EASY LESSONS IN IRISH.
(The First Part is now issued in book form: see advertisements.)
EXERCISE LII.
ḋ AND ġ CONTINUED.
§ 317. Before ḋ and ġ silent the short vowels are pronounced as if long.
| a | becomes | á; | as | maġ (mau), a plain. |
| i | „ | í | „ | Briġid (bree′-id), Brigid. |
| o | „ | ó | „ | boḋar (bō′-ăr), deaf. |
| u | „ | ú | „ | cruḋ (kroo), a horseshoe. |
§ 318. Exceptions.
oḋ, oġ, followed by a vowel, are usually pronounced ou in the South and West; as, boḋar (bou′-ăr), roġa (rou′-a), choice.
§ 319. It is only in the accented syllables of words that a is lengthened to á. In words like madaḋ, where the accent is on the first syllable, the ḋ is simply silent in Munster Irish; but in the other parts of the country this termination -aḋ is pronounced (oo); thus:—
| madaḋ, a dog (modh′-oo, | Munster | modh′-ă). |
| bualaḋ, a beating (boo′-ăl-oo, | „ | boo′-ăl-ă). |
| madaḋ ruaḋ, or, in Munster, madraḋ ruaḋ, is often used for a fox; the proper word is sionnaċ (shiN-ăcH). | ||
§ 320. Cuir cruḋ nuaḋ ar an láir. Cuir bróg nuaḋ ar Art óg. Ní ḟaca mé Briġid ag an tobar; ḃí an madaḋ óg agus an cú mór, agus an laoġ ruaḋ ag an dún. Atá Euḋmonn dall agus boḋar. Fuair an madaḋ bualaḋ trom ó Niall. Ní ḟaca an sionnaċ an cú ag teaċt.
§ 321. The dog did not see the deer on the mountain. The mountain was high, and the deer was young, and there was tall grass growing on the mountain. I have a horse-shoe in my pocket. Hugh is not deaf. The dog was astray on the mountain.
EXERCISE LIII.
ḋ AND ġ CONTINUED.
§ 322. When ḋ and ġ are silent, as they are in the end and middle of words, short digraphs are lengthened thus:—
| After silent ḋ or ġ |
ai | is pronounced as if | aí, | that is, | ee | |
| oi | „„ | oí | „ | „ | ||
| ui | „„ | uí | „ | „ | ||
| uai | „„ | oí | „ | oo′-ee |
§ 323. WORDS.
| buaiḋ (boo′-ee), victory. | oiḋċe (eeh-yĕ), night. |
| Corcaiġ (kŭrk-ee), Cork. | suiḋ (see), sit. |
| cruaiḋ (kroo′-ee), hard, not soft. | uaiġ (oo′-ee), a grave. |
| § 324. | Are often | ||
| Words like | pronounced | ||
| croiḋe | (kree′-ĕ), | heart, | kree |
| luiḋe | (Lee′-ĕ), | lying, | Lee |
| suiḋe | (see′-ĕ), | sitting, | see |
| buiḋe | (bwee′-ĕ), | yellow, | bwee |
[ 98 ]
§ 325. O’Ceallaiġ ō kaL′-ee, O’Kelly.
- O’Dálaiġ, ō dhaul′-ee. O’Daly.
§ 326. Go buaiḋ, to victory, is now shortened to a bú (ă-boo′).
§ 327. In Munster, words like Coircaiġ, uaiġ, cruaiḋ, etc., are pronounced kŭrk′-ig, oo′-ig, kroo′-ig.
§ 328. O’Doṁnaill a bú! Atá mé ag dul go Corcaiġ ar maidin. Ní ḟuil an bóṫar bog, aċt atá an bóṫar cruaiḋ. Lá agus oiḋce, Tar liom agus suiḋ síos ag an teine. Atá m’aṫair agus mo ṁáṫair ins an uaiġ.
§ 329. Do not sit on the stool, the stool is broken. Hugh O’Daly died, he is now in the grave. The grave is large. He has a warm heart. The night is cold, the day was warm and dry. The night is not long how. Night and morning. The barley is yellow now, the oats are green yet.
EXERCISE LIV.
ḋ AND ġ CONTINUED.
§ 330. Aḋ and aġ. We have already seen that at the end of words aġ is pronounced (au), the ġ being silent, and the a lengthened into á. We have also seen that in words of more than one syllable ending in aḋ, this aḋ is pronounced a in Munster and oo in Connaught and Ulster. We have now to speak of aḋ and aġ when not at the end of words.
§ 331. When followed by a vowel, aḋ and aġ are pronounced (ei)—like ei in height. Thus:—
- *aġaiḋ (ei′-ee), the face.
