Irish phonology varies from dialect to dialect; there is no standard pronunciation of the language. Irish phonology has been studied as a discipline since the late 19th century, with numerous researchers publishing descriptive accounts of dialects from all regions where the language is spoken. More recently, theoretical linguists have also turned their attention to Irish phonology, producing a number of books, articles, and doctoral theses on the topic. One of the most important aspects of Irish phonology is the fact that almost all consonants appear in pairs, with one member of each pair being "broad" and the other "slender". Broad consonants are velarized, that is, the back of the tongue is pulled back and slightly up in the direction of the soft palate while the consonant is being articulated. Slender consonants are palatalized, which means the tongue is pushed up toward the hard palate during the articulation. The contrast between broad and slender consonants is crucial in Irish, because the meaning of a word can change if a broad consonant is substituted for a slender consonant or vice versa. Irish shares a number of phonological characteristics with its nearest linguistic relatives, Scottish Gaelic and Manx, as well as with Hiberno-English, the language with which it is most closely in contact.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_phonology

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1689: Glorious Revolution: Instead of James Francis Edward Stuart, the Prince of Wales, acceding to the throne, his half-sister Mary and her husband William were proclaimed co-rulers of England. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_II_of_England)

1815: The Cambridge Union Society, one of the oldest debating societies in the world, was founded at the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambridge_Union_Society)

1867: Work began on the covering of the Senne, burying Brussels' polluted main waterway to allow urban renewal in the centre of the city. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/covering_of_the_Senne)

1880: American inventor Thomas Edison observed the Edison Effect, which later formed the basis of vacuum tube diodes designed by English electrical engineer John Ambrose Fleming. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermionic_emission)

1945: World War II: The Allies began the strategic bombing of Dresden in Dresden, Saxony, Germany, resulting in a lethal firestorm which killed tens of thousands of civilians. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Dresden_in_World_War_II)

_____________________ Wiktionary's Word of the day:

concupiscent: Amorous, lustful; feeling sexy. (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/concupiscent)

_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:

Love has no uttermost, as the stars have no number and the sea no rest. -- Eleanor Farjeon (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Eleanor_Farjeon)