before n it may be preserved or not: (ooivnəs) aoibhneas 'joy', but (koinɑs) coibhneas, generally erroneously written caoimhneas 'kindness'; in N. Inv. before l it drops: amhainn (avf-an‘ in Mc Alpines Dict.) 'entanglement' is in N. Inv. and Gairloch (ɑ̯-aṇṇ), though in other words the North often takes up the oblique case, as in word for 'river'; (eilak) eibhleag, 'a live coal'; N. Inv. (feelək) féileadh, 'kilt', in Uist (an tſeelaᵹ), but in May and Colonsay (an tſevlaᵹ, añ cjevlaᵹ) an t-eibhleadh, a pronunciation which suggests it cannot be a loan from L. vêlum 'a covering' which has been borrowed as fíal 'a veil',—perhaps its older form may be seen in E. Ir. úan febli. The literary dialect has sometimes inserted, on the other band, (v) where it did not exist in O. Ir.: e. g. (suvalc) subhailc, 'virtue', O. Ir. sualig 'virtus', represented in N. Inv. (sŭ́ɑlc‘); cf. Subalt in Egerton Ms. for Sualdaim.
(3) After s as in (esvi) easbhuidh 'want' but in N. Inv. (esi); also in Argyll and Arran from mh medial: (ɑ̯vark) amharc 'looking, seeing', but in N. Inv. and Sutherland &c. (ɑu̯rak); (ɑ̯vɑras) amharus 'suspicion', but in N. Inv. (ˑo̯-œ̯-ras) as also (ɑu̯lar) amhlair, 'a boor'; mhgh > gh with nasalization of preceding vowel as in (ɑɑ̯ᵹar) àmhghair 'grief'.
(4) In finals written -mh, e. g. (kʌʌ̯v) caomh 'gentle', (nʌʌ̯v) naomh 'holy'; also in Argyll in bh final e. g. (ṭœœv) taobh 'side', but in N. Inv. (ṭʌʌv), and in Harris and Sutherland (ṭuu) and (ṭuuv). In (kɔ̯h) comh- 'with' and (ᵹɔ̯h) 'to me' it drops; the latter word varies in N. Inv. where three pronunciations occur (ᵹɔ̯h), (ᵹɔ̯m‘), (ᵹɔ̯v): (ɑ̯v) amh 'raw', but in N. Inv. (ɑu̯, ɑu̯w). In Uist and many of the isles (v) occurs in bh final e. g. (ṭhɑrav) tarbh 'bull', gen. (ṭheriv), but in the Aird this is (ṭhɑra) gen. (ṭherij), and so on in words of this type like marbh, sgarbh. Sutherland here agrees with N. Inv. save that (v) > (u) e. g. (mɑru, mɑruw) marbh, 'dead'.
(5) In several dialects, island and mainland (v) also comes from -gh medial and final: (łeev) leugh, 'read'; (a łeevaᵹ) a' leughadh 'reading' but in the Aird (ˑłiiɑ-ak): (łeev) leugh, léigh, 'physician' but in Islay (łeeᵹ, łeeij); (pbɔɔrəv) borgh, whence the Highland Borve, 'a sort of fort', so frequent in place names taken from the Norse; (eev) 'cry'—Sutherland, for (eeᵹ) éigh; O. Ir. égem. It is this change which explains
