DASG Blog

LEACAN BLOG 5: The definite article with loanwords beginning with f-, v- / bh-, y-, w-, s-, z- / x- and j-

In traditional Gaelic, the definite article inflects for gender, number and case. Some of its forms trigger particular initial mutations in the following noun:

1. Lenition of non-dentals & t-prefixation before initial s

• Nominative singular feminine: a’ chlach ‘the stone’, an t-sùil ‘the eye’
• Genitive singular masculine: a’ Ghàidheil ‘of the Gael’, an t-saoghail ‘of the world’
• Dative singular feminine and masculine: anns a’ bhaile ‘in the village’, fon chrao(i)bh ‘under the tree’, anns an t-saoghal ‘in the world’

2. t-prefixation before vowels

• Nominative singular masculine: an t-òran ‘the song’

3. h-prefixation before vowels

• Genitive singular feminine: na h-ùine ‘of the time’
• Nominative / dative plural: (air) na h-ùbhlan ‘(on) the apples’, (air) na h-itean ‘(on) the feathers’.

However, the definite article does not inflect regularly before certain numerals and preposed adjectives in present-day Gaelic; in other words, the initial mutations (lenition, t- and h-) do not always affect these words as expected. The inflection of the article is also irregular before recent loanwords beginning with f-, v- / bh-, y-, w-, s-, z- / x- and j-. And finally, the original dual form of the article (an, identical to the nominative singular form) is used before the number dà ‘two’ in all cases, although other (singular and plural) forms can also occur. In order to determine how widespread these phenomena are in modern Gaelic and how long they have been present in the language, corpus-based research has been conducted using Corpas na Gàidhlig. The focus of this research was on post-1950 texts, although earlier sources were also considered.

This is our third blog dedicated to the inflection of the definite article and the accompanying initial mutations with the following words:

1. Initial vowels: ath ‘next’, aon ‘one; same’, aonamh ‘first’, ochdamh ‘eighth’
2. Initial c-: ciad / ceud ‘first’, ceathramh ‘fourth’, còigeamh ‘fifth’, ceudamh ‘hundredth’
3. Initial f-: ficheadamh ‘twentieth’
4. Initial s-: siathamh ‘sixth’, seachdamh ‘seventh’
5. Loanwords beginning with f-, v- / bh-, y-, w-, s-, z- / x- and j-
6. dà ‘two’.

Our previous blog addressed the words listed in [2]–[4] and the present one is dedicated to those in [5].
 
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Recent loanwords beginning with f- and s- appear to normally resist initial mutations and those that start with v- / bh-, y-, w-, z- / x- and j- do not fit into the Gaelic system of mutations. This seems to affect the forms of the definite article modifying such loanwords: resulting in non-standard inflection, or at least spelling, of the article.
 
Nouns starting with f-

Lenition of initial f is avoided in recent loanwords and the inflection of the article that modifies them is partially irregular. The forms am and (non-leniting) a’ have been recorded in the nominative and dative singular of the same nouns. The form an occurs in the dative when f- is lenited, which is rare. The forms a’ and (when f- is lenited) an occur in the genitive, which may point to the masculine gender. However, feminine na is common in the genitive too, with the same nouns. There are very few examples of plural forms of these loanwords in the corpus: the form of the article is na in all plural cases and no examples of genitive plural nan/nam have been attested.