- aḋarc (ei′-ărK), a horn.
- aḋastar (ei′-ăs-thăr), a halter
- raḋarc (rei′-ărK), sight.
- O’Raġallaiġ (ō rei′-ăL-ee), O’Reilly.
- gaḋar (Gei′-ăr), a beagle, a hound.
§ 332. Even when followed by consonants the student may pronounce aḋ or aġ like ei, unless the a be marked long.
- Taḋg (theiG), Thady usually “Tim.”
- †aḋmad (ei′-mădh), timber.
§ 333. *Munster (ei′-ig). †áḋmad (au′-madh), except in Munster. In Ulster aḋ, aġ, as above, are pronounced (ae),
§ 334. Ní ḟuil aḋarc ar biṫ ar an laoġ fós, atá sé óg. Cuir aḋastar ar do láir, atá sí ag dul síos do’n tobar. Ní ḟaca mé Taḋg O’Raġallaiġ ar an sliaḃ. Ní ḟuil aḋmad ar biṫ ins an teaċ, aċt atá móin go leor againn; cuir fód móna ar an teine anois.
§ 335. Conn O’Reilly is working in the mill. Tim has not a boat on the river, but I have a boat on the lake. There is a little boat in the house. Do not put the halter on the mare; put the halter in your pocket. My sight is not strong; but Niall O’Reilly has no sight at all, he is blind.
EXERCISE LV.
§ 336. ḋ AND ġ CONTINUED.
| ea | before ḋ or ġ is pronounced | aa. |
| ei | „„„ | ei. |
§ 337. Words.
- breaġ (braa), fine; go b., finely.
- Seaġan (shaa′-ăn), John.
- sleaġan (shlaa′-ăn), a turf spade.
§ 338. In Connaught and Ulster some few words with ḋ and ġ are pronounced as if spelled with ḃ:—
| Munster. | Generally. | ||
| eiḋean, | ivy; | ei′-ăn, | ev′-ăn. |
| guiḋe, | praying; | Gee′-ĕ, | Giv′-ĕ. |
| tuiġe, | thatch; | thee′-ĕ, | thiv′-ĕ. |
| Maguiḋir, | Maguire. | mă Gee′-iR, | mă′ Giv-iR. |
In this the Munster dialect is right. However, the Munster usage is distinctly wrong in exactly the opposite way, as shown in § 275.
§ 339. Dia duit, a Ṫaiḋg (heig). Dia ’s Muire duit. La breaġ; ṫáinig Taḋg a ḃaile ar maidin ó Árd-maċa, aċt ní ḟuil sgeul nuaḋ ar biṫ aige. Ní ḟuil Taḋg tinn, atá sé go breaġ anois, aċt ḃí sé tinn go leor. Atá Art Maguiḋir ag obair, atá sé ag cur (putting) tuiġe ar an teaċ nuaḋ. Atá an fear boċt ag guiḋe ag an doras, fuair sé arán agus im ó Nóra. “Atá an oiḋċe geal (bright) agus an bóṫar breaġ, aċt mar sin féin (even so), fan go lá” (a popular saying).
§ 340. The ivy is growing at the door. The ivy is green. John and James are in the house. The night is fine (and) soft. The ivy is fresh and green, but the wall is old and yellow. The fox and the beagle are not in the meadow, the fox is in the river and the beagle is coming home. The horn is long, The beagle is not in the house.
[ 99 ] § 341. The silencing of ḋ and ġ as above has brought about the contraction of many words in the spoken language, as—
| blaiḋain, | a year | pronounced | bliaḋn, | blee′-ăn. |
| Briġid, | Brigid | „ | Briġd, | breed. |
| foiġid, | patience | „ | foiġd, | fweed. |
| Nuaḋat, | of Nuada; | „ | Nuaḋt, | Noo′-ăth. |
As in Maġ Nuaḋat (mau-noo′-ăth), the plain of Nuada, Maynooth.
EXERCISE LVI.
ḋ AND ġ AT THE BEGINNING OF WORDS.
§ 342. When slender, i.e., next e or i, they are pronounced like y.
§ 343.
| mo Ḋia | (mŭ yee′-ă), | my God. |
| „ ḋiallaid | ( „ yee′-ăL-ăd), | my saddle. |
| „ ḋíċeall | ( „ yeeh′-ăL), | my best. |
| „ ġiall | ( „ yee′-ăL), | my jaw. |
| „ ġé | ( „ yae), | my goose. |
- deun do ḋíċeall, do thy best.
