DASG Blog

LEACAN BLOG 7: Lenition of names in the genitive

Based on their composition, names can be divided into two groups:

• simple names – composed of a single noun, e.g. Dòmhnall, Mòrag
• compound names – composed of two or more words, e.g. Gillebrìde.

Most compound names are composed of a generic element and a specific element. The generic element normally refers to the type, class or category of the entity described by the name. The specific element adds more information to the name. Note that the specific element itself can be a compound expression and is sometimes a name in its own right.

Based on their grammatical behaviour, names can be divided vaguely into the following two groups:

• personal and geographical names
• other names.

Male personal names and most geographical names (both simple and compound) are lenited in genitive contexts. Female personal names are lenited only in certain dialects. Personal names and simple geographical names can inflect for case.

Other names, which are predominantly compound phrases, are usually not lenited in genitive contexts although speakers from certain areas may prefer to lenite this category  too. Most of these do not inflect for case either.
 
Male personal names
The genitive forms of traditional Gaelic male first names are both lenited and palatalised if possible:

• Dòmhnall ‘Donald’ > athair Dhòmhnaill ‘Donald’s father’
• Seumas ‘James’ > làmhan Sheumais ‘James’ hands’
• Pàdraig ‘Patrick’ > a rèir Phàdraig ‘according to Patrick’.

The second element of compound names can also be lenited:

• Gillebrìde ‘Gilbert’ (lit. ‘St Brigid’s servant’) > guth Ghilleb(h)rìde ‘Gilbert’s voice’.

Cf. also the vocative: ’Illebhrìde! ‘Gilbert!’

Lenition is blocked in some fixed expressions due to homorganic delenition, such as:

• Clann Dòmhnaill ‘Clan Donald’
• MacCoinnich ‘Mackenzie’ (i.e. son of Kenneth).

This, however, does not seem to happen in productive phrases:

• clann Dhòmhnaill ‘Donald’s children’
• mac Choinnich ‘Kenneth’s son’.

Non-Gaelic male names – including anglicised Gaelic names – normally remain unchanged:

• màthair Bob ‘Bob’s mother’
• guth Murdo ‘Murdo’s voice’.

But note that lenition can sometimes occur, e.g. Katie Mhurdo ‘Katie (daughter) of Murdo’.
 
Female personal names
The genitive forms of traditional Gaelic female names are palatalised if possible, but lenition is limited to certain dialects:

• Seonag ‘Joan’ > athair S(h)eonaig ‘Joan’s father’
• Mòrag ‘Morag’ > guth M(h)òraig ‘Morag’s voice’
• Màiri ‘Mary’ > sùilean M(h)àiri ‘Mary’s eyes’.

Conservative suffixed genitive forms are found in literature, e.g. gaol Mòraige ‘Morag’s love’.

Non-Gaelic female names – including anglicised Gaelic names – normally remain unchanged:

• Peigi ‘Peggy’ > màthair Peigi ‘Peggy’s mother’
• Bessie > a thaobh Bessie ‘as for Bessie’
• Dolina > piuthar Dolina ‘Dolina’s sister’.

 
Clan names
Traditional clan names are lenited in the genitive:

• oighreachd Chlann Dòmhnaill ‘the estate of Clan Donald’
• triath Chlann Dòmhnaill Shlèibhte ‘the chief of Clan Donald of Sleat’.

The word clann can inflect for the genitive (the ‘truncated’ form chloinn) in this context:

• fir Chloinn Dòmhnaill ‘the men of Clan Donald’
• taobh Chloinn Mhic Coinnich de’n teaghlach ‘the Clan Mackenzie side of the family’.

 
Geographical names
These include names of human settlements, regions, islands, hills, etc. They are either simple or, perhaps more often, compound.
Simple geographical names are normally lenited in the genitive:

• Glaschu ‘Glasgow’ > sràidean Ghlaschu ‘the streets of Glasgow’
• Barraigh ‘Barra’ > Gàidhlig Bharraigh ‘Barra Gaelic’
• Cataibh ‘Sutherland’ > beanntan Chataibh ‘the mountains of Sutherland’.

