Ó Cibhleacháin wrote:
Thanks! Do you mind if I ask where the 'h' come from? In De + Fine = D'fhine, I'm really quite a noob on mutations.
From an Old Irish orthographical convention?
Originally, lenition was only indicated by adding
h to the consonants
c,
p, and
t. Lenited forms of
f and
s were written
ḟ and
ṡ respectively (and pronounced [0] [i.e. silent] and [h]). Later, both practices were expanded and the convention became overdot in
cló Gaelach and following
h in Roman script.
Or are you asking how lenition originated?