Irish/Déise Irish

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The main page for describing the Déise dialect of Irish

Morphosyntax

Verbs

Analytic and Synthetic Forms

South Tipperary

In the variety of Déise Irish that was spoken in South Tipperary, the following conjugations of the verb bí along with the most typical analytic and synthetic forms are given: [note 1]

Conjugation of bí in South Tipperary
Stem Form 1st Sg. 2nd Sg. 3rd Masc. Sg. 3rd Fem. Sg. 1st Pl. 2nd Pl. 3rd Pl. Conjugation Category
thá thá me thá tu [note 2] thá sé thá sí tháimíd thá sibh thá siad indicative present independent affirmative
nín nín me [note 3] nín tu nín sé nín sí nínimíd [note 4] nín sibh nín siad indicative present independent negative
fuil fuil me fuil tu fuil sé fuil sí fuilimíd fuil sibh fuil siad indicative present dependent
bhí bhí me bhí tu bhí sé bhí sí bhíomar [note 5] bhíobhair bhíodar indicative past independent
raibh raibh me raibh tu raibh sé raibh sí raibheamar [note 5] raibheabhair raibheadar indicative past dependent
beidh beidh me beidh tu beidh sé beidh sí beimíd beidh sibh beidh siad indicative future
bíonn bím bíonn tu bíonn sé bíonn sí bímíd bíonn sibh bíonn siad indicative present habitual
bhíodh bhínn bhítheá bhíodh sé bhíodh sí bhímíst bhíodh sibh bhídís indicative past habitual
bheadh bheinn bheitheá bheadh sé bheadh sí bheimíst bheadh sibh bheidís conditional

Note: as is typical throughout Déise Irish, the interrogatives an bhfuil? and cá bhfuil? are pronounced as buil? (dropping the an particle) and cáil? (merging cá and bhfuil) respectively; otherwise, the pronunciation of bhfuil is generally as expected.

Prepositions

Prepositional Pronouns

Prepositions and their prepositional pronouns
Preposition 1st Sg. 2nd Sg. 3rd Masc. Sg. 3rd Fem. Sg. 1st Pl. 2nd Pl. 3rd Pl.
aige [note 6] [note 7] agam agat aige aici againn agaibh acu
ar [note 8] [note 9] orm [note 10] ort air uirthi or uirthí eirinn [note 11] or orthainn or orainn oraibh [note 12] ora [note 13] or ortha
as asam asat as aiste asainn asaibh asta
chún chúm chút chuige chúithe chúinn chúibh chútha
de or dhe [note 14] díom or dhíom díot or dhíot de or dhe di or dhi dínn or dhínn díbh or dhíbh díobh or dhíobh
do or dho [note 14] dom or dhom [note 15] doit or dhoit do or dho [note 16] di or dhi [note 17] dúinn or dhúinn díbh or dhíbh dóibh or dhóibh
fé fúm fút fé or féig or féighe fúithi fúinn [note 18] fúibh [note 18] fútha
i [note 19] ionam [note 20] ionat [note 21] ann [note 22] inti ionainn [note 23] ionaibh [note 24] iontu or annta
idir [note 25] [note 26] - - - - eadarainn eadaraibh eatarra
le or lé liom leat leis léithe or léi linn libh leotha or leo
ó bhuam or bhuaim or uam or uaim bhuait or uait bhuaidh or uaidh bhuaithe or uaithe bhuainn or uainn bhuaibh or uaibh bhuatha or uatha
roimh (roi) or roimhigh (roig) or roimhe romham (rúm) romhat (rút) roimhigh (roig) or roimhe rúimpe or roimpe romhainn (rúinn) romhaibh (rúibh) rúmpa or rompa
thar or thear thorm or thearm thorat or thearat theiris or thairis or theairis or thiris thóirste or thóiste thorainn or thearainn or theirinn or thirinn thoraibh or thearaibh thórsta or thósta
trí tríom tríot tríd tríthe trínn tríbh tríotha
um [note 27] iomam or umam iomat or umat imigh or uimigh ímpe or oimpe iomainn or umainn iomaibh or umaibh iompa or umpa


Initial Mutations

Initial Mutations of Nouns

Following Simple Prepositions [note 28]

Without the Article
Lenition

The following simple prepositions cause lenition: [note 29]

  • ar
  • de
  • do
  • fé
  • idir
  • mar
  • ó
  • thear [note 30]
  • trí
  • um
Eclipsis

The following simple prepositions cause eclipsis:

h-Prothesis

The following simple prepositions cause h-prothesis:

No Mutation

The following simple prepositions cause no mutation:

  • aige
  • as [note 33]
  • go dtí, dtí
  • roimh, roimhig
With the Singular Article [7]

Non-verbal nouns are affected by one of two forms of mutation, lenition or eclipsis, or no mutation, following a combination of a simple preposition and the singular article.

