Welsh, like all modern Celtic languages, is characterized by itsinitial consonant mutations. These mutations affect the initial consonant of a word under specific morphological and syntactic conditions. The mutations are an important tool in understanding the relationship between two words and can differentiate various meanings.
Welsh uses three mutations on consonants: thesoft mutation (segment becomes voiced/lenites), thenasal mutation (segment becomes nasal), and theaspirate mutation (also calledspirant mutation). Words beginning with a vowel are subject toh-prothesis under certain circumstances. Some sources consider h-prothesis of vowels to be a form of aspirate mutation, but since the environments of the two mutations are different, it is preferable to consider h-prothesis and aspiration two different mutations. In some circumstancesmixed mutation is found, with aspirate mutation of c, p, t, and soft mutation of other mutable consonants.
The unmutated form, i.e. the “basic” form that dictionary entries are listed under, is known as theradical.
Mutations are generally not applied to personal names such as Bob or Gwen. Non-Welsh place names such as Birmingham or Berlin do not usually undergo soft mutation, at least in standard Welsh, but nasal and aspirate mutation is possible, for exampleym Mharis(“in Paris”),ym Merlin(“in Berlin”);i Berlina Pharis(“to Berlin and Paris”).
Differences are heard between different dialects, and between formal and informal Welsh (the soft mutation being more common in informal Welsh).
When under soft mutation, radical consonants lenite to voiced and/or fricative segments (/v ð/), as shown below:
| Radical | Soft mutation |
|---|---|
| c/k/ | g/ɡ/ |
| p/p/ | b/b/ |
| t/t/ | d/d/ |
| g/ɡ/ | ∅ (deleted) |
| b/b/ | f/v/ |
| d/d/ | dd/ð/ |
| m/m/ | f/v/ |
| (ll)/ɬ/ | (l)/l/ |
| (rh)/r̥/ | (r)/r/ |
In some situationsc, p, t, g, b, d, m mutate butll andrh do not. This partial soft mutation applies mainly afterr andn:
In other circumstances, for example in a noun + adjective or adjective + noun combination,ll andrh mutate even aftern andr:cyfranresymol(“a reasonable share”),henlyfr(“an old book”).
Other Welsh consonants such asff ors orch do not undergo mutation. A word which has already undergone mutation (such asbeth(“what”), short forpabeth(“what thing?”)) cannot be mutated a second time. Mutation is also not usually used in personal names such asGwen orDafydd. Theg of recent English borrowings such asgêm(“game”),gerbocs(“gearbox”),golff(“golf”) does not mutate. Theb ofbraf(“fine (of weather)”) also does not change.
The mutation ofts →j sometimes occurs in colloquial language but not in the literary register. It is found only in loanwords from English, e.g.chips is rendered astsips in Welsh and with the mutated formjips.
In some circumstances the soft mutation only applies when the head noun of a noun phrase is feminine singular, but not when it is masculine or plural. These are:
When the noun is masculine singular, or plural of either gender, in any of these situations, there is no mutation of the noun or the adjective:
When an adjective precedes its noun, the soft mutation applies to both masculine and feminine nouns, and to both singular and plural, but the article mutates only the feminine singular adjective:
The numberdau,dwy(“two”) is an exception to the above rules, since it mutates after the definite article even when masculine, and it also causes mutation in a following noun of either gender:
The ordinal numberail(“second”) is another exception, since unlike other ordinals it mutates both genders:
The numberstri,tair(“three”),pedwar,pedair(“four”),pump(“five”) and higher numbers do not mutate after the article or cause soft mutation even when feminine:
Another circumstance where gender affects mutation is with the possessive adjectiveei(“his her, its”) (which is sometimes shortened to'i or'w). When this word refers to a masculine noun or male person, it triggers the soft mutation, and when to a feminine one, the aspirate mutation:
If the noun begins with a consonant other thanp/c/t, the soft mutation alone indicates the masculine referent, while the feminine has no mutation:
When the following word starts with a vowel, the difference between "his" and "her" is shown by the absence or presence of prothetich-:
Prothetich- is also found after the possessivesein(“our”) andeu(“their”) but without distinction of gender.
