Archive for April, 2011
An Chéad Díochlaonadh: Newts, Frogs, and, for Easter, Baskets Posted by róislín on Apr 8, 2011
(le Róislín) We’ve recently seen a number of first-declension nouns in Irish, with their various forms. You might have noticed how when we say “hats of men” or “eyes of newts,” the plural form appears to look singular. In other words, “fear” normally means “a man” but can mean “of men” in the right grammatical…
What’s the “Tuiseal” of “an Tuiseal Ginideach” Anyway? Posted by róislín on Apr 5, 2011
(le Róislín) By now, you’ve probably heard the term “tuiseal” quite a bit in discussing Irish nouns. It’s generally translated as “case” as in “an tuiseal gairmeach” (“a Shinéad” for “Sinéad” in the “vocative” case) or as in “an tuiseal ginideach” (“cóta Sheáin” for “John’s coat” in the “genitive” case), etc. Of course, this isn’t…
Of Mice, Of Men, Of Newt, Of Frog (A Prose Ode to “An Tuiseal Ginideach”) Posted by róislín on Apr 2, 2011
(le Róislín) Now that we’ve started this mionsraith on an tuiseal ginideach, we may as well dul go bun an angair. That latter phrase is an Irish idiom that literally means “to go to the end (top) of the want,” and is roughly equivalent to “to go whole hog” or “to the bitter end.” Why…