Re: John Cowan and Scott Horne on Brithenig

[Padraic Brown <pbrown@nova.umuc.edu>]

On Wed, 21 Jul 1999, John Cowan wrote:
> 
> SH: Not sure what to make of _agur_, since _e_ seems to be `and'.
>     
> JC: "Now", but I don't know why.  It may be a survival from Old British.

I would guess from "ad hora(m)" as in Spanish.  Why the -h- becomes -g-,
is anyone's guess.  It would seem that either the -d aspirates away,
leaving the h- to voice into -gh- and then harden into -g-; or perhaps the
-d never fully aspirated away and somehow the -dd- became a -gh- and then
a -g-.

Kernu simply dumped both in the river with weights tied on, leaving "aur"
/a'u:r/; though the spelling is inaccurate.  It really should be "aour".
Cest la vie.

Padraic.