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and is therefore slender. The rule is, then, that the consonant is opposite in quality to the letter from which it is separated by the hyphen. (This device would probably be found serviceable in simplifying Irish spelling. It has been used sparingly in this book, as any serious change of spelling often confuses the learner. There are some words where its use is indispensable, e.g., the adjective ḃoċt in the vocative case, a ḟir ḃoċt. Here the t is slender, but the first three letters ḃoċ—neglecting the aspiration of b—are just the same as in fear boċt. Boiċt is misleading, as it makes the ċ slender).
(9) Broad l is often pronounced so deep as to sound like d or g broad aspirated.
(10) Read over the introductory matter to the different parts of speech, as they contain many hints to pronunciation. Particular attention is directed to the general introduction to the verb, and to the special introduction to tá.
II. Some of the chief peculiarities of Waterford Irish are due to the influence of accent on pronunciation. For our purpose we must distinguish two kinds of accent (a) word accent, and (b) phrase or sentence-accent. Word accent is the accent which makes one syllable of a word stand out more prominently than another, thus in the word capal the first syllable is more prominent, because uttered with greater force than the second, and therefore we say that the first syllable is accented. This we indicate by putting a mark after it—cap″al.
Just as one syllable of a word may be made more prominent than the other syllables, so one word in a phrase or sentence may be made more prominent than the other words. Thus in the sentence, mara dtugann tu ’reaċas duit héin, caiṫfiḋ sé [a]nuas de ṫu, “unless you mind (pay heed to) yourself, he will
