In the inflexion and combination of words, certain consonants are frequently prefixed to others, with which they cannot be sounded; and the adventitious consonant is then said to eclipse the radical one; viz. b, c, d, f, g, m, p, s, t, when beginning a word, and followed by a vowel, or by l or r; as also s, followed by n, may be eclipsed thus:

m, ar mbaile, our town
g, ar gceart, our right
n, ar ndia, our God
b, ar bfearran, our land

n, ar ngearan, our complaint
ar bpéin, our punishment

t, an tslat, the rod

d, ar dteine, our fire

In pronouncing these eclipses, the first consonant only is sounded; as, ar maile, ar geart, &c. Except ng in which both letters are uttered, with a strong guttural expression.

3

Instead

>> Instead of bf, the ancients frequently wrote ff; as, ar ffearran, our land; cc, instead of ge; as, ar cceart, our right; and tt, instead of dt; as, ar tteine, our fire; and these words are pronounced in the same manner, as if written ar bfearran, ar gceart, and ar dteine.

ACCENT.

An accent is placed over such vowels and diphthongs, as are naturally either long or short, when they are to be pronounced long; as, mac, a son, short; bàs, death, long; fios, knowledge, short; cíos, rent, long.

Monosyllables ending in a, e, i, u, being commonly long, require no accent over them; as, la, a day, tu, thou.

In words of two or more syllables, the accent commonly falls on the first syllable; as, déigionaċ, last, múčaim, to extinguish.

OBSERVATIONS.

except f and s But some of the

In reading Irish, every letter, before or r must be sounded. aspirated consonants are so slightly expressed as to be almost imperceptible; the reason of which is as follows.

According to the principle of the language, no number of vowels, meeting in a word, forms more than one syllable.

The poets, however, frequently wanting to lengthen words, by multiplying their syllables, devised the method of throwing in an adventitious consonant, generally d or ġ, to divide two vowels into two syllables; thus, tiarna, a lord, which consists of only two syllables, is divided into tigearna, of three syllables.

Now, as this manner of spelling was unknown in earlier ages, the primitive pronunciation is still

SO

so far retained, that the adventitious letters are passed over, with an almost imperceptible flexion of the voice.

In like manner d and g, which, always in the beginning of words, and frequently in the middle, have a clear and strong sound, are very commonly used at the end, merely to give a fuller vowel cadence to the termination, as, neartugad, to strengthen, rig, a king.

ORTHOGRAPHICAL TABLES.

Familiar words of one syllable,

Aspirated consonants.

Mo mac, my son mo bàs, my death ro beag, very small an bean, the woman mo beul, my mouth mo bonn, my sole mo meall, my knob mo mian, my desire mo biad, my meat an mias, the dish cnáim, a bone sliab, a mountain naom, a saint

neam, heaven

dub, black

deilb, a form sgéim, beauty uaim, a grave tarb, a bull dam, an ov

cnum, a worm cnob, a maggot ino dia, my God mo corp, my body faid, a prophet

criad, clay

fuact, cold
tuaid, 'north
fliuċ, wet
dríuct, dew
liaig, a physician
noct, night
mo ceann, my head
mo súil, my eye
mo cos, my foot
mo śrón, my nose
ruad, reddish
uct, the breast
grad, love

fiad, deer

deoć, a drink

lact, milk

mead, Meath
nuad, new
mag, a field
beac, a bee
fiać, a crow
eać, a horse
crod, a portion
seact, seven
oct, eight

fear, a man

ceann, a head

sean, old

geal, white

breac, speckled

gean, love

fearg, anger

dearg, red

leact, a tomb

+caoin, fine
aois, age
maoil, bald
naoi, nine
aoi, an island
aoib, courteous,
feoil, flesh
stiúir, a rudder,
+ciúin, gentle

cuairt, a visit
uair, an hour
fuaim, a sound
uaim, a cave
duais, a reward

+ This word dignifies - goutte, mild muth - property. Ipe atting

dignifies-goutlet, or sedentarily silent