by the lenition of the following adjective mòr, to mhòr, which is why The Big Mountain is A’ Bheinn Mhòr. When feminine nouns beginning with a B, C, F, G, M, or P are lenited, H becomes the second letter, which gives a’ chroit (uh crotch) - the croft, an fhang (un ang) - the sheepfank, a’ ghlumag (uh GHLOOmak) - the puddle, a’ mhòine (uh VAWNyuh) - the peat moor, and a’ phàirc (uh ferk) - the enclosed field. In contrast, an dail (un DAAil) - the haugh, an leac (un lehchd) - the flagstone, an nathair (un NAH-hair) - the snake, an rèilig (un RAYlik) - the grave and an tìr (un cheer) - the land, though they are feminine, have no visible letter H when lenited. But lenition is heard in these examples as a slenderisation of the initial consonant. As in other languages, the grave accent in modern Gaelic results in a lengthening of the vowel. Stress, almost without exception, is always on the first syllable, whether accented or not.
The article before masculine nouns beginning with a consonant is an. If it occurs before B, M, F or P, it is am, simply because that is easier to say, which explains the way Dumbreck (Dùn Breac) in Glasgow has been anglicised. So An Gleann Mòr (un glown more) - the Great Glen, showing no lenition of either noun or adjective, is masculine. So too is am bràigh. Neither noun, though G and B are lenitable in other circumstances to GH and BH, is lenited because of their masculine gender. The word Loch is also masculine and just as familiar as Ben / Beinn. But unlike the latter, its Gaelic form is intact in both Scots and English. So the small loch is Loch Beag (loch bake), with no lenition of the adjective. Craig / Crag / Creag (crayk) is a feminine example of a common place-name element, which English has borrowed as well. According to lenition rules for feminine nouns, the yellow crag is A’ Chreag Bhuidhe (uh chrake VOOyuh). Bhuidhe is lenited in recognition of a feminine noun.
Despite what appears to be an alien spelling system, Gaelic orthography adheres to the rules more often than English. Furthermore, there are not many sounds which are unique to the language. CH in Loch is probably the most well known - and exists in all other Germanic languages, but has been lost in contemporary English. It is always pronounced as a breathy abrasive in the rear of the mouth. Linguists must enjoy terming it the voiceless velar fricative. So a loch has nothing to do with canals or doors. An cladach (un clatuch) - the stony shore, which is masculine, and a’ chruach (uh CHROOuch) - the heap, which is feminine, both possess a terminal fricative. But cruach, with its leniting article, has an initial fricative too. Kilchurn, Loch Awe - Caol a’ Chùirn (coehl uh choorn) - The Narrow of the Cairn, has nothing to do with milk.
However well the Scots voice the CH of loch, many will be unfamiliar with the need to do so with the initial fricative of a’ chruach. The Black Wood in Rannoch, A’ Choille Dhubh (uh CHAWLyuh dhoo), shares that initial rasp. Here we see the definite article leniting the C of a feminine noun to CH and the subsequent adjective leniting in agreement from D to DH. The lenited adjective dhubh illustrates another consonant combination, unknown in both standard and Scottish English. It has a similar sound to CH. GH is pronounced in the same way as DH. But both are more guttural, voiced and nasal than CH; like a stronger version of GH in ghost. This is how the Spanish say Girona or La Giralda, or how the Dutch pronounce the letter G in Den Haag. But before the slender vowels of E and I, both DH and GH are pronounced as Y, a letter unknown to Gaelic. So Beinn Dhearg sounds like byn YERrak. Notice too the softening of G to K, similar to D softening to a T sound. The noun bad in Bad na h-Òige, is pronounced baht un AWkuh, with H in baht sounding like as a small puff of breath before the final letter. We have already seen a similar softening of the final G of creag and beag to K. Dhearg (YERrak) also has a vowel sound between its last two letters, rather like some Scots speakers pronounce film as filum.
