An diofar eadar na mùthaidhean a rinneadh air "The many functions of a"

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(58 mùthadh eadar-mheadhanach le 2 chleachdaiche eile nach eil 58 'gan sealltainn)
Loidhne 1: Loidhne 1:
−
It would seem that, certainly from a learner's point of view, every languages has a small annoying word which has just too many possible functions. In Albanian this happens to be të, which can be any of the following:
+
Certainly, from a learner's point of view, it would seem that every language has a small, annoying word which has so many possible functions. In Albanian (yes, I did Albanian for a while, I've always like Albania though I've not yet been there) this happens to be <span style="color: #6600CC;">të</span>, which can be any of the following:
 
* a short form of a second person pronoun in the dative or accusative
 
* a short form of a second person pronoun in the dative or accusative
−
* a short form of a third person pronoun in the dative or accusative - meaning that the short form "for him" and "for you" are identical...
+
* a short form of a third person pronoun in the dative or accusative - meaning that the short form "for him" and "for you" are identical
 
* a particle which forms the conjunctive
 
* a particle which forms the conjunctive
 
* a particle which forms the future conditional
 
* a particle which forms the future conditional
Loidhne 8: Loidhne 8:
 
* the definite article before a noun
 
* the definite article before a noun
  
−
Once you get into it, it's not quite as bad but can still be a head-scratcher.
+
Once you get into it, it's not too bad but can still be a head-scratcher at times, trying to figure out what <span style="color: #008000;">a</span> you're looking at.
−
 
 
−
Of course Gaelic has one too - ''a''. This covers an even wider range of options that Albanian të, so here's a list which hopefully will help you make a bit more sense of it.
 
  
 
==The vocative particle==
 
==The vocative particle==
−
This ''a*'' [ə] is placed in front of a noun when directly addressing someone. It lenites and forces the noun into the vocative case (if the noun has one). English doesn't really have something like it, ''oh'' is the closest equivalent but in Gaelic it doesn't sound as corny when you use the vocative, it's just, well, normal.
+
This <span style="color: #008000;">a</span> [ə] is placed in front of a noun or proper noun when directly addressing a thing or person. It lenites and forces the noun or proper noun into the vocative case, if the noun has a vocative case. English doesn't have a vocative case. The closest English equivalent is "oh!", but the Gaelic vocative particle doesn't sound as corny when you use it, it's just, well, normal.
  
−
Before a vowel or fh-, the ''a'' disappears.
+
Before a vowel or <span style="color: #008000;">fh-</span>, the <span style="color: #008000;">a</span> disappears.
  
 
{| class="wikitable"
 
{| class="wikitable"
 
|-
 
|-
−
| Seumas [ʃeːməs] || » || a Sheumais! [ə heːmɪʃ]
+
| <span style="color: #008000;">Seumas</span> [ʃeːməs] » || <span style="color: #008000;">a Sheumais!</span> [ə heːmɪʃ]
 
|-
 
|-
−
| James || || (oh) James!
+
| James » || (oh) James!
 
|-
 
|-
−
| fir [firʲ] || » || fheara! [ɛrə]
+
| <span style="color: #008000;">fir</span> [firʲ] » || <span style="color: #008000;">fheara!</span> [ɛrə]
 
|-
 
|-
−
| men || || (oh) men!
+
| men » || (oh) men!
 
|-
 
|-
−
| Mórag [moːrag] ||  » || a Mhórag! [ə voːrag]
+
| <span style="color: #008000;">Mórag</span> [moːrag] » || <span style="color: #008000;">a Mhórag!</span> [ə voːrag]
 
|-
 
|-
−
| Morag || || (oh) Morag!
+
| Morag » || (oh) Morag!
 
|}
 
|}
  
 
==The leniting article==
 
==The leniting article==
−
Technically this is not just ''a'' but ''a''' with an apostrophe but I've included it nonetheless.
+
Technically, this is not just <span style="color: #008000;">a</span> but <span style="color: #008000;">a'</span> [ə], with an apostrophe, but I included it, nonetheless. This leniting article takes the form <span style="color: #008000;">a'</span> and it lenites the following word. It appears before feminine singular nouns in the nominative and before masculine singular AND feminine singular nouns in the prepositional case, before b c g m p.
 +
 
