Page:Simple Lessons in Irish, Part 1 - O'Growney.pdf/31

 The ship is new. A new ship is going. Thomas and Art are sick yet. Thomas is not sick. Gold is scarce. There is gold at the fort. We are not warm yet. There is a sweet taste on the fresh bread. The young tree is growing yet. There is not a sweet air on the long poem. The poem is not long. The wall is high. The ship is not heavy; the boat is full and heavy. There is a heavy lock in the high door. You are not weak; you are young and healthy. Art is wearing a new coat, and the coat is long (and) heavy. The young horse is on the road.

In Irish, as in English, vowels are grouped together in three ways. (1.) In the word ruin, the u and i are pronounced separately; the u being pronounced distinctly, and the i somewhat obscurely. The same may be said of the e and a in the word real. (2.) In the word round, the sounds of o and u melt into each other, forming what we call a diphthong. (3.) In the word mean, the ea represents one simple vowel sound, like that of e in me. But as this one vowel sound is represented in writing by two letters, these two letters, ea, are called a digraph. Other digraphs are ai in main, ou in through, ae in Gaelic, ao in gaol, oa in goal, etc. We shall now examine the vowel-groups in Irish.

Each vowel is pronounced separately, the second vowel being obscure.