Ann an/anns an

[Jim Rader]

Hi All,

 

Can anyone tell me what the "an" in the Scottish Gaelic "ann an" ('in a') 

(= Irish i) is doing there? The one in "anns an" (= Irish sa) makes sense, 

but I'm baffled by the 'an' with an indefinite. Is there a historical 

explanation?

 

Best,

 

Andrew

 

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Don’t have references here, but as I recall “ann an” is a reduplicated form:
<ann> is the 3rd sg. masc. inflected form, substituting for the simple
preposition, and <an> is the doubled simple preposition (<i> in Irish, <in>
before a vowel) with the sandhi <n> glued back onto its historical base, as
is normal in Scottish Gaelic.  The preposition <do>, “to,” behaves
similarly:  before an object beginning with a vowel it’s doubled, e.g., in
“Thàinig mi a dh’Alba” (I came to Scotland), where both <a> and <dh’> are
reduced forms of <do>.

 

Hope I remember this correctly—Best, Jim Rader

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