Archive for June, 2014
An Teach is saoire (ba shaoire ?) in Éirinn … Posted by róislín on Jun 30, 2014
(le Róislín) I recently noticed an eye-catching article about a house for sale in Ireland, announcing that it was the cheapest house in Ireland (nasc thíos; 17 Aibreán 2014). It’s located in Magheracorran (Machaire an Chorráin) in Co. Donegal, between Letterkenny and Donegal Town. How big is it? Reasonably big — 4 bedrooms, about 1800 sq…
Seven words for ‘ball’ in Irish, including “football” (soccer ball) Posted by róislín on Jun 28, 2014
(le Róislín) Irish has one basic word for “ball” for most sports, “liathróid,” and another word, “sliotar,” which is specifically for a hurling ball. Let’s take a look at these, and then as space permits, we’ll look at other related phrases (snowball, meatball, etc.) “Liathróid” [LEE-uh-HROHDJ] is a feminine noun, with the following forms: an…
An Bhrasaíl: Tír Aíochta Chorn an Domhain, 2014 (FIFA) Posted by róislín on Jun 25, 2014
(le Róislín) Hmm, just looking at those seven words of the title is probably enough to fill a blog. We’ve got the name of the country (Brazil), the term for “host country,” and the phrase “Corn an Domhain” (World Cup) with a slight adjustment (“Corn” becomes “Chorn“) since we’re now saying, literally, ” country (of)…
Cén Ghaeilge atá ar ‘FIFA’? Posted by róislín on Jun 23, 2014
(le Róislín) It seems that ‘FIFA,’ like many a good acronym (acrainm), has long been a word unto itself, used in many languages. But many languages also have a translation of the phrase “Fédération Internationale de Football Association” (FIFA). In Wikipedia, I find examples ranging from “Die Internasionale Federasie vir Voetbal Assosiasie” to “Egbe Ipapo Kariaye…
PS: Re: Cupán nó Corn Posted by róislín on Jun 18, 2014
It looks like my spellchecker had a mind of its own in the last blog, so if you got the emailed version, you may have seen “domain” for “domhain,” “Francacha” for “Francach,” and “alphorn” for “alpchorn.” Tá brón orm. – R
Cupán nó Corn? (when speaking of “The World”) Posted by róislín on Jun 18, 2014
(le Róislín) Corn an Domhain. The World Cup. A good reminder never to assume that the closest basic Irish equivalent is the one you want for a translation. In Irish, “cupán” is used for a cup to drink from, and can give us phrases like: cupán tae cupán caife cupán cócó A little less applicable…
Athair, An tAthair, Aithreacha, and more ways to say ‘father’ in Irish (just in time for Father’s Day) Posted by róislín on Jun 14, 2014
(le Róislín) ‘Sea, is é an t-am sin den bhliain é — tá Lá na nAithreacha ag teacht. 15 Meitheamh i mbliana. So first let’s look at the various forms of the word for “father” in Irish. Then we’ll think of the Irish words for a few typical Father’s Day gifts. Perhaps you’d like to…