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Tag Archives: buí

Review: A charming retelling of Goldilocks in Irish with animated video (Cinnín Óir agus na Trí Bhéar) Posted by on Sep 30, 2018

(le Róislín) A charming retelling of a classic tale, with an animated video, to boot. While I have enjoyed many Irish videos, animations, and cartoons, going back at least as far as “Bouli” (early 1990s),  many of them have very rapid-paced dialogue and sometimes I’m a bit reluctant to recommend them to elementary learners because…

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Bláth Buí Eile — An Caisearbhán (‘Dandelion’ in Irish) Posted by on May 24, 2016

(le Róislín) Continuing our break from the flower-themed girls’ names (like Bláithín, Lile, and Nóinín), we’ll look at another actual flower.  Why specifically a “bláth buí” at this particular time?  Well, we did nóiníní, which may be partly or all yellow, and then cama an ime, which are completely yellow (hence the “im” part of…

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More Month-of-May Motifs (i nGaeilge, ar ndóigh) Posted by on Apr 27, 2014

(le Róislín) Is it the “merry month” of May or the “merry, merry month” of May?  Is it “meidhreach” or “sona,” “croíúil” or “súgach?  Or is it as in the traditional Irish phrase, “buí” (Mí Bhuí na Bealtaine)?  We looked at all of those terms in the last blog (nasc thíos) but here’s a quick…

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What’s the “Tuiseal” of “an Tuiseal Ginideach” Anyway? Posted by on Apr 5, 2011

(le Róislín) By now, you’ve probably heard the term “tuiseal” quite a bit in discussing Irish nouns.  It’s generally translated as “case” as in “an tuiseal gairmeach” (“a Shinéad” for “Sinéad” in the “vocative” case) or as in “an tuiseal ginideach” (“cóta Sheáin” for “John’s coat” in the “genitive” case), etc. Of course, this isn’t…

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More Irish Pronunciation Notes: Broad and Slender “B” Sounds Posted by on Aug 17, 2010

Getting back to the pronunciation series that was started a few blogs ago, there are a few more points I’d like to add.  As I said before, what I’m doing here is primarily explaining the transcription system that I use, not attempting to account for every possible sound or variation of a sound in Irish…

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Nótaí Fuaimnithe (Pronunciation Notes) don Bhlag Deireanach, or, Not Your Abuela’s “ua” Vowel Sound Posted by on Feb 23, 2010

(le Róislín) A few notes on pronunciation for the last blog, which was called “Thuas Seal, Thíos Seal, or Ice-cream and Underlings.”  Pronunciation notes always seem to be welcome!   The “ua” sound, which we saw consistently in that whole “slua” (angl. slew) of related words is basically “oo-uh.”  That’s “oo” as in (American) English…

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Lá Fhéile Pádraig! Posted by on Mar 12, 2009

(le Róislín) As you might have guessed, the title phrase above means “St. Patrick’s Day,” a good time for launching this “blag nua” (new blog).  Remember that in pronunciation, the “fh” of the word “Fhéile” is completely silent.  For that reason, you sometimes see the phrase written as “Lá ‘Éile Pádraig,” dropping the “fh” entirely. …

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