User:40bus/Conlangs/Nomerian/Mutations

Lenition (séimhiú)

Effects of séimhiú

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/
/mˠ/ becomes /w/ or /v/; /mʲ/ becomes /vʲ/.
/sˠ/ and /ʃ/ become /h/; but /sˠp(ʲ)/, /sˠm(ʲ)/, /sˠt̪ˠ/, /ʃtʲ/, /sˠk/, and /ʃc/ do not mutate.
/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:

a feminine noun in the nominative singular
an vișano "the girl"
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)
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))