Page:Quiggin Dialect of Donegal 0144.png

In proclitics—g of gαχ in αχ ·dαχərNə Lα, ‘every other day’, also αχ dαrə Lα (§ 137), αχ ïlʹə ꬶynʹə, ‘every man’, αχ əN Lα꞉, ‘every day’, = gach aon lá. Similarly the final t of αχt, ‘but’, cp. αχ ïrəd, ‘at all’ (§ 59). The n of the definite article ən dis­appears before every consonant, except when the vowel of the article is elided after another vowel, e.g. erʹ ə tα꞉blə, ‘on the table’ but fwi꞉ N tα꞉blə, ‘under the table’. The ꬶ of *ꬶα(꞉), ‘if’ < dia has dis­appeared and we find ə, α. Similarly sporadic­ally in such a case as Nʹi꞉rʹ vα꞉r ɔ꞉ (> dɔ꞉, ꬶɔ꞉) = níor bh’fhearr dhó. The disappear­ance of final ç and w̥ before another consonant has already been mentioned (§§ 202, 345).

§ 448. ə is lost before a form beginning with a vowel and in small words it may be lost after a vowel. Where two ə’s meet the first is generally elided, cp. Finck i 125. do, de, dia, a may be all reduced to ə and disappear. Examples – hïs əgəs mʹïʃə, ‘you and I’; ju꞉Lti꞉ ʃi fɔ꞉suw, ‘she refused to marry him’; ju꞉Lti꞉ ʃə mə wɔ꞉ çαNαχ, ‘he refused to bury my cow’; ĩ꞉ç i꞉r, ‘a cold night’, = oidhche fhuar; əs mʹɛ heinʹ ərʹ ꬶinʹ ɔkuw, ‘myself being one of them’; tα mʹɛ gɔl, ‘I am going’; kʹlʹi·ɔrʃtʹə, ‘harrow’ (kʹlʹiə); ərsɛʃən, ‘quoth he’; Nʹi꞉s fwidʹə Nα higʹ lʹïms iNʹʃə, ‘further than I can tell’; tα꞉ gʹαL ko̤r̥ əgəm, ‘I have laid a wager’; ə Nαrəkyʃ, ‘towards him’, = i n‑a aracais; əNsNə dʹɛəg ə vi꞉Lʹtʹə wuiNʹ, ‘in the teens of miles from where we are’; fα Nαm ʃɔ lα꞉, ‘about this time of day’ (the de leaves as only trace the aspira­tion of L to l).

Occasionally other vowels, even long ones, disappear after another long vowel, e.g. Lα꞉ lʹ pα꞉drikʹ, ‘St Patrick’s day’; ĩ꞉ lʹo꞉nʹ, ‘St John’s eve’ (oidhche fhéile Eóin); tα꞉s əgəm, ‘I know’.

§ 449. In proclitics every vowel may be reduced to ə and disappear (§ 136), e.g. dαkə lʹeʃ, ‘as for him’, Di. i dtaca; wαkə tuw, ‘did you see’, an bhfaca tuw; χɔrʹ ə və, ‘almost’, = fa, do chomhair. The verbal particle do never appears before the preterite except when the verb commences with a vowel. agus appears as αgəs, ɔgəs, əgəs, əs, s.

Here we may also mention tɔkrəs ɔrəm, ‘I am hungry’; tïglə ɔrəm, ‘I am afraid’.

§ 450. In a three syllable word the middle vowel if ə dis­appears in a number of cases, e.g. αdruw, Di. eadar­shúdh; α̃ugrαχ, Di. amhgarach, kõ꞉grαχ, ‘near’, Di. comh­garach; ɔkrəs, M.Ir. accorus, occorus.