Masculine geographical names are also palatalised, if possible:

• Cnòideart ‘Knoydart’ > bailtean Chnòideirt ‘villages of Knoydart’
• Leòdhas ‘Lewis’ > Eilean Leòdhais ‘the Isle of Lewis’.

Compound geographical names too are lenited in the genitive, but their first (generic) element does not inflect for case:

• Bàigh a’ Chaisteil ‘Castlebay’ > laimrig Bhàgh a’ Chaisteil ‘the harbour of Castlebay’
• Baile a’ Chaolais ‘Ballachulish’ > sluagh Bhaile a’ Chaolais ‘the people of Ballachulish’
• Beinn na Fadhla ‘Benbecula’ > tràighean Bheinn na Fadhla ‘the beaches of Benbecula’
• Ceann a’ Bhàigh ‘Bayhead’ > muinntir Cheann a’ Bhàigh ‘the population of Bayhead’
• Ceann Loch Mùideart ‘Kinlochmoidart’ > tuath Cheann Loch Mùideart ‘the tenantry of Kinlochmoidart’
• Cinn Tìre ‘Kintyre’ > feadh Chinn Tìre ‘all over Kintyre’
• Cnoc Iòrdain ‘Jordanhill’ > Colaisde Chnoc Iòrdain ‘Jordanhill College’
• Dùn Èideann ‘Edinburgh’ > prìosan Dhùn Èideann ‘the Edinburgh prison’
• Port Rìgh ‘Portree’ > os cionn Phort Rìgh ‘above Portree’
• Srath Nabhair ‘Strathnaver’ > fuadaichean Shrath Nabhair ‘the clearances of Strathnaver’.

On the other hand, the noun gleann ‘glen’ is inflected for the genitive in certain established expressions, besides being lenited, e.g.

• Fear Ghlinne Garaidh ‘the laird of Glengarry’
• Mac Iain Ghlinne Comhann ‘MacIan of Glencoe’
• Mort Ghlinne Comhann ‘the Glencoe Massacre’.

But compare the following where gleann is not inflected:

• sluagh Ghleann Comhann ‘the people of Glencoe’
• Caimbeulaich Ghleann Urchaidh ‘Campbells of Glenorchy’.

However, lenition is sometimes absent, which can perhaps be explained by assuming that the expression is not really perceived as a name:

• beul Bàgh / bàgh Steòrnabhaigh ‘the mouth of the Bay of Stornoway’.

Similarly, lenition seems often to be absent in names whose generic elements are the nouns beinn ‘mountain’ and cnoc ‘hill’, e.g.

• mullach B(h)einn Nibheis ‘the top of Ben Nevis’
• mullach C(h)noc nan Loch ‘the top of Cnoc nan Loch’.

Names of rivers too tend to lack lenition in genitive contexts, e.g.

• uisge Tatha ‘the Tay water’
• o bheul Tatha ‘from the mouth of the Tay’
• abhainn Foirthe ‘the river Forth’
• linne Foirthe ‘the Firth of Forth’.

But usually: abhainn Chluaidh ‘the river Clyde’, bruachan Chluaidh ‘the banks of the Clyde’, Srath Chluaidh ‘Strathclyde’, Linne Chluaidh ‘Firth of Clyde’.

Note that names of rivers are normally unlenited in compound names with the generic elements gleann and loch (which were originally neuter in gender), e.g. Gleann Comhann ‘Glencoe’, Gleann Garaidh ‘Glengarry’, Gleann Seile ‘Glenshiel’; Loch Carrann ‘Loch Carron’, Loch Seile ‘Loch Sheil’, etc.
 
Other names
Most other names are compound phrases composed of a generic element and a specific element. Such names are perceived as phrases and the vast majority of speakers do not lenite them. As with compound geographical names, the generic element does not inflect for case.

1. Names of administrative units

• sràidean Baile Ghlaschu ‘the streets of the City of Glasgow’
• comhairle Siorrachd Pheairt ‘Perthshire Council’
• aig crìch Paraiste Hogh Mòir ‘at the border of the Parish of Howmore’
• sluagh Poblachd na h-Èireann ‘the population of the Republic of Ireland’.

