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EspañolIRISH INITIAL MUTATIONS
Irish, like all modern Celtic languages, is characterized by its initial consonant mutations. These mutations affect the initial consonant of a word under specific morphological and syntactic conditions. The mutations are an important tool in understanding the relationship between two words and can differentiate various meanings.
Irish uses two mutations on consonants: lenition and 'eclipsis'. (The alternative names, ''aspiration'' for lenition and ''nasalisation'' for eclipsis, are also used, but the terms are a bit misleading.)
Originally these mutations were phonologically governed external sandhi effects: lenition was caused by a consonant between two vowels, and eclipsis by a sequence of nasal consonant + obstruent, also at the beginning of a word.
There are also two mutations, 't'-prothesis and 'h'-prothesis, found on vowel-initial words.
See Irish phonology for a discussion of the symbols used on this page.
Lenition
Effects of lenition
# A stop becomes a fricative. Voicing is retained, as is place of articulation except with the coronals.
#
★ →
#
★ →
#
★ →
#
★ →
#
★ →
#
★ →
#
★ →
#
★ →
#
★ →
#
★ →
#
★ →
#
★ →
# becomes ; becomes .
# and become ; but , , , , , and do not mutate.
# and are deleted.
Lenition is symbolized in the orthography by an 'h' following the consonant in question.
| Normal | Lenited | Gloss |
|---|---|---|
| ''peann'' | ''pheann'' | "pen" |
| ''teach'' | ''theach'' | "house" |
| ''ceann'' | ''cheann'' | "head" |
| ''bean'' | ''bhean'' | "woman" |
| ''droim'' | ''dhroim'' | "back" |
| ''glúin'' | ''ghlúin'' | "knee" |
| ''máthair'' | ''mháthair'' | "mother" |
| ''súil'' | ''shúil'' | "eye" |
| ''freagra'' | ''fhreagra'' | "answer" |
The other consonants do not change under lenition.
Environments of lenition
After proclitics
;After the definite article
The definite article triggers lenition of:
# a feminine noun in the nominative singular
#:''an 'bh'ean'' "the woman"
# a masculine noun in the genitive singular
#:''an 'fh'ir'' "of the man"
# a noun in the dative singular, when the article follows one of the prepositions ''de'' "from", ''do'' "to" or ''i'' "in"
#:''do'' + ''an'' = ''don'': ''don 'fh'ear'' "to the man"
#:''de'' + ''an'' = ''den'': ''den 'bh'ean'' "from the woman"
#:''i'' + ''an'' = ''sa(n)'': ''sa 'ch'rann'' "in the tree"; ''san 'fh'ómhar'' "in the autumn"
★ and are not lenited after the article:
::''an 'd'eoch'' "the drink", although ''deoch'' is feminine nominative singular
::''an 't'í'' "of the house", although ''tí'' is masculine genitive singular
★ becomes (rather than ), written ''ts'':
::''an 'ts'úil'' "the eye" (fem. nom. sg.)
::''an 'ts'aoil'' "of the world" (masc. gen. sg.)
;After the vocative particle ''a''
★ ''a 'Bh'ríd'' "Bríd!"
★ ''a 'Sh'eáin'' "Seán!"
★ ''a 'ch'airde'' "my friends!"
;After possessive pronouns
The possessive pronouns that trigger lenition are ''mo'' "my", ''do'' "your (sg.)", ''a'' "his"
★ ''mo 'mh'ac'' "my son"
★ ''do 'th'each'' "your house"
★ ''a 'ph'eann'' "his pen"
;After certain prepositions
★ ''de 'ch'rann'' "out of a tree"
★ ''faoi 'ch'rann'' "under a tree"
★ ''mar 'dh'uine'' "as a person"
★ ''ó 'Ch'orcaigh'' "from Cork"
★ ''roimh 'mh'aidin'' "before morning"
★ ''trí 'sh'ioc agus 'sh'neachta'' "through frost and snow"
★ ''um 'Ch'áisc'' "at Easter"
;After the preterite/conditional of the copula
★ ''Ba 'dh'uine mór é.'' "He was a big person."
★ ''Ba 'dh'eas uait é.'' "That was nice of you."
;After the preterite preverbal particles
★ ''Níor 'mhúinteoir' é.'' "He was not a teacher."
