(le Róislín)

Spóirt Oilimpeacha (agus NeamhOilimpeacha!)

An maith leat a bheith ag breathnú ar na Cluichí Oilimpeacha?  (Do you like watching the Olympics?, lit. Do you like to be watching the Olympic Games?)

Seo cúpla freagra:

Is maith [iss mah], yes

Ní maith [nee mah], no

You could even wax a little more eloquent and say:  Is breá liom na Cluichí Oilimpeacha.  (I really like the Olympics).  If this is your answer, you can skip the actual “yes” answer above, since you’re replacing it with something even more enthusiastic.

If you really don’t care for the Olympics, or whatever topic is at hand, you can say:  Is cuma liom faoi (lit. it is indifferent with me about it)

To which you might get a response along the lines of: Á, bíodh spraoi ionat!  Ah, be a sport! (lit. let there be fun in you!)

An cheist atá ar m’intinn féin?  Cathain a bheidh Quidditch ina spórt Oilimpeach?  Barúil agatsa?  (tá/níl) Tuairim agatsa? (tá/níl) An mbeadh dúil agat ann? (Bheadh / Ní bheadh) Nó an cuma leat faoi? (Is cuma, i.e. “I don’t care about it;” to indicate you do care, you could say something like “Is móidín mór Quidditch mé” or “Is leantóir mór Quidditch mé).  Spórt nua is ea é, ar ndóigh, ach tá sé oifigiúil i gcuid mhaith ollscoileanna anois.  [Gluais: móidín, fan, devotee; leantóir, fan, follower)

Regarding “Is cuma,” the negative of that answer (with “ní“) is relatively rare.  Some people consider it downright wrong, others consider it “student slang,” or should we say “idirtheanga“?  Others consider that the negative statement with “cuma” has more to do with general “relevance” than with a specific person “caring” about something.  An example of the latter, with no “liom” element, would be “Ní cuma faoi ghanntanas uisce sa chéad seo” (Water shortage isn’t irrelevant in this century, more lit. it isn’t indifferent/irrelevant about lack of water in this century, i.e. it matters).

My strategy for this negative answer to a “cuma leat” question, is just to think of something else to answer, sometimes prevaricating or verbally shilly-shallying (I’ve been known to), until I think of what I really do want to say.  If someone else seems to really like something, I don’t usually like to come right out and say I dislike it (Ní maith liom é) or that I hate it (Is fuath liom é).  Unless I have to.  So I might say, “Bhuel, tá a fhios agat, níl mé cinnte faoi sin.”  And since I can safely say, “Is breá liom an ghramadach,” that’s one oft-hated topic (gramadach) down that would tend to arise in Irish language learning discussions.  À chacun son goût (or as it’s usually said in English contexts, Chacun à son goût), for which the  closest Irish I can think of is “Beatha duine a thoil.”

It may seem strange to have a question (An cuma leat faoi?) to which there is either a positive-verb answer, “Is cuma” (lit. “is indifferent”) with a negative connotation (I don’t care) or the need for a tectonically-shifted change in vocabulary.  But there are phrases in English that don’t really have a negative, for example “So be it” or “As it were.”  Are there negative forms for those phrases as such?  Methinks not!  (And “What’s the Irish for ‘methinks’?” thou mayest be a-thinking; the typical equivalents are not so archaicish: dar liom, is dóigh liom, feictear dom).

Anyway, back to ábhar an lae.  Assuming that you do like watching the Olympics, cén spórt Oilimpeach is fearr leat?  (What’s your favorite Olympic sport?, lit. what Olympic sport is best with you?).  Agus go raibh maith agat, a Sheancháin D. (léitheoir fadtéarmach an bhlag!) as an smaoineamh!  I’ve grouped them roughly into grúpaí that I think are helpful from a language perspective (not na catagóirí oifigiúla Oilimpeacha):

snámh, tumadóireacht, canúáil, rámhaíocht, póló uisce, seoltóireacht

leadóg, leadóg bhoird, badmantan

dornálaíocht, pionsóireacht, iomrascáil

rothaíocht, marcaíocht (eachraíocht, srl.), rásaíocht, peantatlan, trí-atlan

eitpheil, peil, cispheil, liathróid láimhe, hacaí

gleacaíocht, ealaíona comhraic, scátáil, boghdóireacht, lámhach, tógáil meáchan

Actually, the sport I’m most interested in watching is curláil (curling), ach is spórt geimhridh é sin.  Hmm, would iománaíocht (hurling, the sport) ever be considered?  Hurling and curling — that would be an interesting Celtic touch!

As for year-round activities, if we could redefine “gleacaíocht bhriathartha” so that it had a positive sense, instead of the negative media spin, that would be my favorite — simply based on a love of comhchiallaigh, miondifríochtaí, gléasanna reitrice, agus imeartas focal, that is to say, synonyms, nuances, rhetorical devices, and word play.

And finally, maidir le buanna agus duaiseanna (victories and prizes), cén chaoi ar éirigh le do thírse?  (How did your country do?).  Scríobh isteach, más mian leat, agus insint dúinn.   Bonn óir?  Bonn airgid?  Bonn umha?  (bonn, medal).  Your answers could start “Fuair muid (or “ainm na tíre“) an bonn …” or “Bhuaigh muid an bonn …” or “Bronnadh an bonn … orainn,” to name just a few ways to start off such a sentence.   Or perhaps, Ní bhfuair muid bonn ar bith ach bhí an-spórt (an-chraic) againn /  Rinne muid ár ndicheall / Rinne muid ár seacht ndicheall.  SGF, Róislín