#18 | An Irish Pronunciation Special: B, M, W
“Chomh ramhar le rón – as chubby as a seal”
In Germany, BMW (Bayerische Motoren Werke) is pronounced BMV. In Latin, Vs are pronounced as Ws. Humans have been switching these sounds with each other for some time. While neither V nor W are in the traditional 18 letter alphabet, W is so verboten that it is often replaced with a V in some loanwords – tvúit for tweet being a famous example.
In Irish, the letters B and M –when combined with a h – can make a V sound (Siobhán, Niamh) or a W (abhaile, ramhar) sound. What should learners watch out for when pronouncing these letter combinations? Darach talks to Gearóidín and Peadar about it all in today’s episode.
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