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Modern Irish. Grammatical structure and dialectal variation
362
ROkW
Micheal 6 Siadhail, Modern Irish. Grammatical Structure and Dialectal Variation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989. xv+ 369 pp. & 35.00. Reviewed by Aidan Doyle, Department of Celtic, Catholic University Lublin, Al. Raclawickie 14, 20-950 Lublin, Poland. In the introduction Micheil 6 Siadhail states that his book ‘is an attempt to provide a reasonably comprehensive overview of modern Irish dialects’; the work is intended for both students of Irish and professional linguists. At the outset 0 Siadhail sketches briefly the history of Irish and its relation to other Celtic languages, and gives some background information about the three main dialects spoken in the 20th century: Donegal, Connacht, and Munster, and their sub-dialects. The sub-dialects are something of a problem. I accept that 6 Siadhail was trying to be as inclusive as possible, but this does cause a certain amount of confusion. Thus at times he discusses features found, say, in Connacht, while at other times he refers to Connemara and Mayo, which are regions of Connacht. Without constantly referring to the map on p. 3 the reader is unable to discern the overall pattern of dialectal variation. A better idea, perhaps, would have been either to make the survey more general, concentrating on the main differences between the bigger areas (e.g. Connacht), or, alternatively, to focus on the three restricted regions where the language is still vigorous: Donegal, Connemara (in Connacht), and Kerry (in Munster). The layout of 6 Siadhail’s book means that the reader has easy access to a mass of information. The table of contents is detailed, and each separate issue is numbered; as well as this, there is an index of the words which appear in the work, and a phonetic transcription is provided for all the words in the section on phonology. However, considering the fact that not all of his readers can be expected to be familiar with the orthography of Irish, it might have been advisable to have included a brief summary of the main rules at the beginning of the book. Thus, the table on p. 112 which illustrates the representation of initial mutations in spelling could have been included in the introduction. Describing his approach, 6 Siadhail tells us that ‘The viewpoint is basically synchronic’ in the sections on phonology and morphology, while ‘the approach to the syntax . is of a more traditional nature’. In the section on phonology the author discusses such phenomena as the syllabic system, the raising and lowering of vowels, metathesis, etc. Much of what he writes is uncontroversial, e.g. the description of initial and final consonant clusters (pp. 19-20). However, the methodology adopted by the author, described in the chapter entitled ‘Introduction to phonology’, strikes me as somewhat dubious. His thesis is that by applying ordered rules to an ‘underlying form’, one can derive the widely diverging surface forms of the three main dialects of Irish. To illustrate this, he takes the three realisations of the noun ‘pay’: [pa:ja] (Donegal), [pa:i:] (Connemara), and [pa:] (Munster). 0 Siadhail claims that the underlying form for this noun is /pa:ja/, spelled pciighe. Donegal [pa:ja] is identical with this underlying form. Connemara Ipa:i:] is derived by a rule, and Munster [pa:] is further derived from the Connemara form. 0 Siadhail goes on to state that ‘The form . . . priighe, is the form
Reviews
363
which most economically . . . allows us to derive the required forms for the various dialects’. He does not, however, explain why Connemara [pa:i:] should be derived from Donegal [pa:ja], rather than the other way round. However, my objection is more to the theory which he illustrates with this particular example, namely, that there is one underlying form for all dialects of Irish. Even if we accept 6 Siadhail’s derivation of Connemara [pa:i:] and Munster [pa:] from /pa:ja/, the rules involved are so complicated that there is little to be gained from such an interpretation. Even worse, the normal type of evidence used to justify remote representations, i.e. alternations and distributional restrictions, is simply not available for most of the data. The author does admit (p. 17) that ‘there is a degree of divergence which cannot be handled by such a framework’. Thus he allows for two underlying forms for the word ‘snow’: /Jn’axtay/ for Dunquin (Munster) to account for genitive rn’axtag’] and / Jn’axta/ (genitive the same) for other areas. I really cannot see the reasoning behind this, when Munster [pa:] is derived from /pa:ja/, even though it would require an underlying form /pa:r/, just like /fn’axtay/, to account for genitive [pa:g’]. If one insists on a highly abstract framework, one should at least be consistent. I feel, however, that it would make more sense to deal with the phonology and morphology of the three dialects separately, rather than trying to force the facts into an ill-fitting theoretical scheme. As might be expected, the morphology of the different dialects of Irish lends itself more easily to uniform generalisations than the phonology. So, for instance, most of the remarks on initial mutations (pp. 11 l-134) apply to all the dialects. 