Returning to some further forms of the definite article: if a masculine noun begins with a vowel, then the article becomes an t- with its letter T making a tchuh sound. So An t-Eilean Beag (the small island), is pronounced un TCHAYlan bake. In contrast, when a feminine noun begins with a vowel then the definite article has no tchuh sound. An abhainn bheag (un AHvin vake), the small river, is feminine. Where a masculine noun begins with an S, then the definite article remains as an, like An Srath Mòr (un sraah more) – Strathmore in Angus. In contrast, feminine nouns beginning with an S have the article an t-, which silences the initial letter S. So An t-Sròn sounds like un trawn - The Promontory or Nose, of Troon in Ayrshire.
4.2 Adjectives and Compound Nouns
As in many other European languages, adjectives usually follow the noun in Gaelic. Where more emphasis is required, they can precede the noun. Geàrr Aonach (gyar OEnuch), Glen Coe, meaning the short, steep ridge and Garbh Bheinn (garav vyn), Ardgour, are examples of emphatic abruptness and roughness respectively. Note how the preceding adjective causes lenition of the noun following, but is not lenited itself. A less emphatically rough mountain is Beinn Gharbh in Assynt, where the adjective following is lenited in the usual way to agree with the feminine noun. To revise: an adjective following a masculine noun is not lenited, as in Càrn Mòr.
There is an argument that, in some cases where adjectives precede nouns, this is not a reflection of emphasis. What we see in examples like Geal Chàrn in Rannoch and Crom Chreag in Glen Quaich, for example, is evidence of the naming style of early Irish and Gaelic, where the specific precedes the generic and lenites the noun, whatever its gender (Drummond 2009). Preceding adjectives are often colours like geal and glas - the latter is the most common - and tend to be monosyllables. Many of these are attached to beinn as in Garbh Bheinn above. Sometimes close compound nouns hyphenate or fuse as in Fionn-phort or Fionnphort in the Ross of Mull.
Specific nouns can also precede generic ones. Many of these qualify the word beinn, as in Cròic Bheinn - Antler Mountain, Applecross, Ladhar Bheinn - Hoof Mountain, Knoydart and Slat Bheinn - Rod Mountain, Skye. Many examples lie within the area of Norse colonisation and may reflect its naming pattern. Suilbheinn - pillar mountain in Assynt is a hybrid of Norse and Gaelic, where beinn has replaced fyall (fell).
4.3: Plural Nouns and Adjectives, and the Gaelic Spelling Rule
The definite article changes for plural nouns, but for both genders it is identical. Before any vowel it is na h- and before any consonant it is na. Plurals rarely occur on their own in place-names. In most cases the plural is indicated by a suffix an, or ean after the slender vowels E or I in the preceding syllable. So the plural of a’ chreag, which is feminine, is na creagan (nuh CRAYkun), whilst for an t-eas (un ches) - the waterfall, which is masculine, it is na h-easan (nuh HESun). For an taigh (un tie) - the house, which is masculine, the plural is na taighean (nuh TYun), whilst for an eaglais (un EKlish) - the church, which is feminine, it is na h-eaglaisean (nuh EKlishun).
Some common terms, such as gleann and beinn, add a T before the usual suffix to make their plurals, gleanntan for example. For beinn, there is an internal vowel change in the first syllable, giving beanntan. Similarly, baile (BAHLuh), meaning farm or village, gives bailtean (BALtchun). Sometimes the singular form of the noun is contracted when making a plural. So machair becomes machraichean (MACHreechun). Irregularities may have developed simply because they proved easier on the tongue than keeping strictly to the rules.
