Old Irish language

Categories: Irish language | Medieval languages

Language classification
Indo-European

Celtic
Insular Celtic
Goidelic
Old Irish

Old Irish is the name given to the oldest form of the Irish language which can be more or less fully reconstructed from extant sources. It dates from the 6th to the 10th century, when it gives way to Middle Irish.

Old Irish first appears in the margins of Latin religious manuscripts dating as early as the 6th century. A large number of early Irish literary texts, though recorded in manuscripts of the Middle Irish period such as Lebor na hUidre and the Book of Leinster, are essentially Old Irish in character.

It should be noted that while Old Irish is the ancestor to Modern Irish, Scots Gaelic and Manx Gaelic, it is most definitely distinct from these. In general, Old Irish possesses much more inflection than its descendants, and also employs drastically different phonetic and grammatical structures.

A great deal of what is known about Old Irish comes from a small number of individuals, such as Dr. Rudolf Thurneysen (1857-1940), and Osborn Bergin. Even today their books are regarded as required material for any Old Irish enthusiasts.

Fragments, mainly personal names, of an earlier form of the language, known as Primitive Irish, are known from inscriptions in the Ogham alphabet in Ireland and western Britain, dating as late as the 4th century.

Contents

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Phonology

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Consonants

The consonant inventory of Old Irish is shown in the chart below. /N/, /Nʲ/, /L/, /Lʲ/, /R/, /Rʲ/ represent fortis sonorants whose precise articulation is unknown, but which were probably longer, tenser, and generally more strongly articulated than their lenis counterparts /n/, /nʲ/, /l/, /lʲ/, /r/, /rʲ/.

Consonants of Old Irish
  Labial Dental Alveolar Velar Glottal
Plosive Velarized ("broad") p  b t  d k  g  
Palatalized ("slender") pʲ  bʲ tʲ  dʲ kʲ  gʲ  
Nasal Velarized ("broad") m N  n ŋ  
Palatalized ("slender") mʲ Nʲ  nʲ ŋʲ  
Fricative Velarized ("broad") f  v θ  ð s x  ɣ h
Palatalized ("slender") fʲ  vʲ θʲ  ðʲ sʲ xʲ  ɣʲ hʲ
Nasalized fricative Velarized ("broad") ṽ        
Palatalized ("slender") ṽʲ        
Approximant Velarized ("broad")   R  r    
Palatalized ("slender")   Rʲ  rʲ    
Lateral approximant Velarized ("broad")   L  l    
Palatalized ("slender")   Lʲ  lʲ    

Some details of Old Irish phonetics are not known. /sʲ/ may have been pronounced [ɕ] or [ʃ], as in Modern Irish. /hʲ/ may have been the same sound as /h/ and/or /xʲ/. /Nʲ/ and /Lʲ/ may have been pronounced [ɲ] and [ʎ] respectively. The difference between /R(ʲ)/ and /r(ʲ)/ may have been that the former were trills while the latter were flaps.

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Vowels

The inventory of Old Irish monophthongs is:

Monophthongs of Old Irish
  Short Long
Close ("high") i u iː uː
Mid e o eː oː
Open ("low") a aː

The distribution of short vowels in unstressed syllables is a little complicated. All short vowels may appear in unstressed final open syllables (an open syllable is one with no coda consonant), after both broad and slender consonants. The front vowels /e/ and /i/ are often spelled ae and ai after broad consonants, which might indicate a retracted pronunciation here, perhaps something like [ɘ] and [ɨ]. All ten possibilities are shown in the following examples:

Unstressed vowels in absolute final position
marba /ˈmarva/ 'kill' (1 sg. subj.) léicea /ˈLʲeːgʲa/ 'leave' (1 sg. subj.)
marbae /ˈmarve/ 'kill' (2 sg. subj.) léice /ˈLʲeːgʲe/ 'leave' (2 sg. subj.)
marbai /ˈmarvi/ 'kill' (2 sg. indic.) léici /ˈLʲeːgʲi/ 'leave' (2 sg. indic.)
súlo /ˈsuːlo/ 'eye' (gen.) doirseo /ˈdoRʲsʲo/ 'door' (gen.)
marbu /ˈmarvu/ 'kill' (1 sg. indic.) léiciu /ˈLʲe:gʲu/ 'leave' (1 sg. indic.)

In unstressed closed syllables (that is, those with a syllable coda), the quality of a short vowel is almost entirely predictable by whether the surrounding consonants are broad or slender. Between two broad consonants, the vowel is /a/, as in dígal /ˈdʲiːɣal/ 'vengeance' (nom.). Between a broad and a slender consonant the vowel is /e/, as in dliged /ˈdʲlʲiɣʲeð/ 'law' (nom./acc.). Before a slender consonant the vowel is /i/, as in dígail /ˈdʲiːɣilʲ/ 'vengeance' (acc./dat.), and dligid /ˈdʲlʲiɣʲiðʲ/ 'law' (gen.). The chief exceptions to this pattern are that /u/ frequently appears when the following syllable contained an *ū in Proto-Celtic (for example, dligud /ˈdʲlʲiɣuð/ 'law' (dat.) < PC *dligedū), and that /o/ or /u/ frequently appears after a broad labial (for example, lebor /ˈLʲevor/ 'book'; domun /ˈdoṽun/ 'world').

