NOTES ON THE PRONUNCIATION

The written ao is represented by a long í-vowel; e.g. cuíora (caora), duíor (daor), guí (gaoth), muíol (maol), nuíofa (naomhtha), suíor (saor), suíol (saoghal), tuíobh (taobh). Exceptions are aenach (aonach) and aen (aon). The latter seems to have this sound only when stressed. It is often shortened to a’n.

A long e-vowel is heard in the stressed syllables of adharc, adhastar and buaidhreadh.

There are two varieties of long o. The open o occurs in bróg, dóighte, óg, ór, pós, rópa, and the close o in mór, cróin, tóin. Close o is also heard in góil (gabháil), gór (gabhar), lóir (labhair), and tóir (tabhair).

The long a in amháin and sáith resembles the low-front-wide variety heard in North Donegal. Cf. Sommerfelt, Dialect of Torr, §28.

Palatal t and d are articulated as in Donegal. I have not noted any tendency to pronounce palatal t like ch in ‘church,’ or palatal d like j in ‘jeer.’

Palatal n is retained in tinneas, gráinne, crainn (plur. of crann), Éirinn (dat. of Éire). The only exception noted is cing (= cinn, gen. of cionn = ceann).

Non-palatal ch is pronounced, but without strong friction, in seacht, ocht, bocht. One speaker (P.F.) had íotar for íochtar, and imeat for imeacht. Final ch is usually weak.

O.C. pronounced the medial h in bóthar and máthir. P.F. had h in láthir, but not in beatha, in the phrase ‘Sé do bheatha.’ Máthir was pronounced máir by H.F.

In ainglí, ‘angels,’ ng is heard, but not in pínn (pingin(n)). Non-palatal ng is pronounced in teangas, ‘tongs.’

The vowel in the diminutive suffix -ín is long in bóithrín, cailín, práisgín, stóirín.

Táilliúr has long or half-long u.

The vowel is short in the final syllables of beagan, caislean, tiomain, but long in côrá (comhrádh).

The stress is normally on the initial syllable. The only exception noted is cróin, ‘crown,’ which occurs in the couplet above.

King David’s crown (cróin a bhí ar Dhábhaí) is mentioned in the legend recited by P.F.

Both croin and coroin occur several times in ‘The Spiritual Rose.’

Other S.E. Cavan words and word-forms noted are cionn, ‘head’; gáid, ‘father’; gárraí, ‘garden’; guidh (pron. guiv), ‘pray’; mart, ‘cow’; rásadan, ‘clump of bushes’; sturcan, ‘bullock’; ubh (pron. uw), ‘egg.’ The plur. of the last-mentioned word is uibheacha. Mathir mhór is ‘grandmother’ (O.C.). The initial vowel in mathir is short here.

The following phrases illustrate the treatment of the initial consonants of nouns in the dat. sing. when preceded by the article: ar a’ bhóthar; ar a’ chroc (= cnoc); ar a’ ghabhar; insa ghárraí; faoi’n mhála (but sa mhéid sin); ar a’ phota; ag an doras; ag a’ bhfuinneóig. On my dictaphone record of the religious poem referred to above ó’n is followed by crann, the initial of which seems to be eclipsed.

ÉAMONN Ó TUATHAIL
Trinity College, Dublin

POSTSCRIPT

Mr. McEnroe has informed me by letter that Hugh Fitzsimons died on the 13th January, 1937, and was buried in Lisduff graveyard, beside Maghera Church.—Beannacht Dé le n’anam.[/i]