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What’s Your New Year’s Resolution (and How to Say It in Irish)? Posted by róislín on Dec 31, 2018
(le Róislín) ‘Sea, an t-am sin den bhliain arís, aimsir na ndea-rún don bhliain nua. In the word cloud (néal focal) above we see some common topics for “dea-rúin na hAthbhliana,” many of which have to do with health (sláinte). How many of them do you recognize? Here they are again, with a few pronunciation…
How to say “Merry Christmas” and “Happy New Year” in Irish AND Five Examples of Lenition (Séimhiú), to boot Posted by róislín on Dec 24, 2018
(le Róislín) Around this time of year, we often see the phrases “Nollaig Shona” and “Athbhliain faoi shéan agus faoi mhaise duit.” Today’s blogpost will look at how to pronounce these phrases and at the reasons why words like “sona” and “bliain” change to “shona” and “bhliain.” This change of the first letter is called…
The Ingredients for Mulled Wine in Irish (comhábhair scailtín fíona i nGaeilge) Posted by róislín on Nov 30, 2018
(le Róislín) “Scailtín fíona” (mulled wine) is a phrase we introduced in the most recent blog post (nasc thíos). So what exactly are the typical ingredients for “mulled” wine, and why is it called “mulled” anyway? Here are six of the gnáthphríomhchomhábhair (ordinary primary ingredients — sorry for the sesquipedalianism of the word, well, not…
‘Tis the Season for … Festive Drinks (‘Deochanna Féiltiúla’ in Irish) like ‘Mulled Wine’ or ‘Hot Buttered Rum’ Posted by róislín on Nov 23, 2018
(le Róislín) ‘Tis the season to be festive (féiltiúil) and one of the special treats that may be served at this time of year is mulled wine (scailtín fíona). An maith leat é? Agus an ndearna tú riamh é? Let’s take a closer look at the name of the drink. We’ll start with “fíon” (wine)…
The Irish for Halloween and for November: Using Samhain, Samhna, Shamhna, srl. Posted by róislín on Oct 31, 2018
(le Róislín) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samhain#/media/File:Snap-Apple_Night_globalphilosophy.PNG, Snap-Apple Night (1833), On the Festival of Hallow Eve, public domain, by Daniel Maclise, RA (25 Jan 1806, Cork–25 Apr 1870, Chelsea), inspired by a party he attended in Blarney, in 1832. Includes divination games with melted lead and roasted nuts. Lipéad Gaeilge le Róislín, 2018. Our Halloween topics in this blog series have…
The Irish for “Pygmy Hedgehog” without “Pygmy” as such (gráinneog — hedgehog) Posted by róislín on Oct 18, 2018
(le Róislín) Having found the adorable picture of a pygmy hedgehog (thuas sa ghrafaic), I figured I’d write this blog about hedgehogs, pygmy and otherwise. Let’s start with the basics – “gráinneog” is the Irish for “hedgehog.” Here are some of the basic forms of the word: an ghráinneog, the hedgehog na gráinneoige, of the…
Review: A charming retelling of Goldilocks in Irish with animated video (Cinnín Óir agus na Trí Bhéar) Posted by róislín on Sep 30, 2018
(le Róislín) A charming retelling of a classic tale, with an animated video, to boot. While I have enjoyed many Irish videos, animations, and cartoons, going back at least as far as “Bouli” (early 1990s), many of them have very rapid-paced dialogue and sometimes I’m a bit reluctant to recommend them to elementary learners because…