Irish Language Blog

Here’s  some vocabulary you might enjoy for putting together the names of some of this year’s most popular Halloween costumes.  Some of these are specific trademarked figures, so please note I’m not actually recommending renaming the characters into Irish – just breaking the vocabulary down into its component parts.  Each name I’ve picked has two parts, so part of the name will come from Colún A and the other part from Colún B.  But the Colún A word isn’t necessarily first in the actual phrase in English.  Just to mix it up. 

Colún A                                                   Colún B.

1. solasbhliain                                      a. fhiáin            

2. beach                                                 b. haitéir

3. ar buile                                               c. seabhrán

4. fear                                                      d. Mario

5. deartháireacha                                e. damhán alla

Apparently, Lady Gaga was this year’s most popular pop culture costume for adults.  So I could have made her entry 6 in the exercise above.  But should we translate “Lady” in her name, especially since she’s a real person?  Mostly the word “Lady” seems to remain in English no matter what language she’s being discussed in.  But if you’re bound and determined to translate her name into Irish, you could use “bantiarna” (lady, as a title).  “Gaga,” though, would remain the same.  Honorific titles in Irish include the definite article (“the”), so you’d include “an” at the beginning (An Bhantiarna Gaga) just as you would for “an Dochtúir Ó Murchú” (Dr. Murphy) or “an tAthair Ó Murchú” (Father Murphy).   Or “an tAthair Ted.” 

The further question to me, though, is that every time Lady Gaga appears, she’s in costume, so which, if any, would be an chulaith Lady Gaga is aircitíopúla?  Or did this year’s Halloween shops offer dosaenacha feisteas Lady Gaga?  Caithfidh mé a admháil nár thug mé sin faoi deara!

Leid: is do pháistí is mó é uimhir a 2, go mór mór do thachráin

Freagraí: 1c. seabhrán, buzz (one of many words for “buzz” ach sin scéal eile); solasbhliain, light year; 2a. beach fhiáin, bumblebee (lit. wild bee); 3b. haitéir, hatter; ar buile (mad, lit. “on madness,” as in the “Poc” song); 4e. fear, man; damhán alla, spider;  5d. deartháireacha, brothers; Mario, Mario, ar ndóigh (sloinne ceart ar iarraidh ach tá an cheist sin seanphléite ar an Idirlíon, má tá suim agat ann). 

Nóta ar an bhfocal “bantiarna”: This is one of the few compound words for female occupations that don’t take their gender from the core word of the compound, in this case, “tiarna” (lord), which is masculine.  One other is “banaltra” (nurse), a word now considered “dated” but still in use and grammatically feminine.  The lenition of “b” to “bh” in the form “an bhanaltra” shows that it’s feminine.  The word “banaltra” is now typically superseded by altra, (an t-altra), which is a masculine noun.  In contrast, though, we have many examples of female occupational terms that are grammatically masculine, like banphrionsa (princess), bandia (goddess), banchliamhain (daughter-in-law), and bangharda (policewoman, a female garda).      

Nóta ar an bhfocal “culaith” (costume).  This also means “suit” in general: culaith [KUL-ee], costume; an chulaith [un KHUL-ee], the costume (lenited because it’s grammatically feminine); cultacha [KUL-tukh-uh], costumes.  Cf. culaith snámha or shnámha, bathing-suit; culaith bhréidín, tweed suit; culaith Aifrinn, Mass vestments, etc. 

Gluais: admháil, to admit, acknowledge; is aircitíopúla, most archetypical (from aircitíopúil); caithfidh mé [KAH-hee may], I must (also means “I throw, I spend, etc., but once again, sin scéal eile); cliamhain [KLEE-uh-win], son-in-law; dia, a god or deity; feisteas [FESH-tuss], outfit (n); prionsa (prince); tachrán [TAHKH-rawn], toddler; thug mé sin faoi deara, I noticed that (preceded by “níor” or “nár,” the phrase is negative)

An bhfuil culaith Oíche Shamhna agat?  Do you have a Halloween costume?

Má tá, cén sórt culaithe atá ann? 

An mbeidh tú i do vaimpír?  [un may too ih duh VAM-peer?]     

Beidh [bay] / Ní bheidh [nee vay]

For these questions, note that you’re literally saying something like, “Will you be in your vampire?” and the answer is either “will be” or “won’t be.”  It doesn’t mean inside your own “vampireness,” but is simply a way to link a noun or pronoun, in this case “tú” with another noun, in this case, “vaimpír.”  It’s very important to include the phrase “i do” (in your” for sentences like this; normally one can’t use the verb “tá” to link two nouns. 

The full answer to a question like this is:

Beidh mé i mo vaimpír (I will be a vampire, using “i mo” for “in my”)

or for the negative, Ní bheidh mé i mo vaimpír. 

But one might simply answer “beidh” or answer “Ní bheidh” and then say what you’ll actually be, like “Ní bheidh, beidh mé i mo chonriocht.”  (No, I’ll be a werewolf).  

Hmm, that would actually be a tricky (úúps!) costume to create, wouldn’t it?  How would people know you were a werewolf and not just a regular wolf?  Maybe a costume that was “leathchonriocht” agus “leathdhuine” (half werewolf, half human), a sort of “fráma reoite beo” (living freeze frame) in the act of “trasdul” (transition). 

Seo cúpla ceann eile:

An mbeidh tú i do thaibhse? [… ih duh HAIV-shuh, silent “t” and “b”]     

An mbeidh tú i do dhiabhal? [… ih duh YEE-uh-wul?

An mbeidh tú i do chat dubh? [… ih duh khaht duv?]