The same rules apply whenei ('i,'w) is used with a verb-noun as equivalent to the object pronoun "him, her, it":
When'i is used as an object pronoun afterfe (affirmative particle) ora(“who”) and before a full verb, the gender distinction is neutralised and is shown not by mutation but by adding the pronounhi(“her”) ore oro(“him”):
The definite articley,yr,’r triggers soft mutation of a feminine noun in the singular:
It will also trigger mutation in an adjective describing a feminine noun:
Masculine nouns and adjectives and plural nouns of either gender do not mutate after the article:
The only exception is the feminine wordpobl, which mutates even when plural:
In nouns,ll andrh never undergo soft mutation directly after the article, although they do in adjectives:
After the article,dau(“two”) mutates even when masculine:
The wordy oryr(“that”) introducing a relative clause or indirect speech clause does not cause mutation, however:
A feminine singular noun causes mutation in a following adjective:
If there are two adjectives, they are both mutated:
If the article is added to a feminine noun + adjective, both the noun and adjective are mutated:
The wordpobl(“people”) is feminine singular, and so is followed by a mutation, even though the adjective which follows it is plural:
Exceptions:
Masculine nouns and plural nouns (of either gender) do not usually cause mutation except sometimes in titles such as the following:
There are many exceptions to this rule, e.g.RhodriMawr(“Rhodri the Great”)
When the second of two nouns describes or qualifies the first, there is mutation only if the first noun is feminine singular, and if the two nouns together make a kind of compound noun:
If the head noun is masculine, there is no mutation:
In compound nouns of this kind, the phrase takes on the gender of its head noun. Thus sincepen(“head”) is masculine, the compound nounpentre takes a masculine adjective, even thoughtre(f)(“town”) is feminine:
But sincesiop is feminine, the following compound takes a feminine adjective:
There is no mutation if the head noun is plural (regardless of gender):
There is also no mutation where the second noun is qualified:
There is also no mutation where the second noun is possessive rather than descriptive, or (usually) when it is a name:
The rule is, however, broken occasionally in the case of proper names, in certain traditionally used phrases:
Another exception is:
An adjective usually follows its noun in Welsh, but when the adjective precedes the noun, both genders and both numbers of the noun usually undergo soft mutation:
When the noun is feminine, and the phrase follows the article, both the adjective and the noun undergo mutation; but if masculine, only the noun mutates:
Superlative and comparative adjectives are an exception: they usually follow their noun; but if they precede a masculine noun, they do not cause mutation:
The wordcyntaf(“first”), being a superlative, similarly usually follows its noun; but if it precedes, it only mutates the following noun when feminine:
The ordinal numberail(“second”) mutates both genders:
After other ordinal numbers, masculine nouns are not mutated, but with feminine nouns the noun is mutated, as well as the ordinal itself if the article precedes:
Other exceptions which cause no mutation in a following noun are:
The second part of a compound noun where the first noun qualifies the second also usually has soft mutation in the second noun, irrespective of gender and number. Such compound nouns are usually written as one word:
The lettersll andrh sometimes mutate aftern andr:
But there is sometimes no soft mutation ofll andrh aftern andr:
If the head noun is feminine singular and the article is added, both parts of the compound have mutation:
In the following word, however, instead of a soft mutation,-d t- hardens tot (pronouncedtt):
A pronoun + noun or noun + noun in apposition also has soft mutation of the second element:
The possessivesdy, ’th(“your (singular)”) andei, 'i, 'w(“his/its, referring to a masculine noun”) both trigger soft mutation:
This also applies when these words are used as object pronouns with a verb-noun:
But whenei means "her" or "its" referring to a feminine noun, it is followed by the aspirate mutation.
