Welsh to Irish: interpret mutation before choosing the target pattern
Both languages use initial changes, but the ownership patterns differ
The official Welsh Foundation guide identifies ei as both his and her, with different effects on the following word. Its examples include ei dad e and ei thad hi. The owner distinction is not carried by the spelling ei alone; the surrounding grammatical pattern matters.
Kevin Scannell’s original Irish-language technology lecture illustrates a comparable-looking but different system: a bhád is his boat, a bád is her boat and a mbád is their boat. The same written possessive a accompanies three different initial patterns. Those patterns cannot be selected by copying the Welsh consonant change.
For Welsh-to-Irish translation, first determine whether the source refers to a male owner, a female owner or several owners. Then build the Irish possessive phrase according to the target noun and construction. The shared presence of mutation in both languages is useful background, but not a conversion table between individual letters.
A form of the same noun is not a different object
Scannell points out that bád, bhád and mbád represent forms of the same word rather than three unrelated dictionary items. The change contributes grammatical information in context. A translator should therefore identify the underlying noun before deciding that an Irish output refers to a different object.
Welsh makes the same kind of source-reading demand without following identical rules. The Foundation guide gives fy nghar i, dy gar di and ei char hi in its possessive mutation table. Interpreting the changed beginning requires the preceding possessive and the complete phrase.
This direction consequently requires two analyses, not one. Recover the Welsh referent despite its mutated form; then apply the Irish pattern appropriate to the intended relationship. Simply stripping or copying initial letters can destroy a distinction that the source actually made about who owns the item.
Do not erase a regional Irish alternative while preserving Welsh meaning
The Irish lecture also records ar an mbád and ar an bhád as regional alternatives for a phrase about being on a boat, identifying Connacht and Munster versus Ulster usage. A different initial form can therefore reflect regional grammar rather than a different person or a different boat.
The Welsh source likewise needs interpretation beyond recognizing an initial change. Its Foundation guide distinguishes mutations after particular pronouns from changes triggered elsewhere in a sentence. A visible mutation is evidence of a construction; it is not a universal sign of possession.
When assessing the Irish translation of a Welsh location or ownership phrase, keep the grammatical trigger separate from the intended referent. An ownership contrast should survive, while a valid regional location pattern should not be rewritten merely because it resembles a possessive mutation. Read what governs the noun before concluding that an unfamiliar form has changed the message.
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