Archive for 'Irish Language'
Cúig Ghuta Dhifriúla (a, e, i, o, u) i bhFocal Amháin–faoi dheireadh! Posted by róislín on Aug 8, 2013
(le Róislín) For the same reason that people compile lists of English words that have all five vowels, write novellas with just one vowel in them, and seek desperately for the rhyme to “porringer,” I’ve always been on the lookout for an Irish word that has all five vowels. Agus faoi dheireadh thiar thall, tháinig…
More Practice with ‘Cén Áit,’ ‘Cén Fhad,’ ‘Cá hÁit’ and ‘Cá Fhad’ Posted by róislín on Aug 4, 2013
(le Róislín) In the last blog we talked about some question phrases for “Where?” (‘Cén Áit,‘ ‘Cá hÁit’) and “How long?” (‘Cén Fhad,’ ‘Cá Fhad’). The basic gist of that blog is that these question phrases are fairly frequently misheard, which means that sometimes the question “Cén áit?” is answered, when the question “Cén fhad?”…
Cén Áit? vs. Cén Fhad?: Two Different Questions That Sound Almost Alike Posted by róislín on Jul 31, 2013
(le Róislín) Lately I’ve been wondering if there’s a good Irish equivalent for the English expression, “to put your foot in your mouth.” The main ingredients are straight forward enough. The usual word for “foot” is “cos,” although that can also mean “leg,” which could suggest that one is even more of a “freangálaí” than…
‘Beárbaiciú’ agus ‘Beárbaiciúnna’ (‘Cnó’ agus ‘Cnónna’, ‘Sleá agus Sleánna’) Posted by róislín on Jul 28, 2013
(le Róislín) The word “barbecue” is interesting in its own right in many ways but looking at the Irish adaptation of the word adds a further level of interest. What plural form do we use for Irish words that are derived the Taino language, via English? There is probably only one such word, “beárbaiciú,” which we’ve…
Ó ‘Ghnafu” go “Scúba,” Or Should That Be ’Ó Scúba go Gnafu”? Posted by róislín on Jul 25, 2013
(le Róislín) Among the popular gníomhaíochtaí samhraidh [GNEEV-ee-ukh-tee SOW-ree, remember “sow” sound as in “cow” or “how”] we discussed last time was tumadóireacht scúba (aka scúbthumadh), which you probably picked out as “scuba diving.” So naturally the question arises–what happens if we take the English word “scuba” back to its source? Let’s approach this in…
Gníomhaíochtaí Samhraidh (Summer Activities) Posted by róislín on Jul 22, 2013
(le Róislín) An raibh tú ag beárbaiciú le déanaí? Ar ith tú burgair nó burgair veigeatóra nó brocairí teo? Seachas na beárbaiciúnna, cad faoi ghníomhaíochtaí samhraidh [SOW-ree, with “sow” as in the pig) eile? Let’s backtrack and take a closer look at that impressively consonant-laden word, “gníomhaíocht.” And you may have noticed that following “faoi”…
Ag an mBeárbaiciú (At the Barbecue) Posted by róislín on Jul 19, 2013
(le Róislín) ‘Sea, seo séasúr na mbeárbaiciúnna [… nuh MyAWR-buk-yoo-nuh]! Cad a íosfaidh [EESS-hee] tú? Yes, this is barbecue season! What will you eat? Here are some of the typical foods that we like to grill. Can you translate them? Each one is given in the singular and in the plural. (Gluais thíos) 1) burgar…