EASY LESSONS IN IRISH.
(The First Part is now issued in book form: see advertisements.)
EXERCISE LXV.
§ 398. Eclipsis of F.
Instead of saying arn fíon, our wine, etc, the speakers of Irish found it easier to say arn víon, Instead of arn fuil, our blood, they said arn Wil. This new sound of v or W they represented by ḃ aspirated. Then, when the n of the eclipsing words dropped out, they began to write, as we do now, ar ḃfíon (veen), ar ḃfuil (Wil). Hence we say that f is eclipsed by ḃ aspirated.
§ 399. The particle an, used in asking questions, causes eclipsis, as, an ḃfaca tú? (ăn Wok′-ă thoo) did you see? an ḃfuil tú go maiṫ? (ăn Wil thoo gŭ mah) are you well? See § 257. An ḃfuil sgian agat? Atá. Have you a knife? I have (yes). In the spoken language the an, or at least the n, is usually omitted before consonants; hence ’dtuigeann tú, ’ḃfuil tú, are the forms usually heard.
§ 400. Tuigeann sé (thig′-ăN), he understands. Ní ṫuigeann sí (hig′-ăN), she does not understand; an dtuigeann tú? (dhig′-ăN) do you understand?
§ 401. A, her, has no effect on the following consonant; a bróg, her shoe; a ḃróg (Wrōg), his shoe; a mbróg (mrōg), their shoe.
§ 402. Ar ḃfuil agus ar ḃfeoil. Ní ḟaca mé ḃur ḃfuinneog nuaḋ fós. An ḃfaca tú. Seumas indiu? Ní ḟaca mé Seumas: ní ṫáinic sé a ḃaile fós. Táinic sé a ḃaile indé, aċt ní ṫáinic Míċeál leis. An ḃfuil d’aṫair tinn? Atá sé tinn go leor, atá sé in a luiḋe fós. An ḃfuil do ṁáṫair tinn? Ní ḟuils sí tinn anois, atá sí ina suiḋe. An dtuigeann tú Gaeḋilge? Ní ṫuigeann Míċeál Gaeḋilge fós; ní ṫuigeann sé aċt (only) an Beurla. An ḃfuil capall agat? Ní ḟuil, (Woo′-ir) aċt atá asal beag agam. An ḃfuair tú airgead in do ṗóca? Ní ḟuair mé airgead, aċt fuair mé litir.
§ 403. He does not understand me. The man is old, he does not understand the child. Have you a good horse? I have. Put the saddle on your horse. Did you see my horse to-day? No. (ní ḟaca mé). Your wine is strong; you got your wine in another country, you did not get your wine in Ireland. Did the man die yet? He did not (ní ḟuair); he is not lying now, he is up, and he is on the lake in a boat today. Did the saint find a new country? He did; he found America, and he came home in his boat to Ireland.
[ 130 ]EXERCISE LXVI.
§ 404. After the article an we, in certain cases, find what seems to be eclipsis, thus, an tsúil (ăn thool), the eye; Mac an tSaoir (mok ăn theer), the son of the craftsman, i.e., MacIntyre, Macateer. We shall afterwards see when and why this takes place; at present it is sufficient to say that the combination ts is pronounced like t, the s being passed over, as if eclipsed.
§ 405. SOME EXCEPTIONAL WORDS.
Taḃair, give. This would, if regular) be pronounced (thou′-ăr), or in Ulster (thō-ăr). See § 285. Being a very common word, it is shortened to (thōr, or even to thŭr). The phrase taḃair dom, give to me, which would regularly be (thou′-ăr γŭm), is shortened to (thŭr′-ŭm), in Munster (thŭr-ŭm′). In Ulster they say taḃair doṁ (thōr dhoo).
§ 406. eo AND iu SHORT
As we have seen in § 95, eo and iu are usually long. In a few words they are short.
deoċ (dŭCH, d-yŭCH), a drink.
eoċair (ŭCH′-ir), a key.
fliuċ (flŭCH, fl-yŭCH), wet.
seomra (shŭm′-ăr), a room, chamber.
tiuġ (tŭ, t-yŭh), thick.
deoċ an doruis (dŭCH ăn dhŭr′-ish), the drink of the door, the parting drink.
In some places indiu (in-yŭ′). In Munster, indiu (in-yŭv), tiuġ (t-yŭv).
| § 407. | dom, to me. |
| duit, to thee. | |
| dó (dhō), to him. | |
| dí (dhee), to her. |
§ 408. Tabair deoċ do mo ċapall, agus taḃair feur agus coirce ḋó. Ná taḃair uisge fuar do’n láir. Fuair mé deoċ uisge ag an tobar. Atá an doras dúnta, agus atá glas mór, trom ar an doras eile; an ḃfuil an eoċair agat, a Nóra? Ní ḟuil, atá an eoċair ag Úna. Atá seomra ins an teaċ. An ḃfuil do sparán agat anois? Ní ḟuil, atá mo sparán in mo ṡeomra. Ní ḟuil an fear tinn, atá sé in a ṡeomra, in a ṡuiḋe. An ḃfuil tú in do ṡuíḋe fós?
§ 409. Did you get a drink at the well? No, but I got milk at the house. The woman gave (to) him a drink of water. Give to the poor man meal and bread and butter. Do not give oats to your horse yet. The day is wet; yesterday was dry and cold. The key is lost; I have not the key. Nora has not the key; give the key to her. Do not give me the key, I am going to Dublin to-day; give the key to Niall.