Gaeilge is the Irish word for its own language, which is where the term "Gaelic comes from. Gaelic, actually, is a broad term for many of the Celtic languages.

Alphabet

Vowels in Irish are either plain, or have a shenafada on top of them, as can be seen below:

Vowel	Sound		Vowel	Sound
a	ah		á	aw
e	eh		é	ay
i	ih		í	ee
o	ouh		ó	ou
u	uh		ú	oo

Consonants in Irish are pronounced the same as English. They are:

b c d f g l m n p r s t

There are two exceptions to this rule:

c is pronounced as /k/ and never as /s/
s, in front of e and i is pronounced /sh/

Lenition, or aspiration, is also used in Irish. It was once marked by an apostrophy, yet has now come to be marked with an 'h' following the letter. (Note, when (x) is used, it signifies that the change is experienced when (x) follows the letter):

Letter	Sound	Letter	Sound
bh	(e,i) /v/ (a,o,u) /w/	mh	(e,i) /v/ (a,o,u) /w/
ch	gutteral sound (see professor)	n	cannot be changed
dh	(e,i) /j/ as in 'you' (a,o,u) gutterial sound (see professor)	ph	changes to an /f/ sound
gh	(e,i) /j/ as in 'you' (a,o,u) gutterial sound (see professor)	r	cannot be changed
fh	no sound. Go onto the next vowel	sh	changes to an /h/ sound
l	cannot be changed	th	changes to an /h/ sound

The following are common expressions used when meeting people. Remember that you must look at the above pronunciations for how they are pronounced.

Irish	English
Conas atá tú?	How are you?
Cén chaoi a bhfuil tú?	How are you?
Tá mé go maith.	I am well.
Go raibh maith agat.	Thank you.
Agus tú féin?	And yourself?
Cad is ainm duit?	What is your name?
______ is ainm dom.	My name is______
Cad as duit?	Where are you from?
Is as ______don.	I am from _______.
Tá mé i mo chonaí i ______	I am from _______.
An bhfail tú tenm?	Are you sick?

When answering a person, do not use 'yes' or 'no,' for there are no words for 'yes' or 'no' in Irish. Simply use the positive or the negative of that verb. Positives and negatives were not discussed, yet know that they exist.

d'x used to mean "of x" yet is no longer in use, except in a few cases, such as with:

I am of Ireland
Is d'Erinn mé.

For the rest of the night, we worked on the first lesson of our book. If you would like a copy of the photocopyof the book, or the book itself, talk to someone the next time you come to a class.