Lenition

Lenition (softening) is a process whereby certain consonants which appear at the beginning of words are made 'softer'. This is indicated in writing by adding a h after the consonant. For example, lenition changes [p] to an [f] sound which is spelled ph. Lenition changes an initial b to bh, g to gh, c to ch, d to dh, t to th, m to mh, s to sh, f to fh as we have seen already. See below for the pronounciation of ph, bh, gh, ch, dh, th, mh, sh, fh.

The -h form of a consonant, when it appears at the beginning of words, is referred to as the lenited form of the consonant. Those consonants which can 'add' h are called lenitable consonants and there are only nine of them. There are three more consonants which can take on audible lenition but the lenition does not show in the spelling: l, n and r. No we're not mental. See the special pages on l n r on this topic.

Lenition is usually, but not always, caused by a preceding word. Consider the following example:

a cat	her cat
a chat	his cat

You'll see that the word for both her and his is a. The only difference between them is that the word for his lenites a following lenitable consonant but the word for her does not. We say that a, his, is a leniting word because it lenites a following word. We will distinguish between leniting and non-leniting words by placing the symbol * after those words which cause lenition. In Scottish Gaelic, lenition is extremely common and you'll will meet many more leniting words and particles as you progress. Here are some more examples of the words for his and her:

[baːhdə]	bàta	boat	[ə baːhdə]	a bàta	her boat	[ə vaːhdə]	a bhàta	his boat
[pju.ər]	piuthar	sister	[ə pju.ər]	a piuthar	her sister	[ə fju.ər]	a phiuthar	his sister
[gʲɛnsɪ]	geansaidh	jumper	[ə gʲɛnsɪ]	a geansaidh	her jumper	[ə ʝɛnsɪ]	a gheansaidh	his jumper
[kuː]	cù	dog	[ə kuː]	a cù	her dog	[ə xuː]	a chù	his dog
[dʲɛLɛv]	dealbh	picture	[ə dʲɛLɛv]	a dealbh	her picture	[ə ʝɛLɛv]	a dhealbh	his picture
[tɤj]	taigh	house	[ə tɤj]	a taigh	her house	[ə hɤj]	a thaigh	his house
[maxg]	mac	son	[ə maxg]	a mac	her son	[ə vaxg]	a mhac	his son
[suːl]	sùil	eye	[ə suːl]	a sùil	her eye	[ə huːl]	a shùil	his eye
[faLd]	falt	hair	[ə faLd]	a falt	her hair	[aLd]	fhalt	his hair

Lenition and Slenderisation

Lenition and slenderisation can operate simultaneously on a word. In Gaelic, when we address a person, the name is preceded by a which lenites the initial consonant:

Basic form	Address form
[moːrag]	Mórag	Morag	[ə voːrag]	a Mhórag!	Morag!
[maːrʲɪ]	Màiri	Mary	[ə vaːrʲɪ]	a Mhàiri!	Mary!
[ka'triənə]	Catrìona	Katherine	[ə xa'triənə]	a Chatrìona!	Katherine!

However, when we address a male, the name is lenited and also slenderised:

Basic form	Address form
[ʃeːməs]	Seumas	James/Hamish	[ə heːmɪʃ]	a Sheumais!	James/Hamish!
[dõː.əL]	Dòmhnall	Donald	[ə ɣõː.ɪLʲ]	a Dhòmhnaill!	Donald!
[tɔrɔməd]	Tormod	Norman	[ə hɔrɔmɪdʲ]	a Thormoid!	Norman!