EASY LESSONS IN IRISH.
(The First Part is now issued in book form: see advertisements.)
EXERCISE LXXV.—(Continued).
§ 457. Cuir an bád beag so ar an Laoi, agus cuir an long úd ar an Éirne. Ní ḟuil an Ḃóinn leaṫan ag Droiċead-Aṫa. Atá Baile Aṫa Cliaṫ ar an Life. Fág an bád ins an aḃainn úd. Ní ḟaca mé an bád ag dul suas an loċ úd, ḃí se ag dul ar seaċrán ar an loċ. Fuair mé an bád beag so ar an loċ agus ṫáinig sé do’n oiléan árd úd.
§ 458. The Moy is wide enough in Ballina. That young man got a salmon in the Erne. Put that book in your pocket, it is not heavy. This big book is heavy. That big wide book. The Foyle is wide at Derry. The Barrow, the Boyne, the Nore, the Foyle. I went from the Erne to the Lee. Dermot went on the Lee down to Cork, and he went from Ireland to Scotland. He was never in Scotland.
EXERCISE LXXVI.
459. IRREGULAR WORDS. CLASS D.
The pronunciation of every language changes somewhat with time, and the
[ 178 ]spelling has to be changed to suit the pronunciation. There are thus many differences of spelling and pronunciation between Modern Irish as now written and spoken and the language as it was written and spoken centuries ago. But some common words, although their spelling has changed with the general change, have retained wholly or in part their old pronunciation. We have already met some specimens.
§ 460. I. PECULIAR VOWEL SOUNDS.
| Not | but | older Irish | |
| ag | og | eg | (oc) |
| ar | or | er | (or) |
| aige | ag′-ĕ | eg′-ĕ (§ 181) | (oige) |
| aigi | ak′-ee | ek′-ee (§ 181) | (oici) |
| beag | baG | beG | (beg) |
| raiḃ | rav | rev | (roiḃe) |
§ 461. I. CONSONANT SOUNDS.
The consonants which have in some words retained, to an unusual degree, traces of an older pronunciation are ḋ and ġ. At present ḋ and ġ broad are pronounced with the guttural sound which we denote by the Greek γ at the beginning of words only. There is evidence that at one time ḋ and ġ broad had this sound always, and some words retain it in whole or in part. Thus—
cróḋa, pron. krō′-γă, or krōg′-ă, brave.
diaḋa, — dee′-ă-γă, or dee′-ăg-ă, godly.
§ 462. So doruġa, a fishing line (dhŭr′-oo-a) is in Donegal doruga (dhŭr′-ug-a); and teaġlaċ, a family (tei′-laCH) is in Donegal teglaċ (teG′-laCH, and in some places teγ′-laCH).
§ 463. At the end of words ḋ broad is now silent. In Scottish Gaelic ruaḋ, etc, are yet pronounced roo′-aγ. Some terminations of verbs have preserved the sound partially in our Irish. Thus, the terminations aḋ, -eaḋ, of the 3rd singular of imperative, imperfect and conditional active of verbs are pronounced as a rule as -aCH, a softened form of an older pronunciation -aγ. Again, the perfect passive terminations -aḋ, -eaḋ are pronounced in parts of Munster as -aG, a slightly hardened form of aγ. Examples will be given in due course.
EXERCISE LXXVII.
§ 464. We have already seen that atá cóta nuaḋ ar Art (a new coat is on Art) is the Irish way of saying that Art is wearing a new coat. Thus also all sorts of burdens are said to be on a person, not only actual burdens of any sort, but such burdens as grief, trouble, anxiety, anger, pain, hunger, thirst, etc.
§ 465.
| ocras (ŭk′-răs), hunger | tart (thort), thirst, |
| tuirse (thursă), weariness | ualaċ (oo′-ăl-ăCH), a load, a burden. |
| orm (ŭrm), on me | orrainn (ŭr′-en), on us. |
| ort (ŭrth), on thee | orraiḃ (ŭr′-ev), on ye |
| air (er), on him[1] | orra (ŭr′-ă), on them. |
| uirri (er′-ĕ), on her[1] |
§ 466. Atá ocras ar Niall, atá tart ar Nóra. Taḃair deoċ do’n leanḃ, atá tart mór air. Ní ḟuil tart orm anois, fuair mé deoċ uisge ṡíos ag an tobar. An ḃfuil ocras ort? Ní ḟuil, aċt atá tart orm, taḃair deoċ ḋom. A Ḋiarmuid, taḃair an feur so do’n láir, atá ocras uirri. Ní ḟuil tart ar an láir úd, aċt atá ocras ar an asal óg so. Ná cuir ualaċ mór ar an asal úd, atá tuirse air anois, ḃí sé ag an margaḋ agus ualaċ mór coirce ar a ḋruim. An ḃfuil tuirse ort? Suiḋ síos.
§ 467. Atá tuirse orm, I am tired. Leig do sgíṫ (leg dhŭ shgeeh) rest yourself, literally, let (away) your weariness.
