Editing Openai/69186d20-2d14-8013-b9c6-c09000f173f6 (section)

===== There’s no single algorithm, but there are strong tendencies. Irish adapts loans by: =====
# Phonetic matching to Irish contrasts - If the foreign consonant is “clear/light” and adjacent to front vowels, it’s naturally heard as closer to slender: - e.g. /l/ before [i, e] → often slender lʲ in Irish spelling. - If it’s “dark/back” (or next to back vowels), it tends to become broad.
# Vowel environment in the loan - Irish wants broad consonants with a/o/u, slender with e/i. - If the source word has /l/ before a front vowel, the adaptation pressure is: > - That’s why you often see an extra i shoved in just to encode slenderness (as in sailéad).
# Analogy with existing Irish patterns - Certain endings are preferred: - -éad / -éid, -án, -áil, -eáil, etc., already productive for nouns and verbs. - So loans get shoehorned into those moulds: - salad/salade → sailéad (fits the -éad noun pattern, with slender l before /eː/), - chocolate → seacláid, etc.
# Stress & syllable structure - Irish wants initial stress and CV(C) syllables it likes. - Adjustments in vowels are often driven by: - moving stress to first syllable, then - choosing vowels that let the broad/slender pattern work out cleanly.
# Lexicographical / normative choice - For many modern loans, An Caighdeán / dictionaries simply pick a spelling that: - sounds okay to Irish speakers, - obeys broad/slender rules, - doesn’t conflict with existing words. - Once it appears in official dictionaries and teaching materials, that spelling becomes de facto standard.