- Rinne sé a ḋíċeall, he did his best.
| Munster. | |||
| mo ġeall, | my promise, | yaL | youL. |
| an ġealaċ, | the moon, | yal′-ăCH | yal-oCH′. |
§ 344. Ná cuir mo ḋiallaid ar mo ċapall, a Ṡeaġain, aċt cuir an diallaid eile ar an asal, agus cuir mo ḋiallaid ar an láir. Atá an oiḋċe geal anois, atá an ġealaċ ins an speur. Ní raiḃ an ġealaċ ins an speur, agus ḃí an oiḋċe duḃ.
§ 345. Do not break your promise. Conn did his best; he gave his horse, his saddle, and his bridle to Niall, and he gave his coach to Art. Tim got a blow from Art; his jaw is broken.
EXERCISE LVII.
ḋ AND ġ BROAD AT BEGINNING OF WORDS.
§ 346. At the beginning of words ḋ and ġ broad have a sound not heard in English, and which we shall represent by the Greek gamma γ.
It is not easy to learn this sound except by ear. Until the student has heard it, it may be pronounced like g broad, i.e. (G).
We shall try to teach the sound as well as we can. Take the English word “auger,” a carpenter’s tool (Irish, taraċair, thor′-ăCH-ăr). In pronouncing this word “auger,” the tongue is pressed against the back part of the mouth in bringing out the sound of g. Try to pronounce “auger” without allowing the tongue to touch the back part of the mouth, and the result will be “auγer,” thus giving the sound we want.
It will then be seen that this sound γ is not so hard as g, but is in reality only a partial consonant sound. Try the same experiment with the words “go,” gráḋ, “graw,” &c.
§ 347. The phrase that we have until now spelled Dia duit! is always pronounced Dia ḋuit (γit, almost gu-it′). Another popular phrase is a ġráḋ (ă γrau; between ă grau and ă rau) o love. Another is a ḋuine ċóir (ă γin′-ĕ CHōr), my good man.
§ 348. The preposition ar, on, upon, causes aspiration; as ar Ḋoṁnall (er γōn′-ăL), on Donal.
- druim (dhrim), back.pian (pee′-ăn), pain.
§ 349. Dia agus Muire ḋuit, a ḋuine ċóir. Dia agus Muire ḋuit, agus Pád- raig. Ní ḟuil do ġort glas fós. Atá mo ġort mór; aċt ní ḟuil coirce ag fás in mo ġort anois. Atá mo ḋoras dúnta. Fuair mé pian in mo ḋruim. Fuair Conn cóta nuaḋ, agus atá cóta nuad eile ar Doṁnall O’h-Aoḋa. Ní ḟuil do laoġ in mo ġort; ḃí sé ins an leuna, aċa atá sé ar an sliaḃ anois.
§ 350. My back is broken. Do not break my window; do not break my door. I am sick, and my pain is great. I was sick, but I am not sick now; I have no pain at all in my back. I was going to Derry in the night, and my horse died on the road, ród. There is not a tree growing on the mountain; the moun- tain is bare and cold.
EXERCISE LVIII.
COMBINATIONS OF CONSONANTS.
§ 351. Having now finished aspiration of consonants, we have to deal only with some combinations of consonants. In pronouncing English words like “farm,” “elm,” &c., we usually say in Ireland (faar′-ăm, el′-ĕm). This is a peculiarity of our own Irish language, in which some combinations of consonants are pronounced as if there was a vowel between the con- sonants. Thus:—
[ 100 ] § 352. l, n, r with m
- arm (or′-ăm), an army
- orm (ŭr′-ăm), on me.
- gorm (gŭr′-ăm), blue.
- Cormac (kŭr′-ăm-ok), Cormac, Charles.
- colm (kŭl′-ăm), a pigeon.
- ainm (an′-ăm), name.
The combination mn is found only in one work, mná (mĕn-au′), women.
| § 353 rn: | carn (kor′-ăn), a cairn, pile of stones. |
| corn (kŭr′-ăn), a goblet. | |
| dorn (dhur′-ăn), fist. | |
| § 354 lb, rb: | scolb (skŭl′-ăb), a scollop, splinter of wood. |
| Albain (ol′-ăb-ăn), Scotland. | |
| borb (bŭr′-ăb), rude, violent. | |
| § 355 lg, rg: | sealg (shal′-ăG), a hunt. |
| dealg (dal′-ăG), a thorn. | |
| fearg (far′-ăG), anger. | |
| § 356 cn, gn: at the beginning of words, are rather difficult to pronounce: | |
| cnoc (kŭn-uk′), a hill. | |
| cnáṁ (kŭn-auv′), a bone. | |
| cneas (kin-as′), the skin. | |
| gnó (gŭn-ō), work. | |
To make the pronunciation easier, cn and gn are pronounced cr, gr, except in Munster, and similarly mn is often pronounced mr.
