Archive for August, 2011
Using Your Head: Counting in Irish with the Word “Ceann” Posted by róislín on Aug 31, 2011
(le Róislín) Bhuel, it’s not really your head. Just a generalized application of the word “ceann” (head) in Irish. So far, in all of the counting practice in recent blogs, we’ve been practicing na huimhreacha with the actual items being counted (móideim amháin, deich mbliana, srl.). But there’s a convenient way to use the word…
An Uimhir Is Uaigní a Dhéanfaidh Tú Choíche (… the Loneliest Number …) Posted by róislín on Aug 28, 2011
(le Róislín) “An uimhir is uaigní a ‘dhéanfaidh’ tú choíche.” Cén uimhir í sin? Uimhir a haon, ar ndóigh, de réir Harry Nilsson, ar a laghad. Speaking of the number “one,” this might be a good time to discuss the two forms of the number “one” in Irish: a haon and amháin. Of all the…
Counting Crows and Cows, i nGaeilge (Ag Comhaireamh Préachán agus Bó) Posted by róislín on Aug 25, 2011
(le Róislín) Last time we practiced counting, it was mostly ways to say “zero,” and we finished with a quick view of counting cows (bó amháin, dhá bhó, seacht mbó, deich mbó, míle bó). So let’s count some more cows (why not?) and, for good measure, let’s count some crows too. Of course, to do…
Ó 0 go 10 (0 agus 10 agus na hUimhreacha Eatarthu) Posted by róislín on Aug 22, 2011
(le Róislín) Recently we’ve looked at how to count a “couple” of things and how to count “two” of something (cúpla caife Gaelach, dhá chaife Ghaelacha). So you might be wondering about the numbers in between, and also zero (variously represented in Irish as “nialas,” “náid,” and, by implication, in the phrase “ar bith”). …
Cúpla Caife Gaelach, Dhá Chaife Ghaelacha (A Couple of Irish Coffees vs. Two Irish Coffees) Posted by róislín on Aug 20, 2011
(le Róislín) Lenition, another lenition, and a plural ending. That’s the difference that happens when we say “two Irish coffees” as opposed to “a couple of Irish coffees.” So how does that work? As we discussed in the last blog, the Irish word “cúpla” is followed by the singular form of the noun (unlike English…
Rudaí Gaelacha, Rudaí Éireannacha Posted by róislín on Aug 17, 2011
(le Róislín) We’ve recently discussed rudaí Francacha and a cluster of rudaí Ollannacha, rudaí Dúitseacha, agus rudaí Ísiltíreacha. How about now cúpla rud Gaelach agus cúpla rud Éireannach? And before we proceed with the interesting cultural “stuif,” let’s look at the structures in the paragraph thuas. Rudaí is a plural noun (plural of rud, thing)…
Túis, Frainclíní, agus Saincheadúnais, A Thiarcais! Posted by róislín on Aug 14, 2011
(le Róislín) Actually, it is the English versions of these three words that offer the alliteration, which gives the phrase a slightly literary twist. That in turns tempts me to end teideal an bhlag seo with the interjection “a thiarcais.” So, the title of this blog translates into English as “Frankincense, Franklins, and Franchises, Oh…