Archive for March, 2009
Sraothartach (Sneezing), Smaoisíl (Sniffling), and Srannadh (Snoring) Posted by róislín on Mar 30, 2009
(le Róislín) As promised, we’ll address sneezing and related phenomena in today’s blog. You might have already anticipated that some more beannachtaí (blessings) and wishes for good health will be involved, just as they are with English (bless you, Gesundheit). Sraoth is a sneeze. In Irish, it’s not so customary to use a verb that…
Beannachtaí i nGaeilge a Trí – Or How to Reply to a Greeting in Irish Posted by róislín on Mar 27, 2009
(le Róislín) Beannachtaí i nGaeilge (Cuid a Trí) – Or How to Reply to a Greeting in Irish After two full blogs worth of information, we can finally say, “hello” in Irish. And now, how to reply! Here we’ll be keeping track of singular and plural, as noted in the previous blogposts, but for the traditional…
Beannachtaí i nGaeilge a Dó – Or How to Greet Several People in Irish Posted by róislín on Mar 25, 2009
(le Róislín) Beannachtaí i nGaeilge (Cuid a Dó) – Or How to Greet Several People in Irish As promised in a recent blog, here we’ll look at the greetings used when you’re talking to more than one person. Remember that Irish has two different ways to say “you,” singular and plural. Therefore, phrases such as “Dia…
Beannachtaí i nGaeilge – Or How to Greet Someone in Irish Posted by róislín on Mar 23, 2009
(le Róislín) Beannachtaí i nGaeilge (Cuid a hAon) – Or How to Greet Someone in Irish For starters, let’s look at the word “beannacht,” which literally means “a blessing” but which also means “greeting.” Traditionally almost all Irish greetings were blessings. Today, the field has opened up with various versions of “hello” and “hi” now…
An Chéad Lá den Earrach (The First Day of Spring) – Not! Posted by róislín on Mar 21, 2009
(le Róislín) Shortly after St. Patrick’s Day, we welcome in an tEarrach (the Spring). Or do we? We may be accustomed to thinking of March 20th or 21st as the beginning of Spring, but there is actually a lot of controversy in English as to whether Spring starts on the first of the month or…
As Easy as “a hAon, a Dó, a Trí” – Na Maoluimhreacha i nGaeilge Posted by róislín on Mar 19, 2009
(le Róislín) Quite a few of the basic Irish numbers from one to ten are recognizable if you know at least one other European language. In each case, the actual number is preceded by the single letter “a,” which here is the numerical particle. It has no actual meaning. It simply indicates that a “maoluimhir”…
A Lán Lann – A Lot of Places (with the Suffix “–lann”) Posted by róislín on Mar 15, 2009
(le Róislín) You may have noticed Transparent Language’s recent WOTD, an bhialann, the restaurant, and you may recognize a keyword in this expression, “bia” (food). It’s helpful to know the suffix “–lann” also, since it is used to make dozens of words. The suffix comes from the word “lann,” which has many meanings, including “land,” “ground,”…