Pronunciation of letter I/i
Posted: Fri Nov 08, 2013 9:19 am
So I was helping someone with some Gaelic pronunciation, and I was dealing with a word with a short I/i* in it. Now I used to do that whole "ee" thing when I started learning, because that's what I was taught, until finally someone from Uist rolled her eyes and explained that that's something of a learner shibboleth.
Anyway, so this guy objected to my correction, on the grounds that he was taught by a native mainlander, and that the "ih" sound is an island thing. I'm pretty certain I know another guy (Mark Newman, whose been on BBC Alba talking about plants and gardens various times) who learnt from the same teacher (a guy from Glen Coe), and I don't think he does all the "ee" stuff.
I did say that all the Argyll native speakers I know (from Islay, Lismore and Tiree -- not mainlanders but I don't think that should be particularly relevant -- had the "ih" for short I/i.
This guy wasn't really that comfortable with Gaelic, but I thought it worth asking: does anyone know if there are any Scottish dialects that have an ee sound for it?
(* I/i written in both upper and lower case in case the letter's unclear on people's screens do to fonts...)
Anyway, so this guy objected to my correction, on the grounds that he was taught by a native mainlander, and that the "ih" sound is an island thing. I'm pretty certain I know another guy (Mark Newman, whose been on BBC Alba talking about plants and gardens various times) who learnt from the same teacher (a guy from Glen Coe), and I don't think he does all the "ee" stuff.
I did say that all the Argyll native speakers I know (from Islay, Lismore and Tiree -- not mainlanders but I don't think that should be particularly relevant -- had the "ih" for short I/i.
This guy wasn't really that comfortable with Gaelic, but I thought it worth asking: does anyone know if there are any Scottish dialects that have an ee sound for it?
(* I/i written in both upper and lower case in case the letter's unclear on people's screens do to fonts...)