retains trace of n but none of d. The modern Irish, from which our spelling has been taken, is adhlacadh.
Before long r, a, though here also it was short originally, is now a long vowel, à, in Scottish Gaelic generally. This is the rule before long rr or rd as in bàrr, àrd. In other cases there is irregularity. A may be lengthened in certain words or in certain districts and not in others. Carn (a cairn) is càrn in Arran, Sutherland, etc., but carn in parts of the central Highlands. The long liquid here also becomes short if made to stand immediately before a vowel, and the lengthened vowel—à—then becomes short again—a.
In Glenlyon, Rannoch, and Badenoch a tends to become au before r whenever that liquid, whether it be long or short, is followed by l, n, d, t, or s, as in ardan, bard, MacPharlain, carn, and also in Artair, mart, Cars. Au is heard also for ai (the function of i, itself silent, being only to indicate the slender quality of the following consonant group) in such words as airde (higher, etc.), cairt (bark), fairsing (wide), fairslich (baffle). Before rr, as barr, etc., a is long in those districts.
e, è for a, à
Another pronunciation of the vowel both long and short is heard in Arran and in Kintyre. In a number of words in these districts a gets the sound of open e. That is the sound of e in English ‘bell,’ ‘less,’ ‘get,’ but lengthened when the Gaelic vowel is long, and nasalised in contact with m, mh or n. The difference between the usual sound and that of Arran and Kintyre is like that between the ordinary Scottish and the high English pronunciations of the vowel in such words as ‘man,’ ‘cat,’ ‘gas,’ as when the familiar line is rendered:—
‘E men’s e men for a’ thet.’
The peculiarity is well exemplified in the popular Arran rime:—
- ‘Nevertheless
- Na bris do chas
- A’ ruith do chearc
- Di-Dòmhnaich.’
