Archive for October, 2010
Cultacha Samhna Móréilimh [best-selling] na Bliana 2010 Posted by róislín on Oct 31, 2010
(le Róislín) 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…
Samhain (1 Mí na Samhna): The First Day of Winter Posted by róislín on Oct 29, 2010
(le Róislín) Not only was Samhain the first day of the traditional Celtic year – it was also the first day of winter, fitting neatly with the rest of the laethanta trascheathrún (cross-quarter days) san fhéilire Ceilteach. The others are Imbolc (1 Feabhra/February, now usually called Lá Fhéile Bríde), Bealtaine (1 May), and Lughnasa (aka…
Samhain (November 1st) and Lá Caille (January 1st): Two New Years! Posted by róislín on Oct 27, 2010
(le Róislín) I suppose one could see this as an opportunity for two ways of celebrating the New Year. The traditional Celtic New Year was November 1st, recognized as Samhain [SOW-in] but not celebrated today as the official New Year. The January 1st version of New Year’s Day is Lá Caille (lit. day of Calends)…
‘Is Lá Eile É An Lá Amárach’ … agus ‘Lá an Oirthear’ (More on ‘After’ in Irish) Posted by róislín on Oct 24, 2010
(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…
More on the Word(s) “After” (i nGaeilge) Posted by róislín on Oct 20, 2010
(le Róislín) There’s a lot to cover with the word “after” in Irish, and this mionsraith will just be able to give some key examples. “Ina dhiaidh sin” (after that), you’re on your own. Well, maybe not entirely. We might revisit the idea “tar éis tamaill” (after a while), but I’m going allow time for…
Now That We’re Just After Covering “Before,” Let’s Do “After” Posted by róislín on Oct 17, 2010
For this mionsraith, which will no doubt have at least trí nó ceithre chuid, I’ll adopt the same basic process as before, when I covered “before.” First, we’ll look at two of the most basic phrases for “after” in Irish, “tar éis” and “i ndiaidh,” and eventually we’ll work our way up to some more…
Still More on “Before” i nGaeilge Posted by róislín on Oct 14, 2010
The possibilities for “before” seem almost endless, but given the first seven phrases we discussed in recent blogs (cheana, roimh, sula, thar, os coinne, os comhair, ar tosach), plus the additional “arú,” I’ll wrap up this series with just a few more examples. A few are new to this series and some are representative expressions…