English Loanwords in the Irish of Iorras Aithneach – New Vowels in a Government and Licensing Analysis

Abstract

The Irish of Iorras Aithneach differs somewhat from the other varieties of Irish. Among other things, this regional variety is slightly irregular as regards the treatment of loanwords from English. For example, in Iorras Aithneach an epenthetic vowel [e] is regularly inserted in certain clusters, but irregularly in other consonant groups (Ó Curnáin 2007). New vowels may also precede certain initial sounds and follow some final consonants in English loanwords. Since Ó Curnáin's (2007) book is the most recent and most extensive study of any Irish dialect ever undertaken, it seems a very appropriate source of information and analysis. The issues addressed in this paper are as follows. First, what are the reasons for epenthesis in loanwords in the Irish of Iorras Aithneach? Second, why is Iorras Aithneach epenthesis in borrowings from English irregular? Third, and marginal, what is the reason for prosthetic vowels on both word edges in Iorras Aithneach? The phonological model used in this paper is Government Phonology in its recent version.