Difference between revisions of "Articles"

From Scottish Gaelic Grammar Wiki
Jump to: navigation, search
(→‎Masculine Singular Article)
Line 37: Line 37:
 
|}
 
|}
  
−
==Feminine Singular Article==
+
 
 +
 
 +
===Feminine Singular Article===
 
{| border=1 cellpadding=2, rules="all"
 
{| border=1 cellpadding=2, rules="all"
 
!
 
!
Line 63: Line 65:
 
|}
 
|}
  
−
==Plural Article==
+
 
−
""<TABLE columns="7" border=1 cellpadding=2, rules="all">
+
===Plural Article===
−
<TR><TH><TH colspan="3">before
+
{| border=1 cellpadding=2, rules="all"
−
<TR><TH><TH>f, b, m, p<TH>all other consonants<TH>before vowels  
+
!
−
<TR><TH>Nom/Acc<TD colspan="2" rowspan="2"><center>na<TD rowspan="2"><center>na h-
+
!colspan="6" |before
−
<TR><TH>Dat
+
|-
−
<TR><TH>Gen<TD><center>nam<TD colspan="2"><center>nan
+
!
−
</TABLE>""
+
!f
 +
!b, m, p
 +
!c, g
 +
!sV, sl, sn, sr
 +
!d, t, l, n, r, sg, sm, sp, st
 +
!before vowels  
 +
|-
 +
!Nom/Acc (common case)
 +
|colspan="2" rowspan="2"|na
 +
|rowspan="2"|na h-
 +
|-
 +
!Dat
 +
|-
 +
!Gen
 +
|nam
 +
|colspan="2"|nan
 +
|}
  
  
−
=== Description 2: By form of the article===
+
== Description 2: By form of the article==
  
 
""<TABLE columns="2" border=1 cellpadding=2, rules="all">
 
""<TABLE columns="2" border=1 cellpadding=2, rules="all">

Revision as of 20:51, 18 April 2009

Article is a common name for what linguists typically call determiners. In English 'the' and 'a/an' are articles. In Gaelic the indefinite article is silent (e.g. leabhar 'a book') -- the exception being the indefinite genitive, where there is no overt article, but the noun is lenited (Lamb 2003: 29). The definite article surfaces variously as an, am, a', nam, nan or na depending upon the case, gender, and number of the noun it modifies and depending upon which Consonant the following word begins with.

Throughout the following symbols indicate initial mutations and are not traditionally written out L means "triggers lenition", Articles ending in -n or -m often trigger voicing of the following consonant through nasalizaiton, although this is not indicated in writing.

The system is complex, so we give three different descriptions. Choose the one that suits you best.

Description 1: By gender and number

Masculine Singular Article

before
f b, m, p c, g sV, sl, sn, sr d, t, l, n, r, sg, sm, sp, st before vowels
Nom/Acc (common case) am an an t-
Dat anL a'L an t- an
Gen


Feminine Singular Article

before
f b, m, p c, g sV, sl, sn, sr d, t, l, n, r, sg, sm, sp, st before vowels
Nom/Acc (common case) anL a'L an t- an
Dat
Gen na na h-


Plural Article

before
f b, m, p c, g sV, sl, sn, sr d, t, l, n, r, sg, sm, sp, st before vowels
Nom/Acc (common case) na na h-
Dat
Gen nam nan


Description 2: By form of the article

""
Formlocation
a'L
<center>Feminine Nom/Acc Singular before b, c, g, m, p
<center>Feminine Dative Singular before <i>b, c, g, m, p
<center>Masculine Dative Singular before <i>b, c, g, m, p
<center>Mascuine Genitive Singular before <i>b, c, g, m, p
<center>am<center>Masculine Nom/Acc Singular before <i> f,b,m,p
<center>an<center>Feminine Nom/Acc Singular before vowels and <i>d, n, t, l, r, sg, sp, st, sm
<center>Feminine Dative Singular before vowels and <i>d, n, t, l, r, sg, sp, st, sm
<center>Masculine Dative Singular before vowels and <i>d, n, t, l, r, sg, sp, st, sm
<center>Mascuine Genitive Singular before vowels and <i>d, n, t, l, r, sg, sp, st, sm
<center>Mascuine Nom/Acc Singular before anything <i> except vowels and b, f, m, p
<center>anL<center>Feminine Nom/Acc Singular before <i>f
<center>Feminine Dative Singular before <i>f
<center>Masculine Dative Singular before <i>f
<center>Mascuine Genitive Singular before <i>f
<center>an t-<center>Feminine Nom/Acc Singular before <i>sV, sl, sn, sr
<center>Feminine Dative Singular before <i>sV, sl, sn, sr
<center>Masculine Dative Singular before <i>sV, sl, sn, sr
<center>Mascuine Genitive Singular before <i>sV, sl, sn, sr
<center>Mascuine Nom/Acc Singular before vowels
<center>na<center>Nom/Acc plural before consonants
<center>Dative plural before consonants
<center>Feminine Genitive singular before consonants
<center>na h-<center>Nom/Acc plural before vowels
<center>Dative plural before vowels
<center>Feminine Genitive singular before vowels
<center>nam<center>Plural Genitive before <i>b, f, m, p
<center>nan<center>Plural Genitive before other sounds

</TABLE>""


Description 3: An Abstract Analysis

The following description is based on the insightful description found at [[1]]. The symbols in the next chart are abstract! You need to translate them using the guides that follow.

""
singularplural
MasculineFeminine
Nom/acc
W</sup>
<center>X<center>Y
Dative<center>X
Genitive<center>X<center>Y<center>Z

</TABLE>""

Each of these abstract forms is realized the following ways, predictable from the phonology:

W

""
FormContext
an t-
<center>before vowel
<center>am<center>before b, f, m, p
<center>an<center>elsewhere

</TABLE>""

X

""
FormContext
a'L
<center>before , b, c, g, m, p
<center>anL<center>before <i>f
<center>an t-<center>before <i>sV, sl, sn, sr
<center>an<center>elsewhere

</TABLE>""

Y

""
FormContext
na
<center>before consonants
<center>na h-<center>before vowels

</TABLE>""

Z

Form Context
nam before "b, f, m, p"
nan elsewhere


External Links

References

Lamb, William (2003) Scottish Gaelic. Lincom-Europa.

Retrieved from "https://gaelicgrammar.org/~gaelic/mediawiki/index.php?title=Articles&oldid=308"