gaelic pronunciation

[O'Callaghan]

I always thought that the 'th' in tuatha was pronounced the same as 'th' in English. I may be totally wrong (probably am), but I'm thinking in terms of Irish, and I assume what Beloit Piper has given is based on Scots Gaelic, except where he says otherwise. As he says, there are differences. Now I'm curious if the Irish pronounciation is tooha like he says or if that's only in Scots Gaelic?

I think tuatha means a chief, or in the Irish context a minor king (in some cases that was the same thing), but traditionally Ireland was settled by the Firbolg (or Fir Bolg), then the Tuatha de Daanan (spelling?) and then the Milesians (from the Gaelic branch of the Celts) in that order.

[beloitpiper]

I speak Irish, not Scottish.

[O'Callaghan]

I speak Irish, not Scottish.

As you can tell, I speak neither!

[slohairt]

Tuatha is pronounced as TOO-A-HA. It's the same for both Irish and Scottish Gaelic. It can mean 'people', 'tribe', or 'group'. In the case of the Tuatha Dé Danann, it means 'people of the goddess Danu.'

The 'th' sound (as pronounced in English) doesn't occur in the Goidelic language family. It does occur in the Brythonic Celtic languages, such as Welsh where it is represented by 'dd' or 'th'.

[Mr. MacDougall]

For that matter, I was recently surprised to learn that "Gaelic" is prounounced "Gahlic" and not "Gaylic."

[beloitpiper]

All of my Irish friends pronounce it "Gelic", while the Scots say "Gahlic". Me? I call it Irish, hah!

[DWFII]

Here's some more, taken from song titles..how are they pronounced and what do they mean:

mo cridhe

mo gradhe

mi chaoidh

[Jack Daw]

How is 'cean' (head) pronounced?..as in Cean Mor (large head). I've read and heard pronunciations that go "kay-oon", "kay-uhn", and "ken."

[DWFII]

With regard to "tuatha"... one of the reasons I asked is that in Ireland is Castle Doe--the seat of the MacSuibhnes post Bannockburn, who ruled over the Trí Tuatha Thoraighe.

"Doe" (as in Castle Doe) is, I am assuming, pronounced "doh" yet the original Gaelic is "Caislean na dTuath". So how does "tuath" (pronounce "too-ha") become "doh" ?

[beloitpiper]

How is 'cean' (head) pronounced?..as in Cean Mor (large head). I've read and heard pronunciations that go "kay-oon", "kay-uhn", and "ken."

"Ceann" is the Irish word for head, pronounced "kay-in".

With regard to "tuatha"... one of the reasons I asked is that in Ireland is Castle Doe--the seat of the MacSuibhnes post Bannockburn, who ruled over the Trí Tuatha Thoraighe.

"Doe" (as in Castle Doe) is, I am assuming, pronounced "doh" yet the original Gaelic is "Caislean na dTuath". So how does "tuath" (pronounce "too-ha") become "doh" ?

You almost got it. "tuatha" is pronounced "too-aha", but "dTuath" is pronounced "doo-ah". So fom "doo-ah" to "doe", that's not a big stretch.