Blair Collection > Elements of Gaelic grammar

Part I.] AND ORTHOGRAPHY. 37
Almofi: the only quiefcent confonants, which occur in
Gaelic are J,/, g, s, /, in their afpirated ftate. When thefe
occur in the infledlions of declinable words, ferving to indi-
cate the Root ; or in derivatives, ferving to point out the
primitive word -, the omiflion of them might on the whole
be unadvifable. Even when fuch letters appear in their
abfolute form; though they have been laid aflde in pro-
nunciation, yet it would be ralh to difcard them in writing ;
as they often ferve to fhow the affinity of the words in
which they are found to others in different languages, or in
different dialedts of the Celtic. The afpirated form of the
consonant in writing fufficiently fliows that, in fpeaking, its
articulation is either attenuated or wholly fuppreffed.
The writers of Gaelic feem to have carefully avoided
bringing into appofltion two vowels which belong to differ-
ent fyllables. For this purpofe they have fometimes intro-
duced a quiefcent confonant into the middle of compound
or of infledled words j as, * gneidheil' or rather ' gnethail'
kindly^ made up of * gne' and ' ail •,' ' beothail' livelyy made
up of * beo* and ' ail ;' ' diathan' gods^ from the lingular ' dia ;'
* lathaibh' days, from the lingular ' la,' &c. It may at leaft
bear a queftion, whether it would not be better to allow the
vowels to denote the found of the word by their own pow-
ers,
' sometimes into bioran and hioranach by the abusive rule of
' Leathan le leathan.'' Id in voc. Fear. The opinion of Lhuyd
on this point, though not decisive, yet may properly be subjoin-
ed to those of Vallancey and O'Brien, as his words serve at least
to show that this judicious philologer was no advocate for the
Rule in question. ' As for passing any censure on the rule con-
* cerning broad and small vowels, I chose rather to forbear mak-
* ing any remark at all upon them \ by reason that old men who
* formerly wrote ' arget' silver^ instead of ' airgiod' as we now
* write it, never used to change a vowel but in declining of
* words, &c. And I do not know that it was ever done in any
* other language, unless by some particular persons who, through
' mistake or ignorance, were guilty of it.' Archaeol. Brit. Pre-
face to Ir. Diet, translated in Bfi, Nicho/son'^s Irish Historical
Library.