Blair Collection > Dictionarium scoto-celticum > Volume I

ELEMENTS
GAELIC GRAMMAR.
PART I.
OF PRONUNCIATION AND ORTHOGRAPHY.
of eighteen letters :
r| >HE Gaelic alphabet
X a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, i, m, n, o, p, r, s, t, u.
Of these, five are vowels, a, e, i, o, u ; the rest con-
Beside the common division of the letters into
vowels and consonants, it is found convenient to
adopt some further subdivisions.
The vowels are divided into bi-oad and sinall. A,
o, u, are called broad vowels ; e, i, small vowels.
The consonants are divided into Mutes and Liquids:
Mutes, b, c, d, f, g, m, p, t. Liquids, 1, n, r, s. They
are also divided into Labials, Palatals, and Unguals ;
so named from the organs emploj'ed in pronouncing
them : Labials, b, f, m, p : Palatals, c, g : Unguals,
d, I, n, r, s, t.
The aspirate h is not included in any of these di-
AU the vowels are sometimes long, sometimes
short. A long vowel is marked with an accent,
especially when the quantity of the vowel de-
termines the meaning of the word ; as ' bàs' death,
' sail' the heel, ' càraid' a pair, ' ris' again, ' mo*
more, ' Ion' a marsh ; which are distinguished by the
accent alone from ' bas' the palm of the hand, ' sail'
a beam, ' caraid' a friend, ' ris' to. Ion' the elk.
All the vowels, but especially the broad ones, have
somewhat of a nasal sound when preceded or follow-
ed by m, mh, n, nn. No vowels are doubled in the
same syllable like ee, oo, in English.
In almost all polysyllables, excepting some words
Vol. I.
compounded with a preposition, the accent foils on
the first syllable. The other syllables are short and
unaccented ; and the vowels in that situation have,
in general, the same short obscure sound. Hence it
happens that the broad vowels, in these syllables, are
often used indiscriminately.
There is no quiescent final vowel.
A has three sounds.
(1). The first is both long and short ; long, like a
in the English words far, star ; as ' àr' slaughter,
' àth' a ford, ' gràdh' love, ' sàruich' oppress : short,
like a in that; as ' cath' a battle, ' alt' a Joint,
' abuich' ripe.
(2). Both long and short, before dh and gh. This
sound has none like it in English. Long ; as ' adhlaic'
bury, adhradh' worship : short ; as ' lagh' a law,
' magh' afield, adharc' a horn.
(3). Short and obscure, hke e in mother ; as ' an' 'a'
the, ' ar' our, ' ma' if, and in the plural termination
E has three sounds.
(1). Both long and short: long,
there; as '
rally marked
ike e
(2). Long ;
de' yesterday.
acute accent.
(3). Short like
' ceannuichte' bov
during. This
•ith a grave accent. Short, like
ith, <■ leth' half.
is ' re' the moon, ' ce' the earth,
This e is always marked with
gene
I mother ; as ' duine' a man,