"neirt" versus "nert"

Robert Orr colkitto at sprint.ca
Tue Apr 3 04:35:54 UTC 2001


One can think of some degree of fortition for lenited /l/.  This is captured
in spellings such as English Donald, Ronald, Aberfeldy  for Scottish Gaelic
Domhnall, Raghnall, Obair Pheallaidh.

Robert Orr

>        I was thinking of the intitial case, and mis-remembering the rest.
>        By the way, I would like to know what a lenited /n/ (or /l/ or /r/)
>actually is, in terms the IPA would understand.  My guess, from various
>descriptions I have seen, is that the lenited forms are neutral, the
>unlenited forms palatalized or velarized, as appropriate.  (And that in the
>old days when there were four sounds the unlenited forms were long.)  But it
>is only a guess. Not much Irish spoken around here.

>Dr. David L. White



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