Part 7 (1/2)

It seems, therefore, unnecessary to employ any more vowels in the adjected syllable than what are sufficient to represent its own vocal sound The rule under consideration has, notwithstanding, been extended to the orthography of the oblique cases and tenses, and a supernumerary vowel has been thrown into the termination, whenever that was requisite to preserve the supposed necessary correspondence with the foregoing syllable Thus, in for the nominative and dative plural of ular, which letters fully express the true sound of these terular is broad, _an_ alone is added for the nominative plural; as, lamh-an _hands_, cluas-an _ears_ But if the last vowel be small, an _e_ is thrown into the termination; as, suil-ean _eyes_, srin-ean _noses_ Now if it be observed that, in the two last examples, the small sound of the _l_ and _n_ in the root is deter small vowel _i_, hich they are necessarily connected in one syllable, and that the letters _an_ fully represent the sound of the termination, it ether superfluous So in for the dative plural: if the last vowel of the root be small, _ibh_ is added; as, suil-ibh, sroin-ibh But if the last vowel of the root is broad, the termination is written _aibh_; as, lamh-aibh, cluas-aibh, where the _a_, for the reason already assigned, is totally useless

These observations apply with equal justness to the tenses of verbs, as will be seen by co examples: creid-idh _will believe_, stad-aidh _will stop_; chreid-inn _I would believe_, stad-_a_inn _I would stop_; creid-_e_am _let me believe_, stad-am _let me stop_; creid-ibh _believe ye_, stad-_a_ibh _stop ye_

The same observationsto their pri_, _an_, _ail_, _as_; in all which _e_ has been unnecessarily introduced, when the last vowel of the preceding syllable was s_; naomh-achd _holiness_, doimhn-_e_achd _depth_; sruth-an _a rivulet_, cuil-_e_an _a whelp_; cauch-ag _a little cup_, cail-_e_ag _a girl_; fear-ail _manly_, caird-_e_il _friendly_[25]; ceart-as _justice_, caird-_e_as _friendshi+p_

The foregoing observations appear sufficient to establish this general conclusion, that in all cases in which a vowel serves neither to exhibit the vocal sound, nor to s_, itbetter than an useless incumbrance

There see the present systeraphy, by the rejection of a considerable number of quiescent vowels[26]

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Almost the only quiescent consonants which occur in Gaelic are _d_, _f_, _g_, _s_, _t_, in their aspirated state When these occur in the inflections of declinable words, serving to indicate the Root, or in derivatives, serving to point out the priht, on the whole, be unadvisable Even when such letters appear in their absolute forh they have been laid aside in pronunciation, yet it would be rash to discard the, as they often serve to show the affinity of the words in which they are found to others in different languages, or in different dialects of the Celtic The aspirated for sufficiently shows that, in speaking, its articulation is either attenuated or wholly suppressed

The writers of Gaelic see into apposition thich belong to different syllables For this purpose they have sometimes introduced a quiescent consonant into the neidheil, or rather gnethail _kindly_, ne and ail; beothail _lively_, ular dia; lathaibh _days_, froular la, &c

It may at least bear a question, whether it would not be better to allow the vowels to denote the sound of the word by their oers, without the intervention of quiescent consonants, as has been done in {35} mnaibh _women_, deibh _Gods_, rather than insert consonants which have nothing to do with either the radical or the superadded articulations of the word

Froraphy, the writers of Gaelic, in spelling words wherein quiescent consonants occurred, must have been often doubtful which of two or three consonants was the proper one, andthe saly we find, in many instances, the same words written by different writers, and even at different times by the same writer, with different quiescent consonants This variation affects not indeed the pronunciation, or does it in a very slight degree Hence, however, soe only fro, have taken occasion to vilify it, as unfixed and nonsensical[27] A proper attention to the affinity which the Scottish Gaelic bears to soes, particularly to other dialects of the Celtic, raphy in some cases where it appears doubtful, or has become variable[28]

IV The last principle to be raphy, is that every sound ought to be represented by a corresponding character Frole deviation in Gaelic, as there is no sound in the spoken language which is not, in soe The fault of the Gaelic orthography is sometimes a redundancy, but never a deficiency of letters

A few observations on thesome particular words, or particular parts of speech, reht forward in the sequel of this work, which it would be premature to introduce here

The Scottish writers of Gaelic in general followed the Irish orthography, till after the middle of the last century However that system may suit the dialect of Ireland, it certainly is not adapted to the Gaelic of this country In the Gaelic translation of the New Testament, printed in 1767, not only were most of the Irish idioms and inflections which had been ads rejected, and the language adapted to the dialect of the Scottish Highlands, but the orthography also was adapted to the language In later publications, the radually assimilated to that pattern The Gaelic version of the sacred Scriptures lately published has exhibited a reeable to the purest Scottish idioed as the standard in both Little seeraphy of the Scottish Gaelic such a degree of uniformity as may redeem its credit and ensure its stability This, it is to be hoped, ard to the separate, and especially the relative powers of the letters, to the most common and approved modes of pronunciation, to the affinity of the Scottish Gaelic with other branches of the Celtic tongue, to the analogy of inflection and derivation, and, above all, to the authority of soenerally received standard, to which pre-eminence the late Gaelic version of the Scriptures has the only indisputable claim

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PART II

OF THE PARTS OF SPEECH

The parts of speech in Gaelic ed as follows:--Article, Noun, Adjective, pronoun, Verb, Adverb, Preposition, Conjunction, Interjection Of these, the first five are declinable; the other four are indeclinable

CHAPTER I

OF THE ARTICLE

The Gaelic article an corresponds to the English definite article _the_

There is in Gaelic no indefinite article corresponding to the English _a_ or _an_ The inflections of the article are but few They depend on the gender, the number, and the case, of the noun to which it is prefixed

Hence the article is declined by gender, nuular Plural

_Masc_ _Fem_ _Masc & Fem_ _Nom_ an, am an, a' na _Gen_ an, a' na nan, naular, final _n_ of the article is sometimes cut off, and its absence marked by an apostrophe The saular

CHAPTER II