Archive for 'Irish Language'
Into the (Concept of) “West”: Siar, Thiar, agus Aniar Posted by róislín on Nov 18, 2010
(le Róislín) Let’s temporarily move away from the “after” and “ex-“ meanings of “iar” and look at the basic adverbs pertaining to the direction “west.” Eventually we can expand this to the other three points of the compass and the directions up and down, since they all work in basically the same way. The differences…
“Iar-“ (after-, western, etc.) agus “Siar” (westwards. back in time, etc.) Posted by róislín on Nov 13, 2010
(le Róislín) Last blog we looked at some uses of the prefix “iar-“ in compound words like “iarsholas,” “iarscoláire,” “iarbháis,” “iarmhír,” and “iarleann.” The prefix “iar-“ is related to the Irish adverb “siar,” for which some basic meanings are “west(wards),” “back,” and “back in time.” So “iar-“ can pertain to geography (“west” or “western”) as…
Cultacha Samhna Móréilimh [best-selling] na Bliana 2010 Posted by róislín on Oct 31, 2010
(le Róislín) Here’s some vocabulary you might enjoy for putting together the names of some of this year’s most popular Halloween costumes. Some of these are specific trademarked figures, so please note I’m not actually recommending renaming the characters into Irish – just breaking the vocabulary down into its component parts. Each name I’ve picked…
Samhain (1 Mí na Samhna): The First Day of Winter Posted by róislín on Oct 29, 2010
(le Róislín) Not only was Samhain the first day of the traditional Celtic year – it was also the first day of winter, fitting neatly with the rest of the laethanta trascheathrún (cross-quarter days) san fhéilire Ceilteach. The others are Imbolc (1 Feabhra/February, now usually called Lá Fhéile Bríde), Bealtaine (1 May), and Lughnasa (aka…
Samhain (November 1st) and Lá Caille (January 1st): Two New Years! Posted by róislín on Oct 27, 2010
(le Róislín) I suppose one could see this as an opportunity for two ways of celebrating the New Year. The traditional Celtic New Year was November 1st, recognized as Samhain [SOW-in] but not celebrated today as the official New Year. The January 1st version of New Year’s Day is Lá Caille (lit. day of Calends)…
‘Is Lá Eile É An Lá Amárach’ … agus ‘Lá an Oirthear’ (More on ‘After’ in Irish) Posted by róislín on Oct 24, 2010
(le Róislín) Sula mbeidh téama Samhna againn, beidh beagáinín eile sa bhlag faoin bhfocal “after.” Is í ceist Sheancháin an cheist a spreag an tsraith seo agus mar sin freagróidh mé a cheistsean sula dtosóidh mé na blaganna faoi Oíche Shamhna agus faoin tSamhain. Before we have the Halloween theme (which is champing at the…
Cool, Cold, Freezing, Frigorific (i nGaeilge) Posted by róislín on Sep 15, 2010
Recently, we’ve talked a lot about an aimsir, hairicíní, cineálacha eile stoirmeacha, and céimeanna teasa, from warm to hot to sweltering. This time, we’ll reverse the theme of the last blog, and discuss degrees of fuacht ([FOO-ukht] coldness). First, probably the most basic construction: Tá sé fuar inniu. It’s cold today. Tá mé fuar. I’m…