carson

See also: Carson

Scottish Gaelic

Alternative forms

c'arson

Etymology

Contraction of cé/cia (“who(m)”) +‎ air (“for”) +‎ son (“sake”), literally “for the sake of whom?”. See also airson.

Pronunciation

(Lewis) IPA^(key): /kʰɔrˠˈs̪ɔn/, [kʰɔɽˈʂɔn]^[1]
(South Uist, Barra) IPA^(key): /kʰarˠˈs̪ɔn/^[2], [kʰaˈs̪ˠɔ̝n]^[3]^[4]

Usage notes

The stress of this word is on the second syllable, which is unusual in Scottish Gaelic. This is due to the word being formed from a compound, which is now merely written as a single word - an orthographic choice with no hyphenation.

Adverb

carson (followed by an indirect relative clause)

why, wherefore

References

^ Oftedal, M. (1956), A linguistic survey of the Gaelic dialects of Scotland, Vol. III: The Gaelic of Leurbost, Isle of Lewis, Oslo: Norsk Tidsskrift for Sprogvidenskap
^ Mac Gill-Fhinnein, Gordon (1966), Gàidhlig Uidhist a Deas, Dublin: Institiúid Ard-Léinn Bhaile Átha Cliath
^ Borgstrøm, Carl Hj. (1937), The dialect of Barra in the Outer Hebrides, Oslo: Norsk Tidsskrift for Sprogvidenskap
^ Borgstrøm, Carl Hj. (1940), A linguistic survey of the Gaelic dialects of Scotland, Vol. I: The dialects of the Outer Hebrides, Oslo: Norsk Tidsskrift for Sprogvidenskap, page 188

[1] Oftedal, M. (1956), A linguistic survey of the Gaelic dialects of Scotland, Vol. III: The Gaelic of Leurbost, Isle of Lewis, Oslo: Norsk Tidsskrift for Sprogvidenskap

[2] Mac Gill-Fhinnein, Gordon (1966), Gàidhlig Uidhist a Deas, Dublin: Institiúid Ard-Léinn Bhaile Átha Cliath

[3] Borgstrøm, Carl Hj. (1937), The dialect of Barra in the Outer Hebrides, Oslo: Norsk Tidsskrift for Sprogvidenskap

[4] Borgstrøm, Carl Hj. (1940), A linguistic survey of the Gaelic dialects of Scotland, Vol. I: The dialects of the Outer Hebrides, Oslo: Norsk Tidsskrift for Sprogvidenskap, page 188

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