User:40bus/Conlangs/Nomerian/Mutations

Lenition (séimhiú)

Effects of séimhiú

1. A stop becomes a fricative. Voicing is retained, as is place of articulation except with the coronals.
   • /p/ → /f/
   • /t/ → /h/
   • /k/ → /x/
   • /b/ → /v/
   • /d/ → /j/
   • /ɡ/ → /ɣ/
2. /mˠ/ becomes /w/ or /v/; /mʲ/ becomes /vʲ/.
3. /sˠ/ and /ʃ/ become /h/; but /sˠp(ʲ)/, /sˠm(ʲ)/, /sˠt̪ˠ/, /ʃtʲ/, /sˠk/, and /ʃc/ do not mutate.
4. /f/ is deleted.

Séimhiú is symbolized in the orthography by an h following the consonant in question or, in some older typefaces and texts, by a dot (◌̇) above the letter that has undergone lenition.

Lenition in Irish

Normal	Séimhiú	Gloss
pen /pen/	fen /fen/	"pen"
tejir /teʒir/	hejir /heʒir/	"meat"
ceann /caːn̪ˠ/	cheann /çaːn̪ˠ/	"head"
bișano /biʃano/	vișano /viʃano/	"woman"
droim /d̪ˠɾˠiːmʲ/	dhroim /ɣɾˠiːmʲ/	"back"
glúin /ɡɫ̪uːnʲ/	ghlúin /ɣɫ̪uːnʲ/	"knee"
máthair /mˠaːhəɾʲ/	mháthair /waːhəɾʲ/, /vaːhəɾʲ/	"mother"
súil /sˠuːlʲ/	shúil /huːlʲ/	"eye"
freagra /fʲɾʲaɡɾˠə/	fhreagra /ɾʲaɡɾˠə/	"answer"

The other consonants do not change under lenition.

Environments of séimhiú

After proclitics

After the definite article

The definite article triggers lenition of:

1. a feminine noun in the nominative singular

   an vișano "the girl"

2. a masculine noun in the genitive singular

   an fhir "of the man" e.g. carr an fhir, the man's car (car of the man)

3. 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 fhear "to the man"

   de + an = den: den bhean "from the woman"

   i + an = sa(n): sa chrann "in the tree"; san fhómhar "in the autumn"

• /d̪ˠ, dʲ/ and /t̪ˠ, tʲ/ are never lenited after the article:

an deoch "the drink", although deoch is feminine nominative singular

an tí "of the house", although tí is masculine genitive singular

• Where an /sˠ, ʃ/ would be lenited after the article, it becomes /t̪ˠ, tʲ/ (rather than /h/), written ts:

an tsúil /ən̪ˠ t̪ˠuːlʲ/ "the eye" (fem. nom. sg.)

an tsaoil /ən̪ˠ t̪ˠiːlʲ/ "of the world" (masc. gen. sg.)

After the vocative particle a

• a Bhríd "Bríd!"
• a Sheáin "Seán!"
• a chairde "my friends!"

After possessive pronouns

The possessive pronouns that trigger lenition are mo "my", do "your (sg.)", a "his"

• mo mhac "my son"
• do theach "your house"
• a pheann "his pen"

After certain prepositions

• de chrann "out of a tree"
• faoi chrann "under a tree"
• mar dhuine "as a person"
• ó Chorcaigh "from Cork"
• roimh mhaidin "before morning"
• trí shioc agus shneachta "through frost and snow"
• um Cháisc "at Easter"
• idir fhir agus mhná "both men and women"
• ar bhord "on a table"

After the preterite/conditional of the copula

• Ba dhuine mór é. "He was a big person."
• Ba dheas uait é. "That was nice of you."

After the preterite preverbal particles

• Níor mhúinteoir é. "He was not a teacher."
• Níor thug mé "I didn't give"
• Ar shagart é? "Was he a priest?"
• Ar tháinig sé? "Did he come?"

After certain preverbal particles

• ní thuigim "I don't understand"
• má thagann sé "if he comes"
• an fear a thabharfaidh 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 and often still are in Munster.

• bhris mé "I broke"
• bhrisinn "I used to break"
• bhrisfinn "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 bhó amháin "one cow"
• an chéad bhliain "the first year"
• dhá theach "two houses"
• beirt fhear "two men"
• trí bhád "three boats"
• ceithre bhó "four cows"
• cúig phunt "five pounds"
• sé mhí "six months"

After preposed adjectives

Constructions of adjective + noun are written as compounds.

• seanbhean "old woman"
• drochdhuine "bad person"
• dea-sheirbhís "good deed"
• nuatheanga "modern language"
• tréanmhuir "stormy sea"
• fíorchneas "true skin"
• ardbhrú "high pressure"
• ógfhear "young man"

After most prefixes

• an-bheag "very small"
• ró-bheag "too small"
• aisghabháil "retake"
• athbhliain "new year"
• dobhréagnaithe "undeniable"
• fochupán "saucer"
• forbhríste "overalls"
• idirchreidmheach "interconfessional"
• ilphósadh "polygamy"
• leasmháthair "stepmother"
• míshásta "unhappy"
• neamhchodladh "insomnia"
• príomhchathair "capital city"
• sobhriste "fragile"

The second part of a compound

• ainmfhocal "noun" (lit. "name word")
• dúghorm "dark blue"
• státfhiach "national debt"

In head + modifier constructions

In these constructions coronals are lenited even following other

• aimsir bháistí "rainy weather" (lenition after a feminine singular noun)
• buidéil shú "bottles of juice" (lenition after a plural ending in a slender consonant)
• teach Sheáin "Seán's house" (lenition of a definite noun in the genitive)

Postposed adjectives in certain circumstances

• bean dheas "a pretty woman" (lenition after a feminine singular noun)
• na fir mhóra "the big men" (lenition after a plural noun ending in a slender consonant)
• ainm an fhir bhig "the name of the small man" (lenition after a masculine singular noun in the genitive)
• sa chrann mhór "in the big tree" (lenition after a noun lenited by virtue of being in the dative after den, don, or sa(n))