• [NOM.SG] am flat / a’ flat ‘the flat’; am fòn / a’ fòn ‘the phone’; am film ‘the film’; a’ film star ‘the film star’
• [DAT.SG] anns am flat / sa flat ‘in the flat’; ás a’ flat ‘from the flat’; dhan flat ‘in the flat’; anns am frids / anns a’ frids ‘in the fridge’; san film / sa film ‘in the film’; air am fòn / air a’ fòn ‘on the phone’ vs ás an fhilm ‘from the film’; air an fhòn ‘on the phone’; bho’n fhón ‘from the phone’
• [M.GEN.SG] mu dheidhinn a’ film ‘about the film’; gliong a’ fòn ‘ringing of the phone’; àireamh a’ fòn ‘the phone number’ vs cuspair an fhilm ‘the topic of the film’; a fhreagairt an fhón ‘to answer the phone’
• [F.GEN.SG] son na film ‘for the film’, a’ freagairt na fòn ‘answering the phone’; àireamh na fòn ‘the phone number’; doras na flat aice ‘the door of her flat’.
• [NOM.PL] na filmichean ‘the films’
• [DAT.PL] leis na filmichean ‘with the films’; de na fònan ‘of the phones’
• [GEN.PL] a measg na filmichean-mìneachaidh ‘among the documentaries’.

The noun fòn especially is well-attested in the genitive and dative in the corpus, with very few lenited examples. There are no examples of lenited fhlat and fhrids, which implies that lenition of preconsonantal f- is avoided even more rigorously in recent loanwords.
Initial f normally remains unlenited in other leniting contexts too, e.g.

• aon flat ‘one flat’; dà flat ‘two saucers’
• rudeigin mar frids ‘something like a fridge’
• mar film ‘like a film’; ainm a film ‘the name of the/his(?) film’; a’ sealltainn filmichean ‘watching films’.

But note: ris an aon fhón ‘to the only phone’; dà fhilm goirid ‘two short films’ (Note unlenited g-!); corra fhilm ‘a few films’.
 
Nouns starting with v- / bh-

Partially irregular inflection of the definite article has also been recorded with borrowed nouns that begin with v- (often spelt bh- in Gaelic), a consonant that does not occur word-initially in native Gaelic words (and in early loanwords) in non-leniting contexts. Note the forms of the article: masculine nominative singular am / an / a’, masculine dative and genitive singular am (alongside other forms) and genitive plural nam / na.

• [M.NOM.SG] am vacuum ‘the vacuum’; an vest ‘the vest’; an virus ‘the virus’; a’ vet / bheat ‘the vet’
• [F.NOM.SG] a’ bhan dhearg ‘the red van’; a’ bhòidse ‘the voyage’
• [M.DAT.SG] leis am vacuum ‘with the vacuum’; do ’n bheat ‘to the vet’; air a’ vet / bheat ‘on the vet’
• [F.DAT.SG] anns a’ bhan bheag Fiat ‘in the small Fiat van’; air a’ bhana ‘on the van’; air a’ bhòidse ‘on the voyage’
• [M.GEN.SG] plug am vacuum ‘the plug of the vacuum’; mu dhéidhinn a’ bheat ‘about the vet’
• [F.GEN.SG] an cùl na vana ‘in the back of the van’; ’m broinn na bhana ‘inside the van’; uisge na Vistula ‘the river Vistula’; airson na bhòidse ‘for the voyage’ vs an cul a’ bhan ‘in the back of the van’
• [NOM.PL] na vìorasan / bhìorasan ‘the viruses’; na bhanaichean ‘the vans’; na Víkingar ‘the Vikings’; na bhòtairean ‘the voters’
• [DAT.PL] aig na vìorasan ‘at the viruses’; ris na bhìorasan ‘to the viruses’; anns na bhanaichean ‘in the vans’; bho na Víkingar ‘from the Vikings’; leis na bhòtairean ‘with the voters’; de na bhòidsichean ‘of the voyages’
• [GEN.PL] àireamh nam bhìorasan ‘the number of viruses’; am measg nan càraichean ’s nam bhanaichean ‘among the cars and the vans’; luach nam vòtaichean ‘the value of the votes’; an àm nam Víkingar ‘in the time of the Vikings’; éifeachd nam Vitamin ‘the effect of the vitamins’ vs do luchd na bhanaichean ‘to the van people’; bho àm na Víkingar ‘from the time of the Vikings’; bho theachd na Vikings ‘from the arrival of the Vikings’.

