(le Róislín)

Sula mbeidh téama Samhna againn, beidh beagáinín eile sa bhlag faoin bhfocal “after.”  Is í ceist Sheancháin an cheist a spreag an tsraith seo agus mar sin freagróidh mé a cheistsean sula dtosóidh mé na blaganna faoi Oíche Shamhna agus faoin tSamhain. 

Before we have the Halloween theme (which is champing at the bit), we’ll have a little more in the blog about the word “after.”  Seanchán’s question inspired this series and so I’ll answer that before I start the Halloween blogs.

Céard í an cheist sin? “How does “anóirthear” compare with “arú amárach”? a scríobh sé.

Primarily canúint (dialect), I’d say.  I mostly use and have heard “arú amárach” or “arú amáireach.”  The difference in pronunciation  (amárach vs. amáireach) there is a matter of the broad “r” (as in Nóra) vs. the slender “r” (as in Máire) but basically they’re the same phrase.

“Anóirthear” shows up in many forms, sometimes with “ó” (long “o”) and sometimes with “o” (short “o”):

um an oirthear (lit. at/on/about the front part)

in oirthear (lit. in the front part)

lá an oirthear

anóirthir, a variation from Omeath, Co. Louth (Ó Méith, Contae Lú)

amanathar [uh-MAHN-uh-hur, stress on second syllable and silent “t,” as one would expect]; this is primarily a Munster variation (Cork, Kerry, etc.)

amanarthar, a variation of “amanathar”

Mar a dúirt Scarlóidín Ní Eadhra, “Is lá eile é an lá amárach.”  By extension then, let’s see … “Is lá eile é lá an oirthear.”  If what’s true for the “gé” is true for the “gandal,” then what’s true for the day is true for the day after tomorrow, that is to say, they could both be defined as “lá eile” (another day).  A bit athluaiteach, but, as the Saturday Night Live Church Lady would have said if s/he had known Irish, “Nach bhfuil sé sin speisialta?”  Slán go fóill — Róislín

Nótaí: athluaiteach, tautological; dúirt, said; gandal, gander; gé, goose; Ó hEadhra, O’Hara; -sean [shun], a contrastive suffix which pairs up with the possessive adjective in the 3^rd person singular masculine form, cf. a chuidsean, a thírsean, etc.; speisialta, special