above, § 78, we have given the pronunciation of some, viz:—
| am, time | im, butter |
| binn, sweet | mall, slow |
| crann, a tree | mill, destroy |
| dall, blind | poll, a hole |
| donn, brown-haired | trom, heavy |
81. milis sweet to taste; binn, sweet to hear.
82. Atá blas milis ar an im úr. Atá Art óg agus atá sé dall. Atá poll mór ag an dún. Atá crann mór ag fás ar an árdán. Atá an capall mall. Atá an mála trom, níl an mála lán fós. Ná mill an balla árd. Níl Conn bán, atá sé donn. Atá Tomás ag an doras, agus atá Úna ag dul anonn do’n tobar. Níl Art trom, atá sé óg agus lag fós.
§ 83. Leave bread and butter on the stool. Do not praise a slow horse. There is a large, green tree at the well. Conn is blind; Art is not blind. The boat is long and heavy. The tree is not green yet; the tree is dry. There is no bread on the floor. The heavy boat is on the land. Do not break the heavy lock; leave the door closed. Leave the heavy bag on the floor.
EXERCISE X.
§ 84. Other examples of Munster pronunciation:—
| Conn. | Munster | |
| cam, crooked | kom | koum |
| Cill-dara, Kildare | kil-dhor′-ă | keel-dhor′-ă |
| fonn, air of song | fŭN | fouN |
| gann, scarce | goN | gouN |
| linn, a pool | lin | leen |
| tinn, sick | tin | teen, tein |
§ 85. The sounding of ó as ú, sometimes heard in Munster, is to be avoided, as Nóra (Noor′-ă), mór (moor), nó (Noo).
§ 86. Bí is the imperative mood, second person singular, of the verb, “to be;” as, Ná bí mall, do not be late.
| § 87. | dán (dhaun) a poem | ród (rōdh) a road |
| long (Lŭng) a ship | sinn (shin) we | |
| ór (ōr) gold |
§ 88. Níl tú ag Cill-dara, atá tú ag Gránárd fós. Atá mé tinn, lag. Atá an bád mór, trom, ar an linn. Atá long ar an tír. Níl long ar an tír, atá bád mór ar an tír, agus atá an bád úr ar an linn fós. Atá im úr gann. Atá sinn ag dul do’n tobar, fág solas ag an doras. Atá an crann mór, ag an linn, glas fós. Níl tú óg, atá sinn óg fós. Atá an crann cam. Crann mór, cam. Atá sinn mall. Atá fonn binn ar an dán. Atá an glas trom. Ná bí mall, ná fan ag an dún árd. Atá an dán úr. Atá an fonn úr binn. Atá an ród cam. Níl tú ar an ród fós.
§ 89. There is a green tree at Kildare. Do not leave the heavy boat on the land. The ship is new. A new ship is going. Thomas and Art are sick yet. Thomas is not sick. Gold is scarce. There is gold at the fort. We are not warm yet. There is a sweet taste on the fresh bread. The young tree is growing yet. There is not a sweet air in the long poem. The poem is not long. The wall is high. The ship is not heavy; the boat is full and heavy. There is a heavy lock in the high door. You are not weak; you are young and healthy. Art is wearing a new coat, and the coat is long (and) heavy. The young horse is on the road.
EXERCISE XI.
§ 90. SOUNDS OF GROUPS OF VOWELS.
In Irish, as in English, vowels are grouped together in three ways. (1.) In the word ruin, the u and i are pronounced separately; the u being pronounced distinctly, and the i somewhat obscurely. The same may be said of the e and a in the word real. (2.) In the word round, the sounds of o and u melt into each other, forming what we call a diphthong. (3.) In the word mean, the ea represents one simple vowel sound, like that of e in me. But as this one vowel sound is represented in writing by two letters, these two letters, ea, are called a digraph. Other digraphs are ai in main, ou in through, ae in Gaelic, ao in gaol, oa in goal, etc. We shall now examine the vowel-groups in Irish.
§ 91. SOUNDS OF ia AND ua.
| ia | is pronounced | ee-ă | almost like | ea | in | real. |
| ia | „ | oo-ă | „ | ui | „ | ruin. |
Each vowel is pronounced separately, the second vowel being obscure.
§ 92. WORDS.
| cuan (koo′-ăn), a harbour | Niall (nee′-ăL), Niall |
| Dia (dee′-ă), God | sgian (shgee′-ăn), a knife |
| fial (fee′-ăl), generous | siad (shee′-ădh), they |
| fuar (foo′-ăr), cold | suas (soo′-ăs), up, upwards |
| gual (goo′-ăl), coal | uan (oo′-ăn), a lamb |
§ 93. Atá an lá fuar, tirim. Níl an lá fuar, atá an lá te tirim. Níl Niall agus Art tinn, atá siad óg agus slán. Fág an