Returning to some further forms of the definite article: if a masculine noun begins with a vowel, then the article becomes an t- with its letter T making a tchuh sound. So An t-Eilean Beag (the small island), is pronounced un TCHAYlan bake. In contrast, when a feminine noun begins with a vowel then the definite article has no tchuh sound. An abhainn bheag (un AHvin vake), the small river, is feminine. Where a masculine noun begins with an S, then the definite article remains as an, like An Srath Mòr (un sraah more) – Strathmore in Angus. In contrast, feminine nouns beginning with an S have the article an t-, which silences the initial letter S. So An t-Sròn sounds like un trawn - The Promontory or Nose, of Troon in Ayrshire.
4.2 Adjectives and Compound Nouns
As in many other European languages, adjectives usually follow the noun in Gaelic. Where more emphasis is required, they can precede the noun. Geàrr Aonach (gyar OEnuch), Glen Coe, meaning the short, steep ridge and Garbh Bheinn (garav vyn), Ardgour, are examples of emphatic abruptness and roughness respectively. Note how the preceding adjective causes lenition of the noun following, but is not lenited itself. A less emphatically rough mountain is Beinn Gharbh in Assynt, where the adjective following is lenited in the usual way to agree with the feminine noun. To revise: an adjective following a masculine noun is not lenited, as in Càrn Mòr.
There is an argument that, in some cases where adjectives precede nouns, this is not a reflection of emphasis. What we see in examples like Geal Chàrn in Rannoch and Crom Chreag in Glen Quaich, for example, is evidence of the naming style of early Irish and Gaelic, where the specific precedes the generic and lenites the noun, whatever its gender (Drummond 2009). Preceding adjectives are often colours like geal and glas - the latter is the most common - and tend to be monosyllables. Many of these are attached to beinn as in Garbh Bheinn above. Sometimes close compound nouns hyphenate or fuse as in Fionn-phort or Fionnphort in the Ross of Mull.
Specific nouns can also precede generic ones. Many of these qualify the word beinn, as in Cròic Bheinn - Antler Mountain, Applecross, Ladhar Bheinn - Hoof Mountain, Knoydart and Slat Bheinn - Rod Mountain, Skye. Many examples lie within the area of Norse colonisation and may reflect its naming pattern. Suilbheinn - pillar mountain in Assynt is a hybrid of Norse and Gaelic, where beinn has replaced fyall (fell).
4.3: Plural Nouns and Adjectives, and the Gaelic Spelling Rule
The definite article changes for plural nouns, but for both genders it is identical. Before any vowel it is na h- and before any consonant it is na. Plurals rarely occur on their own in place-names. In most cases the plural is indicated by a suffix an, or ean after the slender vowels E or I in the preceding syllable. So the plural of a’ chreag, which is feminine, is na creagan (nuh CRAYkun), whilst for an t-eas (un ches) - the waterfall, which is masculine, it is na h-easan (nuh HESun). For an taigh (un tie) - the house, which is masculine, the plural is na taighean (nuh TYun), whilst for an eaglais (un EKlish) - the church, which is feminine, it is na h-eaglaisean (nuh EKlishun).
Some common terms, such as gleann and beinn, add a T before the usual suffix to make their plurals, gleanntan for example. For beinn, there is an internal vowel change in the first syllable, giving beanntan. Similarly, baile (BAHLuh), meaning farm or village, gives bailtean (BALtchun). Sometimes the singular form of the noun is contracted when making a plural. So machair becomes machraichean (MACHreechun). Irregularities may have developed simply because they proved easier on the tongue than keeping strictly to the rules.
In these examples of the plural, an important spelling rule can be observed. In Gaelic this is called caol ri caol is leathann ri leathann - narrow with narrow and broad with broad. Caol and leathann are common adjectives in place-names. When a slender vowel, like E or I, ends the first syllable of a word and the second syllable is separated from the first by a consonant or consonant combination like dh or mh, then the first vowel of this following syllable is also slender. Similarly, when a broad vowel like A, O or U ends the first syllable of a word and the second syllable is separated from the first by a consonant or consonants, then the first vowel of this latter syllable is also broad. This explains why baile becomes bailtean and eas becomes easan, when plural. Sometimes separating consonant(s) are silent. The Gaelic for field is achadh (ACHugh). Its plural is achaidhean, consistent with the spelling rule and pronounced ACHee-un, where the silent DH acts only to separate the penultimate and final syllables. Achadh provides the common, anglicised place-name prefix
