55
- nχ, e.g. ʃαnəχəsk, ‘chat, talk, story-telling’, O.Ir. senchas.
- nf, e.g. ko̤nəfαχ, ‘irritable’, Meyer confadach.
As v, mʹ are not included among the palatal consonants mentioned in § 74, they may be preceded by ə, e.g. dʹelʹəv, ‘form’, M.Ir. deilb (acc.); enʹəvi꞉, ‘animal’, Meyer anmide; enʹəvïsαχ, ‘ignorant’, Meyer anfiss; ə Nʹinʹəv, ‘in a fit state to do a thing’, inʹəv alone is used in the sense of ‘vigour’, as in Nerʹ ə fuirʹ mʹə bʹiʃαχ Nʹi꞉ ro inʹəv əNəm, ‘when I recovered, there was no strength in me’. This is doubtless the same word as inme, ‘wealth’ (Laws), Di. inmhe, ‘estate or patrimony’. Further Lʹinʹəv, gen. sing. of Lʹαnuw, ‘child’; skærʹəv, ‘sandy shore of a river’, Di. scairbh; ʃelʹəv, ‘possession’, M.Ir. seilb (acc.). For examples of ə with ꬶr, ꬶl see § 338. Sometimes we find ə where we might expect i, as in ærʹəgʹïd, ‘money’.
A svarabhakti vowel may also be heard between two words when the first begins[1] and the second commences with a consonant, as in kʹiLʹə ·χαr̥ə, ‘Kilcar’ (this is J. H.’s invariable pronunciation); əN mw⅄꞉ʃə ʃə, ‘in my time’; ɛgʹ mα hi꞉vəʃə, ‘at my side’.
(d) The diphthongs.
1. αi.
§ 139. αi usually represents O.Ir. a followed by palatal th, e.g. mαiç, ‘good’, O.Ir. maith; αihərə, ‘short cut’, Meyer aith-gerre; flαihiʃ, ‘heaven’ < O.Ir. flaith; αiç ·o꞉Nə, ‘colt’s foot’, Hogan aithinn; fʹïlu꞉N sαiç, ‘red hives’; bʹαihαχ, ‘lively’, Craig (Iasg.) beaitheach; skαiç, ‘the best of’ as in riNʹ ʃɛ skαiç Le꞉ NʹUw̥, from an oblique case of M.Ir. scoth. In words of the form α, ɔ + h + i꞉ (i) there is a distinct tendency to introduce the palatal vowel of the second syllabic into the first, thus producing αi. Hence athair may become aithir, Chr. Bros. Aids to Pron. of Irish p. 86, similarly maithir for mathair in Glencolumbkille, G. J. 1891 p. 79. Examples—kαihi꞉, ‘temptation’, also kαhi꞉, spelt cathaidh in Litir an Chorgais of diocese of Raphoe 1904 and Spir. Rose p. 20, plur. kαihiəNỹ꞉, kαihiɔrʹ, ‘tempter’, Di. cathuighim, M.Ir. cathaigim. Similarly kαihirʹ, ‘chair’, Di. cathaoir, M.Ir. catháir, Sg. Fearn. caithir p. 63; kαir̥ʹiɔrʹ, ‘citizen’, kαir̥ʹαχə, plur. of kαhærʹ, M.Ir. cathir (catháir and cathir have been confused in Donegal). Lαiç, ‘mud’, M.Ir. lathach, scarcely belongs here. The word probably followed the declension of blα꞉χ, blα꞉içə. Hence gen. sing. Lαiçə from which a new nominative was formed. Infinitives of the form x + αhuw might have in the preterite
