Archive for April, 2015
Speaking of ‘galar na bó buile’ (‘mad cow disease’ in Irish) Posted by róislín on Apr 30, 2015
(le Róislín) In a recent blog post, we briefly discussed einceifileapaite spúinseach bhólachta, which is also known as ‘galar na bó buile‘ (nasc thíos). In other words, bovine spongiform encephalopathy aka mad cow disease. It’s a bit of a mouthful in Irish as it is in English, so why don’t we take a closer look…
If ‘brón’ can be ‘orm’ in Irish phrases like ‘TBO,’ what else can be ‘ort’? Posted by róislín on Apr 28, 2015
(le Róislín) A few posts ago, we looked at the Irish abbreviation ‘TBO‘ for “Tá brón orm” (nasc thíos). This might be a good time to look at how to say that some other emotions, feelings (like hunger or thirst), or illnesses are “on you” (ort) in Irish. How does this compare to English? In…
A Little More on “Croch” (hang) and “Crochtacht” (steepness) in Irish Posted by róislín on Apr 25, 2015
(le Róislín) Some of you may have read the recent blog on the mysterious and apparently misprinted word in some recent editions of An Béal Bocht (The Poor Mouth), a hilarious satirical novel by “Myles na gCopaleen” (aka Flann O’Brien aka Brian Ó Nualláin aka Brian O’Nolan). So what was that word again–“*corchtacht” [sic]? You…
Mistéir an Fhrása ‘ó chorchtacht’ [sic] in ‘An Béal Bocht’ — Réitithe (An Irish typo — solved) Posted by róislín on Apr 20, 2015
(le Róislín) When I first read the delightful Irish satirical classic, An Béal Bocht, (The Poor Mouth), one phrase that puzzled me was “… i bpriacal do mharfa ó chorchtacht na tíre” (p. 14). Literally, it would mean, “… in danger of being killed from the “corchtacht” [sic] of the land.” The official translation gives “from…
TBO and other Irish phrases with ‘orm’ Posted by róislín on Apr 16, 2015
(le Róislín) Hmm, first, where’s the “orm,” you might ask. If we spell out “TBO,” in an Irish context, we get “Tá brón orm,” which means ________ (freagra thíos). Before we go any further with the “orm” phrases, imdhealaímis. What else can “TBO” stand for, i mBéarla. Bhuel, seo ceann do lucht Tampa, Florida —…
Gnáthghiorrúcháin i nGaeilge: Everyday Abbreviations in Irish (not “textese”) Posted by róislín on Apr 11, 2015
(le Róislín) Long before we started playing with symbols and phrases like “a#” (for “a thaiscidh,” pronounced “HASH-kee, which means “darling” in Irish), we were using giorrúcháin for their most basic purpose, to save space on paper and time in writing or typing. Here are a few quite straightforward ones, which you will likely encounter…
Ó BB7B go GOA: Irish abbreviations (giorrúcháin) and textese (téacsais) Posted by róislín on Apr 8, 2015
(le Róislín) As lives get more and more abbreviationized and acronymized in the English-speaking world, we may as well look at what’s happening in the Irish-speaking realm. Let’s start with the oldest one I know of — BB7B. Its age is a reminder that using abbreviations, acronyms, and other space-saving approaches in writing isn’t a…