(le Róislín)
Recently we’ve been counting a lot of people in this blog, ranging from cailíní bleánaí to clamhsánaithe. We’ve also had “Svahaíleach amháin, beirt Svahaíleach, triúr Svahaíleach, srl.” as an example of a term for which there is no lenition, due the initial consonant cluster (sv-).
So I was thinking we could get into some very high numbers counting people on this list, who no doubt represent many countries and ethnicities.
For right now, I’m just going to make a liosta samplach, showing some of the different terms that likely represent our readers. If you’d like to send in a comment with a simple statement such as “Is Meiriceánach mé” or “Is Éireannach mé,” or just “Ceanadach eile anseo,” we could come up with a rough count, and practice lenition at the same time! The lenition practice won’t be limited to the word “beirt,” since we’ll probably surpass that quite quickly – I think there are níos mó ná beirt Mheiriceánach on the list, mar shampla.
Once we get above “deichniúr” in counting people, we’re back to the regular counting system, with lenition after “aon” (used for saying “eleven”) and lenition from two through six. At this point, we’re no longer using na huimhreacha pearsanta (the system for counting people), except sometimes with “twelve” (dháréag OR dhá dhuine dhéag). We haven’t dealt much with the numbers eleven and twelve yet for counting people, just those phrases that came up in “Dhá Lá Dhéag na Nollag,” but they’ll be coming up again shortly.
So for now, I’ll start a possible list, which will bring us up to a total of 55 people. Tá i bhfad níos mó ná sin ar an liosta. Hopefully, before too long, we’ll have more representation of different náisiúntachtaí, eitneachtaí, agus tíortha. Which makes me wonder, what’s the word for the concept of provincial identity, say in Canada, or for county identity, in Ireland. “Provinciality” suggests something completely different and isn’t really parallel to “nationality,” fad m’eolais. Nothing comes to mind for contaetha. Somewhere I do have a dictionary of ethnonyms, but as a term, that would also include nationality and ethnicity, so that’s not exactly what I’m looking for. Gotta ponder that one – moltaí ar bith ó dhuine ar bith?
Deichniúr Éireannach
Naonúr Meiriceánach
Ochtar Ceanadach
Seachtar Daoine as Talamh an Éisc (sorry, no one-word ethnonym available for Newfoundland, due to the structure of the phrase in Irish)
Seisear Albanach
Cúigear Breatnach
Ceathrar Francach
Triúr Briotánach
Beirt Bhriotanach
Manannach amháin
Did you figure out where they’re all from? And did you notice which two terms differ only by a síneadh fada, and, I might add, Muir nIocht. Freagraí sa chéad bhlag eile!
Comments:
Siobhan Nic Chathail:
is Eireannach me
Sabine:
Gearmánach amháin anseo, Freaslannach chun a bheith cruinn (ach tá cónaí orm in Éirinn!)
Bainim an-taitneamh as do bhlag, go raibh maith agat!
róislín:
@Sabine Go raibh maith agat, a Sabine!
JOHN LA PARO:
Bainim an-sult as do bhlog.Ta/ me/ seachto/ blian cu/ig d’aois. Rugadh mo mha/thair i gCondae Mhaigh Eo agus mhu/in si/ me/ beaga/n Gaeilge nuair a bhi/ me/ o/g.Is Meiricea/nach me/
róislín:
Go raibh maith agat, a Shiobhán!
mankso:
Is mise Manannach. An bhfuil mé i m’aonar anseo? Rugadh agus tógadh ansin ar Mhanainn mé, ach tá mé le blianta anois i mo chónaí i gCeanada.
Is cuimhin liom fós cuairt a rinne an tUachtarán de Bhailéara ar ár n-oileán sa bhliain 1947, chun leis an cainteoir deireanach dúchais na Manainnise a labhairt. Bhí an fear seo ina chónaí i sráidbhaile go díreach in aice leis an baile agamsa. San am sin mar déagóir thug me móid Gaeilge a fhoghlaim. Ach tá an rud sin rud beag práinneach anois, nach bhfuil?!
róislín:
A Mhanannaigh, a chara, (ní fheicim d’ainm!), Go raibh maith agat as scríobh agus as a bheith ag léamh an bhlag. Níl a fhios agam an bhfuil tú i d’aonar anseo mar Mhanannach, ach níor chuala mé ó Mhanannach ar bith eile … fós. Tá sé sin an-suimiúil faoi chuairt Uachtarán na hÉireann i 1947. Agus suimiúil freisin go raibh aithne agat ar Ned Maddrell. Ba bhreá liom cuairt a thabhairt ar Mhanainn, b’fhéidir an samhradh seo chugainn. An bhfuil moltaí ar bith agat? Bhuail mé le Brian Stowell cúpla uair ag comhdhálacha, agus bheadh sé go deas é a fheiceáil arís.
mankso:
Agus go raibh maith agat as do fhreagairt féin!
Gabh mo leithscéal as mo bhotún amaideach. Sa bhliain 1947 bhí de Bhailéara ina Thaoiseach fós – níl ach i 1959 d’éiri sé ina Uachtarán ar an chéad uair.
B’fhéidir ba chóir duit do chéad chuairt ar Mhanainn a dhéanamh ar ócáid den chomhdháil
bhliaintúil den NAACLT sa mhí na Bealtaine seo?:
http://www.naaclt.org/
Cínnte go mbeidh Brian Stowell ansin freisin!
Mar dhéagóir bhí mo fhrustrachas de bharr an litrithe aisteach(a?) na Manainnise féinmhúinte chomh hard gur chinn mé air Spraintis/Esperanto a fhoghlaim ina háit! Le déanaí d’fhill mé ar an nGaeilge arís.
Dála an scéil is mise Brian (chomh maith!).