INTRODUCTION TO THE IRISH LANGUAGE. IN THREE PARTS. I. AN ORIGINAL AND COMPREHENSIVE GRAMMAR. II. FAMILIAR PHRASES AND DIALOGUES. III. EXTRACTS FROM IRISH BOOKS AND MANUSCRIPTS, IN THE ORIGINAL WITH COPIOUS TABLES OF THE CONTRACTIONS. BY REV. WM. NEILSON, D.D. ACHILL: PRINTED AT THE "MISSION PRESS." 1845. 2 double, this sound is not found in) English, (4) 3 liquid, as I in valiant, A) 1 asm in man, N1 single, as n in now, 2 double, this sound is not found in English, (5) EXAMPLE. bán, white. tar, come thou. lhomra, with me. bean, a woman. cjall, sense. cat, a battle. dán, a poem. dearmud, forgetful ness. re, six. roillse, light. Fáilte, welcome. Gean, love. 30pm, blue. 11g, a king. mil, honey. mall, slow. buille, a blow. mo, my. Dujne, a man cean, a head T1 thick, before a, o, or u, this sound) is not found in English, (8) EXAMPLE. bajñe, milk. móp, great. pór, seed. 30b, a beak. poll, a pit. crjon, withered. bam, the top. } ronar, happiness. rin, that. tart, thirst. 2 liquid, before e or 1, as t, in bastion dejne, fire. u 1 long, as u in true, 2 short as u in but, τη, thou. cumur, power. N. B.-h; as no Irish word begins radically with this letter, it is considered only as a mark of aspiration; and when affixed to a consonant, it is denoted by a point placed over it; thus, b, c, d, f, 3, m, p, †, t, denote The letters are classed as follows : VOWELS. A, ó, and ú, are called broad vowels, because they require a hiatus, or wide opening of the mouth, in expressing them; e and 1 are called small, because they require a less opening of the mouth. The poets, in latter ages, devised a rule, which prescribes that the vowel, which goes before a consonant, must be of the same class with the vowel which follows that consonant, i.e. both broad or both small. In observing this rule, therefore, attention must be paid to the vowel which follows the consonant; for, if it be broad, while that which radically goes before the consonant is small, or, vice versa, then the vowel preceding the consonant must be left out, and another substituted in its place, of the same class with that following the consonant; oranadventitious vowel must be inserted after the preceding one, to agree with the subsequent ; as, searam, not reiram, or seasim, I stand; buailim, not buailam, I beat; lam, hand, and zeal, white, compounded lajigeal, not langeal, white-handed. Although it is evident, from ancient manuscripts, that this rule was unknown in early times, yet it has been so universally observed in latter ages, that it is impossible to lay it aside entirely. In many instances, it adds to the sweetness and fulness of the sound; but, in others, it so completely destroys the radical form of words, that no principle of grammar can justify a rigid adherence to it. MUTABLE CONSONANTS. B, c, d, f, 3, m, p, s, t, are called mutable, because they can be aspirated, or mortified, i. e. change or lose their sound, by the addition of h. As the sounds of the mutable consonants, when aspirated, differ materially from those which they receive, when simple; and as a peculiar delicacy of pronunciation consists in expressing them with propriety, it is necessary to pay strict attention to the following rules : Bh is sounded like v, at the beginning or end of a word; as, mo bar, my death; ljb, with you. But in the middle of a word, it is commonly sounded like w, as, leabar, a book. Ch is always sounded like x in Greek, or ch, in loch; as, mo chean, my head. Oh and 3h, before or after a small vowel, like y; as, mo 14, my God; mo żiolla, my boy. But before or after a broad vowel, they have a very weak guttural sound, somewhat stronger than that of w; as mo zut, my voice; grad, love; maj, a field, (12) |