Book 2:
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Preface
Phonetics

Dictionary

exercise LXVI

§ 390. Eclipsis of l, n, s, r

These letters are not eclipsed; the n of the eclipsing word disappears.

This was not always the case. Instead of in leaḃar, in a book, we often find in older Irish i lleaḋar; so for in ród we find irród ; for in muir, mmuir, for in niṫ, in nniṫ.

Examples

§ 391. M and b

Instead of continuing to say arn bád, our boat, in bád, in a bot, the speakers of Irish found it easier to say arm bád, im bád; by degrees these were pronounced arm ád, im ád, but to keep a record of the original word, we now write ar mbád ( ăr-maudh), i mbád ( ă maudh). Here again we see that the eclipsed letter, b, is not noticed at all in the pronunciation.

§ 392. Translate into English

• Atá Conn agus Niall ar an loḋ anois i mbád.
• Ní raiḃ mé i mbád ar biṫ, ḃí mé ar an aill.
• Ní’l ḃur mbó sean, atá sí óg fós, agus atá bainne go leor aici.
• Ná cuir uisge i mbainne (mwan'-ĕ); ná cuir bainne ins an uisge.
• Ní’l bárd mór in Éirinn anois, fuair an mbárd (maurdh)bás.
• Níl aol ar ḃur mballa. (moL'- ă)

§ 393. Translate into IRish

• The bard found the poem in a book.
• The story is not in any book.
• We have no ship, our ship is lost.
• There is no sail in your boat, your sail is lost.
• There was a large hole in your sail.
• Our bread and our milk.

note that
phonetic
symbols
are not
necessarily pronounced
as in English

See § 13-16