I think "a bhuachaillín" < aglockany is problematic.

Firstly, "a bhuachaillín" is already recorded by Ó Murithe (2000, p. 48) as bouchaleen. Presumably with the vocative case this would yield a far simpler and more obvious Anglo-Irish form *avoochaleen not aglockany.

Likewise I think it is basically extremely difficult to get aglockany from a bhuachaillín. Even accounting for a great deal of garbling, "a bhuachaillín" does not account for the initial g- or the final -y. Getting an initial g from v/w is highly unlikely, as is -an- from -ín, which is generally always -een in Anglo-Irish.

"a bhuachaillín" also requires a remarkable metathesis of -chaill- > -lock-. (Of course, such deliberate metathesis is indeed found in Shelta, where buachaill forms the basis for a Shelta form that was later borrowed into English as bloke.)

In addition Ó Muirithe reports that a gleac(án)aí was used in North Clare and Mayo - and the East Galway/Roscommon area referred to by the questioner is broadly speaking right between these.

That said, we are all aware of some quite extreme metamorphoses of Irish terms in Anglo-Irish so nothing can be ruled out.

For "a gleac(án)aí" in my previous post please of course read the correct vocative form "a ghleac(án)aí".

I'm unfortunately not permitted to edit posts at present.

The Connacht one is good too. But it's very important to enter the correct spelling including accents, otherwise you obviously cannot get the correct pronunciation.

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It is recommended that you always wait for three to agree on a translation.
I speak Connemara Irish, and my input will often reflect that.
I will do an mp3 file on request for short translations.
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a bhuachaillín
. .


a ghleacaí
. .


a ghleacánaí
. .

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___________________________________________________________

It is recommended that you always wait for three to agree on a translation.
I speak Connemara Irish, and my input will often reflect that.
I will do an mp3 file on request for short translations.
___________________________________________________________

But that surely depends on any other nationalities in the historical mix. Initial W<->G is a pretty standard change (compare war and guerre, Wales and Galles). However, that's a moot point, because to a non-speaker, the G isn't really in initial position at all, and W->G in non-initial position is indeed pretty rare.

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A language belongs to its native speakers, and when you speak it, you are a guest in their homes.
If you are not a good guest, you have no right to complain about receiving poor hospitality.

I should have clarified that I meant that initial w <-> g is highly unlikely specifically in Irish and Anglo-Irish. (Although 'unlikely' does not mean 'impossible' - we do see some very odd shifts.)

You are of course entirely correct that otherwise the process is well-documented elsewhere (not least in the Brythonic languages, where gw > w is one of the standard initial mutations).

Incidentally, it would be good if the questioner could also provide a recording of aglockany , preferably spoken by the person he refers to if possible, so that we would be able to analyse its stress pattern and other aspects.

Thank you also very much to Bríd for kindly supply the excellent sound samples.

Certainly the medial broad c in a ghleacánaí in your sample, a Bhríd, sounds noticeably fricative, which reminds me of your earlier point about expecting ch in this position. Does it sound so to you? Although the recording is very clear, I'm afraid my laptop speakers aren't up to much so a second opinion would be appreciated (it may just be the velarisation I am hearing).

As I had suspected, there are also problems with the vowels in any a ghleacánaí. I had speculated that the o in aglockany was an Americanised vowel, namely an open back vowel of some kind (i.e. perhaps [ɑ] or [ɒ] or lengthened forms of these), but I am really not at all sure.

Please be a bit more careful with your quotes, lads! I'm not the one who said this:

Getting an initial [i] g from v/w is highly unlikely, as is -an- from -ín, which is generally always -een in Anglo-Irish[/i]

But it's being attributed to me because of where the [ quote ] [ / quote ] tags are falling.

Redwolf

Sorry but I'm not very good at linguistic terms. There isn't an ACH (K) sound in either of my sound files.

Apologies. Yes, I meant a slight ch sound, as if the word were a ghleachánaí. That is what I thought I heard at first, but I think I am just hearing a broad c. The problem is with the speakers I'm using, not the crystal clear sample you provided.