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
|-
 +
| <span style="color: #008000;">a' bhròg</span> || the show
 +
|-
 +
| <span style="color: #008000;">air a' bhalach</span> || on the boy
 +
|-
 +
|}
  
 
==The participle-forming particle==
 
==The participle-forming particle==
−
Also technically ''a''' with an apostrophe but I've included it.
+
Similarly, this <span style="color: #008000;">a</span> also takes an apostrophe, <span style="color: #008000;">a'</span> [ə], but I've included it because as the leniting article, in spoken Gaelic, it also comes out as [ə]. This isn't Borge's spoken punctuation you know :)
 +
 
 +
It is the reduced form of <span style="color: #008000;">ag</span> and appears before anything that is not a vowel and not r. It appears before b c d f g l m n p s t, for example:
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
|-
 +
| <span style="color: #008000;">tha mi a' bualadh</span> || I am hitting
 +
|-
 +
| <span style="color: #008000;">tha mi a' lagachadh</span> || I am weakening
 +
|-
 +
|}
  
 
==The masculine possessive pronoun==
 
==The masculine possessive pronoun==
 +
No apostrophe this time, just a [ə], and it lenites everything.
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
|-
 +
| <span style="color: #008000;">a bhalla</span> || his wall
 +
|-
 +
| <span style="color: #008000;">a mhàthair</span> || his mother
 +
|-
 +
| <span style="color: #008000;">a mhàthair</span> [N » n] || his snake
 +
|}
  
 +
==The feminine possessive pronoun==
 +
This is the reduced form of <span style="color: #008000;">a h-</span>, which you get before feminine nouns beginning with vowels. The only other difference from the masculine possessive pronoun is that this one doesn't lenite the noun.  It's also pronounced [ə]:
  
−
==The feminine possessive pronoun==
+
{| class="wikitable"
 +
|-
 +
| <span style="color: #008000;">a balla</span> || her wall
 +
|-
 +
| <span style="color: #008000;">a màthair</span> || her mother
 +
|-
 +
| <span style="color: #008000;">a nathair</span> [N » N] || her snake
 +
|-
 +
|}
  
 
==The infinitive particle==
 
==The infinitive particle==
 +
Please see [[Habemus infinitivum necne]] for a full exposé on what's with the infinitive in Gaelic.  Here, I'm just giving a couple of brief examples. Also pronounced [ə], it appears in certain types of sentences before a verbal noun and it prompts lenition:
 +
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
|-
 +
| <span style="color: #008000;">Bu toigh leam cù a cheannach</span> || I would like to buy a dog
 +
|-
 +
| <span style="color: #008000;">Tha mi airson ubhal a ròstadh</span> [R » r] || I intend to roast an apple
 +
|-
 +
|}
  
 
==The counting particle==
 
==The counting particle==
 +
The reduced form of <span style="color: #008000;">a h-</span>[ə h] appears before numbers up to twenty, starting with a consonant. It's used when counting numbers but not objects.
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
|-
 +
| <span style="color: #008000;">a còig</span> || five
 +
|-
 +
| <span style="color: #008000;">a seachd</span> || seven
 +
|-
 +
|}
 +
 +
==The reduced form of the preposition <span style="color: #008000;">do</span>==
 +
The preposition <span style="color: #008000;">do</span> often reduces to just <span style="color: #008000;">a</span> [ə]. It lenites consonants, and before vowels and <span style="color: #008000;">fh</span> it gets reduplicated as <span style="color: #008000;">do dh'</span> and also <span style="color: #008000;">a dh'</span>. And yes, it overlaps, almost completely, with <span style="color: #008000;">de</span>. In many dialects, even the full forms <span style="color: #008000;">do</span> and <span style="color: #008000;">de</span> are pronounced [də].
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
|-
 +
| <span style="color: #008000;">thoir a Mhurchadh e</span> || give it to Murdo!
 +
|-
 +
| <span style="color: #008000;">theirig a Mhiùghalaigh</span> || go to Mingulay!
 +
|-
 +
|}
 +
 +
It regularly appears across all dialects before placenames i.e. before placenames, the full form <span style="color: #008000;">do</span> is very rare:
  
