender "g". My professor always pronounced something closer to /ɛi/, which is what I got used to.

    • @schicktmirkarakale1232
      @schicktmirkarakale1232 7 років тому +6

      Irish sounds can vary quite a bit by dialect.

    • @gearaltach
      @gearaltach 7 років тому +8

      I'm afraid that's Munster Irish, nativlang didn't learn Munster Irish obviously. Aghaidh as mentioned above is also eyeg in Munster Irish - that's one reason to keep the old spelling to accomodate all the dialects

    • @ailinos
      @ailinos 7 років тому +6

      The Jolly Duck Beidh can be pronounced like "beg", "bay", or "buy"! Quite amazing really.

    • @thejollyduck
      @thejollyduck 7 років тому +1

      Oh okay. But the thing is, I live in Co.Kildare and that's how all the people there say it. That's how I hear it.

  • @joan98610
    @joan98610 7 років тому +4

    DON'T LET IRISH DIE

  • @LucasCapal
    @LucasCapal 7 років тому

    man, i love your work. i really want to see a video about brazillian portuguese and all its variations inside Brazil

  • @umenjaplooona
    @umenjaplooona 7 років тому +1

    ive always wondered how that worked and thanks for explaining it to me!:)

  • @judeforrester6641
    @judeforrester6641 7 років тому +10

    UA-cam has betrayed me
    I get out of school away from Irish, the next day while relaxing, I come across video about my least favourite subject! CÉN FÁITH?!

    • @weskos
      @weskos 7 років тому +12

      "fáth"
      Sorry, just couldn't resist.

  • @robbrothers9290
    @robbrothers9290 7 років тому +4

    Great video. Could you possibly do your next one on Esperanto?

    • @seronymus
      @seronymus 7 років тому +8

      no

    • @PDeRop
      @PDeRop 7 років тому

      um.. pronounced like the natives eh?

  • @kateisamazing2055
    @kateisamazing2055 7 років тому +1

    This would be really useful in school, like, I'm very interested in Irish so I knew this anyway, but I feel like I should have been thought it in Irish class. Great video

  • @nakyer
    @nakyer 7 років тому

    Great video. Just at the beginning of trying to learn Irish. You've terrified me, but also intrigued me. I'm still not giving up. 8)

  • @fireinthehole1986
    @fireinthehole1986 7 років тому +3

    I don't know why the Scottish and Irish made Gaelic so darn hard!?

    • @Robstar100
      @Robstar100 7 років тому +3

      ts'actually pretty simple and a damn good way for a language to distinguish words

  • @ionescho
    @ionescho 7 років тому +4

    maybe a video about the Romanian language? the only eastern european latin language?

  • @bigunity
    @bigunity 7 років тому

    this has to be one of the greatest channels on UA-cam
    bravo

  • @aaronoconnor9780
    @aaronoconnor9780 7 років тому +2

    This is by far the best foreign video on Irish on UA-cam, fair play with those feckin pronunciations