Simple Preposition and Article Combinations

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

  • aige ‘n,
  • ar an,
  • as an,
  • de ‘n,
  • do ‘n,
  • fé ‘n,
  • ó ‘n,
  • roimh ‘n,
  • (go) dtí ‘n,
  • leis an,
  • thear an,
  • tríd an,
  • and ins an.
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. [note 34]
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 nouns[note 35] 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 noun:

  • The form of the preposition when used with the article,[note 36] whether it ends in a vowel or a consonant.
  • The initial consonant of the noun:
General Rules
  1. b, g and f undergo eclipsis following all preposition and article combinations.
  2. s, only in the case of feminine nouns[note 34], undergoes lenition following all preposition and article combinations. It does not mutate if the noun 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
Noun Initial
b g f p c s [note 34]
aige ‘n E E E L L L
de ‘n E E E L L L
do ‘n E E E L L L
fé ‘n E E E L L L
ó ‘n E E E L L L
roimh ‘n E E E L L L
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
thear a’ E E E E E L
tríd a’ E E E E E L
ins a’ E E E L L L
Deviations to the Rules
  • 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.
  • Contrary to rule #3, ins an (or sa) 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 #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.

Notes

  1. ↑ Ó Maolchathaigh specifically details the paradigms for the forms bhí, thá, beidh, bheadh and bhíodh (alongside a paradigm for bhuail which functions exactly the same as the paradigm for bhí).[1] The remaining paradigms are retrieved elsewhere[2] or presumed by analogy.
  2. ↑ Míchéal Ó Maoldhamhna gives thár as a form in conas tathár?.[2] Ó Maolchathaigh gives táir as a form in conas táir?.[3]
  3. ↑ Míchéal Ó Maoldhamhna gives nínim.[2]
  4. ↑ Míchéal Ó Maoldhamhna gives nínmíd.[2]
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 While Ó Maolchathaigh had -amar endings, Míchéal Ó Maoldhamhna had -amair endings.[4]
  6. ↑ The form age is actually the same as the 3rd person masculine singular form aige, but spelled this way (by some people) to distinguish between the two in writing. Though often others will just use the more standard form ag in writing.
  7. ↑ aige can reduce to aig’, ‘ge or ‘g’; aige is used when the preceding word ends with a consonant and the following word begins with a consonant; aig’ is used when the preceding word ends with a consonant and the following word begins with a vowel; ‘ge is used when the preceding word ends with a vowel (or in initial position) and the following word begins with a consonant; ‘g’ is used when the preceding word ends with a vowel (or in initial position) and the following word begins with a vowel. aige and its pronominal forms have the stress on the second syllable and all are prone to dropping the initial vowel in initial position or when preceded by a word ending in a vowel, e.g. ‘gam, ‘gat, ‘ge, ‘ci, ‘gainn, ‘gaibh and ‘cu.
  8. ↑ The form ar is actually the same as the 3rd person masculine singular form air, but spelled this way to distinguish between the two in writing.
  9. ↑ Unlike aige, the stress can vary between the first or second syllable among the pronominal forms, often dropping the initial vowel, as in the 1st person singular rom, and when the initial vowel in the monosyllabic forms can be elided by a preceding vowel, as in the 2nd person singular ‘rt.
  10. ↑ Sometimes reduced to rom.
  11. ↑ Sometimes reduced to ‘rinn.
  12. ↑ Sometimes reduced to ‘ribh.
  13. ↑ Sometimes reduced to ‘ra.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Other than the pronominal forms (except for the 2nd person plural), de and do are indistinguishable. ‘ge, the reduced form of aige, is sometimes used by some speakers due to analogous delenition of dhe or dho.
  15. ↑ Emphatic form dúmhsa or dhúmhsa.
  16. ↑ Emphatic form dósan or dhósan.
  17. ↑ Emphatic form dísin or dhísin.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Sheehan gives nothing for the 1st and 2nd person plural pronominal forms of fé.[5]
  19. ↑ In the pronominal forms, the initial syllable is often unstressed and can by elided by preceding vowels..
  20. ↑ Often reduced to ‘num. The general emphatic form is numsa.
  21. ↑ The general emphatic form is nutsa.
  22. ↑ The general emphatic form is on.
  23. ↑ Sometimes reduced to ‘nainn.
  24. ↑ Sometimes reduced to ‘naibh.
  25. ↑ Often reduced to‘dir.
  26. ↑ idir has no conjugated forms for the singular persons.
  27. ↑ The quality of the initial vowel in the prepositional pronouns depends on the quality of a preceding consonant.
  28. ↑ Simple prepositions can take either the nominative or dative form of the following noun, the latter being more traditional in Munster grammar.
  29. ↑ f generally avoids being lenited.
  30. ↑ thear does not cause lenition when used to denote the physical passing of an object or place.
  31. ↑ Eclipsis of nouns beginning with b have both the m and the b pronounced, e.g. i mBéarla.
  32. ↑ le causes no mutation in South Tipperary.[6]
  33. ↑ as causes lenition in South Tipperary.[6]
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 34.2 34.3 Only affects feminine nouns with initial s; masculine nouns are not mutated.
  35. ↑ Not considering cases where word borrowings that use other letters, but these are generally not mutated anyway.
  36. ↑ For example, the preposition le becomes leis when combined with the article.