−
==The reduced form of the preposition ''do''==
+
{| class="wikitable"
 +
|-
 +
| <span style="color: #008000;">thalla a dh'Inbhir Nis</span> || away with you to Inverness!
 +
|-
 +
| <span style="color: #008000;">thig a Bharraigh</span> || come to Barra!
 +
|-
 +
|}
  
−
==The reduced form of the preposition ''de''==
+
==The reduced form of the preposition <span style="color: #008000;">de</span>==
 +
The preposition <span style="color: #008000;">de</span> often reduces to just <span style="color: #008000;">a</span> [ə]. It lenites consonants, and before vowels and <span style="color: #008000;">fh</span> it gets reduplicated as <span style="color: #008000;">de dh'</span> and also <span style="color: #008000;">a dh'</span>. And yes, it overlaps with <span style="color: #008000;">do</span>, almost completely. In many dialects, even the full forms <span style="color: #008000;">do</span> and <span style="color: #008000;">de</span> are pronounced [də].
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
|-
 +
| <span style="color: #008000;">sguir a sheinn</span> || stop singing!
 +
|-
 +
| <span style="color: #008000;">dèan truinnsear a chlach</span> || make a plate from stone!
 +
|-
 +
|}
  
 
==The relative particle==
 
==The relative particle==
 +
The relative particle <span style="color: #008000;">a</span> [ə] marks a relative clause. That's it really...
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
|-
 +
| <span style="color: #008000;">cuin a sheinneas tusa?</span> || when will '''you''' sing?
 +
|-
 +
| <span style="color: #008000;">an tè a thuit</span> || the woman who fell
 +
|-
 +
|}
  
 
==The first part of various adverbs==
 
==The first part of various adverbs==
−
Which is sadly relevant because of some GOC nonense.
+
Which is sadly relevant because of some GOC nonense. For some arcane reason, they took offence to the hyphen in <span style="color: #008000;">an-seo, an-sin,</span> and <span style="color: #008000;">an-siud</span> and re-spelled them as <span style="color: #008000;">an seo, an sin</span> and <span style="color: #008000;">an siud</span>. As if Gaelic didn't have enough words that are written <span style="color: #008000;">an</span>...
 +
Anyway, this means that people who have a tendency to write everything exactly as they say it, and who follow GOC a bit too religiously, sometimes reduce the <span style="color: #008000;">an</span> to <span style="color: #008000;">a</span> [ə]:
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
|-
 +
| <span style="color: #008000;">an-seo</span> [əˈʃɔ] || <span style="color: #008000;">a-seo</span> [əˈʃɔ] || <span style="color: #008000;">an seo</span> [əˈʃɔ] || <span style="color: #008000;">a seo</span> [əˈʃɔ]
 +
|-
 +
| <span style="color: #008000;">an-sin</span> [əˈʃin] || <span style="color: #008000;">a-sin</span> [əˈʃin] || <span style="color: #008000;">an sin</span> [əˈʃin] || <span style="color: #008000;">a sin</span> [əˈʃin]
 +
|-
 +
| <span style="color: #008000;">an-siud</span> [əˈʃid] || <span style="color: #008000;">a-siud</span> [əˈʃid] || <span style="color: #008000;">an siud</span> [əˈʃid] || <span style="color: #008000;">a siud</span> [əˈʃid]
 +
|-
 +
|}
 +
Yes, the <span style="color: #008000;">n</span> is almost always deleted in spoken Gaelic. If you pronounced it '''very''' carefully, it would be [əNʲˈʃɔ].
  
