words beginning with consonants, and to drop them at other times. In the northern dialect the tendency rather is not only to keep them where they existed already, but to affix them wherever it is possible to do so, e.g., deimhinn, O.Ir. demin, is in West Ross-shire deimhinne, and suilbhir, O.Ir. sulbir, is suilbhire there and in North Argyll. In East Perth and Strathspey, and, to a less extent, in Sutherland, the tendency is to drop a final a or e in all cases and circumstances. Even words like comharradh, a mark, còmhnadh, assistance, conaltradh, company, masladh, shame, osnadh, a sigh, Geamhradh and Samhradh, come under its influence in East Perth and in Strathspey, and are respectively, in both those districts, comharr, còmhan, conaltar, masal, osunn, Geamhar and Samhar, or indeed more nearly comhr, còmhn, conaltr, masl, osn, Geamhr and Samhr. Madadh, dog, wolf, appears in Perthshire in more than one place-name, as mad, and fasadh, a dwelling, the word met with in Fasnacloich, Fassiefern, Dochanassie, etc., occurs once as Fas, the name that is Englished as Foss, but with Fasaidh as its genitive.
w
A w is heard in Arran in some of those cases in which a and ao are changed to e, è, or é (pp. 228, 236 supra), and in Skye and Sutherland takes the place of u in certain instances (p. 233 supra).
W sometimes arises from bh, mh, and dh. Abhag is pronounced sometimes a-ug, and sometimes awag; seanamhàthair is seanavair, seanu-air and seanawair, and odhar is o-ar and owar. Such cases as call for remark will be taken under the respective consonants.
y
A y sound in the south and east has taken the place, to a great extent, of e and i in the diagraphs ea, eo, io, and iu in accented syllables. Bealaidh is byalaidh and eala yala; eòlas is yòlas, eòrna yòrna, and ceòl cyòl. Other examples have been given in dealing with io and iu. The dialect of the