6 Siadhail is surely right in drawing our attention to the role that consonant quality and the addition of vowels play in the inflectional system of the language (pp. 135-141). In chapters 7 and 8 he looks at the inflection of the noun and verb, and discusses various restructurings which have affected their paradigms. In all the major brands of Irish there is a great deal of change taking place, and this is accompanied by a bewildering instability in the morphology, even in the speech of a single community. Despite this confusion, one can observe a movement towards a fairly drastic simplification of the inflectional system. Thus there seems to be a tendency everywhere to reduce the number of nouns with distinctive forms in the genitive, and to dispense with separate independent and dependent forms in the case of irregular verbs. 6 Siadhail’s work shows how inadequate and conservative the traditional ‘standard’ grammars of Irish are in describing the morphology of the living language. While the section on syntax is written using what might be called traditional terminology, the author has drawn heavily on the work of modern generative syntacticians such as McCloskey (1979) and Stenson (1981). The advantage of the modern approach is obvious if we compare the present account of Irish syntax with previous descriptions, e.g. 0 Cadhlaigh (1940). My only serious quibble, which is similar to the reservations about sub-dialects expressed earlier, concerns 6 Siadhail’s method of labelling examples. In the introduction (p. 7) he writes ‘there are few examples . which do not exhibit some dialectally specific features’. He goes on to
364
Reviews
say ‘most of the examples . . . are taken from specific dialects . . this is not to say that they are presented to demonstrate dialect particularities unless this is specifically stated’. 6 Siadhail, unfortunately, is not completely consistent: on p. 215 he marks CPn aois t? ‘What age is he? as Connacht, although this form is also found in Munster. Besides, if a particular syntactic construction is more or less the same for all dialects, it is misleading to mark it as occurring in only one of them. In Chapter 9 6 Siadhail discusses the basic word order of Irish and some of the variations which are possible in the syntax of the sentence, in Chapter 10 he looks at the copula, in Chapter 11 at complementation and modal and auxiliary verbs, in Chapter 12 he deals with subordinate clauses and marginal syntactic features. Of the latter, one feature worth mentioning is the fact that the various Irish words for ‘devil’ are used to express negation. G Siadhail is to be complimented on his ability to present a detailed corpus of information on such notoriously difficult issues as the copula or verbal noun complements. The work is also made more accessible by his summary of the main dialectal differences at the end of each chapter. In conclusion, while I have strong reservations about certain aspects of Modern Irish, I feel that 6 Siadhail has rendered a great service to students of Irish and to general linguists: the bibliography bears ample testimony to his industry. In a sense, he set himself an impossible task, since each of the main dialects warrants a whole book to itself. However, the student of any one dialect can, by using the book properly, discover quite a lot about the structure of that dialect. It should not be forgotten that 6 Siadhail is the first to attempt such a comprehensive and up-to-date treatment of this subject. Despite its shortcomings, his book will be an obligatory work of reference for all those engaged in the study of modern Irish for many years to come.
References McCloskey, Modern
J., 1979. Transformational Irish. Dordrecht
and Boston:
syntax
and model
theoretic
semantics:
A case study
in
Reidel.
6 Cadhlaigh, C., 1940. Gnis na Gaeilge. Baile Atha Cliath: An Ghm. Stenson, N., 1981. Studies in Irish syntax. Tiibingen: Gunter Narr.
