Gaelic names and pronunciation
Some common names
"cnoc" [pronounced crock] means "hill"
"uamh" [oo-arv or oorv] means "cave"
"mor", "mhor" [more or vore] means "large", "great"
"dhu", "dhubh", "dubh" [doo, doov] means "black"
"allt" means "stream" ("burn")
"beinn", "bheinn", "ben" [ben] means "mountain"
C is pronounced K
Ph is pronounced F
Sh, Th is pronounced H
Fh is silent
Bh, Mh is pronounced V (or W after a broad vowel)
S (after "an t-") is silent
th (at end, or flanked by vowels) is an exhalation of breath
ch (followed by a, o, u) is pronounced as in loch, but hard (as in German ich) after e or i
aidh (at end of word) is pronounced as a long y (as in my)
idh (at end of word) is pronounced as a short y (as in duty)
There are several words for "the": an, am, am-t, a', na h-, na.
The plural is na or na h- (before vowels), nan or nam (before b, f, m or p).
For more information on Gaelic visit the
Caves and Caving in the UK