Re: re Mutations initial (in Welsh, for example) (was Re Re New conlang)

On Wednesday, October 13, 2004, at 06:35 , Joe wrote:

> Ray Brown wrote
>
>>
>>
>>> Then in certain contexts, the "p" mutates to "b".
>>> Since the "p" is at the beginning of the word, it is
>>> called "initial consonant mutation".
>>
>>
>> Yep - after the particle 'a' (even if omitted in speech) soft mutation
>> takes place, so
>> Prynodd Huw ~ Huw (a) brynodd
>>
>
> My book (Catchphrase, by Cennard Davies, also a BBC series, I believe),
> also has 'Fe brynodd Huw', which is, apparently, a spoken form, with
> 'fe' indicating a positive statement . You know anything about it?
Yes, it's a mark of South Walian colloquial English to use 'fe' as a
preverbal affirmative particle before synthetic tenses; in north Wales 'mi'
  is similarly used.

They were originally personal pronouns used pleonastically before the verb;
  but they long ago lost any pronominal meaning when so used. In the South
_fe_ is used, whatever person the verb is, and similarly with _mi_ is used
in the North. These preverbal affirmative particles cause soft mutation.

The more formal language does not use the particles.

Ray
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