case, therefore, the emphasis is laid on the words that follow these pronouns. Sentences such as the above being formal enunciations of the identity of two definite nouns, or emphatic statements of particular facts, are necessarily translated by the verb is. If for sentence No. (7) we were to substitute "Tha farmad a' deanamh treabhadh," the effect of the statement is considerably different. No. (7) means that emulation-more than anything else-makes ploughing. The alternative translation merely states the fact that emulation is in the act of making ploughing-it restricts the attention to the predicate. We are now in a position to lay down the following rules :— 1. When an English expression consists of two definite nouns or their equivalents, connected by the verb to be, it is usually translated by the formulae is e, is i, is iad, followed immediately by the more accented of the two nouns, thus :-"Charlie is my darling"- "Is e | Tearlach mo rùn." "Charlie is my darling""Is e mo rùn | Tearlach." We cannot say, "Is Tearlach mo run" (which would mean, rhetorically, "My darling is a Charlie);" nor can we say, "Is mo run Tearlach," mo rùn being definite. We could say, of course, "Is run dhomh Tearlach," run being indefinite ("a darling to me"). Again, "The light of the body is the eye"" Is i an t-suil solus a' chuirp." In "Is e solus a' chuirp an t-suil," the accent is placed on the solus. 2. When an English expression consists of a subject and a predicate, if the subject is to be rendered emphatic, the same formulae may be used, followed by the subject and a relative clause, thus:- “Practice makes expert"—" Is e 'n cleachdadh | a ni teoma.' So, "A man acts, a dog tells"-"'S e | duine | a ni, 'se cu a dh'innseas."* What I may call "the phenomenon of the double e" is an exact application of Rule 1. Thus, "This is he"-"Is e | so | e;" "It is the city of the great king"-"Is e | baile an righ mhòir | e," lit. "It, viz., the city of the great king-is it," the weak "e" (subject in English) being thrown to the end. "Ma 's Eur toil | -If IT (viz., a certain statement (neuter), which is] your will is it = if it is your will = if you please. So, Man and dog are definite-the class man and the class dog. "God created the heavens"-" Chruthaich Dia na neamhan" (ordinary form). "God created the heavens"-" Is e Dia a chruthaich na neamhan" (emphatic form). § 5. Is + Ann. The combination of is with ann is another device for expressing emphasis in Gaelic. We shall first jot down a few examples : (1) Is ann air an duthaich a thainig an da latha ! (2) Is ann air a' mhuic reamhair a theid an t-im. (4) Is ann mar sin a bha e. (5) Is ann mar a chuirear an siol a dh'fhàsas e. (8) Cha 'n ann a bhriseadh an lagha a thainig mi. (11) Is ann boidheach, 's cha 'n ann daicheil. In all these expressions, is ann is the equivalent of the formula "is e," and may be literally translated "it is," or "is there." The use of is ann is much the same as that of is, is e, &c.-to bring into prominence the phrase that immediately follows it, and by this means to add force to the whole sentence. Wherever is ann is used, a change takes place in the usual order of words in a sentence. It is generally employed to express indignation or surprise; thus, the first sentence may be translated, "What a change has come over the country," and the last, "What a fine day!" Several of the instances given indicate that it is frequently used in proverbs. "Fasaidh an siol mar a chuirear e": the seed grows as it is sown. "Is ann a dh' fhasas," &c. Just as the seed "Is ann mar a chuirear an siol," &c. Just as the seed is sown, so it grows. is sown, so it grows. = The following rule may be deduced as to its use :—Is ann is employed most frequently before adverbs or adverbial phrases or clauses. = Thus it was 'S ann mar so a bha e. It is employed very effectively in the apodosis or consequential clause of a statement, as "Ge b'e ni a bhios os cionn so, is ann o'n olc ata e"-Whatsoever is more than this, is of evil. The latter part of the Latin expression quo....eo; English the......the is translated by is ann, thus, "The sooner I hear, the sooner I shall go Mar is luaithe a chluinneas mi, 's ann is luaithe a dh'fhalbhas mi. = * This sentence is similar in form to the first five. Nach ann = Nach is ann ; the second ann is an adverb modifying tha, and is transposed in order to be emphasised by the first ann. It is Is ann before adjectives is rare, and not to be imitated. frequently used before relative clauses in Gaelic, but these are generally restricted by some alverbial expression, as in Nos (6) and (9). Is is the word usually employed before adjectives, as we have already seen, and in certain common expressions it takes the place of is ann before adverbs, as Is minig a bha an Donas dàicheil, is tric a bha sonas air beul mòr, is fhada bho'n thubhairt mi, &c. The latter part of this expression is cognate with the neuter pronoun it (English), id (Latin). Seadh may generally be translated by that's it or 'tis so. It is often employed absolutely, in assenting to a previous proposition, as "Gu deimhin a ta mi a 'teachd an aithghearr. Amen. Seadh, thig a Thighearn Iosa." Even so. In some parts of the Highlands, the formula of assent is sin fhein. The negative of seadh is Cha'n eadh or Ni h-eadh. The words "Yes" and "No" are variously translated in Gaelic according to the form in which the question is put. Except in the case of seadh, the answer always repeats the verb that is used in the principal sentence of the question. Is is the only verb that cannot stand alone in answer to a question. The following are examples of affirmative replies : (1). An d' thainig thu ?