Bibliography

  • Breatnach, R. B. (1961). "Initial Mutation of Substantives after Preposition + Singular Article in Déise Irish". Éigse: A Journal of Irish Studies. IX (IV). The National University of Ireland.
  • Breatnach, R. B. (1984). Seana-Chaint na nDéise II: Studies in the Vocabulary and Idiom of Déise Irish based mainly on material collected by Archbishop Michael Sheehan (1870-1945). Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies.
  • de Bhial, T. (1985). A Cabhsa: 2,000 abairtí samplacha Gaeilge. An Gúm.
  • Ó Cionnfhaolaidh, M. (1956). Beatha Mhichíl Turraoin: Maille le Sceulta agus Seanachas. Oifig an tSoláthair, Baile Átha Cliath.
  • Ó Cuirrín, S. (1936). "Beirt Dhéiseach". Beirt Dhéiseach mar atá: Sceul nua-cheaptha, agus Trí Sceulta arna dtiontódh ó theangthacha eile. Oifig an tSoláthair, Baile Átha Cliath.
  • Ó Cuív, B. (1993). Irish Dialects and Irish-Speaking Districts: Three Lectures (1993 reprint). School of Celtic Studies, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies.
  • Ó Fiannusa, P. (2008). Ghaibh a Leithéid an tSlí Tráth (second edition). Cló Chois Móire.
  • Ó hAirt, D. (1988). Díolaim Dhéiseach. Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann, Baile Athá Cliath.
  • Ó Maolchathaigh, S. (unpublished). An Gleann is a Raibh Ann (one of two original manuscripts).
  • Ó Maolchathaigh, S. (1938). "Eachtra Shéimín Paor". As na Ceithre hÁirdibh: cnuasach gearr-scéal. Oifig an tSoláthair, Baile Átha Cliath.
  • Ó Maolchathaigh, S. (1953). Dualgas Pheadair Bhig. Oifig an tSoláthair, Baile Átha Cliath.
  • Ó Maolchathaigh, S. (1974). An Gleann agus a Raibh Ann (1974 edition). An Clóchomhar Tta. Dundalgen Press.
  • O'Rahilly, T. F. (1988). Irish Dialects Past and Present: with Chapters on Scottish and Manx (1988 edition). Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies.
  • Sheehan, Most Rev. M. (1944). Sean-Chaint na nDéise: the Idiom of Living Language (second edition). The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies.
  • Tóibín, N. (1979). Duanaire Déiseach (second edition). Sáirséal agus Dill, Baile Átha Cliath.
  • Wagner, H. (1981). Linguistic Atlas and Survey of Irish Dialects: Vol. I. Introduction, 300 maps (1981 edition). Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies.
  • Wagner, H. (1982). Linguistic Atlas and Survey of Irish Dialects: Vol. II. The Dialects of Munster (1982 edition). Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies.
  • Ward, A. (1974). The Grammatical Structure of Munster Irish. University of Dublin.

References

  1. ↑ Ó Maolchathaigh unpublished, p. 320
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Wagner 1982, p. 44
  3. ↑ Ó Maolchathaigh unpublished, p. 123
  4. ↑ Wagner 1982, p. 38
  5. ↑ Sheehan 1944, p. 24
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Ó Maolchathaigh 1974, p. 228
  7. ↑ Breatnach 1961, pp. 217-222.
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