In these examples of the plural, an important spelling rule can be observed. In Gaelic this is called caol ri caol is leathann ri leathann - narrow with narrow and broad with broad. Caol and leathann are common adjectives in place-names. When a slender vowel, like E or I, ends the first syllable of a word and the second syllable is separated from the first by a consonant or consonant combination like dh or mh, then the first vowel of this following syllable is also slender. Similarly, when a broad vowel like A, O or U ends the first syllable of a word and the second syllable is separated from the first by a consonant or consonants, then the first vowel of this latter syllable is also broad. This explains why baile becomes bailtean and eas becomes easan, when plural. Sometimes separating consonant(s) are silent. The Gaelic for field is achadh (ACHugh). Its plural is achaidhean, consistent with the spelling rule and pronounced ACHee-un, where the silent DH acts only to separate the penultimate and final syllables. Achadh provides the common, anglicised place-name prefix Ach or Auch.
Other forms of the plural, particularly for some monosyllabic nouns, are made by a slenderisation of the syllable. An Cnoc (un crochk) the hillock becomes na cnuic (nuh crooichk), for example. Cnoc shows how the combination CN is pronounced like a nasalised CR, another sound unknown in English. Cnap (crahp), meaning lump or button, is similar. Some monosyllabic nouns beginning with a vowel also slenderise when plural. An t-allt (un towlt) - the stream, is masculine and changes to na h-uillt (nuh hooiltch) when there is more than one. To confuse matters, this is exactly the same as its genitive singular, which is covered below.
4.4: The Genitive Case - singular and plural
The possessive or genitive case is common in place-name constructions. Like adjectives, it gives greater specificity to nouns. Knowing the effect of the genitive on noun form in both singular and plural is essential for interpretation of place-names. It is necessary to see what may be familiar words in their nominative, in their genitive case. Changes made to articles differ according to gender, what letter a noun begins with, whether nouns are singular or plural and articles definite or indefinite ie. absent.
Two earlier examples, which show the most regular form of the genitive will be quoted. Cladach and cruach are masculine and feminine respectively. With definite articles, in the genitive and coupled with ceann, they are ceann a’ chladaich (cyown uh CHLAteech) and ceann na cruaiche (cyown nuh CROOeechuh). Notice how the masculine noun is aspirated by the article a’, and its final syllable is slenderised from A to AI with a slenderisation of pronunciation resulting. Notice also how the feminine article becomes na, and does not cause lenition, and how the second syllable of cruach slenderises. Cruach also gains a third syllable, which forms an E ending. For feminine nouns beginning with a vowel the article becomes na h-; as in Cnoc na h-Eaglaise - The Hillock of the Church. (Note that na h- is the same for both genders in nominative plurals before a vowel).
Generally articles applying to masculine nouns in the genitive become similar to feminine nouns in the nominative. So, a’ applies to lenitable words like cladach, whilst an applies to non-lenitable nouns like lochan (small loch) and nouns beginning with a vowel like allt. The latter gives us Taigh an Uillt (Tie un Ooltch) - Taynuilt. An t- applies to nouns beginning with an S, like sruth (sroo), meaning a current or stream, giving Creag an t-Sruith (crayk un TROOee), Strathyre. Here, after heavy rain, a jet of water runs down the face of a large boulder.
Table 3: The Gaelic Definite Article - Nominative and Genitive Forms.
As we have seen, slenderisation caused by the genitive case can change whole syllables. So binnean (BINyan), masculine, meaning high conical hill, becomes binnein (BINyane) and bidean (BEEtchan), also masculine, meaning pinnacle or high, pointed hill becomes bidein (BEETchane). The more common ceann becomes cinn (keen) in the genitive, identical to its plural. Similarly, toll (towl) - hole (masculine), becomes (Clach an) Tuill - tooeel, in the genitive - again the same as the its plural. An tom (towm) - knoll (masculine), becomes (Baile an Tuim) - TOOim. But its plural is toman or tomannan.
Table 4: Nominative and Genitive Nouns with a One Syllable Adjective
There are exceptions to the rules. The genitive of srath is sratha. For druim (DROYim) it is droma, giving Taigh an Droma / Tyndrum - The House of the