The Scottish Celtic review
The Scottish Celtic review The Scottish Celtic review
—olSNotes on Gaelic Grammar and Orthoijrai>hy.NOTES ON GAELIC GRAMMAR AND ORTHOGRAPHY.{Continuation from jMr/e 157 of remarks onRev. xxi. 1-3, ed. 1880.)" Ni " (will do), from gniu (I make, I do) from the root gen,has lost an initial g. This verb, however, has retained in thepassive "nithear" the termination -ithear (= Lat. -itur), whichsuccessive editors of the Gaelic Scriptures have unnecessarilyreduced,in other verbs similarly conjugated, to ear.'"Bithidh" was substituted in the ed. of 1767 for both" b(iid " (they will be) and " biaidh " (he will be) in the ed. of1C90, and has been retained in all subsequent editions. In modernScottish Gaelic, the 3rd sing, is u.sed as a rule, for the three persons(sing, and plur.), and the regular form of the 3rd sing,fut. ind. of the subst. verb is biclh—0. Gael, bid, the morecommon form, according to Zeuss' examydes, of the 3rd sing. abs.of the primary future.* When a dissyllabic form is required, as isthe case frequently in poetry, bidhidh is preferable to bithidh, asmay be seen by comparing the paradigm of the substantive verbin O'Donovan's Grammar. In the same way, it may be .shown,by reference to the ancient forms of this verb, that biodh and bhiosare regular forms, and not, as supposed by the editors of theeditions of 1860 and 1880, abbreviated forms of bitheadh andbhitheas. It is scarcely necessary to say that emendationslike bi'dh (Ps. xxxvii. 20 ; lix. 10, met. vers., ISSO) are reallyorthographical mistakes." 'N a," " 'n an," &c., are invariably pronounced, and ought, therefore,to be written as monosyllables.In the editions of 1860 and1880, the prep, and the pron. with which it is connected are printedas separate words, a departure from the regular usage of Gaelicorthography which has frequently produced the following perplexingresults:— (1) In vei-y many instances one part of a syllablestands at the end of a line whilst the other is found at thebeginning of the next line; (2) the parts of these contracted formsare frequently separated from each other by wide spaces (like't is for 'tis, it is), which make it difficult to realise that they arereally monosyllables; (3) one part of a syllable stands very* At p. 497 ot the Gramm. Celt., twelve examples of the abs. 3rd sing, of theprim. flit, are given, viz. ;bill six times, bit/i nnce, bieid three times, and bied t«-iee.
;;;Mac-Grioguir d Riuiro (MacG rigor of lioiv).31 'Jfrequently .as near to another word as to the other part of thesame sjilable, as, e.g., in "bha 'n a shuidhe" (vor. 4), where'n stands as near to the preceding hha as to the a following, withwhich it forms one syllable ; (4) on every page, and frequentlyeven in the same verse, some of these contracted forms are foundwith their parts separated by wide spaces, whilst others are foundwith their parts separated only by an apostrophe. Comj)areo'n and na's in ver. 4 and am in ver. 7, with 'oi a in ver. 5 (Rev.xxi.) and in ch. xix. 4. These result.?, so perplexing to Gaelicreaders, and especially to persons learning Gaelic, would beavoided, if contracted forms were always written as they ai'epronounced. A list of abbreviations, such as is given in mostof the editions of the Gaelic Scriptures, would remove any difficultya learner might experience in regard to these monosyllables.MAC-GRIOGAIR A RUARO (MACGRIGOR OF RORO).