Graiméar na Gaedhilge/Part I Chapter VI
CHAPTER VI.
Syncope.
33. Whenever, in a word of two or more syllables an unaccented vowel or digraph occurs in the last syllable between a liquid (l, m, n, r) and any other consonant, or between two liquids, the unaccented vowel or digraph is elided whenever the word is lengthened by a grammatical inflection beginning with a vowel. This elision of one or more unaccented vowels from the body of an Irish word is called syncope; and when the vowels have been elided the word is said to be syncopated.
34. The only difficulty in syncope is that it often involves slight changes in the other vowels of the syncopated word, in accordance with the rule caol le caol,
35. The following examples will fully exemplify the method of syncopating words.
(a) Nouns.
The genitive singular of—
| maidin (morning) | is | maidne | not | maidine | ||
| obair (work} | " | oibre | " | obaire | ||
| carraig (a rock) | " | cairrge | " | carraige | ||
| pinginn piġinn |
(a penny) | " " |
pingne piġne |
" " |
pinginne piġinne | |
| caḃair (help) | " | caḃra | " | caḃara | ||
| caṫair (a city) | " | caṫraċ | " | caṫaraċ | ||
| lasair (a flame) | " | lasraċ | " | lasaraċ | ||
| olann (wool) | " | olna | " | olanna | ||
| buiḋean (a company) | " | buiḋne | " | buiḋine | ||
| bruiġean (a palace)[W 1] | " | bruiġne | " | bruiġine | ||
(b) Adjectives.
The genitive singular feminine of—
| saiḋḃir (rich) | is | saiḋḃre | not | saiḋḃire |
| flaiṫeaṁail (princely) | " | flaiṫeaṁla | " | flaiṫeaṁala |
| áluinn (beautiful) | " | áilne | " | áluinne |
| aoiḃinn (pleasant) | " | aoiḃne | " | aoiḃinne |
| uasal (noble) | " | uaisle | " | uasaile |
(c) Verbs.
| Root. | Pres. Indicative. | ||
| codail | codlaim, I sleep, | not | codailim. |
| siuḃail | siuḃlaim, I walk, | " | siuḃailim. |
| innis | innsim, I tell, | " | innisim. |
| abair | abraim, I say, | " | abairim. |
| laḃair | laḃraim, I speak, | " | laḃairim. |
The same contraction takes place in these and like verbs in all the finite tenses except the future and conditional (old forms). See par. 298.
A thorough knowledge of when and how Syncope takes place will obviate many difficulties.
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