Published online by Cambridge University Press: 17 June 2025
This chapter proposes an account of the development of preaspiration in Celtic, including both the Gaelic languages and Brythonic languages (most particularly Welsh). The Gaelic languages, particularly Scottish Gaelic, are well known for the high degree of variation in preaspiration patterns across both space and time. I offer an account of this variation within the wider Celtic context, drawing also, where appropriate, on parallels with the other groups considered elsewhere in the book. I show that the life-cycle model, in particular the clear distinction between phonetic rules (phonetic-phonological patterns) and phonological phenomena, provides an insightful account both of synchronic patterns and of the diachronic trajectory of preaspiration.
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