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118 influence of dialectal &#8209;e, and its use was extended in the 19th cent. because of an idea that &#8209;au suggested the pl. ending.

In Ml. W. ei and eu appear in all positions, so that the mutation is not represented in writing, § 79. But &#8209;é-u, &#8209;á-u were distinct, as are contracted &#8209;éu, &#8209;áu now: diléu, parháu, § 33 iv.

The mutation aw: o is not of general application. The penultimate o does not come from the ultimate aw, but both come from ɔ; see § 71 i. Hence when aw is an original diphthong < Brit. or Lat. ou or au, it remains aw in the penult, as in awdur < Lat. au(c)tōrem; so cawgiau pl. of cawg < late Lat. caucus; awydd, etc. § 76 iii; canawon, athrawon, § 36 iii. This shows nawn which gives prynhawnol, prynhawngweith, etc., to be from *nouna § 76 iii as opposed to awr which gives oriau, oriog, etc., and is from *(h)ō̦ra § 71 ii (3). In late formations aw < ā is unmutated as in mawrion § 144 iii (1), ardderchawgrwydd beside ardderchogrwydd. Before a consonant, penultimate aw is sounded əw, and sometimes written ow, as cowgiau D. 40, ardderchowgrwydd.

Where Ml. W. aw in the unaccented ult. has become o, § 71, the mutation of course disappears; thus it appears in Ml. W. pechawt, pechodeu, but is lost in Mn. W. pechod, pechodau. Where at the same time the aw represents a Brit. diphthong, as in gwrando, gwrandawaf, the rule of mutation is reversed. So in final &#8209;o for affected au, in athro, athrawon § 76 v (5).

w appears in the penult in some words; see § 66 ii, iii. For other exceptions to mutations 4 and 5 see § 82.

The mutation uw: u occurs only before ch, § 77 x. In late formations it is neglected; thus beside lluwch ‘(snow)drift’, we have the old lluchio ‘to hurl’, and the new lluwchio ‘to drive (dust or snow)’. For the derivatives of duw see § 78 iv (2).

On unmutated forms in loose compounds see § 45 ii (2).

i. From the table in the above section it is seen that the use of the two sounds of y is regulated by the law of vowel mutation. The general rule in its special application to these sounds may be stated as follows:

y has the ɥ sound in monosyllables and final syllables, and the ỿ sound in all syllables not final; as edrɥch, edrỿchwch, brɥn, brỿniau, mỿnɥdd, wỿnỿddoedd, bỿrddau, prɥd, prỿdferth, dỿfod, cỿfỿngder.

The exceptions to the rule are—

A few proclitics, which, though monosyllabic, have the ỿ sound. These are ỿr, ỿ ‘the’, ỿn ‘in’, fỿ ‘my’, dỿ ‘thy’, ỿn ‘our’, ỿch ‘your’, mỿn, ỿm ‘by’ (in oaths).

Pre-verbal yẟ, yr, y (whether the relative, § 162, the affirmative particle, § 219 ii, or the conjunction, § 222 x) is now always sounded