An mbeidh tú i do bhuachaill bó? [… ih duh WOO-ukh-il boh?]

An mbeidh tú i do phíoráid? [… ih duh FEE-ur-awdj?[

And of course, now that Halloween costumes for pets have become popular, we could have a series of questions like:

An mbeidh do mhadra ina chat dubh?  Will your dog [male] be a black cat?

An mbeidh do mhadra ina cat dubh?  Will your dog [female] be a black cat? 

Or, thinking of an adorable costume I saw on a “smutmhadra” (pug dog) the other day:

Tá an smutmhadra ina phuimcín  (if the dog is male) or Tá an smutmhadra ina puimcín (if the dog is female). 

Please do note the pronunciation of the first part of the compound word for “pug.”   The “u” is like the sound in English “put” or “book,” not as in “putt” (in golf) or “buck.”  And please keep in mind that the compound “smutmhadra” literally means “stump-dog” or “snout-dog”  The first element may look like English, but that is, in this case, sheer coincidence.

If you’re trying to put a culaith on your cat, I’d say, “Ádh mór!”  I’ve also seen costumes for pearóidí, but have never actually seen a parrot wearing one.  Tusa?    

And  “mar fhocal scoir” for this topic, all of these questions imply a temporary state.  That is, you’re not permanently a devil, even though you’re wearing a devil costume.  

If you’re truly and inherently a vampire or if your pug is truly and inherently a pumpkin, you’d use the linking verb and say “Is vaimpír mé” (I’m a vampire) or “Is puimcín é an smutmhadra sin” (That pug is a pumpkin).  The first of those sentences might be reasonably useful, depending on what kind of company you hang out with.  The second one is a stretch, at least as I understand eiseadh (existence).  Perhaps we should say, “Is smutmadra é an puimcín sin” [That pumpkin is (actually) a pug].  To me, that would suggest that some wizard had transformed a pug into a pumpkin and you were pointing this out, since most people would think the pumpkin was simply a pumpkin.  But if you wanted to imply that the pumpkin could be transformed back into a pug, you could say, “Tá an puimcín sin ina smutmhadra” (That pumpkin is a pug). 

Of course, if your sense of identity with your costumed persona is really strong, you could use the “is” verb as well.  But if you wanted to say “I’m a vampire tonight, but if you want to know my job, I’m a programmer,” you’d say: 

Tá mé i mo vaimpír anocht ach má tá tú ag iarraidh a fháil amach cén post atá agam, is cláraitheoir mé. 

Whatever you choose to say with the Irish verb “is,” remember that it is pronounced like “hiss” or “miss,” not like its English look-alike, “is,” which is pronounced “izz.” 

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We’ve recently discussed the place names Albain, Éire, An Bhreatain Bheag, and Oileán Mhanann.  Today we’ll turn to Brittany.  Below you’ll find some examples of how to use the place name and how to indicate that a person or thing is Breton. 

One of France’s 22 régions, Brittany is called “An Bhriotáin” in Irish.  It is a feminine noun, so it has the lenition (softening and insertion of the letter “h”) after the initial letter “B.”  The “B” goes back to normal in other forms of this word, such as “muintir na Briotáine” (the residents of Brittany). 

Briotánach, a Breton or Breton person.  Like the terms “Éireannach,” “Albanach,” “Breatnach,” and “Manannach,” it can be made feminine, “Briotánach mná,” but, as I’ve previously mentioned, this form is rarely used.  The feminine form basically means “a woman Breton man.” 

an Briotánach, the Breton. 

Briotánach is also the adjective form, as seen in “spáinnéar Briotánach” (a Brittany spaniel). 

We can see the importance of the síneadh fada (long mark over a vowel) as we note that the word “British” in Irish is “Briotanach,” almost the same as “Briotánach,” except the vowel in the middle is short. 

Some phrases with the place name “an Bhriotáin” include:

sa Bhriotáin: in Brittany

go dtí an Bhriotáin:  to Brittany

Diúcacht na Briotáine, the Duchy of Brittany, a historical term (Dugelezh Vreizh or Duché de Bretagne).

Just speaking of Brittany reminds me of a crêpe dinner (an-bhlasta, very tasty) that I had at a restaurant called Au Petit Coin Breton i gCathair Québec (Quebec City) a few years ago, as part of the annual conference of the North American Association for Celtic Language Teachers (NAACLT).  Not only did an bhialann (restaurant) have wonderful food, but its atmaisféar (closest one can get to the word “ambiance” as Gaeilge) was an-Bhriotánach (very Breton) with maisiúcháin Bhriotánacha (Breton ornaments) and cultacha traidisiúnta Briotánacha (traditional Breton costumes).  Meas tú cén sórt crêpe a bhí agam ansin (What kind of crêpe do you suppose I had)?  Crêpe torc allta (wild boar crêpe)!

And speaking of crêpes, you might wonder “Conas a deir tú sin i nGaeilge (How do you say that in Irish)?”  The word “pancóg” has been used but really, it’s just as well to follow the practice in languages such as German, Portuguese, and Swedish and just call this food “crêpe.”  “Pancóg” implies a thicker, less crispy texture, a veritable flapjack!  And “pancóg Suzette faoi lasair” doesn’t quite have the same panache as “crêpe Suzette flambé,” at least in my opinion. 

We’re nearly finished this series of Celtic place names and identities.  Shortly we’ll start a series of hyphenated ethnicities, like Irish-American, but meanwhile, since there’s probably a higher proportion of people with Breton heritage in Canada than in the U.S., how about Briotánach-Cheanadach!

–  Bhur mblagálaí, Róislín