occur initially. Hence the final of the article is frequently palatal in cases where in O.Ir. the initial was a, not e, e.g. tα꞉ ʃɛ erʹ ə Nʹαsəl = tá sé air an asal, ‘he’s badly drunk’, M.Ir. assal; similarly one only hears ə tʹαspəl, ‘the apostle’, O.Ir. apstal, cp. easbal McCurtin, Grammar p. 103; ə tʹαsrïgər, ‘a back-answer, sharp retort’ < ais-fhreagar. This uncertainty as to the quality of the old initial we shall have occasion to deal with in § 452. In this connection we might mention the curious form αnəN in mər ə NʹαnəN, kũαnəN, ‘alike, level, equal’, O.Ir. inonn. We should expect *o̤nəN but compare ea for io in Co. Monaghan in ionad, tionntuigh &c. (Gaelic Journal 1896 p. 147 col. 2).
§ 5. Not infrequently α stands for O.Ir. a in accented syllables followed by a palatal consonant, for which ai is now written. This is particularly the case before intervocalic h < th, where the change seems to have occurred already in M.Ir., cp. Meyer athaigim < aithigim. aith- > ath- is also a feature of Desmond Irish, v. Chr. Bros. Aids to the Pron. of Irish p. 86. Examples: kαhũw, ‘to spend, wear, throw’, O.Ir. caithem (Craig writes cathadh); ə wα̃hə lʹɛ, ‘for the sake of’, Di. mar (ar) mhaithe le, as in ə wα̃hə lʹeihə heinʹ ə nʹi꞉s ə kαt krɔ꞉nαn, ‘it is for her own good that the cat purs’, Nʹi꞉ gə ho̤mlα꞉n ə wα̃hə lʹeʃ ə wUNtæʃtʹə αχ wα̃hə lʹeʃ ə fʹlʹeiʃu꞉r, ‘not altogether for the sake of profit but also for pleasure’; mα gə Lʹɔ꞉r, ‘alright’ = maith go leor (in every other case maith appears as mαiç); αhəNtəs, ‘acquaintance’, αhəNtə, ‘acquainted’, Di. aitheantas, aitheanta formed from en̥ʹə, O.Ir. aithgne, pret. dαhinʹ mʹə, ‘I recognised’, Di. d’aithin; αhəNtə, ‘commandments’, Di. aitheanta pl. of aithne, so O.Ir.; αhiNʹə, ‘brand’, M.Ir. aithinne; mαhũw, ‘to forgive’, O.Ir. mathem; similarly before r < rʹ in fαrəgʹə, ‘sea’, O.Ir. fairgge; fαrsiNʹ, ‘ample’, O.Ir. fairsing; mαrstʹən, infin. of mairim, ‘I remain, last’, Wi. maraim. Further before mʹ, v, e.g. αmʹʃirʹ, ‘weather’, O.Ir. aimser; tαvʃə, ‘ghost’, M.Ir. taidbsiu (note the phrase ə ŋlakə tuw kɔpαn te꞉ (ə)niʃ? Nʹi꞉ tavʃ(ə) e꞉, ‘will you take a cup of tea now? It would be very acceptable’).
§ 6. In the same way M.Ir. o before palatal consonant gives α in αfʹrʹəN, ‘mass’, Wi. oifrend.
§ 7. We shall find that all long vowels are apt to be shortened before intervocalic h < th. O.Ir. á appears shortened in sNαhəd, ‘needle’, O.Ir. snáthat; sNαhəd, sNαhuw, ‘to wash down, spice’, pres. sNα꞉ihəm, pret. nα꞉iç, past part. sNα꞉tʹə, Di. snathadh; αhəs, ‘joy’, M.Ir. áithes; tαhər, ‘man ist’, M.Ir.
