to the people. I had the honour of presenting the original to his Lordship, without any expectation of its ever being publifhed, Mr Bofwell, whofe manners as a gentleman, and tafte for polite learning, have gained him the esteem and friendship, as well of one of the most renowned Heroes of the age, as of the learned at home, hearing from his Lordship of the existence of these sheets, obtained a perufal of them, which he afterwards left with Dr Samuel Johnson. To the advice and encouragement of Dr Johnson, the friend of letters and humanity, the Public is indebted for these sheets.

An acquaintance with the Galic, being the mothertongue of all the languages in the weft, fecms neceffary to every Antiquary who would ftudy the af finity of languages, or trace the migrations of the ancient races of mankind. Of late it has attracted the attention of the learned in different parts of Eu. rope; and fhall its beauties be neglected by thofe, who have opportunities, from their infancy, of underftanding it? Antiquity being the taste of the age, fome acquaintance with the Galic begins juftly to be deemed a part of the Belles Lettres. The language that boafts of the finished character of Fingal, must richly reward the curiofity of whoever ftudies it. Of this Sir James Foulis is a rare inftance, who, in advanced years, has learned to read and write it; and now drinks of the Pierian spring untainted, by reading fragments of Poetry in Fingal's own language.

If in these sheets I have afforded any gratification for curiofity, or any help to the Gael, in the improvement and study of the language of their infant years, or prevented its dying without even a figh, I shall think my labour well bestowed, and every attending trouble amply compensated.

AN

AN

ANALYSIS

OF THE

GALIC LANGUAGE.

I

BOOK I.

CHA P. I.

ORTHOGRAPHY.

N the Scots Galic are only eighteen letters, viz. a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, l, m, n, o, p, r,

t, u, divided into vowels and confonants. The Irish * wrote their dialect of the Celtic with these characters:

A a, bb, Cc, 58, Ee. FF, 35, 11, lt, wm, Nn.Oo, Pp, Rn, Sr. To, uur, hh.

The vowels are five, a, e, i, o, u, and are either broad or small: a, o, u, are broad, e and i are fmall.

* See Major Valencia's Grammar of the Irish.

CHA P. II.

Of the Sounds of the Vowels.

A is founded as with the Latins, broad; or as in

the English words fall, tall, call; thus, mall, flow; dall, blind; cam, crooked; aran, bread.

*Ao is founded as u in the French une; thus, aon, one, une; aonach, a fair or market, unach.

O is read as in the English lord, oppofite; thus, olc, evil; donn, dun; mor, great; morachd, majefty: it is fometimes pronounced as in the French foret, Latin forum, and English glory; fo fonn, a tune; tonn, a wave; tom, a bush.

U is founded as oo in the English good, fool; so fudar, powder; udal, diftrefs; ur, new, &c.; fome pronounce it as the confonant v in uam, faying vuam. It is changed into V in the proper name Walter, for we fay Valtair.

E is pronounced as the Greek epfilon; thus, edal, treafure. It is feldom alone in a fyllable, but is generally followed by a, u, or i, and fo forms a diphthong.

E, the pronoun he, is founded broad, like eta in the Greek, or as e in the English, fellow, prunella.

I has its natural found, as the Latin filius, or the

French.

French fils, and the English feel; fo innis, an island;

imigh, to go.

CHAP.

III.

B

Of the Confonants.

before h founds v; thus, leanabh, a child, is read leanav; leabhar, a book, leavar; labhairt, fpeaking, lavairt.

C is equivalent to k in English, as cos, a foot; cothrom, juft; ceart, right.

on.

The pronunciation of the c, in fome parts of the continent and iflands, like chg, is certainly a corruptiSome dialects in Scotland ftill give it the natural found of k, and fo the Irifh univerfally pronounce it. If there be no real difference between chg and c, why fhould they write uchd or uchg, the breast, and not uc; lochd, harm, and not loc; naomhachd, and not naomhac, fince they write mac, but pronounce it machd, breacan, yet pronounce it breachgan, and focal, but pronounce it fochgal? The Irish rightly write locha, uchd, naomhachd, &c. and pronounce them fo; and breacan, mac, and focal, and pronounce breakan, mak, and fokal.

D before and after e and i is founded as g in the proper name George; thus, dilis, dear, is pronounced as if jeelish; plaid, a plaid or mantle, is pronounced pladge, or as the fyllable plaid in the French plaideur;

Dia,