§ 71. The forms of the verb ‘to choose’ have ö̤꞉, though we should expect an o-sound. Writers of Ulster Irish print raogha, rae (Craig, Lloyd, G. J. vi 146, Di. ré) which represent the pronunciation of the younger people. It would seem that a took the place of o in these forms, i.e. that M.Ir. togaim became tagaim whence tö̤꞉m, ‘I choose’, pret. hö̤꞉ mʹə, infin. tö̤uw. Similarly rö̤꞉, ‘choice’, O.Ir. rogu, from which is formed rö̤꞉nαhαs, ‘choice’; tö̤꞉nə, ‘select, recherché’. The past part. of tö̤uw is tïtʹə.
§ 72. ö̤꞉ takes the place of ⅄꞉ before a following n in several words, thus ö̤꞉n beside ⅄꞉n, ‘one’, O.Ir. óin (also i꞉n); ɛrö̤꞉n, ‘together’, Di. araon; klö̤꞉n, ‘inclination’, klö̤꞉nuw, ‘to incline’, O.Ir. clóin; trö̤꞉nə, ‘corn-crake’, also trɛənə, Di. Macbain traona; krö̤꞉rək, krö̤꞉r, ‘light-red’, Di. craorac < caor-dhearg. One may also hear kö̤꞉rə, ‘sheep’; kö̤꞉rαn, ‘moor’; sö̤꞉l, ‘life’.
§ 73. The depalatalisation of initial *Rʹ may completely change the character of the following vowel. Under these circumstances O.Ir. ía (i.e. iə) becomes ö̤꞉. Lloyd gives two instances of this change for Monaghan, G. J. 1896 p. 146 col. 1. Examples—rö̤꞉l, ‘rule’, O.Ir. ríagul; rö̤꞉ruw (r⅄꞉ruw), ‘to look after’ (erʹ), Di. ríarughadh, sɔrö̤꞉r̥ə, ‘easily satisfied’, Di. soiriartha from rö̤꞉r, O.Ir. ríar, whence also ərʹeirʹ, ‘according to’, do réir but note tα꞉ ʃïnʹ glαky꞉ ərʹö̤꞉r Nə bʹlʹiəNə, ‘that is taken by the year’; rö̤꞉skən (rɛəskən), ‘a rough, untilled piece of ground’, Di. riasc, whence ku꞉lṟö̤꞉skαχ, ‘backward, out of the world’, also rö̤꞉skαNtə, ‘wild, rough’; rö̤꞉χtənəs, ‘need’, M.Ir. riachtanus (also r⅄꞉χtənəs); rö̤꞉wαχ, ‘brindled’, M.Ir. riabach, Lɛhə Nə rö̤꞉wi꞉, ‘borrowing-days’, see Dinneen s. mí.
(b) The front vowels æ, ɛ, ɛ꞉, e, e꞉, ï[A 1] i, i꞉, y.
1. æ.
§ 74. This is the symbol for the low-front-wide vowel in English ‘man’, ‘cat’. It usually appears taking the place of α before all consonants with palatal (palatalised) articulation except the labials, i.e. before Lʹ, lʹ, Nʹ, nʹ, rʹ, ɲ, tʹ, dʹ, kʹ, gʹ, ʃ. In place of æ a vowel intermediate between this sound and α is sometimes heard.
- ↑ Strictly speaking ï should be treated with o̤ and ə under mixed vowels, but it will be most convenient to deal with it in connection with the front vowels.
