B, Slender and Broad

The first Irish consonant is B, but it sounds different from the English “B”.

Like all Irish consonants (except h) it can be slender or broad.

We’ll practice both sounds step-by-step, so you can recognize and pronounce “B” correctly in Irish.

We’ll keep it simple and stick with B at the start of a word.

Learn  

The Three Bs

Irish slender B is higher pitched / lighter than the basic B of English.

Irish broad B is lower pitched / darker than the basic B of English.

The tracks will play automatically, one after another.

Focus on the change in sound between them, rather than the individual sounds.

b

Slender

b

Basic

b

Broad

Slender B

At the start of a word, a slender B is followed by an e or an i.

The word beo (meaning “alive/existing”) has a slender B.

Try and say ‘b’ and ‘yo’ together, quickly, to get an idea of how it sounds.

Listen to what it actually sounds like:

And how do you make this slender B sound?

First, pull your lips slightly back across your face.

basic b, lips neutral position pull your lips back, as if smiling

Then say the English word “bee”.

Bee. Bee. Bee.

Next, push the middle of your tongue straight up to the top of your mouth as you say “b”.

tongue resting in neutral position front of tongue up to roof of mouth just before teeth

Again, say the English word “bee”, but involving your tongue this time.

Bee. Bee. Bee.

This gives the consonant a slightly “softened” quality—like the “y” in the English word “yes”.

This softening of the consonant with the tongue is called palatalization.

In summary:

  1. Lips first
    Pull your lips slightly back across your face.

  2. Try the sound
    Say the English word “bee”.

  3. Tongue next
    Push the middle of your tongue straight up to the top of your mouth.

  4. Combine lips and tongue
    Say “bee” again, using both lips and tongue.

    Bee. Bee. Bee.

lips and tongue resting in neutral position lips retracted, middle of tongue to roof of mouth (palatization)

Now, try and say the slender B in beo:

Broad B

At the start of a word, a broad B is followed by an a, o or u.

The word bó (“cow”) has a broad B.

The English word “bow” (as in “bow tie”) is close, except “bow” has a basic B.

The Irish word bó has a broad B.

Can you hear it?

How to make this broad B sound?

First, push your lips out and say “buh” in an exaggerated manner.

basic b, lips neutral position push your lips out

Buh. Buh. Buh.

Next, push the back of your tongue straight up to your throat when you say “buh”, keeping the tip of your tongue where it is.

tongue resting in neutral position back of tongue up to back of throat

This is like the dark L in some English accents e.g. the L at the end of “full”.

(Irish accents typically use the “light L” in all cases, so see here for more details: youtube link)

This pushing up of the back the tongue to the throat is called velarization, and gives the consonant a “hardened” quality. It makes a sort of a “bwuh” sound from “buh”.

In summary:

  1. Lips first
    Push your lips forward in a slightly exaggerated manner.

  2. Try the sound
    Say the English word “buh”.

  3. Tongue next
    Push the back of your tongue straight up to the back of your throat, making a “bwuh” sound.

  4. Combine lips and tongue
    Say “bwuh” again, using both lips and tongue.

    Bwuh. Bwuh. Bwuh.

lips and tongue in neutral position lips forward (labialization), back of tongue up (velarization)

Now say the broad B in bó:

Summary

Irish has two Bs: one slender, one broad.

At the start of a word:

  • slender B is followed by e or i.
  • broad B is followed by a, o or u.

Irish slender B is higher pitched / lighter than the basic B of English. You make the sound by:

  • Pulling your lips back, and
  • Move the middle of your tongue straight up to the roof of your mouth (palatization).

The Irish word beo ( “alive/existing”) has a slender B.

Irish broad B is lower pitched / darker than the basic B of English. You make the sound by:

  • Pushing your lips forward, and
  • Pushing the back of your tongue to the roof of your mouth, at the throat (velarization).

The Irish word bó (“cow”) has a broad B.

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