Vowel variation in Modern Welsh
§ 80. The above are the changes that have taken place in vowel sounds. Many of them depend upon accentuation or the influence of neighbouring sounds; hence in the Mn. language a vowel may have its original sound in one form of a word, and a changed sound in another, or two different changes of an original vowel may appear in two different forms of a word. It will be convenient now to bring together the more important variations of the same originals that occur in Mn. W.
Vowel Mutation.
§ 81. i. Vowel mutation is the regular alternation of vowels and diphthongs according to their position in a word. Certain sounds occurring in the ultima and in monosyllables are regularly modified in other positions.
The following is a table of the vowel mutations (numbered for reference). The numbers in the last column indicate the sections where the changes resulting in the mutation are dealt with.
| No. | In final, and mono-, syllables. |
In other syllables. |
Examples. | § |
| 1 | ai | ei | adail, adeilad; caib, ceibio | 79 i. |
| 2 | au | eu | haul, heulog; aur euraid | 79 ii. |
| 3 | aw | o | tlawd, tlodion, tlodi, tlotaf | 71 i. |
| 4 | w | ỿ | trwm, trỿmnion, trỿmach | 66 i. |
| 5 | ɥ | ỿ | bɥr, bỿrion, bỿrder | 66 i. |
| 6 | uw | u | buwch, buchod, buches | 77 x. |
As a general rule the respective forms appear only in the positions indicated. The exceptions are noted below.
ii. There is no exception to the rule that ai and au appear as ei and eu in the penult. Such forms as daiar, graian, haiarn, rhaiadr, traian, cauad, cauodd, gauaf, cynhauaf are not exceptions but misspellings of daear, graean, haearn, rhaeadr, traean, caead t caeodd, gaeaf, cynhaeaf, the diphthong ae (also written ay § 29 ii) being one which does not undergo mutation in Lit. W., but re-