 
Nouns starting with y-

With loanwords starting with y- (sometimes spelt gh- in Gaelic), the nominative singular form of the article attested in the corpus is a’. The same form also occurs in the dative singular (except where the article is merged with a preposition, e.g. dhan). The forms a’ and na have been attested in the genitive singular and na also occurs in all plural cases.

• [NOM.SG] a’ yacht ‘the yacht’; a’ yard ‘the yard’
• [DAT.SG] air a’ yacht ‘on the yacht’; dhan yard ‘to the yard’
• [GEN.SG] timcheall a’ yacht ‘around the yacht’; leagail a’ yard chiùraigidh ‘demolition of the curing yard’ vs mu chall na gheat (Iolaire) ‘about the loss of the yacht (Iolaire)’; airson na yat ‘for the yacht’
• [NOM.PL] na Yanks ‘the Yanks’; na Yankaich ‘the Yanks’
• [DAT.PL] air na yachtaichean ‘on the yachts’ (also spelt: gheataichean); às na yards ‘from the yards’; air na Yanks ‘on the Yanks’; aig na Yankaich ‘at the Yanks’
• [GEN.PL] chun na Yanks ‘to the Yanks’; maor-airm na Yanks ‘army officer of the Yanks’.

 
Nouns starting with w-

Few loanwords that begin with w- (sometimes spelt u- in Gaelic) have been found in the corpus. The attested forms of the article are the same as those that occur before y-.

• [NOM.SG] a’ uèir ‘the wire’
• [DAT.SG] air a’ wire ‘on the wire’; air a’ watch ‘on the watch’
• [GEN.SG] deireadh na watch ‘the end of the watch’.

Historically, w- used to be replaced by b- in loanwords, cf. buidseach (‘witch’), bathar (‘ware’).
 
Nouns starting with z- / x- and s-

There are few examples of recently borrowed nouns that begin with z- / x- in the corpus. Even when their spelling is adapted to the Gaelic orthography and the initial consonant is spelt s-, these nouns normally do not undergo t-prefixation where it would be expected. Apart from that, the forms of the article are mainly conservative. (The following examples include some non-Gaelic proper nouns or names.)

• [NOM.SG] an siop ‘the zip’; an xylem ‘the xylem’
• [DAT.SG] anns an Sutha ‘in the zoo’; de’n xylem ‘of the xylem’; leis a’ zip ‘with the zip’; anns an Zeitschrift fur Celtische Philologie ‘in the Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie’[academic journal]; faisg air an Zambesi ‘near Zambezi’
• [GEN.SG] a’ cuairteachadh an xylem ‘surrounding the xylem’ vs fìor mhullach an t-Zugspitze ‘the very summit of the Zugspitze’
• [GEN.PL] cogadh nan “Zulus” ‘the Zulu war’ vs ag actadh na Zùlùs ‘pretending to be Zulus’.

Lenition is also absent in leniting contexts:

• dà slide ‘two slides’; dà zero air fichead ‘22 zeros’
• baile Zurich ‘the city of Zurich’
• turas a Zimbabwe ‘a journey to Zimbabwe’.

On the other hand, t-prefixation has been recorded in some nouns that begin with s- in English: [DAT.SG] aig an t-sinc ‘at the sink’; anns an t-seata chùil ‘in the back seat’; [GEN.SG] a lìonadh an t-sinc ‘of filling the sink’; chun an t-sinc ‘to the sink’.
 
Nouns starting with j-

There are a few examples of English loanwords beginning with j- in the corpus, all modified by conservative forms of the article.

• [NOM.SG] an jeep ‘the jeep’, an jetlag ‘the jetlag’
• [DAT.SG] san jeep ‘in the jeep’, dhe’n jam ‘of the jam’
• [M.GEN.SG] airson an joba ‘for the job’
• [F.GEN.SG] cuibheall na jeep ‘the wheel of the jeep’
• [DAT.PL] dha na jokes agad ‘of your jokes’.

