Editing Primitive Irish (section)

== Grammar ==
The brevity of most orthodox ogham inscriptions makes it difficult to analyse the archaic Irish language in depth, but it is possible to understand the basis of its phonology and the rudiments of its [[Noun|nominal]] [[Morphology (linguistics)|morphology]].<ref name=":0" />

=== Morphology ===
Surviving Ogham inscriptions are written exclusively with nouns. It is possible to deduce some morphological features of Primitive Irish nouns from these inscriptions. With the exception of a few inscriptions in the [[Grammatical number|singular]] [[dative case]], two in the plural [[genitive case]] and one in the singular [[nominative case]], most known inscriptions of nouns in orthodox Ogham are found in the singular genitive, so it is difficult to fully describe their morphology. The German philologist Sabine Ziegler, however, drawing parallels with reconstructions of the [[Proto-Celtic language]]'s morphology (whose nouns are classified according to the vowels that characterize their [[Declension|endings]]), limited the archaic Irish endings of the singular genitive case to {{sc|-i}}, {{sc|-as}}, {{sc|-os}} and {{sc|-ais}}.<ref>Ziegler 1994, p. 53-92</ref>

The first ending, {{sc|-i}}, is found in words equivalent to the so-called Proto-Celtic category of [[Proto-Celtic language#*o-stem nouns|''*o''-stem nouns]]. This category was also recorded in the dative case using {{Sc|-U}}, with an inscription possibly in the nominative case also using {{Sc|-U}}. {{sc|-os}}, in turn, is equivalent to Proto-Celtic [[Proto-Celtic language#*i-stem nouns|''*i''-stems]] and [[Proto-Celtic language#*u-stem nouns|''*u''-stems]], while {{sc|-as}} corresponds to [[Proto-Celtic language#*ā-stem nouns|''*ā''-stems]]. The exact function of {{sc|-ais}} remains unclear.<ref>Ziegler 1994 p.53-92</ref>

Furthermore, according to Damian McManus, Proto-Celtic [[Proto-Celtic language#Nasal stems|nasal]], [[Proto-Celtic language#Velar and dental stems|dental, and velar stems]] also correspond to the Primitive Irish {{sc|-as}} genitive, attested in names such as {{sc|Glasiconas}},<ref>McManus 1991 p.102</ref> {{sc|Cattubuttas}},<ref>McManus 1991 p.108</ref> and {{sc|Lugudeccas}}.<ref>McManus 1991 p.116</ref>

=== Phonology ===
It is possible, through [[Comparative linguistics|comparisons]] with other languages, to [[Linguistic reconstruction|reconstruct]] a [[Phoneme|phonemic inventory]] for the properly attested stages of the language using the names used in the scholastic tradition for each letter of the Ogham alphabet, which are recorded in the Latin alphabet in later manuscripts.<ref name=":0" /><ref>McManus 1991 p.38-39</ref>

==== Vowels ====

:{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
!
! colspan="2" | Monophthongs
! colspan="2" | Diphthongs
|-
![[Close vowel|Close]]
| {{IPA|i}} {{IPA|i:}}
| {{IPA|u}} {{IPA|u:}}
| 
|
|-
![[Mid vowel|Mid]]
| {{IPA|e}} {{IPA|e:}}
| {{IPA|o}} {{IPA|o:}}
| 
| {{IPA|oĭ}}
|-
![[Open vowel|Open]]
| colspan="2" align="center" | {{IPA|a}} {{IPA|a:}}
| colspan="2" align="center" | {{IPA|aĭ}}
|}
There is a certain amount of obscurity in the [[Vowel|vowel inventory]] of Primitive Irish: while the letters ''Ailm'', ''Onn'' and ''Úr'' are recognized by modern scholars as representing {{IPA|/a(:)/}}, {{IPA|/o(:)/}} and {{IPA|/u(:)/}} respectively, there is some difficulty in reconstructing the values of ''Edad'' and ''Idad''.{{sfnp|McManus|1991|pp=36-38}} They are poorly attested, and scholars believe the distinction between them might be arbitrary, in the same way as the [[runes]] ''peorð'' and ''cweorð'' in the [[Anglo-Saxon runes|Anglo-Saxon alphabet]], but they are transcribed as {{Sc|E}} and {{Sc|O}}, respectively, and probably had the respective pronunciations of {{IPA|/e(:)/}} and {{IPA|/o(:)/}}.{{sfnp|McManus|1988|pp=163-165}}<ref name=":1">{{harvp|Stifter|2010|p=58}}</ref> There were also two diphthongs, transcribed as {{sc|ai}} and {{sc|oi}}.<ref name=":1"/>

In later stages of the language, scholastic Oghamist traditions incorporated five new letters for vowels, called ''forfeda'' (supplementary), corresponding to [[Digraph (orthography)|digraphs]] of the orthodox spelling, but these no longer corresponded to Primitive Irish sounds.{{sfnp|McManus|1991|pp=141-146}}

