(le Róislín)

Hmm, maybe I should call this the glossary that never ends (an ghluais nach bhfuil deireadh aici).  Every time I look at Liam Ó Muirthile’s article (An Peann Coitianta, “Saoirí Samhraidh,” nasc thíos), I see more and more interesting words, words which are probably a little off the beaten track, for tosaitheoirí ar a laghad.

Cén cineál ceoil atá á sheinm ag an ngrúpa seo? Rac-cheol. An maith leat rac-cheol? Más maith, cén grúpa is fearr leat? An gcanann siad i nGaeilge? Mo fhreagra féin — is maith agus is iad na Beatles an rac-ghrúpa is fearr liom, agus b’fhéidir The Horslips (a rinne leagan rac den Táin). (grafaic: http://publicdomainvectors.org/en/free-clipart/Music-band-vector-image/3230.html)

So far in this series (sraith), we’ve looked at four forms of the word “summer” (samhradh, samhraidh, an tsamhraidh, samhraí), plus the following miscellaneous words: glamanna, fearaíocht, ag guailleáil, buíonta ban, leagadh (leagan), duileasc, faochain, á ndíol, bé (ba é).  Remember the meanings?  If not, tá siad thíos.

Now for a few additional words and phrases from the same article:

6) rac-cheol, or in the genitive case, rac-cheoil (faobhar úd an rac-cheoil; saghas rac-cheoil).  As I recall, the first textbook in which I saw this taught was Now You’re Talking, which came out in the mid-nineties.  It’s always worth noting how compound words are formed in Irish.   Frequently the first word will trigger lenition, so we don’t just have “ceol” (music) at the end, but “-cheol,” with the “c” silent and the “h” like the “h” in “human” or “Hugh.”  When we want to say “of rock music,” the phrase becomes “rac-cheoil,” adding the letter “i.”

And now here’s an interesting query — how and when did the word “rac-cheol” evolve in Irish?  Was it already in vogue in the 1960s summer O Muirthile reminisces about in his article?  Somehow, I don’t think it was in Buntús Cainte or Progress in Irish, two of the various textbooks of the day.  That’s speaking from memory, though.  I’ll have to double-check for the word “rac-cheol” in 1960s texts (téacsanna) when I have a chance.  And was it in the everyday speech of the Gaeltacht (gnáthchaint na Gaeltachta)?

And the second phrase for today’s blogpost:

7) i bhfios nó i ngan fhios di féin, with the “di” referring to “bean an phianó” at the “céilí.”  This is an interesting phrase on several counts.  One is seeing the word “fios” (knowledge) both eclipsed and lenited in such quick succession.  A loose translation of the phrase would be, “whether or not she herself was aware of it.”  Literally, it’s more like, “in knowledge or not in knowledge to her herself,” or even more literally, “in knowledge or in ‘without’ knowledge to her herself.”

So why the eclipsis and then lenition?  The word “i” (in) triggers eclipsis, as in “i bhfuinneog” (in a window, for something that’s literally “in a window,” like maybe a missing pane of glass).  Or, to use our seaside vocab, “i bhfaocha” (in a winkle), which, if nothing else, could at least refer to the edible fleshy interior of this mollusk.

The lenition occurs because the word “gan” triggers it (bhuel, amanna, ar a laghad).

Pronunciation?

i bhfios [ih viss].  This “bhf” is pronounced like a “v.”

i ngan fhios [ing ahn iss].  The “fh” is completely silent, as it always is in Irish.  Other examples of this silent “fh” might be familiar, such as “an fhuinneog” (the window) and “a Fhiontáin,” for speaking to “Fiontán” in direct address.

The second interesting aspect of this phrase is simply that one often sees just the second half of it (i ngan fhios di, also “dom,” “duit,” etc.).  But including the first half adds a nice parallelism to the phrase.

Well, two more down, three more to go for our liosta deich bhfocal.

And now back to our Nat King Cole theme (nasc thíos)– how are you spending your lazy hazy crazy summer days?  Please do write in and let us know.  I nGaeilge, más féidir.  SGF  — Róislín

PS And if you’re chomping (or “champing”) at the bit to know the Irish for sunbathing, since it’s that time of year, it’s “ag déanamh bolg le gréin (grian),” lit. doing belly with sun.  Of course, sometimes we sunbathe on our bellies, and it’s our “dromanna” which are to the sun.

Naisc: 

alt Uí Mhuirthile san Irish Times: http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/2.663/saoiri-samhraidh-1.1091985 (14 Lúnasa 2002)

na blaganna roimhe seo:

Deich bhFrása Shuimiúla as Alt Uí Mhuirthile (‘Saoirí Samhraidh’ san Irish Times), Cuid 1 Posted by róislín on Jul 25, 2016 in Irish Language
Deich bhFrása Shuimiúla as Alt Uí Mhuirthile (‘Saoirí Samhraidh’ san Irish Times), Cuid 2 Posted by róislín on Jul 28, 2016 in Irish Language
Samplaí an fhocail ‘samhradh’ in alt le Liam Ó Muirthile san Irish Times Posted by róislín on Jul 22, 2016 in Irish Language

Liosta Focal:

glamanna, howls (n); fearaíocht, macho-ing (as it were), ag guailleáil, shouldering, sauntering, swaggering; buíonta ban, bands/”bevies” of women; leagadh (leagan), knocking down; duileasc, dulse; faochain, winkles; á ndíol, (them) being sold; bé (ba é), it was