LL-L "Orthography" 2005.09.26 (09) [E/Irish]

[Lowlands-L]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 26.SEP.2005 (09) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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From: Isaac M. Davis <isaacmacdonalddavis at gmail.com>
Subject: LL-L "Orthography" 2005.09.26 (06) [E]


Scríobh Críostóir:

> Yeah, I hear a lot of people say Irish has a difficult orthography.
> For the most part it's actually very efficient. True, lots of letters
> can be used to describe a single sound such as "aoi" "-aigh"
> "aí" and so on all representing [i:], but it's to do with palatisation
> and velarisation so it does make perfect sense once you learn
> it. It's sophisticated.

Tá claonadh agam aontú. Tá cúpla fadhb agam len córas litriú, ach níl siad 
ró-tábhachtach. Quibble-anna, i ndáirire.

I tend to agree. I have a couple of problems with the spelling system, but 
they're not too important. Quibbles, really.

> Having said that, I still have difficulty reading Ulster Irish "-adh"
> as [u:]. In the dialect I learnt and in most variants of Irish "-adh"
> is [a] - the "dh" a relic from when the pronunciation was [ad].

Sin an fuaimniú a dhéanaim. An bhfuil sé an-an-deacair, i ndáiríre? Ina 
theannta sin, nach raibh sé mar [aD] as Sean-Ghaeilge? Nuair a chónaisc D 
séimhiú agus G séimhiú, ba [aG] é, agus i ndiaidh sin, chaill na canúintí 
eile an fhuaim dheiridh. In Uladh, chónaisc -adh agus -amh (faoi fuaim). Só, 
tá -adh mar -amh san fhocal 'talamh'. [@w] > [u].

That's the pronunciation I use. Is it really really difficult, seriously? 
Also, wasn't it [aD] in Old Irish? When lenited D and lenited G merged, it 
was [aG], and after that, the other dialects lost the final sound. In 
Ulster, -adh and -amh merged (in sound). So, -adh is like -amh in the word 
'talamh'. [@w] > [u].

Beannachtaí,

Isaac M. Davis

-- 

Westron wynd, when wilt thou blow
The smalle rain down can rain
Christ yf my love were in my arms
And I yn my bed again

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From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Orthography


Scríobh ár Isaac:

> Tá claonadh agam aontú.
> I tend to agree.

Me too.  I remember how the Irish and Scottish orthographies used to mystify 
me.  Once I understood the principles it became abundantly clear that there 
are actual systems (unlike in certain other languages that shall remain 
nameless ...), and that they allow the learner to pronounce words correctly 
in most cases.  In most cases, the learner is able to spell correctly if 
given dictations, without necessarily having previously learned the spelling 
of each word.  The systems are just different, use different devices, from 
those of orthographies for Germanic languages.  There are "extra" vowel 
signs that are not pronounced, just signal if a syllable belongs to the 
"slender" (palatal) or "broad" (non-palatal) category.

Slán go fóill!

Reinhard/Ron
___
"A rud is annamh is iontach."
(That which is strange is wonderful.)

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