Lenition of the Conjugated Prepositions in Irish and Welsh

Abstract

Lenition of the conjugated prepositions is observed in both Irish and Welsh, but the reason for the lenition of this category and its development in both languages is as of yet unexplained. Using a corpus with both Irish and Welsh material, this thesis concerns itself with the following questions: 1. Can a development in the use of lenition of the conjugated forms of the preposition be witnessed in the selected corpus from the medieval period? 2. Are the conjugated prepositions lenited regardless of their environment or do they require a specific context? 3. From which period in time can lenition of the conjugated prepositions be observed? 4. How can the existence of this lenition of the conjugated prepositions be explained? 5. Is the lenition of the conjugated prepositions in essence the same development for Irish and Welsh?