ИСТИНА

This paper addresses an issue of pausing and pause distribution in Irish spontaneous speech. The results of the study are based on the descriptive analysis of Connacht Irish, one of the main Irish dialects, which stands out in terms of native speakers number. The purpose of the investigation is to pinpoint the relation (if any) between pausing and information type in Modern Irish and to find out whether the pause placement in spontaneous speech is speaker-based or whether more general rules can be deduced. Furthermore, the functioning of pauses in an utterance, resulting in bringing out new, or important, information, is argued, and a number of examples are introduced to illustrate this point.