Hello!
I often use songs as a tool for learning languages. Usually, it helps a lot, but, in the case of Irish, I'm quite confused. The pronounciation of Irish singers seems to vary greatly. I suppose it depends on the dialect and the speaker's fluency.
So, I need your advice. Could you recommend me some bands and singers with good Irish?

I like Karan Casey, but I've been told her pronounciation is not quite correct, at least when it comes to palatalization and 'ch' sounds. Is it true?
What about Clannad? Altan?
Also, what do you think about these guys https://youtu.be/bzXswoAUi0U ?

aye, she doesn't pronounce properly.



Máire Ní Bhraonáin's pronunciation (she's the main singer of Clannad) is quite good but sometimes there are mistakes.
Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh's pronunciation (Altan) is perfect.
That of Maighréad and Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill is perfect too.



sounds good. Normally it takes 2 seconds to know if the singer pronounces this song properly: if he/she pronounces "abhaile" as "uh-wah-lyeh" you immediately know it's bad Native speakers don't have a ly- sound in this word, only learners do. The "l" of "abhaile" is a single slender L, so it's more or less pronounced as "l" in the English word "lip", for example.

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Is fearr Gaeilg na Gaeltaċta ná Gaeilg ar biṫ eile
Agus is í Gaeilg Ġaoṫ Doḃair is binne

Caithfidh mé sin a inse daoithe an chéad uair eile a tchífidh mé í .
Seriously though, what mistakes?

Amannaí fuaimneann sí "ch" mar "k" mar shompla. Ba chóir domh éisteacht aríst le huaráin do chuid Chlannad le somplaí a thabhairt duit.

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Is fearr Gaeilg na Gaeltaċta ná Gaeilg ar biṫ eile
Agus is í Gaeilg Ġaoṫ Doḃair is binne

You might pick this up: https://www.amazon.com/Corn-Ui-Riada-Bu ... B001UDN5Q2

All the winners of the sean-nós competition for 35 years, each singing a song. There are brief biographies of each singer included and I believe most if not all of them are native speakers. Good mix of dialects too, I think.

Thanks a lot, that's really helpful!

Your example "lip" works for British English but not for American English.

Americans use a dark l /L/ whereas British English speakers (RP and some dialects) use a lighter L /l/.

The American L generally corresponds to the Irish broad L /L/ and the BRP L generally corresponds to the Irish slender L /l´/.

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[hr]Múinteoir Gaeilge - Irish Teacher[/hr]
My "specialty" is Connemara Irish, particularly Cois Fhairrge dialect, but I can also speak Ulster and Munster Irish with native-level pronunciation.
Is fearr Gaeilge ḃriste ná Béarla cliste, cinnte, aċ i ḃfad níos fearr aríst í Gaeilge ḃinn ḃeo na nGaeltaċtaí.
Gaeilge Chonnacht (GC), go háraid Gaeilge Chois Fhairrge (GCF), Gaeilic Uladh (GU), Gaelainn na Mumhan (GM), agus Gaeilge an Chaighdeáin Oifigiúil (CO).

Shíl mé gur Eórpach Pangur... cibith más Meiriceánach é, níl's agam goidé mar a mhíneóchainn dó goidé mar a fhuaimnithear /l'/ na Gaeilg...

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Is fearr Gaeilg na Gaeltaċta ná Gaeilg ar biṫ eile
Agus is í Gaeilg Ġaoṫ Doḃair is binne

Actually, I'm Russian, so I'm familiar with palatalization. (Irish is closer to Russian than to English in that respect.)

But in Irish there are two palatalised L's and two palatalised N's...

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Is fearr Gaeilg na Gaeltaċta ná Gaeilg ar biṫ eile
Agus is í Gaeilg Ġaoṫ Doḃair is binne