Page:Aids to the Pronunciation of Irish - Christian Brothers.djvu/98

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.

82

125. There is always a helping vowel between r and n when the n is final—e.g., corn, carn, dorn, &c.; but when the n is not final the helping vowel does not usually occur. In this case the r is protected, and the preceding vowel is lengthened—e.g., dearna, bearna, carnaḋ, &c. See § 73.

126. A very short helping vowel is heard between all the consonants and slender r: cré, bréaġ, bris, crios, trí, preab, grian, greas, driseog.

127. In Munster the termination (ṫa or ṫe) of the verbal adjective (past participle) is often joined to the stem in verbs of the first conjugation ending in c, g, t, and p, by means of a helping vowel. The helping vowel in these cases is invariably slender.

The reason for this peculiarity is that the verbal adjective in these cases is formed on analogy with verbs belonging to the second conjugation.

atṫa (=atuiṫe) ceapṫa (=ceapuiṫe)
meascṫa (=measguiṫe) tagṫa (=taguiṫe)
neascṫa fáiscṫe
taċtṫa bacṫa
glacṫa leagṫa

The “u,” which we have written with the helping vowel “i,” is a mere glide.

(a) There is usually no helping vowel in tugta and tógṫa, but there is in ceadṫa (usually spelled ceaduiġṫe).

128. In the following combinations one of the consonants is absorbed by the other, and a single con-