Irish/Déise Irish

The main page for describing the Déise dialect of Irish

Initial Mutations

Substantives

Following Simple Prepositions

Following Simple Prepositions with the Singular Article

Substantives are affected by one of two forms of mutation, lenition or eclipsis, or no mutation, following a simple preposition and an article.

Simple Preposition and Article Combinations

The following simple prepositions with articles are found in Déise Irish:

• (ai)ge ‘n,
• ar a’,
• as a’,
• d(h)e ‘n,
• d(h)o ‘n,
• fé ‘n,
• ó ‘n,
• (go) dtí ‘n,
• leis a’,
• thar a’,
• and (in)s a(n).

Lenition

Under this context, the following consonants are affected by lenition:

• b to bh,
• p to ph,
• g to gh,
• c to ch,
• and s to ts.

Eclipsis

Under this context, the following consonants are affected by eclipsis:

• b to mb,
• p to bp,
• g to ng,
• c to gc,
• and f to bhf.

No Mutation

Under this context, the following consonants which can appear as unmutated initials in substantives are not affected by mutation:

• d,
• t,
• m,
• n,
• l,
• r
• or h.

Contributing Factors

The following factors contribute towards determining the type of mutation used on the initial of the substantive:

• The form of the preposition when used with the article (e.g. leis rather than le), whether it ends in a vowel or a consonant.
• The initial consonant of the substantive:
  • b, g or f
  • p or c
  • s

General Rules

1. b, g and f undergo eclipsis following all preposition and article combinations.
2. s, only in the case of feminine substantives, undergoes lenition following all preposition and article combinations. It does not mutate if the substantive is masculine.
3. p and c undergo lenition following ins a’ (or sa).
4. p and c undergo eclipsis following all other preposition and article combinations where the prepositional form ends in a consonant.
5. p and c undergo lenition following all preposition and article combinations where the prepositional form ends in a vowel.

Initial mutations caused by preposition + singular article

	Substantive Initial
	b	g	f	p	c	s
(ai)ge 'n	E	E	E	L	L	L
d(h)e 'n	E	E	E	L	L	L
d(h)o 'n	E	E	E	L	L	L
fé 'n	E	E	E	L	L	L
ó 'n	E	E	E	L	L	L
(go) dtí 'n	E	E	E	L	L	L
ar a'	E	E	E	E	E	L
as a'	E	E	E	E	E	L
leis a'	E	E	E	E	E	L
thar a'	E	E	E	E	E	L
(in)s a(n)	E	E	E	L	L	L

Deviations to the Rules

• Contrary to rule #5, p has a tendency to not undergo lenition, but this can be a case of alternating pronunciations as recorded among native Déise Irish speakers.
• Contrary to rule #3, (in)s a(n) had a greater tendency to cause eclipses on initial p and c in South Tipperary, but lenition among the speakers from this area was also noted. Eclipsis has also been noted among speakers from Waterford, but this isn’t typical and might only occur with certain words and as an alternating pronunciation.
• Contrary to rule #1, a speaker in South Tipperary had a tendency to lenite initial b and g, but his usage of lenition in this context was inconsistent and he regularly used eclipsis instead.