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4. ch. This digram in Italian represents two sounds. The first is that of hard c before e and i, and the second the palatalized sound, as heard in the plural occhi, written by many occhj and even occhii. This sound, which the French would call "un son mouillé," and which modern phoneticism represents by "K", is expressed in Italian, before any other vowel than i, by chi, as in occhio, vecchia, vecchie, orecchiuto. In these words, contrary to what is seen in the plural occhi, the i exists only as a phonetic sign forming part of a trigram. Neither Sassarese nor Tempiese possesses the sound alluded to. In the former it is replaced by c sibilant, and in the latter by the peculiar sound sui generis, which is treated of in the remarks prefixed to the Tempiese version of St. Matthew. Thus the Italian occhi gives place to the Sassarese occi and the Tempiese okci.

In the Sassarese dialect ch may take not only the sound of hard c, but even those of hard g and X, in the circumstances which require c to assume them, provided the vowels e and i follow. Thus "chedda" (chita in Tempiese) settimana, “la chedda", "alchi" archi, "molchi", mosche, are sounded chedda, la ghedda, oxxi, moxxi.

5. ci. To represent the c sibilant sound before the vowels a, o, and u, in Italian is adopted the digram ci, in which the i has no proper sound of its own, but merely serves, as an inseparable part of the digram, to express, in union with the c, the sounds heard in the words bracia, cacia, cucio, for which in cenere and ciglio the c alone suffices. The same use is made of this digram in Sassarese and Tempiese, as may be readily perceived in the words "faccia" and "cucciucciu”, cagnolino, of the former, and in "cioccia”, chioccia, of the latter. In Tempiese the peculiar kci sound often corresponds with the Italian sibilant cc and cci, and sometimes in Sassarese the rough z; though in the latter dialect cc generally survives unchanged. Thus buccia, Italian and Sassarese, is bukcia in

Tempiese; and zozza in Sassarese corresponds to the Italian chioccia.

6. d.--Has always the Italian pronunciation in Sassarese, at least unless it be reduplicated or preceded by . In the latter case it has the property of transforming the ordinary 1, and itself at the same time, into the voiced dental 7, which will be treated of further on. Supposing therefore that we employ the underdotted character "I" as the equivalent of the sound alluded to in all places where it is to be heard, the words found written "caldu" caldo, "laldu" lardo, "ildintiggaddu" sdentato, will have to be pronounced " callu", "lallu", "illintiggaddu”. This sound, a recognised one in the Gaelic dialect of the Isle of Man, is known neither to Tempiese, nor to Cagliaritan, nor even to Logudorese, except, as Spano tells us, in some varieties of this last bordering on Sassarese and not admitted into the common literary dialect of Logudoro. under letter 7.)

(See

Although in the Sassarese dialect, the single d not preceded by never has other than the Italian pronunciation, it will be well to recall what Spano tells us of the pronunciation of the single d preceded by n in such Logudorese words as "nde" ne, "ando" vado, "cumandu" comando, "mundu” mondo, and all the gerunds, "mandigande" mangiando, "factende" or "faghinde" facendo, etc. In all these words d has a palatal sound, as though it were written dd. (See just below under dd.) The three other dialects of Sardinia never give the palatal pronunciation to the single d.

In the Logudorese dialect (see Spano's Grammar, vol. i, p. 15) initial d is susceptible of absorption, i.e., of being suppressed in the Celtic fashion, by the influence of the preceding word; but this actually occurs only in the single word "dinari" denaro. Meda dinari will be pronounced meda inari; as opposed to quantos dinaris, where the d not only asserts itself but demands the strong sound of the double d for the reasons already explained in note 2.

7. dd.-This digram may convey two sounds, that of the strong or double Italian d, and the special palatal sound of the Cagliaritan, Logudorese, Sassarese, Sicilian, and in part of the Corsican dialects also. The latter sound I have already spoken of in the remarks prefixed to the Sicilian Version of St. Matthew; and I shall confine myself here to reminding my readers that it almost always corresponds to an Italian or Latin double 1, "calteddu" castello, "beddu" bello, "eddu" egli, ille, “chiddu" quello.

