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The Case of the Missing ‘P’ or, Ó ‘Tharmachan’ (Irish) go ‘Ptarmigan’ (English) Posted by róislín on Jun 23, 2013
(le Róislín) In the last blog, we looked at a few of the more unusually spelled words in the Irish language (aghaidh, bratach/bhratach, buachar/bhuachair lámh/láimhe, Saoirse/Shaoirse and saoirse/shaoirse, sráid/tsráid). Not that these are overly long or unusual words in Irish. They’re mostly very basic vocabulary, except perhaps for “buachar” (cow-dung) which is no doubt ordinary…
How To Say Irish Words Like ‘Aghaidh,’ ‘Bhratach,’ and ‘Shaoirse’ (Pronunciation Guide for the Red, White and Blue Blog) Posted by róislín on Jun 20, 2013
(le Róislín) The recurring chorus that I hear in Irish classes, year after year, is “How do you pronounce that?,” or as students get more advanced, and ask it in Irish “Cén chaoi a ndeir tú sin?” (How do you say that?). In theory, at least, people could be asking, “Cén chaoi a bhfuaimníonn tú…
An Dearg, An Bán, agus An Gorm (The Red, White, and Blue) Posted by róislín on Jun 17, 2013
(le Róislín) The time has come to talk … of bratacha (flags). In the United States, at this time of year, we segue from Lá Cuimhneacháin (Luan deireanach mhí na Bealtaine) to Lá na Brataí (14 Meitheamh) to Lá (na) Saoirse (4 Iúil). All three offer up an abundance of sraoilleáin de ribíní (ribbon-streamers) and stiallbhratacha …
You Just Call Out My Name (sa Tuiseal Gairmeach, of course, in Irish) (Pt. 3: Ainmneacha Buachaillí) Posted by róislín on Jun 14, 2013
(le Róislín) In several previous blogs (links below), we looked at Irish names used in direct address, focusing on names for girls and women in the most recent one. Today we’ll look at saying names for buachaillí (boys) and fir (men) when you’re speaking directly to them. In English, there is no official change when…
You Just Call Out My Name (sa Tuiseal Gairmeach, of course, in Irish) (Pt. 2: Ainmneacha Cailíní) Posted by róislín on Jun 11, 2013
(le Róislín) Remember how “Séamas” changes to “a Shéamais” and “Sinéad” changes to “a Shinéad” for direct address in Irish? (Nasc: https://blogs.transparent.com/irish/you-just-call-out-my-name-sa-tuiseal-gairmeach-of-course-in-irish-pt-1/). The first blog in this mini-series discussed Irish given names in general, and gave some specific examples for use with phrases like “Dia duit!” (Hello) and “Slán agat!” (Good-bye!). We looked at a…
How To Pronounce ‘A Dheaide,’ ‘A Dhaidí,’ and Other Forms of ‘Dad/Daddy’ in Irish Posted by róislín on Jun 6, 2013
(le Róislín) Since June is mí Lá na nAithreacha, let’s look once more at the various words for “Dad” and “Daddy” in Irish, specifically in direct address. So we’ll take a brief break from the Irish names we were working on in the last blog (Seán, Sinéad, srl.) and their direct address forms (“Dia duit…
You Just Call Out My Name (sa Tuiseal Gairmeach, of course, in Irish) (Pt. 1) Posted by róislín on May 31, 2013
(le Róislín) “Dia duit, a …” — hmm, what’s next, after “hello”? We could ask the same question for “Slán agat, a (ainm duine),” when saying “goodbye”! In most other languages I’ve studied, once you learn the words for “hello” and “goodbye,” putting people’s names into the phrase presents no particular challenge. That is…