PHONETIC REMARKS.
5
word, and when an affix containing the vowel a or ă has to be added:
| acest, | ‘this;’ | acéstă (fem.), | acésta. |
| drept, | ‘upright;’ | dréptă (fem.),„ | drépta, etc. |
With some of the words which have had the e modified into é the sound of e has subsequently disappeared; thus—
| fétă, | plur. fete | (girls), is | pronounced and written fată. |
| méssă, | plur.„ messe | (tables), | pronounced„ and written„ massă. |
| vétră, | plur.„ vetre | (hearths), | pronounced„ and written„ vatră. |
| véră, | plur.„ vere | (cousins), | pronounced„ and written„ vară. |
etc.
It is only by the plural that we discover that the a of the singular is a modification of e.
o.
ochanges into ó (oa) when we affix to the word, in which it occurs accented, a syllable containing one of the vowels a, ă, e:
| eŭ port, | ‘I wear;’ | el pórtă, ‘he wears.’ |
| pórte (el), | ‘let him wear’ | (imperat). |
| frumos, | ‘handsome,’ | frumóssă, frumóssa. |
etc.
Note.—This modification is not made in imported words, or in neologisms:
| onest, ‘honest;’ | onestă. |
| chines, | chinesă. |
| engles, | englesă. |
| eŭ onor, ‘I honour;’ | el onoră, ‘he honours.’ |
It is impossible, however, to attempt to alter those cases in
