Editing Openai/69186d20-2d14-8013-b9c6-c09000f173f6 (section)

=== Assistant: 2511132142ET ===
251113_2142ET

Irish alphabet Q1 + eclipsis Q2, in one go.

===== - Traditional native Irish alphabet: 18 letters > =====
* These are the letters used in native vocabulary + traditional spelling rules (broad/slender, lenition, eclipsis).
* j, k, q, v, w, x, y, z only show up in loans, names, maths/physics symbols, so modern schoolbooks talk about a 26-letter alphabet, but for “internal” Irish phonology/orthography you can treat it as an 18-letter system plus imports.

===== Eclipsis = writing a new consonant in front of the original initial and pronouncing the new one. =====
* Spelled as two letters, e.g. mb, gc, nd, bhf, ng, bp, dt.
* Phonetically, the first one is heard, the original one is usually silent or heavily reduced.

Contrast with lenition (séimhiú):
* Lenition: add h after the consonant → bh, ch, dh, fh, gh, mh, ph, sh, th.
* Eclipsis: add a new consonant before → mb, gc, nd, bhf, ng, bp, dt, and n- before vowels.

===== Eclipse table (Standard): =====

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* The original letter (b, c, d, …) is mostly silent after eclipsis; you’re really hearing the prefixed consonant.

Examples:
* bád “boat” → ár mbád /aːɾˠ mˠaːd̪ˠ/ “our boat”
* carr “car” → sa gcarr /sˠə ɡaɾˠ/ “in the car”
* fear “man” → na bhfear /nə vʲaɾˠ/ “of the men”
* uisce “water” → ár n-uisce /aːɾˠ nˠɪʃkʲə/ “our water”

===== You don’t eclipse at will; it’s tied to specific particles and structures. The main ones you should actually care about: =====

====== - ár “our” → eclipsis ======
* bhur “your (pl)** → eclipsis
* a “their” → eclipsis

vs
* mo, do, a (his) → lenition (séimhiú)
* a (her) → eclipsis of vowels / h-prefix, but no eclipsis of consonants

Examples:
* bád “boat”: - ár mbád “our boat” - bhur mbád “your (pl) boat” - a mbád “their boat” - but mo bhád “my boat” (lenition, not eclipsis)
* athair “father” (vowel initial): - ár n-athair “our father” - a n-athair “their father” - a h-athair “her father” (h-prefixed, not n-)

====== With “na” + genitive plural, common pattern is eclipsis: ======
* fear “man” → na bhfear “of the men”
* carr “car” → na gcarr “of the cars”

Compare nominative plural:
* na fir “the men” (no mutation there), but teach na bhfear “the men’s house”.

====== Preposition i “in”, when combined with article, causes eclipsis: ======
* i + an → sa/san + eclipsis: - carr → sa gcarr “in the car” - bád → sa mbád “in the boat”

Also with plain i before vowels:
* i nGaillimh “in Galway”

You’ll see the same behaviour in extended forms like ins an, sna (pl.).

====== Numbers seacht, ocht, naoi, deich commonly cause eclipsis: ======
* cupla “a couple of”: no mutation.
* seacht gcapall “seven horses”
* ocht gcapall “eight horses”
* naoi gcapall “nine horses”
* deich gcapall “ten horses”

Earlier numbers (dhá, trí, ceithre) usually cause lenition instead.

===== Quick mental contrast: =====
* Lenition (séimhiú) - Written: add h after the consonant (bh, ch, dh, …). - Sound: consonant weakens to fricative/ /h/ / zero. - Triggers: mo/do/a(his), an bhean, bean mhaith, past tense particles etc.
* Eclipsis (urú) - Written: add a new consonant in front (mb, gc, nd, bhf, ng, bp, dt, n-vowel). - Sound: you hear the added consonant, the original one is mostly silent. - Triggers: ár/bhur/a(their), na (gen. pl.), i + article, some numerals (7–10), some relative particles & complementizers in more advanced syntax.

If you’re reading and you see a double initial like mb, gc, nd, bhf…, your brain should immediately go:

: 

If you want, we can take a little paradigm like capall, bád, teach, fear, uisce and run them through:
* no mutation / lenition / eclipsis with mo / do / a(his/her/their) / ár / bhur / in / in the / seven etc., to make the pattern automatic.