(le Róislín)

As mentioned in the last blogpost, today we’ll look at negative answers to some of the questions posed in this “Deireadh an tSamhraidh” series, a continuation of the idea of “What I Did on My Summer Vacation.”  Often when we have “no” answers to questions, we add something like “… but I did go to / see / try, etc. …” because otherwise, the conversation may grind to a halt.  So we’ll try a few answers like that today also.

The key phrase we’ll be looking at today is:

Ní dheachaigh mé … [nee YAKH-ee may], I didn’t go …

As we’ll be using a lot of place names today, please remember the previous examples, with the two different ways to say “to” in Irish (go, go dtí).  Actually, there are many more ways to say “to” in Irish (like dom, duit, dó, di, etc. for when someone gives something to someone), but that’ll have to be ábhar blagmhír eile.

The examples we talked about before included:

Gaoth Dobhair, anglicizable as “Gweedore,” though, in theory at least, the practice is not go anglicize Gaeltacht names today (go Gaoth Dobhair, to Gaoth Dobhair)

An Róimh, Rome (go dtí an Róimh, to Rome)

An Aithin, Athens (go dtí an Aithin, to Athens)

An Spáinn, Spain (go dtí an Spáinn, to Spain)

An Rúis, Russia (go dtí an Rúis, to Russia)

An Spidéal, anglicizable as “Spiddal,” though, as noted above, in theory at least, the practice is not go anglicize Gaeltacht names today (go dtí an Spidéal, to An Spidéal)

An Cheathrú Rua, anglicizable as “Carraroe,” though again, in theory at least, the practice is not go anglicize Gaeltacht names today (go dtí an Cheathrú Rua, to An Cheathrú Rua)

And with place names that are inherently plural:

Na Cealla Beaga, Killybegs (go dtí na Cealla Beaga, to Killybegs)

Na Forbacha, Furbo or Furbogh (go dtí na Forbacha, to Furbogh).  Remember the pronunciation tip:  an “uh” sound occurs between the “r” and the “b” in the Irish: [nuh FOR-uh-buh-khuh].  For the anglicized version, this extra “uh” disappears, at least according to the speaker at “Logainm.ie”  If you listen to him, also notice that the final “o,” isn’t pronounced long, but more like “FOR-buh.”  Same disclaimers about using anglicized versions, but I guess my view is if these anglicized versions exist, and logainm.ie uses them, we should at least look at how to pronounce them, when it’s not intuitive.  And I think most learners would admit to wondering, “When is Irish pronunciation ever intuitive?”  Ach sin scéal eile!

Now for some examples:

An ndeachaigh tú go Gaoth Dobhair?  Ní dheachaigh, ní dheachaigh mé go Gaoth Dobhair (or just “Ní dheachaigh”).  Or, we could say, “Ní dheachaigh mé go Gaoth Dobhair ach chuaigh mé go Gort a’ Choirce. ”

An ndeachaigh tú go dtí an Spidéal?  Ní dheachaigh, ní dheachaigh mé go dtí an Spidéal (or just ” Ní dheachaigh”).  OR: Ní dheachaigh mé go dtí an Spidéal ach chuaigh mé go dtí an Cheathrú Rua.

An ndeachaigh tú go dtí na Cealla Beaga?  Ní dheachaigh, ní dheachaigh mé go dtí na Cealla Beaga (or just “Ní dheachaigh”).  OR: Ní dheachaigh mé go dtí na Cealla Beaga, ach chuaigh mé go dtí na Forbacha. 

If anyone would like to elaborate on the answers given in the last blogpost to questions 1-10, I’m sure we’d all like to see what destinations you come up with.  An example could be:

10. An ndeachaigh tú go dtí na Twin Cities le freastal ar an bhFéile Físeán Idirlín Cat ar an 9ú lá de mhí Lúnasa i 2016? (Did you go to the Twin Cites to attend the “Internet Cat Video Festival on August 9th in 2016?). Ní dheachaigh, ach bhunaigh mé Mionfhéile Físeán Idirlín Cat i mo bhaile féin. No, but I established a Mini Internet Cat Festival in my own town.  And the “nasc” for the Twin Cities event is: How to say “Internet Cat Video Festival” in Irish (i nGaeilge) Posted by róislín on Nov 7, 2014 in Irish Language)

Any answers you’d like to submit, perhaps practicing An Róimh, An Aithin, An Spáinn, or An Rúis would be welcome, as would any other descriptions, in Irish, of your summer vacation.

SGF — Róislín
Nasc don bhlagmhír roimhe seo: Deireadh an tSamhraidh, Cuid 2: How to say where you went this summer (Cá ndeachaigh / An ndeachaigh …?) Posted by róislín on Aug 26, 2016 in Irish Language

Agus an ceann roimhe sin: Deireadh an tSamhraidh: Which of these 10 summer activities did you do this year? Posted by róislín on Aug 23, 2016 in Irish Language