The former sound, that of double d Italian, has an entirely different origin, since it corresponds nearly always to an Italian or Latin weak t, as may be perceived in “andaddu" andato,"daddu” dato,“rizzibiddu" ricevuto, “laddru" ladro, latro. The word "fraddeddu" fratello, presents both sounds; first the strong dental, and then the strong palatal; the one derived from t, the other from . The palatal sound may be indicated phonetically by "dd", when strong, and by “¿” when weak, as in the Logudorese nde, pronounced "nde”.

8. e. The Sassarese e, like the Italian, is sometimes open and sometimes closed. In this particular, the Sassarese dialect follows the Logudorese pronunciation, in preference to the Italian; while the Tempiese more often agrees with the latter. Thus mela, in Italian and Tempiese, is spoken with e closed, while the open e is heard in the same word, both in Sassarese and in Logudorese. (See Spano's Grammar, vol. i, p. 7.) When e loses the tonic accent, by reason of inflexion or other etymological change, it is, as a rule, converted into i in Sassarese, in Tempiese, and in other southern dialects. Thus "vèni” viene, gives "vinùddu” venuto, in speaking as well as in writing; and "fabèdda" parla, “vèlti” veste, “ vèdi” vede, give fabiddàddu, viltìri, and vidèndi.

9. f. The strong pronunciation of this letter in no respect differs from that known in Italian; but when the weak sound is required, it is no longer spoken as f, but as v. The

words "figliolu" figliuolo, "figga" fico, "faccia", which, when isolated, are pronounced as written, viz., with f, are pressed in speech, though never in writing, as lu vigliolu, vigga, la vaccia.

la

The initial mutation of ƒ into v occurs also in the Celtic tongues, but only in Irish and Manx of the Gaelic group, and Cornish among the Cymric. The Scottish Gaelic among the former class, and Welsh and Armorican of the latter, are without it. Thus, exactly in the same way as the Sassarese, figliolu may be converted into vigliolu in speaking, the Irish "fuil" (blood), may become vuil (written bhfuil), the Manx "feanish" (witness) veanish, and the Cornish "for" (road), vor.

10. g. This letter takes the hard Italian sound before the vowels a, o, or u; or any consonant not forming part of the digrams gl, and gn, of which a word presently; and the hard sound also, as the terminal of a proper name: e.g., "gudimentu" godimento, "gràbidda" gravida, “ Magog".

Before the vowels e and i, it has the sibilant pronunciation that Italian gives to it in the syllables ge, gi, as long as these are pronounced strong;-as if written double, that is; but if the influence of the preceding word weakens its sound, initial mutation occurs. This mutation, peculiar to Sassarese, consists in the transformation of the sibilant sound of g into that of a j, pronounced as a true consonant with a palatalized sound; not, namely, as we hear it in correct Tuscan speech in the words aio, baio, etc.; but just as it is (improperly) pronounced by the Romans, and the majority of Italians, viz., ajo, bajo, etc. Thus the word "gesgia" chiesa, will be sounded jesgia, if a word capable of producing the initial mutation precede, as it does in the case of la gesgia. This is pronounced la jesgia, though never written so.

The Manx and Scottish Gaelic also change the sound of g

LLYFRYDDIAETH Y CYMRY

(CAMBRIAN BIBLIOGRAPHY).

Containing an Account of the Books printed in the Welsh
Language, or relating to Wales, from the year 1546
to the end of the Eighteenth Century. With
Biographical Sketches by the late

REV. WILLIAM ROWLANDS (GWILYM LLEYN),

EDITED AND ENLARGED BY THE

REV. D. SILVAN EVANS, B.D., Rector of Llanwrin, Mont., and Professor of Welsh in the University College of Wales.

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