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Cats Galore in Irish (Cait, Caitíní, Piscíní, Pisíní, srl.) Posted by róislín on Dec 4, 2013
(le Róislín) I suppose I should have saved this blog for National Cat Day (29 Deireadh Fómhair 2014; naisc thíos) but coming swift on the heels of the recent “caitín gleoite caillte sa spás amuigh” blog (thanks to Miley Cyrus’s recent CGI imagery), I couldn’t resist taking the plunge. So how many different ways are…
‘Caitín’ + ‘Caillte’ + ‘Caoineadh’ = Cén Rud? Posted by róislín on Nov 27, 2013
(le Róislín) De ghnáth éistim le ceol traidisiúnta níos minice ná popcheol ach bhí an scéal seo rótharraingteach le bheith “ag imeacht uaidh.” Right, well, that’s not exactly the phrase, “to walk away,” but it’s a close Irish equivalent. For all the possible words in Irish to say “away” (ábhar blag eile?), none of them…
Turducken Redux (.i. Turlaicín Fillte) Posted by róislín on Nov 26, 2013
(le Róislín) Turkey Season is definitely upon us and offers us a good excuse to “talk turkey” (literally) and to revisit the previous “Turlaicín” blog in this series (https://blogs.transparent.com/irish/cad-is-turlaicin-ann/, 18 Mí na Samhna 2011). First, a quick reminder of the word “turkey” itself: an turcaí [un TUR-kee], the turkey, pronounced pretty much like English although there…
JFK agus a Chúlra Éireannach Posted by róislín on Nov 21, 2013
(le Róislín) Let me start out by saying that other than a Vicipéid article (flagged by Vicipéid itself as containing “droch-Ghaeilge“) and one brief bio in Irish that appears to have been machine-translated (naisc thíos), I haven’t found much biographical information on John F. Kennedy written in Irish. So this blog will just present the…
An Tulán Féarmhar i bPlás Dealey, Dallas, ar 22 Mí na Samhna 1963 Posted by róislín on Nov 19, 2013
le Róislín Two of the key phrases associated with feallmharú Kennedy are “grassy knoll” and “magic bullet.” These phrases have continually caught my attention, for various reasons. One is that, as far as I know, most Americans rarely use the word “knoll” to describe very small hills. And yet the word figures prominently in all…
An Sloinne ‘Ó Cinnéide’ (The Surname ‘Kennedy’) Posted by róislín on Nov 15, 2013
(le Róislín) In the past, at this time of year, it’s been hard to come up for air between writing about Oíche Shamhna and then Lá Altaithe, with An Nollaig looming large just around the corner. But this year, marking the sad 50th anniversary of “feallmharú Kennedy,” we’ll take a breather from the holiday themes…
Speaking of ‘Nite, Bruite, is Ite’ (and who can prepare and eat potatoes the fastest) Posted by róislín on Nov 9, 2013
le Róislín First, let me say, that no, although three-part titles like “Flicka, Ricka, and Dicka” and “Snipp, Snapp, Snurr” are running wildly through my head as I write this, the three words “nite,” “bruite,” and “ite” are not three characters from children’s books. They are, as I mentioned in my last blog, rangabhálacha caite…