V interesting discussion re the Irish language. Thank you! My Gaeilge is v rusty. Learned English grammar through Irish many moons ago when I was about 10 yrs old. I remember the teacher trying to teach us about slender (‘coal’ = kweel) and broad (‘leathan’ = lahan) vowels. Liz Conlon Groves, Lethbridge, AB, Canada
> On May 13, 2020, at 7:02 PM, Gordon Wilkinson via CoTyroneList > <[email protected]> wrote: > > Well Jim, > > I like that explanation. It recalls to some extent the background of the > /séimhiú /or lenition in Irish Gaeli/c - //Gaeilge/ - a very, very old > language. The 'h' is not part of the Irish alphabet, which helps to explain > in part, the difficulty in pronunciation of Irish Gaelic. > > In Irish, the /séimhiú/ is used to soften the sound of the letter and in old > Irish was represented by a 'dot' over the consonant. This can be seen in the > Book of Kells, for instance. The dot became difficult to reproduce when > printing became common so a letter, which isn't otherwise used in Irish, the > 'h', was used. The /séimhiú /is applied to consonants and is a bit like the > accents used in many languages to modify the sound of letters - usually a > vowels. > > To take an example, the 'b', which in /Gaeilge /normally sounds like the > English 'b' or 'b-yah' (depending on whether it's sandwiched between broad or > slender vowels) becomes, when lenited as in 'bh', a 'w' or 'v' sound > (depending on whether it's sandwiched between broad or slender vowels). Or > the 'f', which sounds like the English 'f' or 'f-yah' (depending on whether > it's sandwiched between broad or slender vowels), becomes silent when the > /séimhiú /is added as in 'fh'. > // > > Trying to read modern Irish, especially out loud, can be trying for the > novice. > > Thanks for the reference. > > Gordon > > BTW, can anyone on this list speak /Gaeilge/ ? Ulster Gaelic /- Gaeilge > Uladh/ - is still common in parts of Donegal. > > > // > > On 13/05/2020 7:11 pm, Jim McKane via CoTyroneList wrote: >> Well, I was very surprised at the correct answer............ >> >> https://blog.eogn.com/2020/05/12/how-do-you-pronounce-ye-2/ >> >> Enjoy! >> >> Jim McKane >> Kitchener, Ontario >> _______________________________________________ >> CoTyroneList Mailing List >> Mailing List Email Address: [email protected] >> Change Your Preferences: >> http://cotyroneireland.com/mailman/listinfo/cotyronelist_cotyroneireland.com >> Mailing List Archive: https://goo.gl/mQCKrY > > -- > _________________________________ > Nereda & Gordon Wilkinson, Hyde Park, South Australia. > Web: www.ozemail.com.au/~neredon Skype id: neredon > Emails: [email protected] [email protected] > > _______________________________________________ > CoTyroneList Mailing List > Mailing List Email Address: [email protected] > Change Your Preferences: > http://cotyroneireland.com/mailman/listinfo/cotyronelist_cotyroneireland.com > Mailing List Archive: https://goo.gl/mQCKrY _______________________________________________ CoTyroneList Mailing List Mailing List Email Address: [email protected] Change Your Preferences: http://cotyroneireland.com/mailman/listinfo/cotyronelist_cotyroneireland.com Mailing List Archive: https://goo.gl/mQCKrY