★ ''Níor 'th'ug mé'' "I didn't give"
★ ''Ar 'sh'agart é?'' "Was he a priest?"
★ ''Ar 'th'áinig sé?'' "Did he come?"
;After certain preverbal particles
★ ''ní 'th'uigim'' "I don't understand"
★ ''má 'th'agann sé'' "if he comes"
★ ''an fear a 'th'abharfaidh dom é'' "the man who will give it to me"
;A verb in the preterite, imperfect or conditional
These were originally preceded by the particle ''do''.
★ '''bh'ris mé'' "I broke"
★ '''bh'risinn'' "I used to break"
★ '''bh'risfinn'' "I would break"
In modifier + head constructions
Lenition is blocked in these constructions if two coronals are adjacent.
;After certain numbers
The singular form is used after numbers and is lenited in the following cases:
★ ''aon 'bh'ó amháin'' "one cow"
★ ''an chéad 'bh'liain'' "the first year"
★ ''dhá 'th'each'' "two houses"
★ ''beirt 'fh'ear'' "two men"
★ ''trí 'bh'ád'' "three boats"
★ ''ceithre 'bh'ó'' "four cows"
★ ''cúig 'ph'unt'' "five pounds"
★ ''sé 'mh'í'' "six months"
;After preposed adjectives
Constructions of adjective + noun are written as compounds.
★ ''sean'bh'ean'' "old woman"
★ ''droch'dh'uine'' "bad person"
★ ''dea-'sh'eirbhís'' "good deed"
★ ''nua'th'eanga'' "modern language"
★ ''tréan'mh'uir'' "stormy sea"
★ ''fíor'ch'neas'' "true skin"
★ ''ard'bh'rú'' "high pressure"
★ ''óg'fh'ear'' "young man"
;After most prefixes
★ ''an-'bh'eag'' "very small"
★ ''ró-'bh'eag'' "too small"
★ ''ais'gh'abháil'' "retake"
★ ''ath'bh'liain'' "new year"
★ ''do'bh'réagnaithe'' "undeniable"
★ ''fo'ch'upán'' "saucer"
★ ''for'bh'ríste'' "overalls"
★ ''idir'ch'reidmheach'' "interconfessional"
★ ''il'ph'ósadh'' "polygamy"
★ ''leas'mh'áthair'' "stepmother"
★ ''mí'sh'ásta'' "unhappy"
★ ''neamh'ch'odladh'' "insomnia"
★ ''príomh'ch'athair'' "capital city"
★ ''so'bh'riste'' "fragile"
;The second part of a compound
★ ''ainm'fh'ocal'' "noun" (lit. "name word")
★ ''dú'gh'orm'' "blue-black"
★ ''stát'fh'iach'' "national debt"
In head + modifier constructions
In these constructions coronals are lenited even following other coronals.
;Genitive nouns in certain circumstances
★ ''aimsir 'bh'áistí'' "rainy weather" (lenition after a feminine singular noun)
★ ''buidéil 'sh'ú'' "bottles of juice" (lenition after a plural ending in a slender consonant)
★ ''teach 'Sh'eáin'' "Seán's house" (lenition of a definite noun in the genitive)
;Postposed adjectives in certain circumstances
★ ''bean 'dh'eas'' "a pretty woman" (lenition after a feminine singular noun)
★ ''na fir 'mh'óra'' "the big men" (lenition after a plural noun ending in a slender consonant)
★ ''ainm an fhir 'bh'ig'' "the name of the small man" (lenition after a masculine singular noun in the genitive)
★ ''sa chrann 'mh'ór'' "in the big tree" (lenition after a noun lenited by virtue of being in the dative after ''den'', ''don'', or ''sa(n)'')
Eclipsis
Effects of eclipsis
1. A voiceless stop or is voiced:
★ →
★ →
★ →
★ →
★ →
★ →
★ →
★ →
2. A voiced stop becomes a nasal:
★ →
★ →
★ →
★ →
★ →
★ →
3. A vowel receives a preceding or (broad preceding ''a''/''o''/''u'', slender preceding ''e''/''i''). However, a vowel-initial word is not affected after the definite article ''an''.
