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Mutating Turkeys, With ‘Séimhiú’ and ‘Urú’ That Is Posted by róislín on Nov 17, 2015
(le Róislín) ‘Tis the season to “talk turkey,” so let’s go for it. And by the way, “mutating” here (as in the title of this blog) doesn’t refer to “sócháin” (mutations in genetics: A thiarcais, sin turcaí a bhfuil trí shnúda air!) but rather to “athruithe gramadaí,” that is, the use of “séimhiú” and “urú”…
Deich gCineál Laghairteanna i nGaeilge (Irish Names for 10 Types of Lizards) Posted by róislín on Nov 12, 2015
(le Róislín) Our recent blog (nasc thíos) about sprochaillí (such as wattles on turkey and dewlaps on other animals) happened to mention the word “laghairt” (lizard), pronounced “lyrtch” (or, in full Irish-modified IPA: /lairt΄/). The “y” in the rough transcription is like the “y” in “my” or “fly” and the /ai/ in the IPA transcription…
Irish Pronunciation Roundup for the Blog on “Carancailí an Turcaí” Posted by róislín on Nov 9, 2015
(le Róislín) In the last blog, we looked at caruncles, wattles, snoods, and dewlaps, words which are almost as intriguing in English as they are in Irish. A few of the Irish terms we used might deserve a little further attention for pronunciation: fiafhás [FEE-uh-AWSS; the second “f” is silent], outgrowth, excrescence (lit. large or outsize…
Cén Ghaeilge atá ar … wattle? (Stór focal in am do Lá an Altaithe) Posted by róislín on Nov 6, 2015
(le Róislín) When we describe parts of a turkey’s body, it’s easy enough to reference cosa (feet / legs), sciatháin (wings), cleití (feathers), tail (eireaball OR ruball), ceann (head), and gob (beak). These would be widely found on other animals, and to some extent, people (cosa and ceann, with sciatháin doubling for arms and gob…
What’s ‘Upside Down’ in Irish? And what about the nuthatch? Posted by róislín on Oct 31, 2015
(le Róislín) As soon as I saw the photo which I have embedded in this blog, I immediately thought, “Now that would be a fun blog topic.” And I did look at the photographer’s description of the picture, to be sure it wasn’t just some Photoshop fun, with the picture really having been inverted. But…
Irish Pronunciation Redux — with lenition — for “25 Chulaith Oíche Shamhna” (25 Halloween Costumes) Posted by róislín on Oct 29, 2015
(le Róislín) In the most recent blog (nasc thíos), we looked at the pronunciations and translations for 25 Irish words or phrases for popular, or at least hypothetical, Halloween costumes. In reviewing these, I mentioned that I was undoing the lenition that sometimes occurs when we use these terms. In this blog, we’ll look at…
Pronunciation Guide for “25 Chulaith Oíche Shamhna” (25 Halloween Costumes, in Irish) Posted by róislín on Oct 27, 2015
(le Róislín) We recently looked at the Irish for 25 different types of cultacha Oíche Shamhna (nasc thíos), some fairly traidisiúnta (vaimpír, taibhse) and some fairly far-fetched (héilics dúbailte d’aigéad dí-ocsairibeanúicléasach). This post will give some pronunciation tips for them. But first, let’s look at the word “culaith” [KUL-uh OR KUL-ee] itself. “The suit” is…