cannot be doubled in writing; dàl b.cw. 91, hèl do. 95, càlon Hyff. Gynnwys (1749) pp. 3, 20, 319 bis.
☞In this grammar the circumflex has been retained in most cases where it is, or might be, used in ordinary writing. But where the position of the accent has to be indicated, ˉ́ is used; where there is no need to point out the accent, and the word is not usually circumflexed, ˉ is used. As every long vowel must be accented in Mn. W., it will be understood that ˉ, ˉ́ and ˆ in Mn. W. words mean the same thing. In Brit. and earlier a vowel marked ˉ is not necessarily accented. As ` is required to denote a secondary accent it would be confusing to use it to mark a short accented vowel; hence ˘́ is used here for the latter purpose, where necessary. The accent mark ´ denotes accent without reference to quantity. A medium vowel can only be indicated by showing the syllabic division; thus cá|nu.
Note. The medium vowel, or short vowel with open stress, which occurs in the penult, is not heard in English where a penultimate accented vowel, if not short as in fathom, is long as in father. Silvan Evans calls the medium vowel “long”, and J.D.R. often circumflexes it. But the a of cá|nu is not long, except in comparison with the a of cán|nu; beside the a of cân it is short. It is a short vowel slightly prolonged past the point of fullest stress, so as to complete the syllable, and the following consonant is taken over to the ultima.
§ 51. i. If a vowel in a monosyllable is simple its quantity is determined by the final consonant or consonants, the main principle being that it is long before one consonant, short before two, or before a consonant originally double; see § 56 ii.
ii. The vowel is short before two or more consonants, or before p, t, c, m, ng; as cănt ‘hundred’, tŏrf ‘crowd’, pŏrth ‘portal’, bărdd ‘bard’, ăt ‘to’, llăc ‘slack’, căm ‘crooked’, llŏng ‘ship’.
Nearly all monosyllables ending in p, t or c are borrowed; some from Irish, as brăt ‘apron’, most from E. as hăp, tŏp, hĕt, pŏt, cnŏc, which simply preserve the original quantity. E. tenuis after a long vowel becomes a media, as W. clôg < E. cloak, W. grôd g. 157 < E. groat, re-borrowed as grôt; so the late borrowings côt, grât (but in S. W. cǒt}.
W. ăt is an analogical formation, § 209 vii (2); ac, nac should be ag, nag in Mn. orthography § 222 i (1), ii (3).
