Books and other items printed in Gaelic from 1801 to 1840 > Tiomnadh Nuadh ar Tighearna agus ar Slanuighir Iosa Criosd

GENERAL RULES
FOR READING THE
GAELIC LANGUAGE.
OF THE LETTERS.
Jn the Gaelic language there are eighteen \etters, viz. a, b, c, d, e,f, g, ti } 4 t
f, m, n, o, p, r, s, t, u; vrhich are divided into vowels and consonants.
OF THE VOWELS.
There are five vowels, a, e, i, o, u.
A issounded as in the English words hall, halt; but before dh and gh fjt
has often the sound of the diphthong ao, as in lagh, law, mag/t, a field.
E represents two difFerent sounds c lst, Thatofthe Greek epsilon, or of
ea in the English word òear ; as in re, the moon, an dè, yesterday : *2dìy, That
of a in care ; as in e or se he, rè during tbc tirae of.
7is sounded like ce in Eiiglish; 0, as in the words bone, morn, lot ; and U
like oo in moon.fool.
The vowels are divided into broad and smaix. A, o, u, are called broad
vowels ; and e, ?', small.
In a word of two or more syllables, if tbe former end? with a broad vowel,
the next syllable must begin with a broad vowel ; if with a small vowel, with
a small. Acccrdingly, it is reckoned false orthography to write d'eanibh do
ye, and not deanaibh, though the last a is never sounded. But in compound
words this rule may often be properly dispensed with.
All the vowels are sometimes long, sometimes short. Wlienlong, they are
generally marked with accents.
In all the syllables of Polysyilables, except the first, the vowels have a short
and obscure sound, as in the English words sun, bird, mother ; andthebroadj
and sometimes the small, are used for one another.
OF TIIE DIPHTHONGS.
There are thirteen diphtbongs, viz. ae, ai, ao, ea, eì, eo, eu, ia, io, iu, oi, ua+
ui ; whi< i. are either proper or improper.
Ao and eu are improper diphthongs, representing simple sounds; tlie for-
mer of which is perhaps peculiar to this language, and ouly attainable by the
ear : The latter is like that of the Greek epsilon, or the Latin ce.