g capable of aspiration, or mutables, (11) P S t 1 nincapable of aspiration, or immutables. r VOWELS. A, o, and u are called broad vowels, because they require a hiatus, or wide opening of the mouth, in expressing them; e and i 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; or an adven-. titious vowel must be inserted, after the preceding one, to agree with the subsequent; as, seasam, not seisam, or seasim, I stand; buailim, not buailam, I beat; lam, hand, and geal, white, compounded laingeal, 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, g, 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 bas, my death; lib, 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 ceann, my head. Dh and gl, before or after a small vowel, like y; as, mo dia, my god; mo giolla, my boy. But before or after a broad vowel, they have a very weak guttural sound, somewhat stronger than that of w; as, mo gut, my voice; grad, love; mag, a field, (12) Fh is entirely mute; as, an fairge, pronounce, an airge, the sea. Mh is sounded like b; as, snam, swimming; amuil, like. Ph is sounded, as in other languages, like ph in philosopher; as, mo páiste, my child. Sh, and th are sounded as h alone; as, mo sùil, my eye; mo tig, my house. But s, before 1, n, or or r, is entirely mute; as, mo sláinte, my health; mo snuad, my countenance; mo sron, my nose. IMMUTABLE CONSONANTS. L, n, r, are called immutable, because they never change, or lose their sound, by the addition of h. But they alone can be doubled in the middle, or at the end of words; as, barr, a top; ceannaigim, to buy. It is to be observed, that dl and In, in the middle of words, are sounded like ; as, codlad, sleep; colna, flesh, pronounce collad, colla; and dn like nn; as, ceadna, the same, pronounce ceanna. DIPHTHONGS. There are thirteen ae long, as ai in pain, short, as i in fight, diphthongs; viz. lae, of a day mait, good ao long, nearly as oo in fool, ea long, as ea in bear, short, as ea in heart, cáin, a fine maol, bold biolar, water cresses ciúnas, quietness cóir, right Sound 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 be-> ginning 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 n, ar ngearan, our complaint 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. 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. An accent is placed over such vowels and diphthongs, as are naturally either long or long or Short, when they are to be pronounced tong; 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. In reading Irish, every letter, except f and s before or r must be sounded. But some of the 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 g, to divide two vowels into two syllables; thus, tiarna, a lord, which consists of only two syllables, is divided into tigearna, of three syllables. bos Now, as this manner of spelling was unknown in earlier ages,.. the primitive pronunciation is still |