2. Names of administrative bodies, organisations, institutions

• oifis Banca na h-Alba ‘the office of the Bank of Scotland’
• a rèir Bòrd na Slàinte ‘according to the Health Board’
• oifis Coimisean nan Croitearan ‘the office of the Crofters Commission’
• togalach Colaiste Mhoireibh ‘the building of the Moray College’
• obair Comhairle nan Eilean Siar ‘the work of the Council of the Western Isles’
• leabhraichean Comann Gàidhlig (Inbhir Nis) ‘the books of the Gaelic Society (of Inverness)’
• a thaobh Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ‘as for the Scottish Parliament’
• rùnaire Sabhal Mòr Ostaig ‘the secretary of Sabhal Mòr Ostaig’.

3. Titles of documents

• cudromachd Bun-reachd Bhreatainn ‘the importance of the British Constitution’
• bliadhna Co-chòrdadh Pheairt ‘the year of the Treaty of Pearth’.

4. Names of events and similar

• aig toiseach Blàr Chùil Lodair ‘at the beginning of the Battle of Culloden’
• an dèidh Bliadhna Theàrlaich ‘after the Jacobite Rising of 1745’ (lit. ‘after the year of [Prince] Charles [Edward Stuart]’).

 5. Titles of creative works

• ùghdar Cumha Sheathain ‘the author of Cumha Sheathain’
• ùghdar Dàin do Eimhir ‘the author of Dàin do Eimhir’
• a’ gabhail Duan na Callainn ‘singing Duan na Callainn’
• a’ seinn Moladh Mòraig ‘singing Moladh Mòraig’.

Note: cumha ‘lament’, dàn ‘song’, duan ‘lay, ode’, moladh ‘praise’.

Cf. also:

• ùghdar Crodh Chailein ‘the author of Crodh Chailein’ (lit. ‘Colin’s Cattle’)
• ùghdar Càth anns a’ Ghaoith ‘the author of Càth anns a’ Ghaoith (lit. ‘Chaff in the Wind)’.

When the title is a noun specified by a definite article, it can inflect for case:

• An t-Eileanach (lit. ‘the Islander’) > ùghdar An Eileanaich ‘the author of An t-Eileanach’

But note: ùghdar An Nighean air an Aiseag ‘the author of An Nighean air an Aiseag (“The Girl on the Ferry”)’ (not *Na Nighinn / Na h-Ìghne).

6. Titles of newspapers, journals, magazines

• neach-deasachaidh Gairm ‘the editor of Gairm’ (lit. ‘Crowing / Call’)
• duilleagan Soillse ‘the pages of Soillse’ (lit. ‘Light’)
• luchd-leughaidh Mac-Talla ‘the readers of Mac-Talla’ (lit. ‘Echo’).

These simple names are, in fact, indefinite common nouns and so they are neither lenited nor inflected in genitive contexts.
 
* * * * *

Preliminary conclusions for names in genitive position:

1. Male personal names are lenited and inflect for the genitive.
2. Female personal names are lenited only in certain dialects, but they inflect for the genitive where possible.
3. Non-Gaelic and anglicised personal names tend to lack lenition and do not inflect.
4. Clan names are lenited and occasionally inflect for the genitive in literature.
5. Most simple geographical names are lenited and (if possible) they inflect for the genitive.
6. Most compound geographical names are lenited, but they do not inflect for the genitive.
7. Certain river names tend to lack lenition.
8. Beinn- and cnoc-names tend to lack lenition.
9. Other names, many of which are compound phrases, are normally not lenited.
10. In some dialects, all types of names can be lenited, but lenition is more consistent in male names and in most geographical names.

We would be interested to receive comments, feedback and suggestions about lenition in names in genitive position. Does the situation described above correspond to modern vernacular usage? Are feminine personal names lenited in your dialect? What about the names of hills / mountains, rivers, and names that are neither personal nor geographical? Does lenition occur only optionally in any types of name?
 
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