-Thainig. (4). An esan (ise) a tha ann ?—Is e (is i). (5). Am bheil e ann ?-Tha. (6). An ann à Duneidin a thainig e?-'S ann. (7). An e fear a tha annad?--Is e ('s e). (8). Am fear e ? - Seadh. (9). Am bainne so ?-Seadh. The rule regarding seadh may be thus stated :-Seadh is to be used when the answer refers to a predicate (adj. used as a noun, or noun) attached to the verb is (expressed or understood).* last question may be put thus :- "Is bainne so, (nach eadh) ?" and and the answer is seadh. The From the preceding discussion, the general conclusion may be drawn that is in Gaelic, though unemphatic itself, is largely used when any deviation from the supposed ordinary method of expression takes place for the sake of effect. It is an appropriate device An e sin modh ?-'S e. Am modh sin ?-Seadh.-Professor Mackinnon. for altering the usual order of words, especially when the language attains a certain level of dignity, indignation, or pathos. In certain combinations (as in "Is bronach mi an diugh") it occurs more frequently in poetry than in prose, but it is inseparable from the idiom of everyday speech, especially in interrogations, and when employed in conjunction with other verbs (such as tha). As a stranger to the language of the Gael is known by his inability to use this idiom aright, so a Highlander more accustomed to his mother tongue than to the language of the Southron is detected most readily by his attempt to transplant this native style of conversation into English. Mr William Black rings the changes on this idiom in his Highland novels. Thus-"There is many a time that I have said to him ;" "It will be a bad day the day I quarrel with my own people ;" and so on ad libitum. The Position of the Object after an Infinitive. The next peculiarity of Gaelic diction that I take up is also inadequately dealt with in the grammars. All the grammars state that the noun object which follows the verbnoun, or infinitive mood, is put in the genitive, while the object preceding it is put in the accusative. What learners of Gaelic desire is an answer to the question, When does the object precede the infinitive ? For the sake of clearness, I shall call the form bualadh (striking) a verb-noun; in combination with the preposition do (a), the verb-noun may be called the infinitive. Do is the preposition to, and, like the corresponding term in English, seems originally to have denoted purpose. It is usually written in the form a. We shall call a bhualadh, when it denotes purpose, the strong infinitive; when it does not denote purpose, the weak infinitive. Consider these two sentences:- (1) Dh àithn e dhomh | an dorus a bhualadh. (2) Thàinig mi | a bhualadh an doruis. In the first sentence, "An dorus a bhualadh" is a noun phrase, in the second, "A bhualadh an doruis" is a phrase of purpose, or an adverbial phrase. The rule, therefore, is-In noun phrases, the object precedes the infinitive, in phrases of purpose, the object follows the infinitive, or, shortly, the strong infinitive is followed by its object; in other cases, the weak infinitive is preceded by its object. This rule, it should be noted, strictly applies only when the strong infinitive (or infinitive of purpose) follows a verb. Obs. 1. Verbs beginning with "f," (fill, to fold), and with a vowel (ol) are a little peculiar. The do (a) of the weak infinitive is lost, and an additional do (a) is placed before the strong infinitive, as— Obs. 2. Intransitive verbs in noun phrases are used in their verb-noun form, not in the infinitive form,* as Obs. 3. The noun-phrase construction is used after all those expressions that do duty for verbs, as "Is aill leam," "Is toigh leam," "Is når dhomh," "Is beag orm," "Tha eagal orm, &c., as "I wish (what?)-to read the book" (noun phrase), Is aill leam an leabhar a leughadhf. The noun phrases are in these cases really the subjects of the sentences in which they occur, the predicates being the nouns or the adjectives that immediately follow is. So far there is no difficulty in connection with the position of the object. When prepositions, other than do (a), are used before the infinitive, or before the verbal noun, the construction is not so clear. Here, again, the grammars afford us but little guidance. Obs. 1. When gu and chum are used to denote a purpose, the object precedes the (weak) infinitive, as "Thainig mi gu | mo bhrathair 'fhaicinn," "Thainig mi chum mo bhrathair 'fhaicinn," so also “Thaini mi airson | mo bhrathair 'fhaicinn"-I came for the purpose of what?-seeing my brother (noun phrase). Obs. 2. Ag and the verb noun is equivalent to the English participle, and of course takes the object after it. Obs. 3. The construction of air, an deigh, and the like is, at first sight, a little difficult. (1). Air may be followed immediately by the verb-noun, in which case the object comes necessarily after the verb. "When the * It seems better to put the matter thus than to understand such a verb as a dheanamh (weak infinitive) after them: Is coir dhomh eirigh, (a dheanamh). + Is toigh leam an leabhar a leughadh-I (myself) wish (or find pleasure in) to read the book. Is toigh leam leughadh an leabhair-The reading of the book (by another) is a pleasure to me.-Professor Mackinnon. |