Archive for May, 2011
Declensions, Generally Speaking Posted by róislín on May 30, 2011
(le Róislín) Next time the gnáthmhionchaint grows tedious at some required but understimulating social event, maybe you’d like to liven up the chat by mentioning declensions. The conversation could have far-reaching implications, like “When is a category a category?” and “When is a category a sub-category?” If it’s anything like “adamhach” and “fo-adamhach,” sin scéal…
Gaolta and the Fifth Posted by róislín on May 27, 2011
(le Róislín) Fifth declension, that is. So, no, the fifth here is not a cúigiú as in 4/5 of a galún, traditionally filled with uisce beatha, vodca, rum, or other hard liquor, ar ndóigh. And it’s not the “Fifth” that Americans, at least, might take, demand, or plead, to protect against féin-ionchoiriú, etc. That’s “an…
Practice with “Piontaí” Posted by róislín on May 24, 2011
(le Róislín) To wrap up this Guinnessian interlude, and before we return to díochlaontaí, how about some hands-on practice with ordering pints, or otherwise discussing them? This will foreshadow an upcoming unit on “uimhreacha” in general. Some of you will have done this before, but I hope you’ll find that “sraith” interesting and perhaps a…
An Pionta Beo Posted by róislín on May 21, 2011
(le Róislín) You might have been thinking it would be time to catch up on some of the other topics that have been hinted at during the course of the blog – the donkey sanctuaries (agus sibhse ag fanacht leis sin le fada, tá a fhios agam, a léitheoirí dílse), vigesimal counting (once traditional and…
Piontaí agus an Ceathrú Díochlaonadh Posted by róislín on May 18, 2011
(le Róislín) As long as we’re on the topic of “turas an Uachtaráin go hÉirinn,” how about “piontaí Guinness”? And since “pionta” happens to be a 4th-declension noun, all the more reason to keep sraith na ndíochlaontaí going. Credit: PDPhoto.org / Public Domain Image So, if we’re going to describe this pint, what are the…
Muine Gall (Moneygall) agus Muineacha Eile Posted by róislín on May 15, 2011
(le Róislín) President Obama’s visit to one of his ancestral homelands, Moneygall, Co. Offaly, Ireland, provides us with an ideal segue from 4th-declension nouns (discussed in our most recent blogs) to international news events. And this is one angle of his trip that I think has been overlooked by the majority, perhaps all, of the…
Itsy, Bitsy, “-ín” is “-íní” (AINMFHOCAL + “-ín” = M4, de Ghnáth) Posted by róislín on May 12, 2011
(le Róislín) We’ve recently seen various examples of 4th-declension nouns, both masculine and feminine. A key feature for an ceathrú díochlaonadh is that its possessive forms are the same as the subject forms, so, fewer endings (hurá)! It isn’t always possible to tell which gender a word is by looking at it, but there are some…