Books and other items printed in Gaelic from 1841 to 1870 > Double grammar, of English and Gaelic, in which the principles of both languages are clearly explained

ORTHOGRAPHY.
LITIREACHADH. 23
GAELIC VOWELS.
The Gaelic vowels are
divided into two classes,
viz. broad and small ; and
hence the famous rule for
spelling Gaelic, “ Broad to
broad, and small to small.”
The broad are a, o, u, and
the small e, i.
Each Gaelic vowel ex¬
presses long and short
sounds of different qualities,
as exemplified in the follow¬
ing key.
A vowel marked with the
grave accent (') over it is always
sounded long; as, bard, a poet.
A vowel without the grave
over it is sounded short, as alt,
a joint.
The vowel e, expressing the
sound of a infdtc.is marked with
the acute accent (') as teum, a
bite.
The dash (-) marks a long
sound, and the breve ('") a short
one in both languages, as dan, a
poem, sodan, joy.
FUAIMRAGAN GAELIG.
Tha na fuaimragan Gae-
lig roinnte ’nan da sheorsa,
eadh.. leathan agus caol;
agus o so tha ’n rialt
ainmeil gu cubadh Gaelig,
“ Leathan ri leathan, is
caol ri caol.” Tha a, o, u,
leathan, agus e, i, caol.
Tha fuaimean fad agus
grad de ghne eu-coltach,
aig g&chfuaitnraig Ghaelig,
mar chithear amis an iuch-
air a leanas.
Fuaimichear fad fuaimrag
leis an t-strdc mhallthairis oirre;
mar, bord; a table.
Fuaimichear grad fuaimrag
gun an strac mall thairis oirre;
mar, ros, seed.
’Nuair a tha an fhuaimrag e,
a toirt fuaim a ’am fate comh-
arraichear i leis an t-srac bhrisg ;
mar, te, a she one.
Comharraichidh an s'mean (-)
fuaim fad, agus am brisgean (")
fuaim grad, ’san da chainnt;
mar, ban, white, can say.
The accented syllables of English words are uniformly marked
in English Dictionaries with the acute accent, but such a mark of
accentuation is scarcely necessary in Gaelic, when the pupil is told
that almost every word in the language is accented on the first
syllable.
In the following key, the different sounds of each of the Gaelic
vowels are represented as nearly as possible by English words and
one French word {euxj, in which similar sounds occur; but some
of them, especially 3, 4, and 5 a, and 6 o, and diph. ao, are to be
acquired to advantage by the ear.