−
==The letter a==
+
==The letter <span style="color: #008000;">a</span>==
 +
To confuse matters, when <span style="color: #008000;">a</span> represents just the letter <span style="color: #008000;">a</span>, this is mostly read the English way i.e. "ay" even though Gaelic has very old indigenous names for the letters. But there are a few people who still know the old names of the letters.
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
|-
 +
| <span style="color: #008000;">a, b, c</span> || [ɛj] [biː] [siː]
 +
|-
 +
| <span style="color: #008000;">a, b, c</span> || <span style="color: #008000;">ailm</span>, <span style="color: #008000;">beith</span>, <span style="color: #008000;">coll</span>
 +
|-
 +
|}
  
−
==A dialectal form of e==
+
==A dialectal form of <span style="color: #008000;">e</span>==
 +
In writing, in some dialects, people use <span style="color: #008000;">a</span> where you'd expect <span style="color: #008000;">e</span>, in order to represent the regional pronunciation of it, [a].
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
|-
 +
| <span style="color: #008000;">chonaic sinn a</span> || [xɔNɪgʲ ʃiNʲː a]
 +
|-
 +
| <span style="color: #008000;">chualaig a caile</span> || [xuaLɪgʲ a kalə]
 +
|-
 +
|}
  
 
==The interrogative particle==
 
==The interrogative particle==
 +
The reduced form of <span style="color: #008000;">an</span> [ən], appears only before <span style="color: #008000;">bheil</span>:
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
|-
 +
| <span style="color: #008000;">a bheil thu tinn?</span> || are you ill?
 +
|-
 +
|}
  
 
==The exclamation==
 
==The exclamation==
 +
This comes out as a clear [a]. Nothing much else to say about it really.
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
|-
 +
| <span style="color: #008000;">A, sin agad e</span> || Ah, there you go
 +
|-
 +
|}
 +
 +
==The preposition <span style="color: #008000;">á</span>==
 +
Of course, this has an acute - well, a grave these days - but added just for the sake of completeness. In this instance only, the acute/grave on <span style="color: #008000;">á</span> does not make it a long vowel. The acute is just there to distinguish it from other particles written <span style="color: #008000;">a</span> which are pronounced [ə], whereas <span style="color: #008000;">á</span> has a clear, short [a].
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
|-
 +
| <span style="color: #008000;">Thàinig mi á Peairt</span> || I came from Perth
 +
|-
 +
|}
  
−
==The preposition á==
+
<br />
 +
{{BeaganGramair}}

Am mùthadh mu dheireadh on 13:31, 24 dhen Chèitean 2020

Certainly, from a learner's point of view, it would seem that every language has a small, annoying word which has so many possible functions. In Albanian (yes, I did Albanian for a while, I've always like Albania though I've not yet been there) this happens to be të, which can be any of the following:

  • a short form of a second person pronoun in the dative or accusative
  • a short form of a third person pronoun in the dative or accusative - meaning that the short form "for him" and "for you" are identical
  • a particle which forms the conjunctive
  • a particle which forms the future conditional
  • a particle which forms the jussive (i.e. it helps form a kind of imperative)
  • a particle needed for some infinitive constructions
  • the definite article before a noun

Once you get into it, it's not too bad but can still be a head-scratcher at times, trying to figure out what a you're looking at.

The vocative particle

This a [ə] is placed in front of a noun or proper noun when directly addressing a thing or person. It lenites and forces the noun or proper noun into the vocative case, if the noun has a vocative case. English doesn't have a vocative case. The closest English equivalent is "oh!", but the Gaelic vocative particle doesn't sound as corny when you use it, it's just, well, normal.

Before a vowel or fh-, the a disappears.

Seumas [ʃeːməs] » a Sheumais! [ə heːmɪʃ]
James » (oh) James!
fir [firʲ] » fheara! [ɛrə]
men » (oh) men!
Mórag [moːrag] » a Mhórag! [ə voːrag]
Morag » (oh) Morag!

The leniting article

Technically, this is not just a but a' [ə], with an apostrophe, but I included it, nonetheless. This leniting article takes the form a' and it lenites the following word. It appears before feminine singular nouns in the nominative and before masculine singular AND feminine singular nouns in the prepositional case, before b c g m p.

a' bhròg the show
air a' bhalach on the boy

The participle-forming particle

Similarly, this a also takes an apostrophe, a' [ə], but I've included it because as the leniting article, in spoken Gaelic, it also comes out as [ə]. This isn't Borge's spoken punctuation you know :)

It is the reduced form of ag and appears before anything that is not a vowel and not r. It appears before b c d f g l m n p s t, for example:

tha mi a' bualadh I am hitting
tha mi a' lagachadh I am weakening

The masculine possessive pronoun

No apostrophe this time, just a [ə], and it lenites everything.

