Irish: caol

[Gavril]

Hello,

As I understand it, the Irish term caol "slender" is connected to palatalization: in older Irish (perhaps not in Modern), consonants that were caol were palatalized by a surrounding front vowel. (Some examples would be the -l- in céile "companion" and the -ch- in fíche "20".)

Is the term caol only used to describe the pronunciation of sounds in Irish, or could it also be used for palatalized consonants in other languages (such as Russian, where there is a significant contrast between palatalized and non-palatalized consonants)?

Thanks

 

[Tegs]

Since it's an Irish word I doubt it would be used to describe any language other than Irish. You'd need to ask a Russian speaker what they call this in Russian

The term is still used in Modern Irish e.g. in the basic spelling rule caol le caol agus leathan le leathan (i.e. the vowels on either side of a consonant should agree and be either both slender or both broad).

 

[L'irlandais]

I'm with Tegs on this, I doubt any Russian grammarian would even be aware of this Irish word's existence.
By the way, it's not just a grammaticial term, very much like the word "slender" in English it's meaning depends on context.

 

[Tegs]

By the way, it's not just a grammaticial term, very much like the word "slender" in English it's meaning depends on context.

Oh yes, I hadn't considered that maybe that needed pointing out too, but as l'irlandais said, it's used in other contexts too - often translating as "narrow" in English.

 

[L'irlandais]

I imagine Gavril may already be aware of it, but other members may not be. Also some terms like Séimhiú (lenition) are purely used in grammar, while it's opposite Urú (eclipsis) could refer to an eclipsis of the sun.

 

[uress]

So, if you are speaking IRISH and about ANY language in Irish you call the palatalized consonants -of any language, of any other language than Irish-, coal in Irish?

I.e. the Irish name for every palatalized consonant of the world is coal, or not???

 

[Tegs]

If speaking in Irish about palatalized consonants, you use the word CAOL to describe them - AO not OA in the middle there. tearma.ie - Dictionary of Irish Terms - Foclóir Téarmaíochta