LESSON 10.
The Genitive Case.
When two nouns come together and one of them depends on or belongs to the other, the second is put in the genitive case: lioar skeeal (book of story); pabyr-naight (paper of news). In Manx the noun when genitive must be placed after the noun that governs it.
The genitive of most nouns is in form the same as the nominative. Some nouns however have a special form for the genitive.
Thus: Nominative - cass (foot), genitive—coshey (of a foot).
When one noun governs another in the genitive case, the article is left out before the first noun, but retained before the second: ushtey yn chibbyr (the water of the well); Cass y stoyl (the foot of the stool). When a possessive pronoun is used with the genitive noun, the article is not used with either noun:
mwannal my laue (my wrist): garey my ayrey (my father's garden).
The genitive article in the masculine singular is in form like the nominative (yn, y), but the genitive article in the feminine singular becomes ny: boyn ny coshey (the heel of the foot). Occasionally the genitive article masculine is used before a feminine noun:
"Va ennym y voidyn, Moirrey" ('The virgin's name was Mary." — Luke i., 27).
We have already seen that in the singular the article (yn y) causes mutation in a feminine noun whether nominative or accusative. The article does not cause mutation in a masculine nominative or accusative. In the genitive, however, this is reversed, for, as a rule, the article in the genitive singular masculine causes mutation like that in the nominative singular feminine.
Thus:
pobble (m) people: screeudeyryn y phobble—scribes of the people.
Kione—head (m). gen. king: folt y çhing—the hair of the head.
The feminine article in the genitive does not cause mutation but makes any vowel initial add the letter h: nom. fem. ooir—earth: gen. ooirrey; eaghtyr ny hooirrey—the surface of the earth.
In the use of the mutations grammatical exactitude often gives way to convenience of utterance, and we find in this matter occasional diversities and inconsistencies in the practice of the very best speakers and writers.
Baatey (boat) takes a masculine article and adjective, but a feminine pronoun.
EcIipsis.
The word nyn (our, your, their) causes a series of peculiar mutations of the nature of what in Irish is known as eclipsis:
p becomes b padjer (prayer); nyn badjer—our, your or their prayer.
b becomes m braar (brother); nyn mraar—our, your or their brother.
f becomes v folt (hair); nyn volt—our, your or their hair.
t becomes d thalloo (land); nyn dhalloo—our, your or their land.
d becomes gh dooinney (man); nyn ghooinney—our, your or their man.
çh becomes j çheer (country); nyn jeer—our, your or their country.
j becomes y Jee (God); nyn Yee—our, your or their God.
c, k, q becomes g, gh king (heads); nyn ging—our, your or their heads.
g becomes gh garey (garden); nyn gharey—our, your, or their garden.
The other initial letters remain unchanged after nyn. Such words as 'nyn mraar' are usually pronounced 'ny mraar' for ease of utterance, it being difficult to pronounce n immediately before m in rapid speech.
Whenever the context does not show unmistakably whether nyn is in the 1st, 2nd or 3rd person, it is customary to use the prepositional pronouns ain, eu oc.
Thus, instead of saying 'nyn badjer,' it is often preferable to use the article and say 'yn phadjer ain,' etc.
The plural article "ny" does not cause mutation in the nominative or accusative: thie (house), ny thieyn.
In the genitive, the plural article usually causes mutations similar to those caused by 'nyn': Ny dhieyn—of the houses.
In the vocative case (nominative of address), a noun mutates in the same way as when preceded by the possessive pronoun 'my':
O Yee! (O God!).
Ghooinney! (Man!).
Yuan, tar dys shoh! (John, come here!).
Vocabulary.
ben (pl. mraane) woman.
Ben-ainshtyr Mistress, Madam, Mrs.
Ben-ainshtyr aeg or Inneen Miss.
boddagh (pl. boadee) cod.
brack (pl. brick) mackerel.
breag a lie.
breck speckled.
cha nod (or vod) cannot.
chaggil assemble.
chaglym gathering.
cloan (g. clienney) offspring.
cloan ny clienney posterity.
cooidjagh together (placed after noun)
cre'n fa? why?
cre'n fa nagh why not?
cre'n oyr? for what reason?
cred believe
credjal believing.
dooinney (pl. deiney) man.
dy cheilley together.
eaisht listen
eeast fish.
eeastagh fishing.
eeasteyr fishermen.
er my (dty, e, nyn) hon for my (your, his, their) sake.
er y fa therefore.
firrinagh true.
firrinys truth.
fockleyr dictionary.
fod can.
freayll keeping.
freill keep.
geaishtagh listening.
ginsh telling.
guilley (pl. guillyn) boy.
inneen, 'neen girl
insh tell.
lieen (pl. lieenteeyn) net.
lhiannoo (pl. g. lhiennoo) an infant.
lhig dooin let us.
lhig dou let me
lhig, da let him.
lioaran small book, pamphlet.
loayr speak.
loayrt speaking.
Mainshtyr Master, Sir, Mr.
ny lhig dou let me not.
olkan a baby.
ooilley all (placed before noun).
paitchey (p. paitchyn) child.
penn (g. penney) a pen.
ponniar a lad, a girl.
purt (pl. puirt) harbour.
scollag a youth.
screeuyn (pl. screeunyn) a letter.
shen y fa therefore.
shenn ayryn ancestors.
skeayley scattering.
skeayll scatter.
skeddan herring.
skynn (pl. skynnaghyn) knife.
skynn-phenney pen-knife.
son for.
stuggey (pl. stuggaghyn) halfgrown.
toig understand
toiggal understanding.
veih-my-cheilley from one another.
yn irriney the truth.
yn vreck smallpox.
1.—Cur Baarle orroo shoh.
- Ren shiu clashtyn woish thie? Hooar mee screeunyn jea.
- Cre naightyn t'eu? Naightyn mie.
- Vel shiu credjal eh? Cha nel mee credjal fockle jeh.
- Quoi ren ginsh diu?
- Cha nel eh yn irriney, cha nod shen y ve.
- Ta'n baatey ayns y phurt as hig ee magh mairagh, as bee ee mooie son laghyn, t'ee goll magh dy eeastagh skeddan ny breck.
- Ta shiu ayns siyr mooar.
- Cha nod mee furriaght.
- Cre'n oyr nagh ren shiu eh? Cre'n aght nee shiu jannoo eh?
- Ta shen nearey mooar.
- Ec dy chooilley hraa.
- Ooilley laghyn nyn mea chaglym cooidjagh.
2.— Cur Gaelg orroo shoh.
- Will you hear from home? I shall get a letter to-morrow.
- Was the boat in the harbour yesterday? Yes, and she is there now, but she will go out tomorrow to fish herring or mackerel.
- Where is their father now? He is at home, and he will be there all day.
- They are in a hurry, they cannot stay. Is that the truth?
- Is your mother in the house? She is within. My father is out.
- Why are you doing that?
A Phrase a Day.
- Vel brishey-trostee aarloo? (Is breakfast ready?)
- Aarloo! Dy ve shickyr te. Rieau er dy lieh oor lurg shiaght. (Ready! To be sure it is. Ever since half-past seven.)
- Eisht foddee oo deayrtey magh yn tey, bee'm heese ayns tullagh. (Then you can pour out the tea, I'll be down in a moment.)
- Nee tey ny caffee t'ayd? (Is it tea or coffee you have?)
- Caffee dy ve shickyr, vel oo er choayl dty vlass? (Coffee, to be sure, have you lost your taste?)
- T'eh blastyn ny smoo gollrish tey, dar m'annym, cha noddym gra c'red t'eh! (It tastes more like tea, upon my soul, I can't say what it is!)