Why is Irish orthography so weird?

Once, long ago, Irish was much simpler. The reason why Irish spelling looks weird at first is that it makes slender and broad consonants explicit. Instead of using a different character for broad and slender, Irish uses vowels (and sometimes extra consonants) to indicate if a consonant is slender or broad.

What letter does not exist in Irish?

The traditional standard Irish alphabet consists of 18 letters: a b c d e f g h i l m n o p r s t u. Thus, it does not contain the following letters used in English: j, k, q, v, w, x, y, z. The vowels may be accented as follows: á é í ó ú.

What is the meaning of ß?

ß does not exist everywhere that German is spoken—the Swiss dropped it years ago. But its purpose is to help readers figure out pronunciation: A ß signals that the preceding vowel is pronounced long, instead of short, and that you should make an “ss,” not “z,” sound. It’s also written to signify “ss” after a diphthong.

What language uses Ł?

Polish
Ł or ł, described in English as L with stroke, is a letter of the Polish, Kashubian, Sorbian, Belarusian Latin, Ukrainian Latin, Wymysorys, Navajo, Dëne Sųłıné, Inupiaq, Zuni, Hupa, Sm’álgyax, Nisga’a, and Dogrib alphabets, several proposed alphabets for the Venetian language, and the ISO 11940 romanization of the Thai …

Is Scottish Gaelic and Irish similar?

There are some disputes as to whether or not Irish and Scottish Gaelic are different languages or if they are simply different dialects of the same language. The general consensus however is that Irish Gaelic and Scottish Gaelic have enough differences to be considered a different language.

What is the origin of Scottish Gaelic surnames?

Mac an tSaoir (son of the craftsman). The Gaels of Scotland belonged by race and language to the Irish nation, bore the same or similar personal names, and formed their surnames in the same manner as the Irish from the names or designations of their ancestors. Scottish-Gaelic surnames are, however, of much later date than Irish surnames.

Why do some Scottish surnames have no capital letters?

Some Scottish surnames do not have a capital. Some can be spelt with capital and some without. I was told by a Macintyre, that his name if spelt with the small case i, it meant that historically they were of the lower orders, but the name MacIntyre, with capial I, meant they were of the professional, or I guess landed classes.

Do you capitalize the second capital of your last name?

It depends in part on where the person comes from. In Scottish names, the second capital is almost always correct – McDonald, MacDonald, etc (but note that ‘Machinery’ does need a capital H). In names of Irish descent, sometimes the owners insist on no second capital; I had a colleague whose surname was Macdonald…

What is the difference between Ó-surnames and Mac- surnames?

Mac-surnames are, generally speaking, of later formation than Ó-surnames. Surnames were frequently formed, not from the real name of the ancestor, but from some other designation, as rank, trade, occupation, etc., as: Mac an tSaoir (son of the craftsman).