The inventory of Old Irish diphthongs is shown in this chart:

Diphthongs of Old Irish
Long (bimoraic) Short (monomoraic)
ai ia ui   au ĭu ău
oi ua iu eu ou ĕu  
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Orthography

As with most medieval languages, the orthography of Old Irish is not fixed, so the following statements are to be taken as generalizations only; individual manuscripts may very greatly from these guidelines.

The Old Irish alphabet consists of the following eighteen letters of the Latin alphabet:

a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, l, m, n, o, p, r, s, t, u

In addition, the acute accent and the superdot are used as diacritics with certain letters:

  • The acute accent indicates a long vowel: á, é, í, ó, ú are long vowels
  • The superdot indicates the lenition of f and s: ḟ is silent, ṡ is pronounced /h/
  • The superdot is also sometimes used on m and n with no change in pronunciation, when these letters are used to mark the nasalization mutation: ṁ, ṅ.

A number of digraphs are also used:

The letter i is placed after a vowel letter to indicate that the following consonant was slender: ai, ei, oi, ui; ái, éi, ói, úi
The letter h is placed after c, t, p to indicate a fricative: ch, th, ph
The diphthongs are also indicated by digraphs: áe/aí, ía, uí, áu, óe/oí, úa, éu, óu, iu, au, eu

In word-initial position, when no initial consonant mutation has applied, the consonant letters have the following values; they are broad before back vowels (a, o, u) and slender before front vowels (e, i):

  • b: /b/, /bʲ/
  • c: /k/, /kʲ/
  • d: /d/, /dʲ/
  • f: /f/, /fʲ/
  • g: /g/, /gʲ/
  • h: See discussion below
  • l: /L/, /Lʲ/
  • m: /m/, /mʲ/
  • n: /N/, /Nʲ/
  • p: /p/, /pʲ/
  • r: /R/, /Rʲ/
  • s: /s/, /ʃ/
  • t: /t/, /tʲ/

Although Old Irish has both a sound /h/ and a letter h, there is no consistent relationship between the two. Vowel-initial words are sometimes written with an unpronounced h, especially if they are very short (the preposition i "in" was sometimes written hi) or if they need to be emphasized (the name of Ireland, Ériu, was sometimes written Hériu). On the other hand, words that begin with the sound /h/ are usually written without it, for example a ór /a hoːr/ "her gold". If the sound and the spelling cooccur, it is by coincidence, as ní hed /Nʲiː heð/ "it is not".

After a vowel or l, n, or r the letters c, p, t can stand for either voiced or voiceless stops; they can also be written double with either value:

  • mac or macc /mak/ "son"
  • bec or becc /bʲeg/ "small"
  • op or opp /ob/ "refuse"
  • brat or bratt /brat/ "mantle"
  • brot or brott /brod/ "goad"
  • derc /dʲerk/ "hole"
  • derc /dʲerg/ "red"
  • daltae /daLte/ "fosterling"
  • celtae /kʲeLde/ "who hide"
  • anta /aNta/ "of remaining"
  • antae /aNde/ "who remain"

After a vowel the letters b, d, g stand for the fricatives /v, ð, ɣ/ or their slender equivalents:

  • dub /duv/ "black"
  • mod /moð/ "work"
  • mug /muɣ/ "slave"
  • claideb /klaðʲev/ "sword"
  • claidib /klaðʲivʲ/ "swords"

After m, b is a stop, but after d, l and r it is a fricative:

  • imb /imʲbʲ/ "butter"
  • odb /oðv/ "knot (in a tree)"
  • delb /dʲelv/ "image"
  • marb /marv/ dead

After n and r, d is a stop

  • bind /bʲiNʲdʲ/ "melodious"
  • cerd /kʲeRd/ "art, skill"

After n, l, and r, g is usually a stop, but it is a fricative in a few words:

  • long /loŋg/ "ship"
  • delg or delc /dʲelg/ "thorn"
  • argat or arggat /argad/ "silver"
  • ingen /inʲɣʲen/ "daughter"
  • bairgen /barʲɣʲen/ "loaf of bread"

After vowels m is usually a fricative, but sometimes a (nasal) stop, in which case it is also often written double:

  • dám /daːṽ/ "company"
  • lom or lomm /lom/ "bare"

The digraphs ch, ph, th do not occur in word-initial position except under lenition, but wherever they occur they are pronounced /x/, /f/, /θ/.

