(le Róislín)

What better íocón cultúrtha for both Mí Dheireadh Fómhair (agus Oíche Shamhna) and Mí na Samhna (November) than puimcíní?  I Meiriceá, ar a laghad, ar ndóigh.

Puimcíní snoite d’Oíche Shamhna – aghaidheanna scanrúla agus dradgháirí bagracha orthu!

An tOllphuimcín [un TOL-F^wIM-keen] (ó na scéalta faoi Charlie Brown agus Snoopy)

Pióga puimcín á n-ithe ar feadh an tséasúir, ach go mór mór ar Lá Altaithe

Caife le blas puimcíní, noitmig, agus cainéal, dá gcreidfeá é!

Ravioli puimcín, fiú – agus é fíorbhlasta!

But for today we’ll practice counting them, which will involve our old friends, séimhiú (lenition) agus urú (eclipsis).  Remember, the noun stays singular almost all the time when counting things in Irish, so we’re still working off “puimcín” (singular), not “puimcíní” (plural, with the “-í” ending).  Here goes:

puimcín amháin [P^wIM-keen uh-WAW-in], one pumpkin

dhá phuimcín [… F^WIM-keen], two pumpkins (note: the “p” changes to “ph,” pronounced like an “f,” all quite standard for lenition)

trí phuimcín

ceithre phuimcín

cúig phuimcín

sé phuimcín [shay …]

Once we hit seven, the rules change and we switch to urú (eclipsis), with the “p” changing to “bp.”  Just the “b” of “bp” is pronounced, not the “p.”

seacht bpuimcín [shakht B^wIM-keen]

ocht bpuimcín [okht …]

naoi bpuimcín [nee …]

deich bpuimcín [djeh, with just a breathy “ch” at the end of “deich,” because it’s “slender”, not the “broad” (full-throated/guttural) “ch” of words like “seacht,” “ocht,” or German “Buch”

Counting in the teens?

aon phuimcín déag, 11 pumpkins

dhá phuimcín déag, 12 pumpkins

seacht bpuimcín déag, 17 pumpkins

But after multiples of ten, no change to the initial letter:

fiche puimcín, tríocha puimcín, daichead puimcín, céad puimcín, míle puimcín, srl.

Now as for “smashing,” which of course I can’t resist, there are several possible verbs:

bloghadh, shattering, to shatter, breaking into bits, to break into bits,

mionú, to mince, shatter, comminute (!), break into bits, or the “-ing” act thereof, or,

smiotadh, smashing, to smash, striking, to strike, hitting, to hit, but also to chip, to chop, to pare, etc. the latter choices suggesting something quite different re: pumpkins

But I’ll go with a different phrase for “smashing pumpkins,” namely “smidiríní a dhéanamh de phuimcíní” (to smash pumpkins) since it  combines a word widely-known in English as well, one of the relatively few that come straight from Irish – smithereens.

Here are some possible phrases:

Ag déanamh smidiríní de phuimcíní, smashing pumpkins

Tá mé ag déanamh smidiríní de phuimcíní, I am smashing pumpkins.

Tá smidiríní á ndéanamh de phuimcíní, Pumpkins are being smashed, lit. Smithereens are being made of pumpkins.

Déantar smidiríní de phuimcíní, Pumpkins are smashed, lit. Smithereens are made of pumpkins, implying a habitual or consistent activity

And of course, that could continue, with the aimsir chaite, aimsir fháistineach, srl.  Ach sin blag éigin eile!

If you’re wondering if this blog is supposed to be a tribute to the band, The Smashing Pumpkins, well, um, erm, whatever, they’ve got a catchy title for sure.  But apparently they do want listeners to understand the word as the adjective form found in UK English, “smashing,” as in something being “wizard” or “keen,” to harken back to Enid Blyton days.  Of course, there’s always the possibility, in the tradition of “An tUbhthoradh A D’ith Siceagó,” that the pumpkins themselves are doing the smashing, on a roll, one might say.  If that’s the case, then I’d simply say, “Fainic!”

Ó! Ó!  Tá puimcín mór ag rolladh chugam agus níl sé ina smidiríní!  B’fhéidir is é an tOllphuimcín féin é.  B’fhéidir go ndéanfar smidiríní díom, nó b’fhéidir go ndéanfar pancóg díom.  Tá orm imeacht a fhad is atá mé fós tríthoiseach!  SGF, Róislín

P.S. Ceist do na Ceanadaigh ar an liosta – an bhfuil pióg phuimcín chomh tábhachtach sa mbiachlár do Lá Altaithe i gCeanada (i Mí Dheireadh Fómhair) agus atá sé i Meiriceá?  “Sine qua non” anseo atá ann!  Fáilte roimh fhreagraí!

Gluais: a fhad is, as long as; á n-ithe, being eaten; aghaidheanna [AI-uh-nuh], faces; bagrach, threatening; biachlár, menu; cainéal, cinnamon; chugam, towards me; chuig, to; dradgháire, grin; oll-, great, large, as in “ollscoil” and “ollmhargadh,” sula, before; tábhachtach, important; tríthoiseach, three-dimensional; ubhthoradh [UV-HOR-uh], eggplant