Tag Archives: German
A Partial Glossary for “Silent Night” in Irish (Oíche Chiúin) and in Welsh (Tawel/Dawel Nos), plus a nod toward the German (Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht) Posted by róislín on Dec 17, 2017
(le Róislín) As you might guess from looking at the graphic above, today’s blogpost will deal with some vocabulary for the Christmas carol, “Silent Night.” We’ll mostly focus on the Irish text, of course, but I thought I’d include a few notes on the Welsh, particularly because almost every version of it that I’ve seen…
Abair ‘I Love You’ i nDeich dTeanga (and Irish as the 11th) Posted by róislín on Feb 11, 2015
(le Róislín) ‘Tis the season to speak of “amour,” and the more ways, plus on rit, n’est-ce pas? So let’s briefly review the most traditional Irish phrase for “I love you,” and then we’ll look at the same phrase in 10 other languages. So how much more Irish will you learn from that? Well, the matching…
How to Say ‘Happy New Year’ in Irish and How to Pronounce the Consonant Cluster “thbhl” Posted by róislín on Dec 31, 2014
(le Róislín) Athbhliain faoi shéan is faoi mhaise duit. Happy New Year to you. Athbhliain faoi shéan is faoi mhaise daoibh. Happy New Year to you (plural). So how do we pronounce that, what does it literally mean, why are the actual words “happy” and “new” not in the phrase, and where does a consonant…
Eolaithe Eile (agus Eolaíochtaí Eile) Posted by róislín on Aug 5, 2014
(le Róislín) While we’re on a roll with occupations, especially “-ologists,” I thought we could add a few more. This time, they’ll be a mix and match, just to add a little more … what’s that great compound word again … “dúshlán.” Understanding “dúshlán” as a compound word (originally “dubh” + “slán,” becoming “shlán” [hlawn]…
Cait: Cúpla Téarma Eile (Mothchat, Baldúin, Crúbálaí) Posted by róislín on Dec 9, 2013
(le Róislín) A few more cat terms have recently come to my attention. Let’s start with the rather eye-catching: mothchat [muh-khaht] tomcat Ar dtús báire, ní peata “Leamhanfhir” é. Nó “peata Fhear an Leamhain,” más fearr leat mar sin é. So, no, the Mothman of West Virginia (and of “Prophecies” fame) didn’t suddenly become a…
Liúdair go dtí a) an Caisleán Nua, b) an Aithin nó go c) Toraigh? Posted by róislín on May 15, 2012
(le Róislín) As the final entry in this mionsraith ar chaint fhíortha, we’ll talk briefly about liúdair (coalfish) and their role in a traditional Irish expression. Of course, we could talk about figurative speech till the cows come home or till we’re all blue in the face, but there are other topics looming so we’ll…
What’s So “Leap” about “Leap Year” and Is It “Leap” in Irish (Bliain Bhisigh)? Posted by róislín on Feb 26, 2012
(le Róislín) Looking at the terminology for “leap” in Irish got me thinking, why exactly do we call it “leap” year? Now don’t get me wrong, this isn’t going to be a discussion of the space-time continuum, if that’s even relevant, and it’s not going to be about how time really works (which I leave…