Compound prepositions in Irish and Scottish Gaelic
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Seosamh Watson
Abstract
The subject of this study is a particular type of compound preposition found in Irish and Scottish Gaelic. The compound consists of a simple preposition followed by a noun which it governs, the noun in question often pertaining to human perception or activity. The membership of this ‘nominal’ prepositional class, as will be seen, is quite extensive, so that the category in question, as well as refining the reach, and extending enormously the range, of prepositional activity, adds a separate, often somewhat picturesque, dimension to syntax in the languages in question.
- Abbreviations
- dat.
dative
- exx.
examples
- f.
feminine
- gen.
genitive
- lit.
literally
- m.
masculine
- nom.
nominative
- pl.
plural
- poss.
possessive
- prep.
preposition
- ScG.
Scottish Gaelic
- sg.
singular
- vb.n.
verbal noun
Appendix
Simple prepositions involved in compound forms, together with relevant nouns.
a, a dh’ (Irish do, q.v.) ‘to’.
ag ‘at, by’: béal, cúl, iarraidh.
ar ‘on’: ais, barr, béal, bráid, ceann, cúl, cuma, deis, droim, fad, feadh, fianaise, fuaid, ionad, modh, láthair, lorg, muin, mullach, nós, scáth, son, tóir, toradh, tosach.
an ‘in’ (Irish i, q.v.).
as, à, às: ‘out of’: aice, ceann, diaidh, éadan, éagmais, easpa, íonais, lár, leath, measc.
bhos (Irish os, q.v.) ‘above’.
de ‘of, from’: ainneoin, barr, brí, bua, bun, ceal, ceann, cóir, deasca, deoin, díobháil, díth, droim, éagmais, easpa, éis, farradh, íonais, muin, réir, tairbhe, toradh.
do (sometimes a) ‘to’: fios, ionsaí, leath, réir, taobh.
fá ‘about’: ceann, coinne, comhair, cùis, déin, thuairim.
faoi ‘under, about’: bráid, brí, bun, ceann, coim, coinne, comaoin, comhair, déin, fad, iarraidh, muinín, réir, scáth, tuairim.
fo ‘under’ (often = Irish faoi, q.v.), sometimes varies with fa (q.v.): bua, sciath go ‘to’: ceann.
i ‘in’: aghaidh, aice, ainneoin, áit, aracais, béal, broinn, bun, caitheamh, car, ceal, ceann, coim, coinne, cóir, comhair, comhdhail, cos, cosamar, croí/ croílár, cuideachta, cúl, cúrsaí, dáil, deireadh, diaidh, éadan, éagmais, easpa, éiric, éis, eisimeil, fad, farradh, feighil, fianaise, fochair, fogas, foisceacht, imeacht, ionad, íonais, lár, láthair, leaba, leath, lorg, lúb, meán, measc, modh, muinín, mullach, rith, sàs, taca, tacsa, taobh, teannta, timpeall, tóir, toradh, tosach, tráth, treo, tuilleamaí.
le ‘with, by’: aghaidh, ais, coim, cos, imeacht, linn, taobh.
mu (Irish fá, faoi, um) ‘about’: coinne, comhair, cuairt, déin, timpeall, tuairim.
ó (ScG o) ‘from’: ceann, taobh, tosach.
os (ScG fos) ‘above’: ceann, coinne, comhai.r
ri (ScG) ‘to, at, by’ (found as an archaic form in Irish, now generally substituted by le): cos, linn, taobh.
tar / thar ‘over’: ceann, éis.
um ‘about’: ceann.
References
Cox, Richard A.V. 2017. Geàrr-ghràmar na Gàidhlig. Ceann Drochaid: Clann Tuirc.Search in Google Scholar
Dinneen, Patrick S. 1927. An Irish-English Dictionary. Dublin: The Educational Company of Ireland.Search in Google Scholar
Dwelly, Edward (1901–11 [1977]). The Illustrated Gaelic-English Dictionary. Glasgow: Gairm Publications.Search in Google Scholar
GGBC: Na Bráithre Críostaí 1960. Graiméar Gaeilge na mBráithre Críostaí. Dublin: Mac an Ghoill.Search in Google Scholar
Mark, Colin 2003. The Gaelic-English Dictionary. London and New York: Routledge.10.4324/9780203222591Search in Google Scholar
Ó Criomhthain, Tomás (Ó Coileáin, Seán, editor) 2002. An tOileánach. Dublin: Cló Talbóid.Search in Google Scholar
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CD-ROM and websites
CNG. 2004. Corpas na Gaeilge 1600-1882: the Irish Language Corpus CD-ROM. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy.Search in Google Scholar
eDIL: www.dil.ie (Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language). (acc. 9 January 2024.Search in Google Scholar
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Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Artikel – Articles – Articulos
- German recordings from a forgotten Gaeltacht
- Study of vowel formant data using Gabmap: A pilot analysis of a Lithuanian dialect
- Compound prepositions in Irish and Scottish Gaelic
- On the issue of the development of adjective degree forms in the Western Lithuanian and Latvian dialects
- Frequency Conditions in the Description of Historical Phonological Dialectal Differences
- Language standardization and railway-walking distance. Levenshtein distance and distribution in GAJ
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- Explaining the Dynamics and Stability of Dialects: A Representational Approach
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