Eclipsis is symbolized in the orthography by placing the letter of the new sound in front of the original letter.
| Normal | Eclipsed | Gloss |
|---|---|---|
| ''peann'' | ''bpeann'' | "pen" |
| ''teanga'' | ''dteanga'' | "tongue" |
| ''ceann'' | ''gceann'' | "head" |
| ''bean'' | ''mbean'' | "woman" |
| ''droim'' | ''ndroim'' | "back" |
| ''glúin'' | ''nglúin'' | "knee" |
| ''freagra'' | ''bhfreagra'' | "answer" |
| ''éan'' | ''n-éan'' | "bird" |
| ''oíche'' | ''n-oíche'' | "night" |
The other consonants do not change under eclipsis.
Environments of eclipsis
After plural possessive pronouns
The possessive pronouns that trigger eclipsis are ''ár'' "our", ''bhur'' "your (pl.)", ''a'' "their"
★ ''ár 'gc'airde'' "our friends"
★ ''bhur 'bp'áistí'' "your (pl.) children"
★ ''a 'mb'ád'' "their boat"
After certain numbers
The numbers that trigger eclipsis (the noun being in the singular) are:
★ ''seacht 'gc'apall'' "seven horses"
★ ''ocht 'n-'asal'' "eight donkeys"
★ ''naoi 'gc'at'' "nine cats"
★ ''deich 'bp'eann'' "ten pens"
After the preposition ''i'' "in"
Before a vowel ''in'' is written instead of ''i n-''.
★ ''i 'dt'each'' "in a house"
★ ''in Éirinn'' "in Ireland"
Genitive plural nouns after the definite article
The genitive plural article ''na'' eclipses a following noun:
★ ''na 'n-'asal'' "of the donkeys"
★ ''na 'bhf'ocal'' "of the words"
Dative singular nouns after the definite article
In western and southern dialects, nouns beginning with a noncoronal consonant are eclipsed after combinations of preposition + article in the singular (except ''den'', ''don'', and ''sa(n)'', which trigger lenition)
★ ''ag an 'bhf'ear'' "by the man"
★ ''ar an 'gc'rann'' "on the tree"
After certain preverbal particles
★ ''an poll a 'dt'agann na coiníní as'' "the hole that the rabbits come out of"
★ ''An 'dt'agann sé gach lá?'' "Does he come every day?"
★ ''Cá 'bhf'uil mo spéaclaí?'' "Where are my glasses?"
★ ''Dúirt sé go 'dt'iocfadh sé.'' "He said that he would come."
★ ''dá 'mb'eadh a fhios sin agam'' "if I had known that"
Changes to vowel-initial words
A vowel-initial word does not change where lenition is expected:
★ ''an oíche'' "the night" (feminine singular nominative noun after definite article)
★ ''an uisce'' "of the water" (masculine singular genitive noun after definite article)
★ ''ó Albain'' "from Scotland" (noun after leniting preposition)
★ ''seanathair'' "grandfather" (noun after preposed adjective: ''sean'' "old" + ''athair'' "father")
But where neither eclipsis nor lenition is expected, an initial vowel may acquire a prothetic onset consonant. For example, a vowel-initial masculine singular nominative noun requires a ''t-'' after the definite article:
★ ''an 't-'uisce'' "the water" (masculine singular nominative)
Otherwise, there is the prothetic onset ''h'', which comes only when both the following conditions are met:
#a proclitic causes neither lenition nor eclipsis of consonants
#a proclitic itself ends in a vowel
Examples of ''h''-prothesis
★ ''a 'h'aois'' "her age" (after possessive pronoun ''a'' "her")
★ ''go 'h'Éirinn'' "to Ireland" (after preposition ''go'' "to, towards")
★ ''le 'h'Antaine'' "with Antaine" (after preposition ''le'' "with")
★ ''na 'h'oíche'' "of the night" (on feminine singular genitive noun after definite article)
★ ''na 'h'éin'' "the birds" (on plural nominative/dative noun after definite article)
★ ''chomh 'h'ard le caisleán'' "as high as a castle" (after ''chomh'' [xo] "as")
★ ''go 'h'álainn'' "beautifully" (after adverb-forming particle ''go'')
★ ''Ná 'h'imigh uaim'' "Don't leave me!" (after negative imperative particle ''ná'' "don't")
★ ''an dara 'h'áit'' "the second place" (after an ordinal numeral)
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