==== Consonants ====
The [[Consonant|consonant inventory]] of Primitive Irish is reconstructed by [[Celtic studies|Celticist]] Damian McManus as follows:<ref>McManus 1991 pp.36-39</ref><ref name=":1" />
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto;"
|+caption |Consonants of Primitive Irish in IPA
|-
!
! colspan="2" | [[Bilabial consonant|Bilabial]]
! colspan="2" | [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! colspan="2" | [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]

! colspan="2" | [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! colspan="2" | [[Labialized velar consonant|Labiovelar]]{{efn|In Old Irish, these consonants had disappeared. The stops merged with their simple velar counterparts, while /w/ became /f/.}}
|- align=center
![[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| colspan="2" | {{IPA|m}}
| colspan="2" | {{IPA|n}}
| colspan="2" |

| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
|- align=center
![[Stop consonant|Stop]]
|{{IPA|p}}{{efn|The sound {{IPA|/p/}} was absent in Primitive Irish, but a letter in scholastic ogham was created for the late introduction of this sound, called ''Pín'', ''Ifín'' or ''Iphín'', the only ''forfeda'' with a consonant value, although often used as an equivalent to the digraphs ''io'', ''ía'' and ''ia'' in Latin spelling. In early loanwords, the Latin letter {{sc|P}} was incorporated as {{sc|Q}}, for example Primitive Irish {{sc|QRIMITIR}} from Latin ''presbyter''.}}
|{{IPA|b}}
| {{IPA|t}}
| {{IPA|d}}
| colspan="2" |

| {{IPA|k}}
| {{IPA|ɡ}}
| {{IPA|kʷ}}
| {{IPA|ɡʷ}}
|- align=center
![[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]{{efn|The fricatives {{IPA|/f, v, θ, ð, x, ɣ, h, and β̃/}} emerged by the 5th century with the advent of phonetic séimhiú (lenition). In turn, their non-lenited counterparts occasionally and inconsistently became geminates.}}
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |{{IPA|s}}, {{IPA|sᵗ}}{{efn|The sound {{IPA|/s/}} in scholastic ogham was represented by two letters: ''Sail'' and ''Straif'', the latter probably representing a previously distinct sound such as {{IPA|/st/}} or {{IPA|/sw/}} (it was relatively rare and corresponded to Indo-European words containing {{IPA|/sw/}}). However, the two sounds had likely merged by the Old Irish period, except in their respective lenited forms.}}
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
|- align=center
![[Approximant]]
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" | {{IPA|j}}{{efn|Lost in later stages.}}
| colspan="2" |
| {{IPA|ʍ}}
|w
|- align=center
![[Lateral consonant|Lateral]]
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" | {{IPA|l}}
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
|- align=center
![[Trill consonant|Trill]]
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" | {{IPA|ɾ}}
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
|}

The letters ''Cért'', ''Gétal'' and ''Straif'', [[Transliteration|transliterated]] as {{sc|q}}, {{sc|ng}} (or {{sc|gg}}) and {{sc|z}}, respectively, were known by the ancient scholastic Oghamists as ''foilceasta'' (questions) due to the obsolescence of their original pronunciations: the first two, {{IPA|/kʷ/}} and {{IPA|/ɡʷ/}}, had merged with plain [[Velar consonant|velars]] in Old Irish, and the third, probably {{IPA|/st/}}, merged with {{IPA|/s/}}.<ref>McManus 1991 p.182</ref><ref>Ziegler 1994 pp.11-12</ref> However, evidence of the original distinction between ''straif'' and ''sail'' was still present into the Old Irish period, as the ''séimhiú'' ([[lenition]]) of {{IPA|/s/}} produced {{IPA|/f/}} (< Primitive Irish {{IPA|/w/}}) for lexemes originally represented by ''Straif'' but {{IPA|/h/}} for [[lexeme]]s originally represented by ''Sail''.<ref>Stifler 2006 p.30. The lenited form strengthens the opinion that the basal form had an older, Indo-European derived pronunciation /sw/ that had apparently evolved into /st/ at some point later, but which retained the lenited form */hw/ for some time, which could easily have later evolved into /w/ or /f/.</ref>

The letter ''Úath'' or ''hÚath'' (transliterated as {{sc|h}}), although not counted among the ''foilceasta'', also presented particular difficulties due to apparently being a [[silent letter]]. It was probably pronounced as {{IPA|/j/}} in an early stage of Primitive Irish, disappearing before the transition to Old Irish.<ref>McManus 1991 pp.36-37</ref>

Consonant lenition and palatalisation, which feature heavily in [[History of the Irish language|later stages of the language]], may already have existed in an [[Allophone|allophonic]] form, i.e., they were not [[Phonemic contrast|phonemically contrastive]] yet.

====Internal history====
McManus describes the following sound shifts from [[Proto-Celtic]] as being attested in the earliest Primitive Irish inscriptions:<ref>McManus 1991, pp. 84-5</ref>

* A loss of /n/ before /t/ and /k/, resulting in the gemination of the following sound: ''*nt, *nk > tː, kː''
* Loss of intervocalic *sː ''/s/ > Ø / V _ V''
* Monophthongization of *ouː ''/ou/ > /oː/''
* Unrounding of *o in final unstressed syllables