Nancy C. Dorian (ed.), Investigating Obsolescence. Studies in Language Contraction and Death. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989. xiv+445 pp. Maps. List of contributors. Bibliography. Index of languages. General index. ISBN 0 521 32405 X. US $59.50 (hb.). Reviewed by Ian Press, Queen Mary and Westfield College, University College London, Mile End Road, London El 4NS, U.K. Languages
disappear,
and many
a layman
justifiably
regrets
this diminution
in
ROkW
Micheal 6 Siadhail, Modern Irish. Grammatical Structure and Dialectal Variation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989. xv+ 369 pp. & 35.00. Reviewed by Aidan Doyle, Department of Celtic, Catholic University Lublin, Al. Raclawickie 14, 20-950 Lublin, Poland. In the introduction Micheil 6 Siadhail states that his book ‘is an attempt to provide a reasonably comprehensive overview of modern Irish dialects’; the work is intended for both students of Irish and professional linguists. At the outset 0 Siadhail sketches briefly the history of Irish and its relation to other Celtic languages, and gives some background information about the three main dialects spoken in the 20th century: Donegal, Connacht, and Munster, and their sub-dialects. The sub-dialects are something of a problem. I accept that 6 Siadhail was trying to be as inclusive as possible, but this does cause a certain amount of confusion. Thus at times he discusses features found, say, in Connacht, while at other times he refers to Connemara and Mayo, which are regions of Connacht. Without constantly referring to the map on p. 3 the reader is unable to discern the overall pattern of dialectal variation. A better idea, perhaps, would have been either to make the survey more general, concentrating on the main differences between the bigger areas (e.g. Connacht), or, alternatively, to focus on the three restricted regions where the language is still vigorous: Donegal, Connemara (in Connacht), and Kerry (in Munster). The layout of 6 Siadhail’s book means that the reader has easy access to a mass of information. The table of contents is detailed, and each separate issue is numbered; as well as this, there is an index of the words which appear in the work, and a phonetic transcription is provided for all the words in the section on phonology. However, considering the fact that not all of his readers can be expected to be familiar with the orthography of Irish, it might have been advisable to have included a brief summary of the main rules at the beginning of the book. Thus, the table on p. 112 which illustrates the representation of initial mutations in spelling could have been included in the introduction. Describing his approach, 6 Siadhail tells us that ‘The viewpoint is basically synchronic’ in the sections on phonology and morphology, while ‘the approach to the syntax . is of a more traditional nature’. In the section on phonology the author discusses such phenomena as the syllabic system, the raising and lowering of vowels, metathesis, etc. Much of what he writes is uncontroversial, e.g. the description of initial and final consonant clusters (pp. 19-20). However, the methodology adopted by the author, described in the chapter entitled ‘Introduction to phonology’, strikes me as somewhat dubious. His thesis is that by applying ordered rules to an ‘underlying form’, one can derive the widely diverging surface forms of the three main dialects of Irish. To illustrate this, he takes the three realisations of the noun ‘pay’: [pa:ja] (Donegal), [pa:i:] (Connemara), and [pa:] (Munster). 0 Siadhail claims that the underlying form for this noun is /pa:ja/, spelled pciighe. Donegal [pa:ja] is identical with this underlying form. Connemara Ipa:i:] is derived by a rule, and Munster [pa:] is further derived from the Connemara form. 0 Siadhail goes on to state that ‘The form . . . priighe, is the form
Reviews
363
which most economically . . . allows us to derive the required forms for the various dialects’. He does not, however, explain why Connemara [pa:i:] should be derived from Donegal [pa:ja], rather than the other way round. However, my objection is more to the theory which he illustrates with this particular example, namely, that there is one underlying form for all dialects of Irish. Even if we accept 6 Siadhail’s derivation of Connemara [pa:i:] and Munster [pa:] from /pa:ja/, the rules involved are so complicated that there is little to be gained from such an interpretation. Even worse, the normal type of evidence used to justify remote representations, i.e. alternations and distributional restrictions, is simply not available for most of the data. The author does admit (p. 17) that ‘there is a degree of divergence which cannot be handled by such a framework’. Thus he allows for two underlying forms for the word ‘snow’: /Jn’axtay/ for Dunquin (Munster) to account for genitive rn’axtag’] and / Jn’axta/ (genitive the same) for other areas. I really cannot see the reasoning behind this, when Munster [pa:] is derived from /pa:ja/, even though it would require an underlying form /pa:r/, just like /fn’axtay/, to account for genitive [pa:g’]. If one insists on a highly abstract framework, one should at least be consistent. I feel, however, that it would make more sense to deal with the phonology and morphology of the three dialects separately, rather than trying to force the facts into an ill-fitting theoretical scheme. As might be expected, the morphology of the different dialects of Irish lends itself more easily to uniform generalisations than the phonology. So, for instance, most of the remarks on initial mutations (pp. 11 l-134) apply to all the dialects. 