Some random notes on areas of vocabulary and grammar that appear to differ between the Cork of Peadar Ua Laoghaire and modern Cork Irish.
1. PUL did not lenite the autonomous form of the verb in any tense, whereas the modern usage reserves this treatment for the past tense only. The following are among the forms he used:
ní deintear
ní deineadh
ní déanfar
ní deinfí
ní deintí
2. bainim: a distinction has emerged between bainim “to cut”, and buainim “to reap”. PUL has buanaí reaper, but does not use buaint, prefering forms like ag baint choirce.
3. dias “ear of corn” is according to IWM now pronounced lias, but PUL has dias, despite his policy of using a spelling that fully reflected Cork dialect.
4. PUL is careful to decline nouns correctly: he has caraid and carad where the modern usage would be more likely to be cara. The dative of bean is mnaoi in PUL.
5. PUL used the correct imperfect of gheibhim: do gheibhinn, instead of the modern d’fhaighinn.
6. PUL had tuitim instead of the modern titim.
7. PUL had tar as the imperative, instead of tair.
8. PUL had taraing instead of tarrac. It would be interested to know if he pronounced it this way too.
9. PUL had leigim instead of leogaim. It would be interested to know if he pronounced it this way too.
10. PUL had matalong instead of batalang.
11. PUL had comairce instead of coimirce.
12. PUL had Micheál, implying a short i; compare the long i given in IWM.
13. PUL had urchar, but IWM says this is pronounced ruchar in Cork Irish.
14. PUL used tré instead of trí, but tríd with the article.
15. PUL had a more or less consistent use of lenition of the prepositions do and de and their various forms after a vowel.
16. PUL consistently differentiated between do and de.