Cliathach wrote:
also while I'm on the subject of the gen. talamh shows two versions for the gen sing. an talaimh and na talún. Just variants?
Yep, both variants, and both accepted in the CO.
When the neuter fell out of Irish, c. 10 century onwards, it led to confusion regarding the gender of Old neuter nouns. Some were incorporated as feminine nouns, especially those of the n-stem, because their palatal inflection often mirrored the inflection of the á-stems (our present day first declension) in the acc. and dative. Some neuters became fully masculine and others could take either gender; often regional differences in the gender treatment of Old neuter nouns grew out of this development (most of these variants aren't accepted in the CO).
Talamh is one of those that can take either gender.
Regional/ dialectal differences in gender:
Ainm is fem. in Munster while being masculine in most other dialects.
Sliabh is fem. in Ulster (I think), though masculine in most other dialects.
Cian
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Please wait for corrections/ more input from other forum members before acting on advice
I'm familiar with Munster Irish/ Gaolainn na Mumhan (GM) and the Official Standard/an Caighdeán Oifigiúil (CO)