We
will return now to work on pronunciation, grammar
and vocabulary.
Pronunciation
Exercise
Here
are several sentences that are written in the
form of the pronunciation guide. Read them aloud,
or have someone read them to you. As you hear
them, form a mental picture of the meaning. Do
not translate them word for word. After you have
finished, look at the Key at lesson end to verify
your understanding.
neel
uh EYEM-sheer hoh mah AH-guhs uh vee shee in-YAY*,
ahk* TAW*-im uh duhl uh-MAHK* hig un SHOHP-uh,
pay* shkay*l ay*. k*uh-NIK may* un YREE-uhn eg
EYE-ree er MAH-din, AH-guhs vee NAY*L-tuh DOOV-uh
oun FRESH-in. BAY*dir goh GIR-hee shay* SHNAHK*-tuh
rev EE-hye.
Grammar
With
nouns like "mac" and "bord",
the form of the noun changes when you put the
noun into an expression like "the son's hat"
or "the head of the table". "Hata
an mhic" (HAHT-uh VIK) and "ceann an
bhoird" (KYOUN uh VWIRD) are the Irish expressions.
The words "an mhic" and "an bhoird"
are in the genitive or possessive case and show
ownership or the larger combination to which some
element belongs.
"Mac"
and "bord" are first declension nouns,
all masculine and all ending in a broad consonant
one preceded by "a", "o",
or "u".
In
the second declension, nearly all nouns are feminine,
and all end in a consonant. Some of the ending
consonants are slender (preceded by "e"
or "i"), and some are broad (preceded
by "a", "o", or "u").
Their plurals form in several ways, and you must
learn them as you learn the noun.
Before
we begin intensive work on this declension, learn
the following groups of words that will be examples
of how second-declension nouns change.
grian,
an ghrian, solas na gréine (GREE-uhn, un
YREE-uhn, SUHL-uhs nuh GRAY*N-e); sun, the sun,
light of the sun or sunlight.
bróg,
an bhróg, sáil na bróige
(brohg, un VROHG, SAW*-il nuh BROH-i-ge); shoe,
the shoe, heel of the shoe or the shoe heel.
suil,
an tsúil, dath na suile (SOO-il, un TOO-il,
dah nuh SOO-i-le); eye, the eye, color of the
eye.
áit,
an áit, ainm na háite (aw*t, an
AW*T, AN-im nuh HAW*-tye); place, the place, name
of the place or the place's name.
You
can see from this that feminine nouns are preceded
by "na" in the genitive. This "na"
does not change the noun except that it causes
an "h" to be put before the initial
vowel, as in:
na
háite; the place.
na
heaglaise (nuh HAHG-lish-e); of the church.
na
hiníne (nuh hi-NEEN-e); of the daughter.
Most
second-declension nouns end in "___ e"
in the genitive singular, as you can see from
the examples.
Second-declension
nouns whose basic forms ends in "___ ach"
change their ending to " __ í"
in the genitive singular. An example is:
báisteach,
an bháisteach, na baistí (BAW*SH-tuhk*,
un VWAW*SH-tuhk*, nuh BAW*SH-tee); rain, the rain,
of the rain.
Usage
of "my, your, his", etc., with these
second-declension nouns is similar to that with
first-declension nouns. For example:
mo
chos, barr mo choise (muh K*UHS, bahr muh K*ISH-e);
my foot, top of my foot.
Usage
of the compound prepositions with these nouns
is also similar to that with first-declension
nouns. For example:
os
comhair na háite (ohs KOH-ir nuh HAW*-tye);
in front of the place.
Vocabulary
(All
these nouns are second-declension.)
grian,
an ghrian, na gréine, na grianta (GREE-uhn,
un YREE-uhn, nuh GRAY*N-e, nuh GREE-uhn-tuh);
sun, the sun, of the sun, the suns.
ceist,
an cheist, na ceiste, na ceisteanna (kesht, un
yesht, nuh KESH-te, nuh KESH-tuh-nuh); question,
the question, of the question, the questions.
lámh,
an lámh, na láimhe, na lámha
(law*v, un LAW*V, nuh LAW*-i-ve, nuh LAW*V-uh);
hand, the hand, of the hand, the hands.
bróg,
an bhróg, na bróige, na bróga
(brohg, un VROHG, nuh BROH-i-ge, nuh BROHG-uh);
shoe, the shoe, of the shoe, the shoes.
leadóg,
an leadóg, na leadóige, --- (la-DOHG,
un la-DOHG, nuh la-DOH-i-ge); tennis, the tennis,
of the tennis.
aicíd,
an aicíd, na hacíde, na haicídí
(A-keed, un A-keed, nuh HA-keed-e, nuh HA-keed-ee);
disease, the disease, of the disease, the diseases.
seachtain,
an tseachtain, na seachtaine, na seachtainí
(SHAHK*T-in, un TYAHK*T-in, nuh SHAHK*T-in-e,
nuh SHAHK*T-in-ee); week, the week, of the week,
the weeks.
fadhb,
an fhadhb, na faidhbe, na fadhbanna (feyeb, un
EYEB, nuh FEYE-be, nuh FEYEB-uh-nuh); problem,
the problem, of the problem, the problems.
cos,
an chos, na coise, na cosa (kuhs, an K*UHS, nuh
KISH-e, nuh KUHS-uh).
gealach,
an ghealach, na gealaí, na gealacha (GAL-uhk*,
un YAL-uhk*, nuh GAL-ee, nuh GAL-uh-huh); moon,
the moon, of the moon, the moons.
Key
to the pronunciation exercise:
Níl
an aimsir chomh maith agus a bhí sí
inné, ach táim ag dul amach chuig
an siopa, pé scéal é. Chonaic
mé an ghrian ag éirí ar maidin,
agus bhí néalta dubha ann freisin.
B'fhéidir go gcuirfidh sé sneachta
roimh oíche.
The
weather is not as good as it was yesterday, but
I am going out to the store, anyway. I saw the
sun rising this morning and there were dark clouds
there, too. Perhaps it will snow before night.
If
your first effort at listening to speech was not
very successful, don't be discouraged. All beginners
in languages experience this. We will have these
pronunciation exercises at intervals in future
lessons, and you will become more proficient.
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