THE GAELIC DIALECTS.
(Continuation.)
IV.
Observations concerning r.
(1) Just as rl becomes l so rs becomes s as in ars’, ors’ 'quoth, said':
| as es | said he | ɑs ˑɛſ | |
| os es | ɔs ˑɛſ. |
Also in N. Inv. r in rt combinations becomes rſt but not in Cintire, Arran, Sutherland. It is most frequent of all in Harris, W. Skye, N. Uist where
ord 'hammer' becomes (ɔɔṛſḍ)
versus (ɔsḍ) of Tiree, Iona, South of Mull, many parts of S. Uist, Barra, Benbecula, where, also, for instance, airson (-errˑſon) 'because' becomes (eˑson). In Reay this feature is noticeably absent and the d in ōrd, bōrd is alveolar. And in such words as aghairt, toirt one may hear in Sutherland a voiceless front r + alveolar t followed by a slight escape of breath.
(2) In N. Inv. r is often epenthetic, more so than in other dialects, e. g.:
trog 'lift' for tog
brianadh 'fur' for bian
breatāllion for E. batallion
frachd 'host' for feachd.
It is found also in Kintail and Reay, and at least in one instance in Reay where it is absent in N. Inv. e. g.:
| Reay | N. Inv. |
| grath-muing 'mane'. | kgɑ ˑmu̯i. |
