Recently we’ve been looking at séimhiú after the numbers two through six and how to use nouns with those numbers.  Let’s get back to the personal numbers now, for counting people.  Here’s a review list, from beirt through deichniúr; definitions are given in the notes below, so it’s a bit of a quiz!  Only “beirt” causes séimhiú.  And for a hint as to meanings, they’re all téarmaí gaoil and are defined in the nóta below.

beirt mhac                              

triúr iníonacha

ceathrar deirfiúracha

cúigear deartháireacha

seisear neachtanna               

seachtar nianna

ochtar siblíní                          

naonúr aintíní

deichniúr uncailí

 

Working with 3 through 10 (triúr through deichniúr) is fairly straightforward.  There is no séimhiú.  You simply use the genitive plural after the personal number.  Of all of the examples above, only “mac” presents any real complication.  That’s because the word “mac” can either be the subject of a sentence, as a singular noun, or it can be plural and show possession (i.e. the genitive, “of the sons”).  Samplaí de dhíth?

Seo mac Liam.  This is Liam’s son.

Seo ainmneacha na mac.  Here are the names of the sons. 

You’ll also see the genitive plural in phrases like “Áras na Mac Léinn” (the student center, very literally, “the building/center of the sons of learning”) and “Corn na Mac Léinn” (the students’ cup, as in a sports trophy). “Corn” here would originally have been a horn like a drinking horn or cornucopia.  Ach cineálacha soithí óil (drinking vessels) i nGaeilge?  Sin ábhar blag eile, agus blag fada, leis..

Anyway, when you see “beirt mhac,” it’s like saying “two of sons,” using the genitive plural. 

For the remainder of this blog, we’ll focus on “beirt” (two people), since that’s the only term in this list that triggers lenition.  There’s an infinite number of possible phrases with “beirt” but we’ll just look at some common samples, where the initial letter is a single consonant (before lenition, that is):

beirt bhan, beirt fhear, beirt ghasúr, beirt mhúinteoirí, beirt pháistí, beirt shagart

Here are some samples with initial consonant clusters that are lenited.  These words are a little less typical, as the translations (sa ghluais) show:   

beirt bhlaistéirí, beirt chlamhsánaithe, beirt phleidhce, beirt shleánadóirí, beirt shlogaire, beirt shnámhaí, beirt shraoilleánach

Did you notice all the consonant clusters with “s” (sleánadóir, slogaire, snámhaí, sraoilleánach) and how they got lenited?

Do you remember the other consonant clusters with “s” that never get lenited? Here are some more samples:

sc: scoláire, beirt scoláiri

sm: smugachán, beirt smugachán

sp: spailpín, beirt spailpíní

st: staraí, beirt staraithe

As for the other two “s + consonant” clusters I’ve mentioned previously, “sf” and “sv,” suffice it to say that they are very rare in Irish and will be discussed in ábhar éigin eile. 

And yes, as some of you may be thinking, there are various other systems for counting people.  In one of these, the singular form of the noun is used after the personal number, but I still advocate the approach given here, with the genitive plural.   I mentioned the reasons previously, and would simply say, as a reminder, remember the case of “beirt bhan.”  And whatever system you use, lenition is still involved.  There’s no escape! 

Nótaí: 2 sons, 3 daughters, 4 sisters, 5 brothers, 6 nieces, 7 nephews, 8 siblings, 9 aunts, 10 uncles

Gluais: clamhsánaí, complainer; gaol, kinship (gaoil, of kinship); pleidhce, fool; scoláire, scholar, student; sleánadóir, slanesman; smugachán, snotty-nosed person; snámhaí, dawdler; spailpín, seasonal laborer; sraoilleánach, ragged person; staraí, historian

And just to draw special attention to the topic of craosaireacht (gluttony), we’ve just had two words for “glutton:” blaistéir and slogaire.  Twice as many as I originally promised!  We’ll have a few more, in case the topic is of interest.  Let me know if you want to know more ways to say “glutton” in Irish!  Or “guzzler.”  Or related words, like “gormandizer,” etc.  Rialaíonn comhchiallaigh!