2908: Irish Lenition: Celtic Mutation Dec 7, 2024

In Irish, lenition and eclipsis are two types of mutations that alter the beginning of a word, often depending on its grammatical context. Lenition, literally softening, affects consonants by making them voiced or spirantized, changing for instance "b" pronounced [b] to "bh" pronounced [v]. This mutation often occurs after certain prepositions or possessive pronouns. Eclipsis, on the other hand, involves replacing the initial consonant with a different one, such as "b" becoming "m" . Eclipsis typically follows the definite article or certain prepositions. Both mutations play a vital role in marking syntax, and are not merely allophonic (i.e. the same sound altered in different environments).

These mutations are not just linguistic quirks but essential parts of Irish grammar that indicate possession, number, or other syntactic features. For instance, ‘madra’ (dog) becomes “an mhadra” (the dog) when triggered by the definite article. This is different for instance to Hebrew’s system of gemination, the phonetic effect of which looks quite similar, but which is triggered by phonology, not grammar.