http://www.abair.tcd.ie

I read with interest the protracted discussion about different dialects and pronunciations, and because I have no exposure to native speakers, I don't know the sound of one dialect from another. Would someone check out the above link and tell me which dialect I am learning if I imitate the audio.

GRMA le gach deas ghuí

I didn't take the time to listen, but it says on the page "Gaeilge Ghaoth Dobhair". That means "Gweedore Irish", and Gweedore is in Donegal.

(Message edited by cionaodh on September 18, 2010)

It says right in the middle of the page:

guth Ghaeilge Ghaoth Dobhair
Gaoth Dobhair Irish voice

So that is Ulster.

That's three answers ...
Gweedore
Donegal
Ulster
Or are the three one and the same?

Gaoth Dobhair is in Donegal which is in Ulster.

Be careful though; the app only accepts standard spelling, and if a sound is not in the database of recorded sounds it will try to interpolate.

So it is not exactly the natural speech of a human, but pretty close.

Actually, abair.ie does pronounce the letters and groups of letters (no matter which ones, you can even type a German word!) in the way a Gweedore speaker would pronounce them.

So it's not Gweedore Irish, but just the Gweedore way to pronounce letters...
If you type a Munster word, it will pronounce it in the way a Gweedore speaker would pronounce it if the word existed in the dialect. So it's not Gweedore Irish, it doesn't translate words to Gweedore Irish, like.

By the way that tool doesn't work perfectly, sometimes some sounds ar lacking, or not pronounced in a proper way - and it's a "machine", it doesn't think...

The link itself seems to say "guth Gaoth Dobhair" (Voice of Gaoth Dobhair- In Donegal, Ulster)

Ní raibh aon rud níos fearr ar bith a dhéanamh agam anocht... Buailigí an t-abairt seo sa sintéiseoir.

Pushun aighdíncieleineainí íríea mutta miniúlta suidhiú ghiopa súomaí.

Bhuel, tá glór buille beag Rúisigh aici.

Ní gá duit sh, dh srl agus focla a scríobh fá mar ab fhocla Gaeilge a bheadh iontu, má scríobhann tú focla Fionlainnise (nó cibé teangaidh) go díreach ann féin, fuaimneochaidh an guth iad...

Ní thuigeann an sintéiseoir litreacha Lochlannacha ar bith.

Ab iad ð agus þ atá i gceist agad?

Ní úsáidtear ð nó þ i bhFionlainnis, ach Ä/Ö/Å atá i gceist agam. Ar ndoigh, úsáidtear Ä/Ö i nGearmáinis freisin.

Ni teangaidh Lochlannach an Fhionlainnis cibith, ta's agad.
Nil iontas orm nach n-aithneann Abair.ie na leitreacha sin le dhea phonc no le ciorcal bheag. Char bhain mise triail astu sin - bhi mé 'labhairt fa leitreacha a usaidtear i nGaeilg.

Ach tá na litreacha úd agus cinn nach iad in úsáid sna teangacha Lochlannacha.

Dúirt tú:

quote:

you can even type a German word

Is féidir, ach foghrófar iad amhail is dá mba focail Gaeilge iad; ach bheadh ort umlaut a scríobh amach.

Ma ta umlaut san fhocal, ach 's iomai focal nach bhfuil umlaut ar bith iontu, mar ata's agad.

This business of "you can have your own accent even when your pronunciation mimics a certain dialect" is worth exploring. What is an accent? Surely there is only pronunciation of the vowels and consonants plus intonation?

Do you mean, Aonghus, that even if you get the vowels and consonants right, you still retain your own intonation patterns? But each dialect of Irish has its distinctive intonation features.

or do you mean that you can still get the vowels right, with them sounding different from those of native speakers? You could have a long a:, and yet it be closer or more open than those of your target dialect? [In which case, you're not mimicking your target dialect close enough.]

How is accent something separate from pronunciation and intonation? I don't think it is. I don't think there is anything else other than pronunciation or intonation.

I suppose it could be your general voice - I think English people often speak squeakily from the mouth, and not deeply from the diaphragm, whereas some speakers of other languages might have different accustomed ways of talking. I think this is really a matter of how deeply you draw breath. But what is accent if it is none of the above?

Depending on the language, you can have an accent that's "not quite right" because of pronunciation, intonation, tone(not the same thing as intonation), syllable length, loudness, pitch, formant frequency, rhythm, stress and God knows what else.

These are good points. Take a song, for instance. There are words, pitch, rhythm/stress of the syllables, tempo, etc. One can sing the correct words with the correct pitch, but ain't got no soul! I think "accent" is the soul.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accent_(linguistics)

David,

I am not a linguist and lack the technical vocabulary to express this.

I don't recall saying anything about "your own accent". I speak English with a Middle class, South Dublin accent; Irish with a Munster influenced accent but clearly not native, since I have never been immersed long enough there to acquire one, and German with a Berlin accent and traces of dialect.

I'm not aware of any influence between those accents.

What I maintain is that one ought to concentrate on pronunciation, but not be too worried about the blas which goes deeper than pronunciation, I believe.