A Chairde:

Are dipthongs in Irish subject to some of the same dialectical variations and "swings" in pronunciation we see with slender consonants, such as "d" and "t," and verbal endings such as "-igh?"

In Dineen, the section on dipthongs seems to imply that for the most part one pronunciation fits all (Dineen, p. vvxiii), except for "ao," which is audited as "ai" as in pair,-- except in Munster where it is said to sound like the "ea" in year made into two syllables closely joined together with the stress on the first. Hence Féar is pron. "fair" in most dialects; -- in Munster (according to Dineen) Féar is pronounced Fe'-ar with stress on first syllabble.

In Scots-Gaelic Béal is spelled Beul. Does this orthography relects a shifting pronunciation of e/a in Donegal and the Northern dialects?

For me, at least, dipthongs present a pronunciational challenge, especially when I listen to native speakers from the three major dialects.

Beannacht,
dan cassidy

There are huge differences between the various dialects with refards to diphthong. As for pronunciation, this is [b]the[/b] factor that most distinguishes the pronunciation of different dialects.

Generally speaking, diphthongs are relatively rare in Donegal, somewhat more common in Connacht and very common indeed in Munster. Words such as "am", "caill", "trom" are all pronounced with diphthongs in Munster, with diphthong/long vowel in Connacht and with short vowels in Ulster.

As for "ao", it's pronounced as [i:] - or í in Irish spelling - in Connacht and most of Ulster but as [e:] in Munster.

a jonas a chara -- thanks. dc

"am" is actually a good example:

Munster: towm, like "gown" as in "wedding gown"
Connacht: tawm, like "tá" as in "tá mé"
Ulster: tam, like "ham"

(I'm pretty sure they're right... )

The range is amazing.

thanks

dc