Re: samhain?

>  ----- Original Message -----
> >     why is 'samhain' pronounced 'saUen' ?
That is an Anglicization based on the modern Irish Gaelic pronunciation.
In Scottish Gaelic the more common pronunciation is /sa~v@J/ (although
some dialects do have /sa~w@J/. The name is also spelt Samhainn or (in
traditional SG orthography) Samhuinn.

The mh originally represented the nazalised labiodental fricative, in
other words, a nasalized v /v~/. In modern Gaelic, the nasalization of
the consonant is lost, in SG being transferred onto the adjacent
vowel(s), and in IG being lost entirely (AFAIK). In modern IG
intervocalic /v/ very often becomes labialized to /w/, forming a
diphthong; in SG the situation is more complicated: it can remain /v/,
be labialized to /w/, or disappear, depending on the word and dialect.

>  ----- Original Message -----
> > I knew about this pronunciation.  Would someone help me (us) with
the
> > pronunciation of the other three: Beltane, Imbolc and Lughnassadh?
>
> Beltane is actually an Anglicisation of "Bealtaine"
> pronounced /bjOlhi:ni/ = "May".
What dialect of IG is that? Is it really pronounced with a lenited t?

In SG it's spelt Bealltainn (older: Bealltuinn), pronounced
/bjawl_d_0t_d@J/ or /bEwl_d_0t_d@J/. I've read that the "Beall"-/"Bel"-
part of the name is supposedly the name of an old God whose name in
Latinized form was Belus, and that the "-tain(n)" part is a development
of the word for "fire" (mod. SG "teine"), so the name means "Belus'
fire" and refers to the big bonfires which were traditionally lit at
night on the eve of May 1 (and still are -- you should see the one they
do in Edinburgh on top of a hill overlooking the city -- biggest
freaking fire I've ever seen in my life! The naked, red people were
interesting, too).

"Imbolc" is not a modern Gaelic name; it violates the rules of both IG
and SG orthography. I suspect it must have been lifted into English
straight out of Old Gaelic (known to Irish imperialists and the ignorant
as "Old Irish" ;-)) or some other language. If it is OG, then one must
ascertain if the final "c" represents /k/ or /g/ (it stood for both in
OG spelling). If /k/, then it will be something like /imbolk/, with no
epenthetic vowel between the l and the c; however, if it was /g/, then
there will be an epenthetic vowel: /imbol@g/. I have never seen this
name in either modern SG or IG; does anybody know what it's supposed to
mean?

Lughnasagh (one "s") is also spelt "Lùnasadh" in SG, and is spelt
"Lúnasa" in IG. The SG pronunciation is /l_du:n@s@G/. In IG it will be
something like /l_du:n@s@/, as IG regularly loses final /G/. The modern
SG name for the month of August is Lùnasdal (also spelt Lùnastal),
/l_du:n@st@l_d/

Le meas,

Thomas

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