a bhalla his wall
a mhàthair his mother
a mhàthair [N » n] his snake

The feminine possessive pronoun

This is the reduced form of a h-, which you get before feminine nouns beginning with vowels. The only other difference from the masculine possessive pronoun is that this one doesn't lenite the noun. It's also pronounced [ə]:

a balla her wall
a màthair her mother
a nathair [N » N] her snake

The infinitive particle

Please see Habemus infinitivum necne for a full exposé on what's with the infinitive in Gaelic. Here, I'm just giving a couple of brief examples. Also pronounced [ə], it appears in certain types of sentences before a verbal noun and it prompts lenition:

Bu toigh leam cù a cheannach I would like to buy a dog
Tha mi airson ubhal a ròstadh [R » r] I intend to roast an apple

The counting particle

The reduced form of a h-[ə h] appears before numbers up to twenty, starting with a consonant. It's used when counting numbers but not objects.

a còig five
a seachd seven

The reduced form of the preposition do

The preposition do often reduces to just a [ə]. It lenites consonants, and before vowels and fh it gets reduplicated as do dh' and also a dh'. And yes, it overlaps, almost completely, with de. In many dialects, even the full forms do and de are pronounced [də].

thoir a Mhurchadh e give it to Murdo!
theirig a Mhiùghalaigh go to Mingulay!

It regularly appears across all dialects before placenames i.e. before placenames, the full form do is very rare:

thalla a dh'Inbhir Nis away with you to Inverness!
thig a Bharraigh come to Barra!

The reduced form of the preposition de

The preposition de often reduces to just a [ə]. It lenites consonants, and before vowels and fh it gets reduplicated as de dh' and also a dh'. And yes, it overlaps with do, almost completely. In many dialects, even the full forms do and de are pronounced [də].

sguir a sheinn stop singing!
dèan truinnsear a chlach make a plate from stone!

The relative particle

The relative particle a [ə] marks a relative clause. That's it really...

cuin a sheinneas tusa? when will you sing?
an tè a thuit the woman who fell

The first part of various adverbs

Which is sadly relevant because of some GOC nonense. For some arcane reason, they took offence to the hyphen in an-seo, an-sin, and an-siud and re-spelled them as an seo, an sin and an siud. As if Gaelic didn't have enough words that are written an... Anyway, this means that people who have a tendency to write everything exactly as they say it, and who follow GOC a bit too religiously, sometimes reduce the an to a [ə]:

an-seo [əˈʃɔ] a-seo [əˈʃɔ] an seo [əˈʃɔ] a seo [əˈʃɔ]
an-sin [əˈʃin] a-sin [əˈʃin] an sin [əˈʃin] a sin [əˈʃin]
an-siud [əˈʃid] a-siud [əˈʃid] an siud [əˈʃid] a siud [əˈʃid]

Yes, the n is almost always deleted in spoken Gaelic. If you pronounced it very carefully, it would be [əNʲˈʃɔ].

The letter a

To confuse matters, when a represents just the letter a, this is mostly read the English way i.e. "ay" even though Gaelic has very old indigenous names for the letters. But there are a few people who still know the old names of the letters.

a, b, c [ɛj] [biː] [siː]
a, b, c ailm, beith, coll

A dialectal form of e

In writing, in some dialects, people use a where you'd expect e, in order to represent the regional pronunciation of it, [a].

chonaic sinn a [xɔNɪgʲ ʃiNʲː a]
chualaig a caile [xuaLɪgʲ a kalə]

The interrogative particle

The reduced form of an [ən], appears only before bheil:

a bheil thu tinn? are you ill?

The exclamation

This comes out as a clear [a]. Nothing much else to say about it really.

A, sin agad e Ah, there you go

The preposition á

Of course, this has an acute - well, a grave these days - but added just for the sake of completeness. In this instance only, the acute/grave on á does not make it a long vowel. The acute is just there to distinguish it from other particles written a which are pronounced [ə], whereas á has a clear, short [a].

Thàinig mi á Peairt I came from Perth


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