  • ech /ex/ "horse"
  • oíph /oif/ "beauty"
  • áth /aːθ/ "ford"

The letters l, n, and r are written double when they indicate the tense sonorants, single when they indicate the lax sonorants. (But the tense sonorants are usually written single in word-initial position.)

  • corr /koR/ "crane"
  • cor /kor/ "putting"
  • coll /koL/ "hazel"
  • col /kol/ "sin"
  • sonn /soN/ "stake"
  • son /son/ "sound"
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Grammar

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Sentence structure

Old Irish follows the typical VSO (verb-subject-object) structure shared by most Celtic languages. Verbs are all fully conjugated, and have most of the forms typical of Indo-European languages, i.e. present, imperfect, past, future and preterite tenses, indicative, subjunctive, conditional and imperative moods, and active and passive voices. The only verbal form lacking in Old Irish is the infinitive (present to a limited degree in Modern Irish), the meaning of which Old Irish conveyed with verbal noun constructions. Personal pronouns, when used as direct objects, are infixed into the verb with which they are associated. Nouns possess four cases (nominative, genitive, accusative a.k.a. objective, and dative), and two numbers - the singular and the plural. A third number, dual, is attested to a limited degree with somewhat distinct forms, though it is almost always preceded by the cardinal dá, meaning "two". What equate to prepositions in English are generally in the same placement as Old Irish, though a good many with verbal overtones are actually infixed into the verbs themselves.

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Verbs

Verbs stand initially in the sentence (preceded only by some particles, forming a 'verbal complex' and very few adverbs). Most verbs have, in addition to the tenses, voices, and moods named above, two sets of forms: a conjunct form, and an absolute form. The conjunct form typically consists of one or more preverbs (particles some of which are historically of prepositional origin, compare a-, e-, in-, etc. in Latin verbs, though not directly related and verbal prefixes in Germanic languages), followed by a verb stem which bears the bulk of the conjugation. Personal pronouns as direct objects are infixed between the preverb and the verbal stem, along with various other particles that modify the verb's meaning (including the negative) or indicate certain special sentence structures. The absolute form is used when no infixes are necessary, and any other necessary elements are given in another part of the sentence. A single verb can stand as an entire sentence in Old Irish, in which case emphatic particles such as -sa and -se are affixed to the end of the verb.

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References

  • {{{Author|{{{Last|}}}}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}|, {{{First}}}}}}}}}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}| (1995)}}}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}}}}}}}|.}}}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}| "{{{Chapter}}}" in}} }|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}|{{{Editor}}} }}}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}|2=[{{{URL}}}|3=}} Old Irish Verbs and Vocabulary}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}|2=]|3=}}}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}|, {{{Others}}}}}}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}|, {{{Pages}}}}}}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}|, Somerville, Massachusetts: Cascadilla Press}}}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}|. ISBN 1-57473-003-7}}
  • {{{Author|{{{Last|}}}}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}|, {{{First}}}}}}}}}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}| (1987)}}}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}}}}}}}|.}}}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}| "{{{Chapter}}}" in}} }|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}|{{{Editor}}} }}}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}|2=[{{{URL}}}|3=}} The Early Irish Verb}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}|2=]|3=}}}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}|, {{{Others}}}}}}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}|, {{{Pages}}}}}}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}|, Maynooth: An Sagart}}}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}|. ISBN 1-870684-001}}
  • {{{Author|{{{Last|}}}}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}|, {{{First}}}}}}}}}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}| (1975)}}}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}}}}}}}|.}}}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}| "{{{Chapter}}}" in}} }|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}|{{{Editor}}} }}}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}|2=[{{{URL}}}|3=}} Old-Irish Workbook}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}|2=]|3=}}}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}|, {{{Others}}}}}}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}|, {{{Pages}}}}}}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}|, Dublin: Royal Irish Academy}}}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}|. ISBN 0-901714-08-9}}
  • {{{Author|{{{Last|}}}}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}|, {{{First}}}}}}}}}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}| (1949)}}}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}}}}}}}|.}}}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}| "{{{Chapter}}}" in}} }|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}|{{{Editor}}} }}}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}|2=[{{{URL}}}|3=}} Old-Irish Paradigms and Selections from the Old-Irish Glosses}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}|2=]|3=}}}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}|, {{{Others}}}}}}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}|, {{{Pages}}}}}}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}|, Fourth edition, revised by Osborn Bergin. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy}}}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}|. ISBN 0-901714-35-6}}
  • {{{Author|{{{Last|}}}}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}|, {{{First}}}}}}}}}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}| (1946)}}}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}}}}}}}|.}}}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}| "{{{Chapter}}}" in}} }|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}|{{{Editor}}} }}}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}|2=[{{{URL}}}|3=}} A Grammar of Old Irish}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}|2=]|3=}}}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}|, {{{Others}}}}}}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}|, {{{Pages}}}}}}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}|, Translated by D. A. Binchy and Osborn Bergin. Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies}}}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}|. ISBN 1855001616}}de:Altirische Sprache