Blair Collection > Dictionarium scoto-celticum > Volume I

OF PKONUNCIATION AND ORTHOGRAPHY,
sound of ?< (i) ; as in 'marbh' dead, 'garbh' rov^h,
' dabhach' a vat.
M
1. Plain. Like m in English ; as ' mac' a son,
' cam' crooked.
2. Aspirated. Somewhat like v in English, but
more feeble and nasal ; as ' rahàthair' O mother,
' làmh' tJte hand. The sound mh has the same rela-
tion to that of M, as the sound of m has to that of
b. Sometimes, like bh it becomes a vocal sound like
a nasal u; as in 'darah' an ox, ' samhradh' summer;
and sometimes the articulation becomes so feeble as
not to be perceived ; as ' còrahradh' speech, ' domh-
1. Plain. Like/in English ; as ' faigh' get, 'fòid'
a turf.
2. Aspirated. Quiescent ; as ' flieara' O men. In
' fhuair' found, the aspiration is retained, and the
word is pronounced as if written hvair. It is pro-
bable that it was originally written and pronounced
' fuair'; that ' huair' is but a provincial pronunciation ;
and that to adapt the spelling, in some shape, to this
pronunciation, the word came to be written ' fhuair.'
In treating of the Diphthongs (ai, ea, ei, &c.) no-
tice has been often taken of the powers of certain
vowels in modifying the sound of the adjoining Con-
sonants. This refers to a twofold mode of pronounc-
ing the Palatal and Lingual Consonants, whether
plain or aspirated. The difference between these
two modes of pronunciation is, in some Consonants,
abundantly striking ; in others it is minute, but suf-
ficiently discernible to an ear accustomed to the
Gaelic. The one of these modes of articulation be-
longs to Palatals and Linguals, chiefly when connect-
ed with a broad vowel ; the other belongs to them
when connected with a small vowel. Hence, the
former may be called the broad sound, the latter the
^mall sound of a Palatal or a LÌ7igual.
These sounds are not distinguished in writing, but
may be known, for the most part, by the relative si-
tuation of the letters.
' cùl'
1. Plain. Broad : like c i
the back, « cridhe' the heart.
2. Small: like c in care, cure; as ' taic' support,
' circe' of a hen.
3. Aspirated. Broad : like the Greek ;;;;, as pro-
nounced in Scotland, in p^wga ; as ' croch' Jianff,
' chaidh' went.
4. Small : like x in Z™" : ^^ ' clii' shall see, ' eich'
horses.
G
1. Plain. Broad: like jr in go, rogue; as ' gabh'
to take, ' glòir' speech, ' bog' soft
2. Small: like j- in give, fatigue ; as 'gin 'pro-
duce, ' thig' shall come, ' tilg' throw.
3. Aspirated. Broad : has no sound like it in Eng-
hsh ; < ghabh' took, ' ghleidh' kept.
4. Small: Nearly like t/ in young : as ' ghin' pro-
5. Gh in the end of a syllable, is often quiescent ;
as ' righ' a king, ' tiugh' thi(A, fuigheall' remainder.
1. Plain. Broad : nearly like t in tone, bottom ; as
' tog' raise, ' trom' heavy, ' brat' a covering.
2. Small : like ch in cheek, choose ; as ' tinn' sick,
' caillte lost.
3. Aspirared. Like h in house: as 'thig' shall
come, ' throisg' fasted, ' maith' good.
4. Quiescent ; in the middle of a polysyllable ; in
the end of a long syllable ; and in certain tenses of a
few irregular verbs when preceeded by d'; as ' snith-
each' watery, 'sith' peace, ' an d' thug e ?' did he give?
also in the Pronoun ' thusa' thou.
D
1. Plain. Broad: nearly ììke d in done ; as ' dol'
going, ' dlù' ìiear, close, ' ciod' zvhat.
2. Small: nearly like y in June, jewel; as 'diiì'
worth, ' maide' a stick, ' àirde' height.
JD, after ch is commonly sounded like c, as ' bochd'
poor, pronounced as if written ' bochc'
3. Aspirated. Broad : like broad gh ; as ' dhruid'
did shut, ' gràdh' love.
4. Small: like small gr/j ; s.s ' àhe&rc' looked.
5. Quiescent ; as ' f àidh' a prophet, ' cridhe' the
heart ; ' ràdh' saying, ' bualadh' striking.
Rule. The consoncmts c, g, t, d, have their small
sound, ichcii, in the same syllable, they are preceded, or
immcdiutdy followed, by a s.mall vowel ; in all other
situations they have their broad sound.
1. Plain. Broad: like « in sun, this; as ' speal'
a scythe, ' cas' afoot, ' sùil' an eye, ' sgian' a knife.
Small. Like sh in show, rash ; as ' bris'
mh' twine, ' steidh' foun-
break, ' sèimh' quiet, '
dation.
3. Aspirated. Like h in him ; as ' shuidh' sal,
' shrann' snorted. Before I and n, it is almost, if not
altogether, quiescent ; as ' shlanuich' iiealed, 'shniomh'
twisted. S followed by a mute consonant is never
aspirated.
Rule. S has its small sound, when, in the same
syllable it is preceded or followed by a small vowel,
with or without an interveniiig Lingual. In all other
sitvations it has its broad sound,. Except. <S^is broad
in ' is' am. It is small in ' so' this, ' sud' yon. It is
customary to give s its broad sound in the beginning
of a word, when the former word ends with r, in which
case the r also has its broad sound, as ' chuir sinn'
we put, ' air son' on account.