syllables the group rt is sounded rst, when not changed as it so often is to rd, as comhartaich, barking, ‘comharstaich’ (but also ‘comhardaich’); luchairt, palace, ‘luchairst’; but anart, linen, ‘anard,’ and so ascart, tow; cunnart, danger, etc. Both pronunciations occur in the same word in different compounds; cuilbheart, a wile, from cùil-beart, is ‘cuilbhearst,’ while caisbheart, or caiseart, foot-gear, from cas-beart, is ‘caiseard.’
It is a feature of Arran Gaelic that s is not heard in the group rt there, e.g. ‘mart,’ not ‘marst.’
In the case of rd an insertion of s is not general, but is heard in North Argyll mainland and islands. In Sunart ard, high, is ‘arsd’; ceard, tinker, ‘cearsd’; ord, hammer, ‘orsd’; and so also ardan, pride; bard, poet; card, a card, to card; bord, table; cord, agree; ordag, thumb, etc. Where rd is slender, s is heard in at least the following instances: ceàird, a trade, ‘ciao’rsd’; ceaird, tinkers, ‘cèrsd’; feaird, the better, ‘fèrsd.’
In Colonsay also s is heard, e.g. in ‘borsd,’ table. In Tiree s appears even to have displaced r both before d and t; bord is commonly said to be pronounced ‘bòsd,’ mart ‘mast,’ and cairt ‘caist,’ in that island.
When rt is combined with l as in ceirtle, a clew, Old Irish certle, and in fairtlich, baffle, t often disappears and leaves this intrusive s in its place. The commonest forms of the two words, at all events in Southern Gaelic, are ceirsle and fairslich. Both words have evidently proved troublesome phonetically, and the former also orthographically. The orthographic difficulty has arisen from the change of sound from e to a (ea) before slender consonants. This change of vowel is usual before broad consonants as in ceart, right, Old Irish cert, ceard, craftsman, Early Irish cerd, and is exemplified before slender consonants also, as in beairt, loom, etc.; ceaird, tinkers; Peairt, the place-name ‘Perth,’ etc. A better spelling than ceirsle accordingly would be ceairsle, which is MacAlpine’s, and is found also in the Highland Society’s Dictionary; but the logical, and, on the prin-