6 Siadhail is surely right in drawing our attention to the role that consonant quality and the addition of vowels play in the inflectional system of the language (pp. 135-141). In chapters 7 and 8 he looks at the inflection of the noun and verb, and discusses various restructurings which have affected their paradigms. In all the major brands of Irish there is a great deal of change taking place, and this is accompanied by a bewildering instability in the morphology, even in the speech of a single community. Despite this confusion, one can observe a movement towards a fairly drastic simplification of the inflectional system. Thus there seems to be a tendency everywhere to reduce the number of nouns with distinctive forms in the genitive, and to dispense with separate independent and dependent forms in the case of irregular verbs. 6 Siadhail’s work shows how inadequate and conservative the traditional ‘standard’ grammars of Irish are in describing the morphology of the living language. While the section on syntax is written using what might be called traditional terminology, the author has drawn heavily on the work of modern generative syntacticians such as McCloskey (1979) and Stenson (1981). The advantage of the modern approach is obvious if we compare the present account of Irish syntax with previous descriptions, e.g. 0 Cadhlaigh (1940). My only serious quibble, which is similar to the reservations about sub-dialects expressed earlier, concerns 6 Siadhail’s method of labelling examples. In the introduction (p. 7) he writes ‘there are few examples . which do not exhibit some dialectally specific features’. He goes on to
364
Reviews
say ‘most of the examples . . . are taken from specific dialects . . this is not to say that they are presented to demonstrate dialect particularities unless this is specifically stated’. 6 Siadhail, unfortunately, is not completely consistent: on p. 215 he marks CPn aois t? ‘What age is he? as Connacht, although this form is also found in Munster. Besides, if a particular syntactic construction is more or less the same for all dialects, it is misleading to mark it as occurring in only one of them. In Chapter 9 6 Siadhail discusses the basic word order of Irish and some of the variations which are possible in the syntax of the sentence, in Chapter 10 he looks at the copula, in Chapter 11 at complementation and modal and auxiliary verbs, in Chapter 12 he deals with subordinate clauses and marginal syntactic features. Of the latter, one feature worth mentioning is the fact that the various Irish words for ‘devil’ are used to express negation. G Siadhail is to be complimented on his ability to present a detailed corpus of information on such notoriously difficult issues as the copula or verbal noun complements. The work is also made more accessible by his summary of the main dialectal differences at the end of each chapter. In conclusion, while I have strong reservations about certain aspects of Modern Irish, I feel that 6 Siadhail has rendered a great service to students of Irish and to general linguists: the bibliography bears ample testimony to his industry. In a sense, he set himself an impossible task, since each of the main dialects warrants a whole book to itself. However, the student of any one dialect can, by using the book properly, discover quite a lot about the structure of that dialect. It should not be forgotten that 6 Siadhail is the first to attempt such a comprehensive and up-to-date treatment of this subject. Despite its shortcomings, his book will be an obligatory work of reference for all those engaged in the study of modern Irish for many years to come.
References McCloskey, Modern
J., 1979. Transformational Irish. Dordrecht
and Boston:
syntax
and model
theoretic
semantics:
A case study
in
Reidel.
6 Cadhlaigh, C., 1940. Gnis na Gaeilge. Baile Atha Cliath: An Ghm. Stenson, N., 1981. Studies in Irish syntax. Tiibingen: Gunter Narr.
Nancy C. Dorian (ed.), Investigating Obsolescence. Studies in Language Contraction and Death. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989. xiv+445 pp. Maps. List of contributors. Bibliography. Index of languages. General index. ISBN 0 521 32405 X. US $59.50 (hb.). Reviewed by Ian Press, Queen Mary and Westfield College, University College London, Mile End Road, London El 4NS, U.K. Languages
disappear,
and many
a layman
justifiably
regrets
this diminution
in