EXERCISE LXI.
COMBINATIONS OF CONSONANTS CONTINUED.
ECLIPSIS.
§ 375. The peculiarity which is usually called eclipsis by writers in Irish grammar, presents no difficulty as regards pronunciation. To understand how it is so general, we must make slight references to the older forms of some words which cause this peculiarity.
§ 376 Take, for example, the Irish word for “our,” “your,” “their.” In the older form of the Gaelic language we may suppose that arn (ărn) = our; ḃurn (wurn) = your; an (ăn) = their, but in the course of the changes which centuries have caused in spoken Gaelic, these words have become ar, ḃur, a; the final n being either prefixed to the following word or altogether lost. Thus—
| are now spelled | |
| arn dún, our fort | ar ndún |
| ḃurn dán, your poem | ḃur ndán |
| an díċeall, their best | a ndíċeall |
§ 377. And these new forms are pronounced (ăr Noon), (wur Naun), (ă neeh-yăL), the nd in each case being pronounced as nn. The sound of the d is thus “eclipsed,” or overshadowed by that of the n: hence the name of this phenomenon.
§ 378. In the same way
| are written | |
| arn grian, our sun | ar ngrian |
| ḃurn gealaċ, your moon | ḃur ngealaċ |
| an gort, their field | a ngort |
| an gáire, their laughter | a ngáire |
SOUND OF ng.
§ 379. When slender, ng is sounded like ng, in sing, singer, that is, like our symbol n. It is never soft, like ng in singe. In English this sound is not found at the beginning of words.
O’Loingsig (ō Len′-shee), Lynch.
ling (lin, ling), start.
[1]a ngealaċ (ă nal′ă-CH), their moon.
[1]a ngrian (ă nree′-ăn), their sun.
§ 380. When broad, ng is like ng in long, long-er. This sound of ng is a simple sound, very different from the sound of ng in sing, singer; just as g in begun is different from g in begin. It is a sound not often used: we shall when necessary use the symbol NG to denote it. Thus—
| ng sounded as if | |
| seang, slender (pron. shaNG | shong |
| teanga, a tongue (taNG′-ă | tong′-ă |
| a ngort (ă NGŭrth) | ŭng-ŭrth′ |
| a ngáire (ă NGaur′-ĕ) | ŭng-aur′-ĕ |
§ 381. The student should not be discouraged by this, the most difficult sound of the language. At the beginning of words it may be pronounced as N, it the learner cannot acquire the correct sound at once.
§ 382. Ṫáinic Taḋg agus Diarmuid a ḃaile, agus rinne siad a ndíċeall aċt ní ḟuair siad airgead uaim. Atá Art agus Murċaḋ ins an teaċ, agus atá a ndoras fosgailte. Níl a leanḃ balḃ, atá teanga aige. Fuair Tomás agus Seumas an capall in a ngort indé. Atá long ag Taḋg O’Loingsiġ, ní ḟuil bád aige.
§ 383. We made a pretty poem, our poem is long and sweet. Your door is closed. Hugh and Niall were coming home from the river, and their laughter was loud (árd). Our field is green; your field is white (bán) and poor now. Dermot Lynch is in Scotland now; his mother is in Ireland, and his father is in America.
EXERCISE LXII.
§ 384. Just as words like arn, ḃur, an, etc. (words which we may conveniently call eclipsing words) have lost the final n before d and g; so they have lost it before vowels:—
arn aṫair, our father
ḃurn obair, your work
an im, their butter
are now
ar n-aṫair (ăr Nah′-ăr)
ḃur n-obair (wur Nŭb′-ăr)
a n-im (ă nim).
§ 385. The only preposition which in modern Irish causes eclipsis is the preposition in, in, with which we are now familiar.
| Thus, instead of | in dún, | in a | fort, |
| in gort, | „ | field, | |
| we have | |||
| i ndún (ă Noon) | |||
| i ngort (ă NGŭrth, ŭng-ŭrth′). | |||
