(le Róislín)

In the last few blogs, we’ve used words like “zombaí” (plural: zombaithe) and “moncaí” (pl. moncaithe), as well as “stocamhoncaí” and “stocamhoncaithe,” for “sock monkey(s).”  It may just be my memory, but I don’t remember stocamhoncaithe zombaí ever being so popular before this year’s Oíche Shamhna (Halloween 2011)

In Irish, it would be highly unlikely for any word to end in “-ie,” so a word like “zombie” (ón gCriól Háítíoch “zonbi”) will get a new ending to fit the Irish spelling system, in this case, “-aí” (pronounced “ee”).  For nouns that end in “-aí” in the singular, like “zombaí,” the plural is usually “-aithe” [ih-huh], with the “t” always silent, which we also see in “moncaithe” [MON-kih-huh] and “stocamhoncaithe” [STOKK-uh-WON-kih-huh, where, btw, the “mh” is pronounced like a “w”]..

Keep in mind that the letter “y” is fairly rare in Irish, in general, so borrowed words with a “y,” like “monkey” will also typically get their spelling changed as they are adapted into Irish.  The “-aí“ endings of “zombaí” and “moncaí” fit an existing and widely-populated category of Irish nouns (4^th-declension, by the way), including the examples below.  In all these cases, the plural is formed by shortening the “í” and adding “-the” (so “-aí” changes to “-aithe).

rúnaí, rúnaithe, secretary(-ies)

garraí, garraithe, field(s), garden(s)

rásaí, rásaithe, racer(s)

reathaí, reathaithe, another word for “racer(s),” more literally, a runner, mar shampla i gcruicéad

Agus “Míp-míp!,” seo ceann eile:

reathaí an bhóthair (pl. reathaithe an bhóthair), road runner (an t-éan a thugtar “chaparral bird” air i mBéarla freisin)

A number of occupational terms end in “-aí” in the singular, such as tógálaí (builder), tiománaí (driver), and lúthchleasaí (athlete [LOO-HLASS-ee]), and their plurals follow the same pattern: tógálaithe, tiománaithe, lúthchleasaithe [LOO-HLASS-ih-huh].

Here’s the big caveat though.  In the words above, “-aí” is a singular ending.  For words, like the following, “-aí” is actually the plural ending,” formed by adding “-í” to a final “a.”

gúna, gúnaí, dress(es)

hata, hataí, hat(s)

frása, frásaí, phrase(s)

Occasionally “-aí” occurs as the ending of in one-syllable words.  In these cases, the “-aí” isn’t actually a suffix as such (the word’s too short to have a suffix), and there are various plural forms:

faí, pl. faithe, note, cry, or, in grammar, “voice” (as in “faí ghníomhach” and “faí chéasta”)

laí, pl. laíonna, pole, shaft, door-post

These aren’t the only possible uses of the suffix “-aí”.  It can also show up on verbs (go mbeannaí Dia dhuit, hello, lit. may God bless you) and it can show possession in nouns in phrases like “solas na gealaí” (the light of the moon), but sin ábhar blag eile. 

Mar achoimre, seo na féidearthachtaí do “-aí” (cuid acu, ar a laghad)

1)      –aí (uatha, mar “rúnaí”)

2)      –aí (iolra, mar “gúnaí,” foirm iolra an fhocail “gúna”)

3)      –aí (i bhfocail aonsiolla, mar “laí”)

4)      –aí (i mbriathar, modh foshuiteach, mar “go mbeannaí” )

5)      –aí (tuiseal ginideach, baininscneach, uatha, mar “gealaí” sa bhfrása “solas na gealaí”)

Tá súil agam go raibh sé seo úsáideach.  SGF, Róislín

Gluais: beannaigh, bless; céasta, passive; cruicéad, cricket; gealach, moon; gníomhach, active; iolra [IL-ruh], plural; stoca, sock; uatha [OO-uh-huh], singular

Nóta faoin bhfrása onamataipéach sin thuas “Míp-míp!” (litrithe i nGaeilge): i mBéarla, ar ndóigh, sin “Meep-meep!,” leagan Reathaí an Bhóthair d’fhuaim bonnán cairr sna cartúin Merrie Melodies agus Looney Tunes ag Warner Brothers.  Ag breathnú thart ar an Idirlíon, feicim go ndeir an t-éan rudaí éagsúla i dteangacha eile, mar shampla, “Bip-bip” (Spáinnis, Fraincis), “Beep-beep!” (Iodáilis, Rómáinis, litriú Béarla, dála an scéil), “Miep-miep!” (Ollainis), agus mar ghreann sa chartún Béarla, “beepus-beepus!” mar bhréag-Laidin.  I suíomh Seicise, feicim a lán leaganacha: mik-mik, mig-mig, mip-mip, mic-mic, chomh maith le Beep-beep!  Má tá leaganacha éagsúla don fhuaim sna teangacha sin, is dócha go mba chóir go mbeadh litriú Gaeilge air, mar níl “-ee-“ i nGaeilge. Sa dóigh chéanna, tá “jeep” litrithe mar “jíp” i nGaeilge, ní nach ionadh!

Gluais don nóta: bonnán, horn (of car); éagsúil, various; fuaim, sound; go mba chóir, it would be right that (there should); go mbeadh, there would be; greann, humor; leagan, version; litriú, spelling; litrithe, spelled; ní nach ionadh, not surprisingly