Archive for 'Uncategorized'
More Irish Pronunciation Notes: Broad and Slender “B” Sounds Posted by róislín on Aug 17, 2010
Getting back to the pronunciation series that was started a few blogs ago, there are a few more points I’d like to add. As I said before, what I’m doing here is primarily explaining the transcription system that I use, not attempting to account for every possible sound or variation of a sound in Irish…
Cén Ghaeilge Atá ar “Triskaidekaphobia”? Posted by róislín on Aug 14, 2010
Since we recently saw a Friday the 13th come and go, I thought I’d write about triskaidekaphobia in Irish. In fast, triskaidekaphobia recently topped the “trending now” list on www.yahoo.com, so it seemed like an especially timely topic. Hitch is, I can’t find any existing Irish word for “triskaidekaphobia.” But at least we can discuss…
Wrapping Up the Berry Business for this Lughnasa Posted by róislín on Aug 12, 2010
le Róislín Our last blog looked primarily at the berry known in Irish as “fraochán” [FRAYKH-awn] or “fraochóg” [FRAYKH-ohg] and in English, most commonly, as bilberry, blaeberry, or whortleberry, and additionally as winberry, whinberry, bog bilberry, myrtle blueberry, and black-heart. Confusingly, for me at least, as a non-pomologist, there’s also some overlap in terminology with…
More Lughnasa Customs (and a Quiz!) Posted by róislín on Aug 7, 2010
Lughnasa customs could be observed over a two-week period, depending on the local community. Some sources and written memoirs refer to the second Sunday as August as the date, other communities held their observances on the last Sunday of July. Whichever date was traditional for a given area, one of the customs that figured significantly…
Treoir don Treoir: A Guide to the Guide (for Pronunciation), Cuid a 2 Posted by róislín on Jul 27, 2010
(le Róislín) Treoir don treoir, an ea? Well, here’s more! The most accurate way to transcribe the sound of the broad Irish “gh,” as in “gharbh,” is by using the Greek gamma symbol, γ. It looks a little like a “v” with an extra loop at the bottom. It represents the voiced velar fricative, a sound…
Nótaí ar Fhuaimniú na bhFocal sa Bhlag Is Déanaí [Pronunciation] Posted by róislín on Jul 23, 2010
Here are some pronunciation notes for the last blog. Again, the purpose of the occasional blogs that are devoted primarily to pronunciation here is to provide a rough guide, especially aimed at addressing the issue of silent letters. For more practice with pronunciation, I always recommend Transparent’s Word of the Day, which comes with sound…
Laethe Náisiúnta nó Idirnáisiúnta Eile i Mí Iúil (Chess, Mosquitoes, and Junk Food, Oh My!) Posted by róislín on Jul 22, 2010
And what do those topics have in common? Well, they all have a lá náisiúnta or idirnáisiúnta in July. And they’re all interesting words vocabulary-wise. But then, I find almost all words interesting vocabulary-wise. My latest cool word in English? “Limicoline,” which would describe various lapairí, such as feadóga, gobadáin, agus falaróip. “Limicoline” isn’t actually…