AN GAOḊAL.
139
from any tense or mood ; that being so,
and nine-tenths of those who speak I-
rish as their natural language using it
and the other forms adverted to, we
consider it to be the most correct.
Canon Bourke uses it in his gram-
mar with a hyphen.
Ṫroideoċaḋ muid, ċaiṫeoċaḋ muid;
the former is the conditional, and the
latter, the future indicative mood.
Though these belong to what is called the First
Conjugation we never heard an Irish-speaking per-
son conjugate them in any other way in the future
tense and conditional mood. The reason that Irish-
speaking persons will not understand a word read
to them from a book is that the writers adopt words
and forms now obselete. The time has come when
the language must be correctly written. — Then,
who is to decide ? the criterion of nations — the
people who speak it as their natural language.
In England the stage has been the criterion in
the pronunciation of peculiar words or phrases ;
unfortunately the Irish have no stage to appeal to,
but they have the people who speak it ; they
must be the criterions.
Ṫugaid, and duḃraid are as correct
as ṫug siad, duḃairt siad.
Joice renders the conditional mood
of buail thus. —
Singular.
ḃuailfinn,
ḃuailfeá,
ḃuailfeaḋ sé,
Plural.
ḃuailfimis,
ḃuailfiḋ,
ḃuailfidís.
To the practical Irish speaker the condition here
sought to be conveyed is not felicitously rendered.
and he would indicate and pronounce it thus. —
Singular.
Pronounced.
ḃuailfainn, I would strike,
vooilhinnh,
ḃuailṫá, thou wouldst "
vooilhaw,
ḃuaileoċaḋ sé, he would "
vooil-augh
(shay.
Plural.
ḃuaileoċaḋ muid, we &c,
vooilaugh-
muidh,
ḃuaileoċaḋ sib. you "
vooilaugh-shiv
ḃuaileoċaḋ siad, they "
vooilaugh-she-
udh;
which is the proper inflection. We take it that it
is the province of the grammarian to try to account
for the various peculiarities and exceptions to gen-
neral rules existing in a language and not the man-
ufacture of a new one.
Modern writers of Irish grammars seem to ig-
nore the spoken language altogether. This should
not be so : it is better to preserve the living than
try to resurrect the dead. The invention of the
art of printing, and the improvements effected in
the intercommunication of human thought, should
be availed of. Previously to those improvements
each person wrote as he or she pleased, so that
there could be no sameness.
As the GAEL reaches the most prominent Irish
scholars now known, we hope our reply to Mr.
Weaver will lead to beneficial results ; especially
with regard to the difference made by grammarians
between the future and the conditional of the
primitive and derivative verbs.
Scranton, an treas lá de'n deiċ-
ṁaḋ mí, míle oċt g-ceud deug dá
agus ceire fiċid.
M. J. Lógan.
A Ċara Ḋílis. —
Cuirim ċugat dollar air son leaḃar
úirniġṫe an Taṫair Nolan, a m-baile
Áṫ-Ċliaṫ, agus mar an g-ceudna trí
fiċead piġin air son An Gaoḋal an san
dara bliaḋain dá aois, agus is é mo
ḋóċus gó m-beiḋ saoġal fada agat féin
agus aig an Gaoḋal.
Pádruic M. Breaṫanaċ.
Baile na Saiġdiúiriḋ, Condae Mont-
gomerġ, Óhio, 29ṁaḋ lá de ,n ṁí
ṁeaḋain an Ḟoġṁair, 1882.
Do' n t-Saoi M. J. Logan-
A Ċara Ḋílis. —
Tá brón mór orm, caiṫfiḋ me ráṫ
duit naċ ḃ-fuil me slán, aċt ḃí tinneas
trom orm air feaḋ an t-seaċtṁain so
le pian ann mo ṫaoḃ agus pian ann mo
ċluas, agus pian ṁór ann mo ċeann,
agus le piata dul ṫart mo ċorp go 'h-
uile, aċt tá me níos feárr a n-diu
buiḋeaċas do Ḋia.
Cuirim aon dollar agus fiċe piġin
air ṡon an Gaoḋal do íoc air ḃliaḋain
eile air me féin agus Seamus Abúrca.
Miċeál Eoin Ui Culláin.
Is feárr míne 'ná boirbe ṁór,
Is feárr cóir 'ná dul ċum dliġe;
Is feárr teaċ beag a's teann lón,
’Ná teaċ mór a's beagán bíḋe,
ṡuos
l. 126
We would request our readers to send us the
names of news agents who would be likely to
circulate the GAEL, with the view of sending them
specimen copies.