§ 357. Ḃí Cormac ins an arm, agus ḃí sé ag dul go h-Albain, aċt fuair sé bás. Atá mo ḋorn trom. Atá an sliaḃ árd, aċt atá an cnoc eile beag. Deun do ġnó. Rinne sé a ḋíċeall; rinne sé a ġnó go breáġ. Atá mo ċos cam, agus atá cnáṁ briste. Ḃí carn mór, árd, ar an sliaḃ.
§ 358. Colm-cille, (the) dove (of the) Church, Columkille.
- naoṁ (Naev), holy.
- nuair (Noo′-ĕr), when (= an uair), the time).
Ḃí Colm-cille in Éirinn nuair ḃí sé óg, fuair sé bás in Albain, aċt atá a uaiġ in Éirinn anois. Ḃí fearg ar an naoṁ, nuair ṫáinig an long do’n oileán. Ḃí sealg agam ar an slaiḃ; ḃí cú agus gaḋar agam, agus fuair mé sionnaċ ag dul síos an cnoc. Atá an colm geal. Dia do ḃeaṫa a ḃaile go h-Éirinn.
§ 359. Shut your fist. Put a scollop in the thatch. The sky is blue; the day is fine and wholesome. Put your name in the book; do not put down another name. Black, blue, white, green, yellow, red, brown, fair. The work is heavy. Cormac is poor; he has not a house. He has only a poor little house, and there is no door or window in the house.
EXERCISE LIX.
COMBINATION OF CONSONANTS CONTINUED.
| § 360 lḃ, lṁ: | balḃ (bol′-ăv), dumb. |
| balḃán (bol′-ăv-aun), a dummy. | |
| sealḃ (shal′-ăv), possession. | |
| § 361. nḃ, nṁ. | banḃ (bon′-ăv), a young pig. |
| leanḃ (lan′-ăv), a child. | |
| § 362. rṁ, rḃ. | garḃ (gor′-ăv), rough. |
| marḃ (mor′-ăv), dead. | |
| searḃ (shar′-ăv), bitter. | |
| § 363. nċ, rċ. | [1]Donnċaḋ (dhŭN′-ăCH-ă), Donough, Denis. |
| dorċa (dhŭr′-ăCH-ă), dark. | |
| [1]Murċaḋ (mur′-ăCH-ă), Murrough. | |
| Sorċa (sŭr′-ăCH-ă). Sarah. |
§ 364. Sorċa is one of the many old Gaelic names now almost obsolete—more’s the pity. In North Connemara, where it is still common, it is “translated” by “Sarah,” just as Donnċaḋ is represented now always by “Denis.”
§ 365. O’Donnċaḋa (ō dhŭN′-ăCH-oo-ă), O’Donohoe; also Donaghey, Dennehy; Mac Donnċaḋa, MacDonough; O’Murċaḋa, Mac Murċaḋa, MacMurrough, Murrough, Murphy.
§ 366. airgead (ar′-ăg-ădh), money, silver.
- Fairrge (fwar′-ăg-ĕ), the sea.
- margaḋ (mor-ăG-ă, Connaught mor′-ăG-oo), a market.
§ 367. Atá an oiḋċe dorċa agus ḃí an lá garḃ go leor. Ní ḟaca mé Murċaḋ, ní raiḃ sé ag an margaḋ. Ḃí sé ag an margaḋ, agus fuair sé muc agus banḃ beag; ní raiḃ airgead go leor aige, aċt fuair sé airgead ó Art Mac Murċaḋa. Ṫáinig Sorċa a ḃaile anois. Ní ḟuil an [ 101 ]leanḃ balḃ. Ní ḟuil balḃán ar biṫ in mo ṫeaċ, aċt atá fiċe balḃán ins an teaċ mór eilé ag Baile-aṫa-cliaṫ. Atá fairrge idir ad oileán beag agus an oileán mór.
§ 368. Dermot MacMurrough is not now alive, he. is dead, he died in Ireland. I have only a shilling. I have no other money. A sea, a ship, a boat, a sail. There was a good market in Armagh. The milk is not sweet, it is bitter. The place is rough, but the place is wholesome. The fox is dead. Denis got a blow from Niall, but he is not dead yet. Columbkille has a great name in Erin and in Scotland. There is no king in Scotland now. There is a sea between Ireland and Scotland.
Suggestions are especially invited towards simplifying the above treatment of the sounds of ḋ and ġ.—E. O'G.