Historically, j- used to be replaced by slender s- in loanwords in Gaelic. Such words are adapted to the Gaelic phonology and grammar, and undergo t-prefixation where applicable, e.g. [DAT.SG] fon an t-siompair ‘under the jumper’, air an t-seacaid ‘on the jacket’.
Initial j is sometimes replaced by i- in loanwords. A few examples containing the definite article have been found in the corpus. Initial i- might represent a consonant sound for some speakers, and t-prefixation and h-prefixation are not consistent.

• [NOM.SG] an t-Iapanach ‘the Japanese man’ vs an Iapanach ‘the Japanese man’
• [GEN.SG] á gréim an Iapanaich ‘from the Japanese man’s grip’
• [NOM.PL] na h-Iapanaich ‘the Japanese’ vs na Iapanaich ‘the Japanese’
• [DAT.PL] leis / o na Iapanaich ‘with / from the Japanese’
• [GEN.PL] kamakaze nan Iapanach ‘Japanese kamikaze’ vs an aghaidh na Iapanach ‘against the Japanese’.

 
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The following conclusions can be drawn based on the corpus data presented above:

1. Recently borrowed nouns beginning with f- and, especially, s- normally resist mutation.
2. Nouns beginning with v- / bh-, y-, w-, z- / x- and j- do not fit into the Gaelic system of initial mutations.
3. The spelling of the definite article is inconsistent in the nominative and dative singular with nouns that start with a labial consonant (f-, v- / bh-), which may either reflect the pronunciation of the article or the gender of the noun, or be purely orthographical.
4. The nominative and dative singular form of the article is a’ with nouns that start with y- and w-.
5. The nominative and dative singular form of the article is an with nouns that start with s-, z- / x- and j-.
6. The genitive singular form of the article can be either identical to its nominative form or it is na (i.e. feminine).
7. The general plural form of the article is na, although genitive forms nan and nam have also been attested before z- and v- / bh- respectively. Plural forms of all these nouns are rare in the corpus.
8. Examples of borrowed nouns that start with i- (from English j-) are few. The singular form of the article is an and the plural form is na, alongside nan in the genitive plural. T-prefixation and h-prefixation have been recorded in some examples, but they are inconsistent.

Since such loanwords are not particularly well-attested in the corpus, more research on vernacular usage is needed.
Partially based on the available data, the following inflection patterns can be recommended:
 

Nom. sg.	am film / a’ film [?]	a’ bhana	an sutha
Dat. sg.	a’ film / an fhilm	a’ bhana	an sutha
Gen. sg.	a’ film / na film	a’ bhana / na bhana	an sutha / na sutha
Nom. pl.	na filmichean	na bhanaichean	na suthan
Gen. pl.	nam filmichean	nam bhanaichean	nan suthan

 
The inflection of the definite article before y- and w- is as in a’ bhana, and before j- it is as in an sutha.
We would be interested to receive comments, feedback and suggestions about the forms of the definite article modifying these and other similar loanwords, and about the accompanying initial mutations. How widespread is lenition of f- in leniting contexts (dative and genitive singular) in words such as film or frids? What is the gender of these nouns in Gaelic, e.g. film fada or film fhada ‘a long film’, genitive: toiseach am film / a’ film / an fhilm or na film ‘the beginning of the film’? Is bh- ever replaced by b- in non-leniting contexts in modern loanwords such as bheat ‘vet’, bhana ‘van’ or bhìoras ‘virus’? What is the realisation of English z- (and x-) in loanwords like zip (cf. siop) in traditional Gaelic? Is it the same as Gaelic s-? Does t-prefixation ever occur in the dative singular in words like sutha ‘zoo’, e.g. anns an t-sutha ‘in the zoo’, and how common is it?

Please email us with your feedback and comments at mail@dasg.ac.uk.

Dr David Mandić
Professor Rob Ó Maolalaigh
Oilthigh Ghlaschu / University of Glasgow