Just came across your sight and I must say that I love it. It is cool to know that I am not the only one out there trying to learn Irish.

I have been learning on my own for almost a year now. I have been using the lessons from website The Irish People-Learn Irish. While I am finished with the lessons, and can boast a decent vocabulary and reading/writing ability, I lack in the ability to speak it. One of the main problems is that while I may be able to read and write the words, I only have a slight guess as to how they really sound. The lessons provide a rough pronunciation guide, but it is not the same as getting the sounds from people who really know.

I was a little surprised to see that there is not a pronunciation guide on this site, I would think that such a thing would be critical for such a language as Irish were sounds are crutial to understanding.

Now I know that there is no standard pronunciation but I was wondering if a guide could be created or at least explained to us beginners. The sound files in the proverbs section is wounderful, but it would be nice to see the Irish spelling along with the phonetic spelling. I mean it is nice that "i" sounds like hit...but so does "ui". I mean just think about how many beginners get upset becuase they do not know the combinations that get the "eye" and "ee" sounds.

Just a thought.

A Seáin a chara,

Maith thú! Good on you. Keep up the effort. I have been in much the same boat as yourself for nearly 6 years now. I feel that it is a perfectly good method to learn a language by acquiring reading and comprehension skills, by acquisition of grammar and vocabulary and by generally exposing yourself to the language as much as you possibly can.

As for the good folk here at Daltai.com posting a pronunciation guide, I am sure it is something that will be added in the fullness of time.

Ádh mór ort (Good luck to you),
Créag (nó 'Fiontán')

thanks...i will visit often in hopes to see a change of some kind made.

just another question, i was excited to see such detail in verbs...but there is very little on nouns. are there plans to add in the future as well?

Dia dhuit a Sheáin - I study on my own as well, and have never found pronunciation guides to be very helpful at all. In the beginning I used tapes (O'Siadhal's Learning Irish ones) to train my ear, and now I depend on Irish radio stations mostly. Radio na Gaeltachta - www.rte.ie/rnag, and the BBC from Belfast's Irish program - www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/blas. You can hear speakers of every dialect, and it's really helpful. Also check out the Calendar section of this website and see if you can attend any immersion events! Adh mór ort!

John, a chara,

As to nouns / I dtaobh an ainmfhocail :

Ná bíodh faitíos ort súil a chaitheamh ar an deis chuardaigh de leataobh chlé.

Don't be afraid to take a look into the search facility to the left here.

Tá tuairim is 30 leathanach. ar 'nouns', 30 lch. ar 'singular', 50 ar plural, 30 lch. ar 'genitive' agus circa 5 lch. ar 'dative', más ceart m'áireamh orthu.

Cibé cén cheist a bheas ort féin, gheobhaidh tú mórán a leathbhreac céanna istigh ansin i measc an chnaip.

Your questions will not be very different from what you will find in there en mass. Such content is no small praise to the many people down the years who have taken Irish to their heart and endeavoured, through Daltaí na Gaeilge, to help others like themselves along the road.

Más féidir leat a theacht ar théipeanna cainte, cuirfidh sé go mór le do mhisneach agus le do chumas cainte araon.

Like the others have said, I advise sound, be it by tape or internet. I prefer a tape course in taking to language, playing it last thing at night as one slips into Tír na hÓige. Check out the living forms, i.e. Irish people, who may have a trickle of Irish with them, in your locality. Beware however, of their views on language shift, etc. Just use their partial knowledge as a guide to get you going. Don't bother to correct their view, because they will insist that they know it all.

Having a year behind you, déanaim comhghairdeas leat. Go maire tú an scéala! You may be coming near payback time. It has to come. That period where a lot of words and elements start to give you a picture of the mind that developed them aeons before our time. Putting them to use in our 'modern' lifestyle makes the link and puts Time in its place.

Treise leat.