Open the door, we are tired; we are coming from Armagh. I am not tired, but there is a pain in my back. John is hungry, Mary is thirsty, Dermot is tired. Nora is sick. I am very hungry (great hunger is on me). Were ye very thirsty yesterday. We were, but we got a drink at that little well. That well is cold and wholesome. Dermot and Teig were in that place yesterday, and they were tired when they came home at (in the) night. Are you tired? I am not tired to-day. I was tired yesterday.
EXERCISE LXXVIII.
§ 468.
| aiṫṁeula (ah′-vael-), regret. | eagla (aGlă), fear. |
| brón (brōn), sorrow. | faitċíos (fat′-hees), fear, Connacht. |
| doilġíos (dhel′-yees), grief. | tinneas (tin′-ăs, sickness. |
| Mo ḃrón (mŭ vrōn), my sorrow, alas. |
§ 469. Ní raiḃ Gaeḋilge agam nuair ḃí mé óg, agus atá aiṫṁeula orm anois. Atá brón mór orrainn anois, atá ar n-aṫair marḃ. Nuair ṫáinig siad do’n áit úd, ḃí eagla orra. Ṫáinig eagla orm, aċt ní ḟaca mé taiḋḃse ar biṫ ins an áit sin. An ḃfuil faitċíos ort? Ata tinneas trom ar do ṁáṫair. Ní ḟuil ocras ar biṫ orm, aċt atá tinneas orm, agus atá tart mór orm.
§ 470. Come in and sit down and rest yourself. Sit down on that little stool; do not sit at the door, the day is cold and wet. Is that woman sick now? She is not; she was sick, but now she is strong. Do not give me that meat, I am not hungry. That grave is not wide. That young beagle is lost; we did our best. but we did not find the fox or the beagle. Our oats (ar-Ger′-kĕ) is growing in that place. Put that little boat in the river. The ship is on the Erne, and there is a tall mast and a big wide sail on her. Are you sick. No, I am in pain (a pain is on me). Good-bye.
EXERCISE LXXIX.
ASPIRATION OF THE ADJECTIVE.
§ 471. When an adjective follows a feminine noun in the nominative or objective case, the first consonant of the adjective is aspirated. Thus—
bean ṁór (ban Wōr), a big woman.
an ḃean ṁór (van Wōr), the big woman.
atá an ḃean ṁór ag an tobar, the big woman is at the well.
But áit ḟolláin (ŭL′-aun), a healthy place; atá an ḃean ḟionn (iN) ag an tobar, the fair-haired woman is at the well; Ní ḟuil Nóra ḃeag ag an doras little Nora is not at the door. Atá an ḃean ṁór (Wōr) so ruaḋ, this big woman is red-haired, etc.
§ 472. Words.
| ċuaiġ (CHoo′-ee), went | fuaċt (foo′-ăCHth), cold |
| cuṁa (koo′-ă), loneliness | slaġdán (sLei′-dhaun), a cold |
| fiacail (fee′-ăK-ăl), a tooth | déideaḋ (dae′-doo), toothache |
| tinneas fiacal, toothache. | |
| tinneas fairrge, sea-sickness. | |
§ 473. Ata Nóra ḃeag in a luiḋe; fuair sí fuaċt agus atá slaġdán urri. An ḟiacail so agus an ḟiacail úd. Ní ḟuil ocras orm, atá tinneas ḟiacal orm anois. Ċuaiḋ Máire go h-Albain, agus atá cuṁa uirri anois. Atá cuṁa ar Ḋiarmuid, atá a ṁac ag sdul go tír eile.
§ 474. I have a cold, I am not hungry, I am thirsty, give me a drink. The little mare is thirsty. She is not hungry, she got hay and oats now. The white cow is in the meadow. Are you afraid. No, but I am sick, I have the toothache to-day, as the weather is cold and wet. Dermot O’Kelly was standing at the door, and he got cold in his head (in a ċeann). Nora is lonely, her mother died and her brother and her sister went to another country. Do not stand on the road, the road is wet and you have a cold already (ċeana).
EXERCISE LXXX.
§ 475. 1. The white cow [is] young.
2. The little cow [is] white.
Upon examining these two sentences, it will be seen that in the first the word “white” comes before the verb “is,” in the second, the word “white” comes after the verb is. It is very important to note that in translating into Irish a sentence like the second above, the adjectives which follow the verb “is” are never aspirated or changed in any way.
1. Atá an ḃó ḃhán óg. (Wō Waun).
2. Atá an ḃó ḃeag bán, not ḃán.
So the sentence Atá an ḃó ḃeag bán would mean “The cow is small (and) white.”
§ 476. Níl Una ḃeag tinn, aċt atá tuirse uirri. Ná cuir an díallaid ḃeag ar an láir, aċt cuir an diallaid ṁór so uirri. Ní ḟaca mé Briġid án ag ḃan tobar, atá sí ins an teaċ, agus atá brón agus cuṁa uirri. Ċuaiḋ Sorċa síos an bóṫar mór anois. Atá an ḃó mór. Níl an ḃó ṁór ins an leuna. Níl bó ṁór aici, atá bó ḃeag aici.