Elements of Gaelic Grammar Part 5

2. Aspirated. _Broad_: nearly like _r_ in _rear_; as, car _a turn_, ruith _ran_, mr _great_.

3. _Small_: has no sound like it in English; a righ _O king_, seirbhe _satiety_, mir gen. of mr _great_.

The _plain_, _aspirated_, _broad_, and _small_ sounds of these Linguals are not distinguished in writing; but they may, for the most part, be known from the relative position of the letters.

RULE.--L, N, R, _have their _PLAIN_ sound when, in the same syllable, they are immediately preceded by a plain Liquid, or immediately followed by a plain Lingual; also in the beginning of certain cases and tenses; in all other situations, they have their _ASPIRATED_ sound. They have their _SMALL_ sound when, in the same syllable, they are preceded or followed by a small vowel, with or without an intervening Liquid; in other situations, they have their _BROAD_ sound._

{19}

H.

H is never used as an independent radical letter. When prefixed to a word beginning with a vowel, it is p.r.o.nounced like h in _how_; as, na h-ighean _the virgins_, na h-oidhche _of the night_.

The following scheme exhibits a succinct view of the letters, both singly and in their several combinations. The first column contains the letters whose sound is to be exhibited; the prefixed figures marking the number of different sounds denoted by the same letter. The second column explains the sounds by examples or by references. The third column contains Gaelic words, with their translation, in which the several sounds are exemplified.

VOWELS.

1 a {long far star ar _slaughter_, ath _a ford_.

{short that ar _to plow_, abuich _ripe_.

2 a {long adhradh _worship_, adhbhar _reason_.

{short adharc _a horn_, adhart _a bolster_.

3 a short similar ma _if_, an _the_, a _his, her_.

1 e {long there e se _he_, gne _sort, kind_.

{short met le _with_, leth _half_.

2 e long an de _yesterday_, ce _the earth_.

3 e short mother duine _a man_, briste _broken_.

1 i see {mn _smooth_, righ _a king_.

{min _meal_, crith _a shaking_.

2 i short this is _am, art, is_.

1 o {long more mr _great_, ln _food_.

{short hot mo _my_, do _thy_, lon _the ouzle_.

2 o {long } old lom _bare_, toll _a hole_.

{short} lomadh _making bare_.

3 o {long } (2) a roghnuich _to choose_.

{short} roghuinn _choice_.

{20}

1 u {long } fool {ur _fresh_, sugh _juice_.

{short} {ubh _an egg_, tur _quite_.

DIPHTHONGS.

1 ae (1) a (2) e laeth _days_.

1 ai (1) a (1) i faidh _a prophet_, claidheamh _a sword_.

2 ai (2) a (1) i saidhbhir, _rich_.

3 ai (1) a faisg _squeeze_, tais _soft_.

4 ai (2) a airm _arms_, gairm _to call_.

1 ao (2) a faobhar _edge_ of an instrument.

1 ea (2) e (1) a beann _a pinnacle_, meal _enjoy_.

2 ea (1) e dean _to do, make_, bean _a woman_.

3 ea (2) e easlan _sick_, fead _whistle_.

4 ea (1) a ceard _an artificer_, geal _white_.

5 ea (3) a coireach _faulty_.

1 ei (1) e (1) i sgeimh _beauty_, meidh _a balance_.

2 ei (2) e (1) i feidh _deer_, greigh _a herd_.

3 ei (1) e meise _of a plate_.

4 ei (2) e eigin _necessity_, eich _horses_.

1 eo (2) e (1) o beo _alive_, beothail _lively_.

2 eo (1) o leomhann _a lion_, deoch _a drink_.

1 eu (2) e teum _to bite_, gleus _trim_.

1 ia (1) i (1) a fial _liberal_, fiar _oblique_.

2 ia (1) i (2) a fiadh _a deer_, biadh _food_.

1 io (1) i (3) o diol _to pay_, iolach _a spout_.

2 io (1) i iodhol _an idol_, crios _a girdle_.

3 io fun cionta _guilt_.

1 iu (1) i u fiu _worth_, iuchair _a key_.

2 iu u diu _refuse_, tiugh _thick_.

1 oi (1) o (1) i igh _a virgin_, troidh _a foot_.

2 oi (3) o (1) i oidhche _night_.

3 oi (1) o mid _more_, toic _wealth_.

4 oi (2) o fid _a turf_, fois _rest_.

5 oi (3) o coileach _a c.o.c.k_, goirid _short_.

1 ua u (1) a cuan _the sea_, fuath _hatred_.

2 ua u (2) a tuadh _a hatchet_, sluagh _people_.

{21} 1 ui u (1) i suigheah _a raspberry_, buidheann _a company_.

2 ui u duil _expectation_, fuil _blood_.

TRIPHTHONGS.

1 aoi (1) ao (1) i caoidh _lamentation_.

2 aoi (1) ao caoin _mild_, saoil _to think_.

1 eoi (2) eo (1) i geoigh _geese_.

2 eoi (1) eo meoir _fingers_.

3 eoi (2) eo deoir _tears_.

1 iai (1) ia fiaire _more oblique_.

1 iui (2) iu ciuil _of music_.

1 uai (1) ua (1) i luaithe _quicker_.