There is no mutation when a shortened object pronoun such as'm(“me”),'th(“you”) or'i(“him/her/it”) follows the affirmative particlefe or the relative pronouna(“who”) and precedes a full verb, regardless of gender:
Feminine nouns are mutated afterun(“one; same”), except for those starting withll andrh:
The lettersll andrh are not mutated in nouns but do mutate in adjectives:
Masculine nouns, plurals, and adjectives do not mutate afterun:
Whenun means “similar” it triggers soft mutation of both masculine and feminine nouns in the singular:
After the definite articley,yr,’r, both genders of the worddau/dwy(“two”) are mutated, and the noun which follows is also mutated:
But the following have no mutation:
Other numbers are not affected by the article, whether masculine or feminine, nor do they usually cause mutation:
But occasionallysaith(“seven”) andwyth(“eight”) cause soft mutation ofc, p, t, ll, rh:
In addition,tri(“three (when masculine)”) andchwe(“six”) trigger the aspirate mutation in written Welsh; and certain numbers trigger the nasal mutation when followed byblwyddyn(“year”) ordiwrnod(“day”) (see below).
Numbers following a plural noun for literary effect are mutated:
The first letter of a noun or noun phrase used for addressing a person or people usually has soft mutation:
The predicative particleyn or'n triggers soft mutation of a noun or adjective except withll andrh:
The verb formsydd,sy triggers soft mutation of a predicate noun or adjective without usingyn:
But the particleyn before a verb-noun does not usually trigger mutation:
There is, however, mutation in a verb-noun if the object comes earlier in the clause, in sentences such as
The following prepositions cause mutation in a following noun:
The article blocks the mutation, unless the noun is feminine:
There is no mutation initi(“for you”),imewn(“to inside”),imaes(“to outside”); but bothimi(“for me”) andifi are used. There is a mutation inofewn(“within”):
There is also no mutation in:
Not all prepositions cause soft mutation. The prepositionyn(“in”) causes nasal mutation; andâ(“with”),gyda(“with”),tua(“towards”) cause aspirate mutation (see below). Other prepositions, such asefo(“with”),cyn(“before”),wedi(“after”),ger(“near”),rhwng(“between”),argyfer(“for”), etc. do not cause mutation at all:
Some prepositions incorporate their own initial mutation:
After the worda(“and”) this mutation can be replaced by an aspirate mutation (mostly in written Welsh):
In adjective phrases, as with noun phrases, the second element tends to have soft mutation:
There is no soft mutation ofll andrh aftercyn(“as”),mor(“so”) andpur(“quite”):
Compound adjectives such as the following also have mutation in the second part:
There is also mutation of an adjective when it follows another adjective adverbially:
There is no mutation aftermwy(“more”) andmwyaf(“most”):
Mutation occurs after the conjunctionsneu(“or”) andynteu(“whether”):
However, there is no mutation whenneu is followed by a conjugated verb:
Words with prefixes frequently show soft mutation following the prefix. Thus soft mutation is found after the prefixesad-, add-, af-, ail-, all-, am-, ar-, arch-, at-, cam-, can-, cy-, cyd-, cyf-, cyfr-, cyn-, dad-, dat-, dar-, di-, dir-, dis-, dy- (when negative),eil-, en-, go-, gor-, gwo-, gwrth-, gwa-, hunan-, hy-, lled-, prif-, rhag-, rhy-, rhyng-, try-, ym-.
Some examples are:
Occasionally, however, with-n/r- +ll/rh, there is no mutation, for example:
The prefixesan-/ang- andcym-/cyng- (sometimescyn-) trigger nasal mutation and the intensivea-, dy-, tra-, also sometimesgor-, gwar-, trigger aspirate mutation (see below).
Adverbial phrases, especially those of time, usually have soft mutation of the first letter:
Superlative adjectives can be made into adverbs in this way:
Other adverbs are formed by addingyn before an adjective, which causes soft mutation (exceptll andrh):
A direct object directly following a full verb undergoes soft mutation:
This also applies if the subject is added after the verb:
But if the direct object is preceded by an article, the mutation is blocked:
A verb-noun is also mutated after a full verb on which it depends:
The direct object is mutated only after inflected verbs. A direct object following a verb-noun is not usually mutated:
The objectti(“you”) is not mutated in:
The worddim(“nothing”) is mutated in sentences such as the following, where it is the object:
Whendim is adverbial (meaning "at all") it has an adverbial mutation:
Sentences such as the following, where the subject or object follows an interpolated prepositional phrase have mutation in the word which follows the inserted phrase:
There is also mutation after an interpolated adverb such asyma(“here”),hefyd(“also”), or or an adverb such asyma(“here”) orhefyd(“also”):
Mutation also occurs afterdyma(“here is”),dyna(“there is”),dacw(“there is (yonder)”).Dyma is thought to be derived from a phraseAwelydi yma...?(“Do you see here?”), with interpolatedyma(“here”):
As with the other examples given above, there is no mutation if the definite article is added:
The phraseDynapam(“That's why”) also has no mutation.
