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- "My birthday."
"My birthday."
Translation:Mo bhreithlá.
August 1, 2015
10 Comments
When mo or do come before a vowel sound, they become m' and d'.
Note that it's "a vowel sound". Mo and do cause lenition, so f becomes fh and fh is silent, which exposes the sound of the following letter. If fh comes immediatelybefore a vowel, it counts as a "vowel sound", so you will use m' and d' instead if mo and do.
m'athair, m'eilifint, m'fhón, m'iníon, m'obair, m'úll
d'arán, d'eitleán, d'fhear, d'im, d'oifig, d'uachtarán
Note that this isn't optional - you must drop the "o" - mo athair would be incorrect.
(Edited to clarify that the silent fh exposes the following sound, which can be a vowel or a consonant, as suggested by scilling below).