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ArchivesRe: Dubh
in reply to a message by Satu
My knowledge of Gaelic is hazy too, but it looks as if the bh cluster used to make a sound and then the sounds of the language changed after it took its written form, so the old spelling was retained - same as the gh cluster in through and thorough in English.
As for the sound, that h seems to signal breath, so it would have made the b into a fricative. Same idea as the mh cluster, which still makes a v sound; presumably not a v, therefore, as there wouldn't be much point in having two ways of writing the same consonant. (When I try to make a labial fricative I close the door! Not very ladylike, I fear, though no doubt respectable in ancient Ireland.)
As for the sound, that h seems to signal breath, so it would have made the b into a fricative. Same idea as the mh cluster, which still makes a v sound; presumably not a v, therefore, as there wouldn't be much point in having two ways of writing the same consonant. (When I try to make a labial fricative I close the door! Not very ladylike, I fear, though no doubt respectable in ancient Ireland.)
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