The rule also applies in the following, where a verb-noun follows a prepositional phrase withi(“for”) containing the virtual subject:
There is also mutation of a verb-noun afternewydd(“recently”), but not afterynarfer(“used to”):
The reinforcing pronounti(“you”) becomesdi after an imperative in sentences such as
It is alsodi when reinforcing a possessive:
di is also found as subject with the present tense (with future meaning):
In other circumstancesti usually remains unmutated.
The first letter of full verbs mutates after certain words such as the affirmative particlesfe andmi:
Often in speechmi orfe is omitted but the mutation remains:
In verbs expressing an opinion or belief used parenthetically,mi is similarly omitted, but the mutation remains:
The verb is mutated afterpan(“when”):
There is also mutation aftera (particle introducing a yes-no question)
In speech the question particlea is usually omitted, but the mutation remains:
There is also mutation of the verb aftera(“which”) (subject or object). This word can be omitted but the mutation remains:
Some particles such asni andoni cause mixed mutation (see below).
The conjunctiontra(“while”) sometimes causes mutation inbod but not in other verbs:
A full verb undergoes mutation when it followspwy(“who?”) orbeth(“what?”) or any focussed subject:
This also applies after other interrogative words or other fronted phrases such asynanadneb(“more than anyone”):
Verb-nouns preceded by a focussed or interrogative object also often have mutation, even though they have predicativeyn. This is because the verb-noun follows an omitted object pronoun:
Verb-nouns in a relative clause where the object pronoun is omitted similarly usually undergo mutation:
The wordpam(“why”) also usually triggers soft mutation:
Soft mutation afterpam is also found in the phrases:
Soft mutation is found in exclamatory sentences such as the following using the equative form of the adjective:
After a stylistically fronted predicate, tenses ofbod(“to be”) starting withb are mutated:
Eitherbod orfod may be used in sentences such as the following, wherebod orfod introduces an indirect clause:
The choice is also possible in sentences such as the following:
Whenbod is followed by a subject pronoun, however, it changes in the same way as a noun with a possessive adjective, thus:mod i,fod ti, fod e/o, bod hi, bod ni, bod chi, bod nhw(“that I/you/he/she/we/you (plural)/they”):
In the future tense similarly, bothbydd andfydd are found:
A voiceless stop becomes a voiceless nasal, while a voiced stop becomes a voiced nasal.
| Radical | Nasal mutation |
|---|---|
| p/p/ | mh/m̥/ |
| b/b/ | m/m/ |
| t/t/ | nh/n̥/ |
| d/d/ | n/n/ |
| c/k/ | ngh/ŋ̊/ |
| g/ɡ/ | ng/ŋ/ |
The other consonants and the vowels do not change under nasal mutation, although colloquiallym andn are sometimes mutated, e.g.fymham(“my mother”).
In most cases, only nouns (including verbal nouns) can undergo nasal mutation. The only exception is adjectives that are placed before the noun they modify:
But there is no mutation of the possessive adjectivedy(“your”):
The possessive determinerfy(“my”) triggers nasal mutation:
This also applies whenfy is used with a verb-noun as equivalent to an object pronoun:
Colloquially,fy may be reduced to’y or deleted altogether (but still marked with an apostrophe); in both cases, the nasal mutation remains:
The prepositionyn assimilates toym before a bilabial consonant and toyng before a velar consonant.
Exception:
But:
In the first of the above phrases,Gymraeg, standing foryriaithGymraeg(“the Welsh language”), is feminine and takes a soft mutation; in the third example, it is masculine, and soda has no mutation.
