Irish/The Article

Introduction here

Declension and Mutation

Forms of the article

	Masc. Sg.	Fem. Sg.	Plural
Nom.	an	anL	naH
Gen.	anL	naH	naN

Pronunciation

• na is always pronounced as /nə/.
• At the beginning of a sentence or where the previous word ended with a consonant:
  • if the qualifying noun begins with a broad consonant, an is pronounced as /ə/ with the nasal component dropped.
    • e.g. an bóthar /ə boːhər/
  • if the qualifying noun begins with a slender consonant, an is pronounced as /ɪ/ with the nasal component dropped.
    • e.g. an ceann /ɪ k´au̯n/
  • if the qualifying noun begins with a vowel in a broad environment, an is pronounced as /ən/.
    • e.g. an abhainn /ən ə̯uŋ´/
  • if the qualifying noun begins with a vowel in a slender environment, an is pronounced as /ɪn´/.
    • e.g. an eaglais /ɪn´ agəliʃ/
• Where the previous word ended with a vowel:
  • if the qualifying noun begins with a vowel in a broad environment, an is pronounced as /n/ with the vowel component having been elided by the previous vowel.
    • e.g. tá an abhainn ann /taːn ə̯uŋ´ au̯n/
  • if the qualifying noun begins with a vowel in a slender environment, an is pronounced as /n´/ with the vowel component having been elided by the previous vowel.
    • e.g. tá an eaglais ann /taːn´ agəliʃ au̯n/
  • if the qualifying noun begins with a broad coronal consonant, an is pronounced as /n/ with the vowel component having been elided by the previous vowel.
    • e.g. tá an t-uisce ann /taːn tiʃk´ɪ au̯n/
  • if the qualifying noun begins with a slender coronal consonant, an is pronounced as /n´/ with the vowel component having been elided by the previous vowel.
    • e.g. tá an t-iasc ann /taːn´ t´iə̯sk au̯n/
  • if the qualifying noun begins with a broad labial consonant, an is pronounced as /m/ with the vowel component having been elided by the previous vowel.
    • e.g. tá an bóthar ann /taːm boːhər au̯n/
  • if the qualifying noun begins with a slender labial consonant, an is pronounced as /m´/ with the vowel component having been elided by the previous vowel.
    • e.g. tá an peann ann /taːm´ p´au̯n au̯n/
  • if the qualifying noun begins with a broad dorsal consonant, an is pronounced as /ŋ/ with the vowel component having been elided by the previous vowel.
    • e.g. tá an garsún ann /taːŋ garˈsuːn au̯n/
  • if the qualifying noun begins with a slender dorsal consonant, an is pronounced as /ŋ´/ with the vowel component having been elided by the previous vowel.
    • e.g. tá an ceann ann /taːŋ´ k´au̯n au̯n/

Prepositional Forms of the Article

As in the forms above, the nasal component of the singular article assimilates to the phonological environment following it, giving one of the following forms: /n/; /n´/; /m/; /m´/; /ŋ/; /ŋ´/. The vowel component of the singular article is elided by the preceding vowel of the preposition.

• do + an = don; do + na = dosna
• de + an = den; de + na = desna
• ag + an = aigen; ag + na = aigesna
• le + an = leis an; le + na = leisna
• ó + an = ón; ó + na = ósna
• fé + an = fén; fé + na = fésna
• i + an = insan; i + na = insna