Re: CHAT reformed Gaelic

On Monday, December 8, 2003, at 05:54 PM, Thomas Leigh wrote:

> Sgrìobh Stephen Mulraney:
>
>>>  BTW I do disagree with JRRT over Gaelic - I find it one of
>>> the more pleasant sounding languages.
>
> What did JRRT say about Gaelic?
I don't recall the precise words, but 'twas to the effect the language
was harsh & ugly.

[snip]
> Actually, the voiceless unaspirated stops [p t k] do often
> become voiced following a nasal, e.g. |bata| [paht@] but |am
> bata| [@m baht@]. This likewise varies from dialect to dialect;
> in some dialects even the voiceless aspirated stops become
> voiced after a nasal (e.g. |cat| [kaht], |an cat| [@N gaht]),
> and in Lewis the stop becomes assimilated to the nasal but the
> aspiration remains, producing a set of sound changes more or
> less identical to the Welsh soft mutation (e.g. |am bata|
> [@maht@], |an cat| [@Nhaht])!
I like it!    :)

Ray
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