The wordsblynedd(“year”),blwydd(“years old”), and sometimesdiwrnod(“day”) undergo nasal mutation after the numberspum(“5”),saith(“7”),wyth(“8”),naw(“9”),deng(“10”),deuddeng(“12”),pymtheng(“15”),deunaw(“18”),ugain(“20”),can(“100”), and their compound forms:
Blynedd andblwydd also undergo nasal mutation afterun(“one”) in composite numerals (i.e. where another number follows the noun to complete the meaning):
In expressions such as the following, the nasal mutation affects not only the noun but also the numeral:
The numberdeg(“ten”) also changes todeng in the following, but since these nouns begin withm, which is unaffected by nasal mutation, only the numeral changes:
The prefixesan-/ang-/am-(“not”) andcyn-/cyng-/cym-(“together”) trigger nasal mutation. For example:
Following an accented syllable, theh is dropped, so thatngh becomesng,nh becomesnn and so on:
But beforem andgw the prefixan- causes soft mutation:
Beforell,rh,gl or a vowel these prefixes take the formaf- andcyf-, with soft mutation:
Nasal mutation is also found before suffixes when these are added to words ending in-nc,-mp, or-nt. Since suffixes usually follow an accented syllable, theh is dropped:
The following word has two soft mutations and a nasal mutation:
The pronounnhw(“they, them”) is formed by nasal mutation:
Under aspirate mutation, voiceless plosives become voiceless fricatives:
| Radical | Aspirate mutation |
|---|---|
| p/p/ | ph/f/ |
| t/t/ | th/θ/ |
| c/k/ | ch/χ/ |
The other consonants do not change under the aspirate mutation.
Vowel-initial words are sometimes said to undergo aspirate mutation by adding a prothetich, but since the environments are different for vowels than for consonants,h-prothesis will be discussed separately below.
The possessive determinerei,'i,’w(“her”) triggers aspirate mutation (distinguishing it fromei(“his”), which triggers soft mutation):
Contrast:
But in the expressionfe'i + full verb, there is no mutation or distinction of gender:
The numeralstri(“three”) (masculine) andchwe(“six”) trigger aspirate mutation, but mostly only in written Welsh:
The adverbtra(“very”) triggers aspirate mutation:
Aspirate mutatation follows certain conjunctions, of which the most common isa(“and”):
Mostly in the written language,a(“and”) can be followed by aspirate mutation when it precedes the prepositions and adverbsgan,gyda,ger,dros,tros,drwy,trwy,drosodd,dan,tan anddraw. For example:
Aspirate mutation is found afterâ(“with”) and its compoundstua(“towards”) andgyda(“with”):
Butgydafi(“with me”) usually has the soft mutation in colloquial Welsh (contrasting witharos gydami(“abide with me”) in more formal Welsh in the well-known hymn).
Aspirate mutation is found after the intensive prefixesa-, dy-, gor-, gwar-, tra-:
But some words withgor- andgwar- have soft mutation (see above).
In some circumstances aspirate mutation is found withc,t,p, but soft mutation with other mutable consonants. (This is called "mixed mutation".)
Thus aspirate mutation occurs after the negative wordsni(“not”),na(“that not”) andoni(“if not”) when the following word begins withc,p, ort:
But before other letters there is soft mutation, for example:
The particleni may be omitted, but the aspirate mutation remains:
Butna (equivalent tomai) meaning "that" followed by a focussed word does not cause mutation:
H-prothesis is the addition ofh to a word starting with a vowel, including sometimes beforei when it is pronounced/j/, but not beforew when it is pronounced/w/.
The possessive determiners and infixed pronouns’m(“my, me”);ei,’i,’w(“her”);ein,’n(“our, us”), andeu,’u,'w(“their, them”) trigger h-prothesis.
My:
Her:
Our:
Their:
These words are usually followed by a noun or noun phrase or verb-noun, but after the affirmative particlefe they can be followed by a full verb:
Afterfe,'i can refer to either gender:
The prepositionar(“on”) triggers h-prothesis ofugain(“twenty”) in complex numerals:
The word(h)oll(“all”) is another in whichh- is sometimes present and sometimes not. When it comes between the article and a noun it always hash-:
In other uses, for example after a superlative adjective, historically it is alwaysoll: