Pronuncia

From Gallese

Contents 1 Letter names and sound values 1.1 [__[[9]]__]Diphthongs 2 [__[[10]]__]Diacritics 3 [__[[15]]__]Predicting vowel length from orthography 4 [__[[20]]__]Digraphs

Letter names and sound values

"N" and "S" represent the variants in the northern and southern dialects of Welsh. ||~ Letter ||~ Name ||~ Corresponding sounds ||~ English approximation || || a || //â// || /a, ɑː/ || c**a**t (short) / f**a**ther (long) || || b || //bî// || /b/ || **b**at || || c || //èc// || /k/ || **c**ase || || ch || //èch// || /x/ || lo**ch** (Scottish) || || d__[[* 1]]__ || //dî// || /d/ || **d**ay || || dd || //èdd// || /ð/ || **th**is || || e || //ê// || /ɛ, eː/ || b**e**d (short) / closest to h**e**y (long) || || f || //èf// || /v/ || **v**at || || ff || //èff// || /f/ || **f**our || || g || //èg// || /ɡ/ || **g**ate || || ng || //èng// || /ŋ/ || thi**ng** || || h__[[* 2]]__ || //âets//, //hâ// || /h/ || **h**at || || i || //î// (N), //î dot// (S) || /ɪ, iː, j/ || b**i**t (short) / mach**i**ne (long) / **y**es (as consonant; before vowels) || || l || //èl// || /l/ || **l**ad || || ll || //ell// || /ɬ/ || not present in English; a __[alveolar lateral fricative]__ || || m || //èm// || /m/ || **m**at || || n || //en// || /n/ || **n**et || || o || //ô// || /ɔ, oː/ || Short, like "b**o**g" in RP; long like st**o**ve in __[English]__, __[Central American English]__ and __[Canadian English]__ || || p || //pî// || /p/ || **p**et || || ph || //ffî// || /f/ || **ph**one || || r || //èr// || /r/ || **r**at (trilled) || || rh || //rhî//, //rhô// || /r̥/ || p**r**ay (trilled): an unvoiced [r] || || s__[[* 1]]__ || //ès// || /s/ || **s**at || || t__[[* 1]]__ || //tî// || /t/ || **t**an || || th || //èth// || /θ/ || **th**in || || u || //û// (N), //û bedol//(S) || /ɨ̞, ɨː/ (N), /ɪ, iː/ (S) || for Southern variants: b**i**t (short) / mach**i**ne (long); /ɨ̞, ɨː/ not found in English. || || w || //ŵ// || /ʊ, uː, w/ || b**oo**k (short) / p**oo**l (long) / **w**et (as consonant) || || y__[[* 3]]__ || //ŷ// || /ɨ̞, ɨː, ə/ (N) /ɪ, iː, ə, əː/ (S) || for Southern variants: b**i**t (final syllable, short) / mach**i**ne (final syllable, long) ab**o**ve (other places, short) / ros**e**s /ɨ̞, ɨː/, found in certain dialects of English that differentiate "Rosa's" and "roses", for example, General American. || Notes

1. ^ __[[1]]__ __[[2]]__ __[[3]]__ The sequence //si// indicates /ʃ/ when followed by a vowel; similarly, //di// and //ti// sometimes indicate /dʒ/ and /tʃ/ respectively when followed by a vowel, although these sounds are spelled //j// and //ts// in loanwords like //jẁg// "jug" and//wats// "watch".
2. **__[[4]]__** In addition to representing the phoneme /h/, //h// indicates __[[5]]__ in the __[[6]]__ //mh, nh,// and //ngh//. The digraph //ph// – which indicates the __[mutation]__ of //p// (e.g. //ei phen-ôl//) – may also be found very occasionally in words derived from __[[7]]__ (e.g. //phenol//), although most words of Greek origin are spelt with //ff// (e.g. //ffotograff//).
3. **__[[8]]__** The vowel letter //y// indicates /ə/ in unstressed monosyllabic words (e.g. //y// "the", //fy// "my") or non-final syllables (regardless of whether these are stressed or not), but /ɨ̞, ɨː/ (N) or /ɪ, iː/ (S) in word-final syllables (again, regardless of stress).

[__[[9]]__]Diphthongs

||~ Orthography ||~ Northern dialects ||~ Southern dialects ||~ English (approximation only) || || ae || /ɑːɨ/ || /ai/ || **eye** || || ai || /ai/ || /ai/ || **eye** || || au || /aɨ/ //but as plural ending// /a/ || /ai/ //but as plural ending// /e/ || **eye** / b**e**t (plural ending) || || aw || /au, ɑːu/ || /au/ || h**ow** || || ei || /əi/ || /əi/ || Like "wr**i**te" in __[English]__ || || eu || /əɨ/ || /əi/ || Like "wr**i**te" in __[English]__ || || ew || /ɛu, eːu/ || /ɛu/ || not present in English; closest to 'e-oo' (short e) || || ey || /əɨ/ || /əi/ || Like "wr**i**te" in __[English]__ || || iw || /ɪu/ || /ɪu/ || not present in English except in the interjection //Ew!//; closest to 'i-oo' (short i) || || oe || /ɔɨ, ɔːɨ/ || /ɔi/ || b**oy** || || oi || /ɔi/ || /ɔi/ || b**oy** || || ou || /ɔɨ, ɔːɨ/ || /ɔi/ || b**oy** || || uw || /ɨu/ || /ɪu/ || not present in English; closest to 'i-oo' (short i) || || wy || /ʊɨ, uːɨ/ || /ʊi/ || not present in English; closest to g**ooey** || || yw || /ɨu, əu/ || /ɪu, əu/ || /ɪu/ not present in English; closest to 'i-oo' (short i) /əu/ like "g**oa**t" in __[Pronunciation]__ or like "h**ou**se" in __[English]__ ||

[__[[10]]__]Diacritics

Welsh makes use of a number of __[[11]]__. The __[[12]]__ (ˆ) is used to mark __[vowels]__, so //â, ê, î, ô, û, ŵ, ŷ// are always long. However, not all long vowels are marked with a circumflex, so //a, e, i, o, u, w, y// with no circumflex are not necessarily short; see __["Predicting vowel length from orthography"]__ below. The __[accent]__ (`) is sometimes used to mark vowels that should be short, when a long vowel would normally be expected, e.g. //pas// /pɑːs/ (a cough), //pàs// /pas/ (a pass/permit or a lift in a car); //mwg///muːɡ/ (smoke), //mẁg// /mʊɡ/ (a mug). The __[accent]__ (´) is sometimes used to mark a stressed final syllable in a polysyllabic word. Thus the words //gwacáu// (to empty) and //dicléin// (decline) have final stress. However, not all polysyllabic words with final stress are marked with the acute accent (//Cymraeg// "Welsh", for example, is written with none). The acute may also be used to indicate a //w// that represents a vowel in a context where a glide might have been expected, e.g. //gẃraidd// /ˈɡʊ.raið/ (two syllables) "manly", as opposed to //gwraidd// /ˈɡwraið/ (one syllable) "root". The __[[13]]__ (¨) indicates that a vowel letter is to be pronounced fully, not as a __[[14]]__, e.g. //copïo// (to copy) pronounced /kɔˈpiːɔ/, not */ˈkɔpjɔ/. The grave and acute accents in particular are very often omitted in casual writing, and the same is true to a lesser extent of the diaeresis. The circumflex, however, is usually included. Accented vowels are not considered distinct letters.

[__[[15]]__]Predicting vowel length from orthography

As mentioned above, vowels marked with the circumflex are always long, and those marked with the grave accent are always short. If a vowel is not marked with a diacritic, its length must be determined by its environment; the rules vary a bit according to dialect.__[[6]]____[[7]]__ In all dialects, only stressed vowels may be long; unstressed vowels are always short. An unmarked (stressed) vowel is long:

• in the last syllable of a word when no consonant follows, e.g. //da// /dɑː/ (good)
• before //b//, //ch//, //d//, //dd//, //g//, //f//, //ff//, //th//, e.g. //mab// /mɑːb/ (son), //hoff// /hoːf/ (favourite), //peth// /peːθ/ (thing)
• before word-final //s//, e.g. //nos// /noːs/ (night)

An unmarked vowel is short:

• in an unstressed (__[[16]]__) word, e.g. //a// /a/ (and)
• before //p//, //t//, //c//, //ng//, e.g. //iet// /jɛt/ (gate), //lloc// /ɬɔk/ (sheepfold), //llong// /ɬɔŋ/ (ship)
• before most __[clusters]__, e.g. //sant// /sant/ (saint), //perth// /pɛrθ/ (hedge), //Ebrill// /ˈɛbrɪɬ/

The vowel //y//, when it is pronounced /ə/, is always short, even when it appears in an environment where other vowels would be long, e.g. //cyfan// (whole) /ˈkəvan/. When pronounced as a __[[17]]__ or __[vowel]__ (/ɨ/ or /ɨ̞/ in the North, /i/ or /ɪ/ in the South), //y// follows the same rules as other vowels, e.g. //dydd// (day) /ˈdɨːð/ (North) ~ /ˈdiːð/ (South), //gwynt// (wind) /ˈɡwɨ̞nt/ (North) ~ /ˈɡwɪnt/ (South). Before //l//, //m//, //n//, and //r//, unmarked vowels are long in some words and short in others, e.g. //gwin// /ɡwiːn/ (wine), //prin// /prɪn/ (scarcely); //hen// /heːn/ (old), //pen// /pɛn/ (head); //dyn// /dɨːn/ ~ /diːn/ (man), //gwyn// /ɡwɨ̞n/ ~ /ɡwɪn/ (white); //stwmo// /ˈstuːmo/ (bank up a fire), //amal// /ˈamal/ (often); //celyn// /ˈkeːlɪn/ (holly), //calon// /ˈkalɔn/ (heart). (The last four examples are given in South Welsh pronunciation only, since vowels in nonfinal syllables are always short in North Welsh.) Before //nn// and //rr//, vowels are always short, e.g. //onn// /ˈɔn/ (ash trees), //ennill// /ˈɛnɪɬ/ (to win), //carreg// /ˈkarɛɡ/ (stone). In Northern dialects, long vowels must not only be stressed, they must also appear in the final syllable of the word. Vowels in non-final syllables are always short. In addition to the rules above, a vowel is long in the North before a consonant cluster beginning with //s//, e.g. //tyst// /tɨːst/ (witness). Before //ll//, a vowel is short when no consonant follows the //ll//, e.g. //gwell// (better) /ɡwɛɬ/, but long when another consonant does follow the //ll//, e.g. //gwallt// /ɡwɑːɬt/ (hair). In Southern dialects, long vowels may appear in a stressed __[[18]]__ syllable as well as in a stressed word-final syllable. Before //ll//, a stressed vowel in the last syllable is long, e.g. //gwell// (better) /ɡweːɬ/. However, a stressed vowel in the __[[19]]__ before //ll// is short, e.g. //dillad// /ˈdɪɬad/ (clothes). Before //s//, a stressed vowel in the last syllable is long, as mentioned above, but a stressed vowel in the penult is short, e.g. //mesur// (measure) /ˈmɛsir/. Vowels are always short before consonant clusters, e.g. //sant// /sant/ (saint), //gwallt// /ɡwaɬt/ (hair), //tyst// /tɪst/ (witness).

[__[[20]]__]Digraphs

While the __[[21]]__ //ch, dd, ff, ng, ll, ph, rh, th// are each written with two symbols, they are all considered to be single letters. This means, for example that //__[[22]]__// (a town in South Wales) is considered to have only six letters in Welsh, compared to eight letters in English. Consequently, they each take up only a single space in Welsh crosswords. __[[23]]__ is done in correspondence with the alphabet. For example, //la// comes before //ly//, which comes before //lla//, which comes before //ma//. Automated sorting may occasionally be complicated by the fact that additional information may be needed to distinguish a genuine digraph from a juxtaposition of letters; for example //llom// comes after //llong// (in which the //ng// stands for /ŋ/) but before //llongyfarch// (in which//n// and //g// are pronounced separately as /ŋɡ/). Although the digraphs above are considered to be single letters, only their first component letter is capitalised when a word in lower case requires an initial capital letter. Thus: Ll//andudno//, Ff//estiniog//, Rh//uthun//, etc. (place names)Ll//ŷr//, Rh//ian//, etc. (personal names)Rh//edeg busnes dw i//. Ll//yfrgellydd ydy hi.// (other sentences starting with a digraph) The two letters in a digraph are capitalised only when the whole word is in uppercase: LL//ANDUDNO//, LL//ANE//LL//I// (as on a poster or sign) The status of the digraphs as single letters is reflected in the stylised forms used in the logos of the __[Library of Wales]__ (__[[24]]__) and __[University]__ (__[[25]]__).