{From Gillies's Collection ofOaelic Poetry, 1786).Tha mulad, tha mulad,Tha mulad 'g am lionadh ;Tha mulad bochd truagh orm,Nach dual domh chaoidh direadh ;Tha mulad, etc.Mu Mhac-Griogair a Ruaro,Do 'm ba dual bhith 'n Gleann-Liobhann.Mu ilbac-Griogair, etc.Mu Mhac-Griogair nam bratach,'G am ba tartarach piobaMu Mhac Griogair, etc.Do "m ba shuaicheantas giubhas,Re bruthach 'ga dhli'eadh ;Do 'm ba, etc.Crann caol air 'dlieagh locradb,'S ite dhosach an fhlr-eoin ;Crann caol, etc.Crann caol air 'dheagh shnaidheadh,Cuid do aighear mhic ri;;h e,Crann caol, etc.Ann an laimh dheagh mhic Mhuirich'G a chumail reidh direach.Ann au laimb, etc.Ged bhuail e mi 'm balach,'G am ghearan cha bhi miGed bhuail, etc.Ged dhean iad orm eucoir.A Thi f^in ! co 'ni 'dhioladh ?Ged dhean, etc.'S luchd-gabhail nio leithsgeilAnn san t-seipeil so shios nam ;'S luchd-gabhail, etc.Luchd-seasamh mo chorach'S e mo le6n iad bhith dhith orm.Luchd-seasamh, etc.Mo chomhaltan gaolachAn leabaidh chaoil 's an cinn iosal.Mo chomhaltan, etc.Ann an leine chaoil anairtGun biiannan gun sid orr'Ann an leine, etc.'S nach d' iarr sibh g' a fuaghalMuathan uai.sle na tire.'S nach d' iarr, etc.Ort bheirinnse combairle,N;m gabhadh tu dhiom iOrt bheirinnse, etc.'N uair a theid thu 'n taigh-osda,Na h-61 ann ach aon deoch.'N uair a theid, etc.Gabh do dhrama a" d' sheasamh,Is bi freasd'lach mu d' dhaoineGabh do dhrama, etc.Na dean diuthadh mu d' shoitheach,Gabh an ladar no 'n taoman :Na dean diiithadh, etc.Dean am foghar de 'n gheambradh,'S dean an s^mhradh de 'u fhaoilteach.Dean am foghar, etc.Dean do leabaidh 's na cragaibh,S na caidil ach aotrom.Dean do leabaidh, etc.Ge h-ainneamh an fheorag,Ghe.ibhar sei'd air a faotain,Ge h-ainneambh, etc,Ge h-uasal an seabhag.Is trie a ghabhar le feall e.Ge h-uasal, etc.Tha mulad, tha mulad,Tha mulad 'g am lionadh.
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—olSNotes on Gaelic Grammar and Orthoijrai>hy.NOTES ON GAELIC GRAMMAR AND ORTHOGRAPHY.{Continuation from jMr/e 157 of remarks onRev. xxi. 1-3, ed. 1880.)" Ni " (will do), from gniu (I make, I do) from the root gen,has lost an initial g. This verb, however, has retained in thepassive "nithear" the termination -ithear (= Lat. -itur), whichsuccessive editors of the Gaelic Scriptures have unnecessarilyreduced,in other verbs similarly conjugated, to ear.'"Bithidh" was substituted in the ed. of 1767 for both" b(iid " (they will be) and " biaidh " (he will be) in the ed. of1C90, and has been retained in all subsequent editions. In modern<strong>Scottish</strong> Gaelic, the 3rd sing, is u.sed as a rule, for the three persons(sing, and plur.), and the regular form of the 3rd sing,fut. ind. of the subst. verb is biclh—0. Gael, bid, the morecommon form, according to Zeuss' examydes, of the 3rd sing. abs.of the primary future.* When a dissyllabic form is required, as isthe case frequently in poetry, bidhidh is preferable to bithidh, asmay be seen by comparing the paradigm of the substantive verbin O'Donovan's Grammar. In the same way, it may be .shown,by reference to the ancient forms of this verb, that biodh and bhiosare regular forms, and not, as supposed by the editors of theeditions of 1860 and 1880, abbreviated forms of bitheadh andbhitheas. It is scarcely necessary to say that emendationslike bi'dh (Ps. xxxvii. 20 ; lix. 10, met. vers., ISSO) are reallyorthographical mistakes." 'N a," " 'n an," &c., are invariably pronounced, and ought, therefore,to be written as monosyllables.In the editions of 1860 and1880, the prep, and the pron. with which it is connected are printedas separate words, a departure from the regular usage of Gaelicorthography which has frequently produced the following perplexingresults:— (1) In vei-y many instances one part of a syllablestands at the end of a line whilst the other is found at thebeginning of the next line; (2) the parts of these contracted formsare frequently separated from each other by wide spaces (like't is for 'tis, it is), which make it difficult to realise that they arereally monosyllables; (3) one part of a syllable stands very* At p. 497 ot the Gramm. Celt., twelve examples of the abs. 3rd sing, of theprim. flit, are given, viz. ;bill six times, bit/i nnce, bieid three times, and bied t«-iee.
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