Archive for the year 2009
Lá na Máithreacha vs. Lá na Máthar (“Day of the Mothers” or “of the Mother”)? Posted by róislín on May 10, 2009
(le Róislín) I’ve been following this debate in Irish circles for a good 10 or so years now, probably since the first time I wrote on the topic for my Irish language column for children in the Philadelphia-based Irish Edition newspaper (www.irishedition.com). Are we celebrating one mother or all mothers? I should probably qualify that to say…
Logainmneacha Ceilteacha agus Náisiúntachtaí a Ceathair: Celtic Place Names and Nationalities 4 – The Isle of Man (Mann) and the Manx Posted by róislín on May 6, 2009
We’ve recently discussed the place names Albain (Scotland), Éire (Ireland), and An Bhreatain Bheag (Wales). Today we’ll turn to the Isle of Man (IOM), an island which is not part of Britain nor of the United Kingdom, but which has been a British crown possession since 1828. Under the auspices of the British Home Office…
Logainmneacha Ceilteacha agus Náisiúntachtaí a Trí: Celtic Place Names and Nationalities – Wales and the Welsh Posted by róislín on May 3, 2009
We’ve recently discussed the place names Albain (Scotland) and Éire (Ireland). Now we’ll turn to ”An Bhreatain Bheag” (Wales). Since “Breatain” is a feminine noun, the adjective that modifies it, “beag” (little) becomes “bheag.” And since this country name includes the definite article “an” (the), it also causes “Breatain” to change to “Bhreatain,” pronounced with…
Bealtaine, Beltain, Beltene, or Beltane for May 1st? YES! Ba’al tine – NOT! Posted by róislín on May 1, 2009
Bealtaine, Beltain, Beltene, or Beltane for May 1st? YES! Ba’al tine – NOT! May 1st is the first day of summer in the traditional Celtic calendar, and if our current heat wave (ceithre chéim is nócha Fahrenheit ar an 26ú lá d’Aibreán, 94°F on April 26th) is any indication, it will feel like an…
Karros, Carrus, and Today’s “Carr” Posted by róislín on Apr 27, 2009
(le Róislín) You might have noticed “carr” as a recent Word of the Day at blogs.transparent.com. It could be easy to assume that this is a recent borrowing from English, dating to the era of, well, motor-cars. Ach a mhalairt, a chara! (but the opposite, my friend). The word “carr” was in use in…
Logainmneacha Ceilteacha agus Náisiúntachtaí a Dó: Celtic Place Names and Nationalities – Ireland and the Irish Posted by róislín on Apr 24, 2009
We recently discussed the place name “Albain” (Scotland) and now will turn to ”Éire” (Ireland).. Here are some examples of the nationality, the place name, and related phrases: Éireannach, an Irishman or person. This can be made feminine, “Éireannach mná,” but, the same as my experience with “Albanach mná,” most people…
Terms for Grandchildren “as Gaeilge” (in Irish): Garmhac, Gariníon and Other Compounds with “Gar” Posted by róislín on Apr 21, 2009
(le Róislín) Unlike English, where the prefix “grand-“ is used with “mother,” “father,” “parent,” “son,” “daughter,” and “child,” in Irish, there is a major shift in the qualifier used for “grandchildren.” As you may recall from the previous blog on grandparents, there are three widely used options: seanathair / seanmháthair, athair mór / máthair…