(le Róislín)

Our last blog dealt with places names like Ceanada and Cúba, which take “urú,” and additional place names like Meicsiceo or Sasana, which are not subject to “urú” because of the letters they happen to start with. 

As you may recall, the “urú” examples work like this:

Tá sé ina chónaí i gCeanada. 

Tá mé ar saoire i bhFidsí.

If the first letter happens not to take “urú,” then, as, for example, the letters “m” and “s,” there’s no change at all (for a change!):

Phéinteáil Diego Rivera múrmhaisithe i Meiriceá (sna cathracha Detroit, Nua-Eabhrac, agus San Francisco) agus i Meicsiceo (sna cathracha Cathair Mheicsiceo agus Cuernavaca, agus sa bhaile Chapingo). 

Or, for some shorter examples,

Tá mé i mo chónaí i Meicsiceo. 

Tá mé i mo chónaí i Moscó. 

Or, to break from always saying where someone lives,

Tá Saskatoon i Saskatchewan. 

For the rest of this blog, we’ll deal with place names that happen to begin with vowels and which do not use the definite article (i.e., not An Astráil, An Éigipt, srl., which will have to wait till we deal with place names including the word “the”).

Good news?  Place names beginning with vowels are pretty straightforward.  Our preposition “i” changes to “in,” making it look more like the English word “in.”  No harm there, though it’s important to remember that the basic form is still just the single letter“i.”  As mentioned in an earlier blog, these phrases used to be written with the “n” attached to the following word, like “i nAmstardam” or “i nÉirinn,” but that is no longer the norm. 

Here are some examples, again with a little breakaway from the “Tá mé i mo chónaí” pattern.  Italics are used here to draw attention to the place name usage.

Tá teach Anne Frank in Amstardam.

Labhraíonn cuid de na daoine in Eacuadór Ceatsuais. 

Rugadh Bob Marley in Iamáice.

Osclaíodh Músaem Kon-Tiki in Osló sa bhliain 1949; bhí an turas é féin sa bhliain 1947.

Tugtar “Irish” ar na prátaí bána a itear in Uganda chun iad a idirdhealú ó ionaim; bíonn na prátaí bána “Irish” seo níos costasaí ná na hionaim.  Má amharcann tú ar an Idirlíon, feicfidh tú a lán tagairtí do théarmaí mar “Uganda’s Irish Potato Sector,” “Irish Potato Sales”in Uganda, agus “Irish Potato Growing Districts” in Uganda.

Closer to home, for the Irish, we could also practice the preposition “in” in front of vowels using the following place names.  Aistriúcháin thíos.

1)Tá cónaí ar “Niseag” in Albain, de réir traidisiúin.

2) Tá “Mucky” ina c(h)ónaí in Éirinn, i Loch Mhucrois i gContae Chiarraí (de réir traidisiúin, arís).  Inscne Mucky, duine ar bith?  *Criptea-ainmhí baineann?  Fireann?  Ina cónaí?  Ina chónaí?

3) Tá ceanncheathrú Chumann Surfála na hÉireann in Iascaigh, i gContae Shligigh.

4) Cé mhéad acra atá in Ocht nAcra is Ochtó (ainm baile fearainn in aice le Baile Átha Buí i gContae na Mí)?  Ocht n-acra is ochtó, is dócha.   (Note the punctuation difference?  Proper noun “nA” vs. generic noun “n-a.”  The wonders of punctuation never cease!)

5) Cuireadh Michael Furey, carachtar ó “The Dead,” gearrscéal de chuid James Joyce, in Uachtar Ard, Co. na Gaillimhe, de réir an scéil.

Can you figure out what place names are involved here?  Freagraí thíos:

a. in Eochaill, Contae Chorcaí

b. in Iostanbúl, An Tuirc

c. in Úlla, Contae Luimnigh

d. in Órán Mór, Contae na Gaillimhe.  Ar an ábhar sin, an bhfuil a fhios ag duine ar bith ar an liosta ar osclaíodh an stáisiún traenach sa bhaile seo mar a bhí beartaithe don bhliain 2011?  Más amhlaidh gur osclaíodh, hurá d’iompar poiblí!

e. in Aird Mhór, Co. Phort Láirge (as opposed to various similarly named places like “An Aird Mhóir” and “An tArd Mór,” which will have to wait for the blog for place names with the definite article; residents of Pennsylvania and Oklahoma can be on the ready for the Irish-language namesake of their hometowns.)

Gluais: ábhar, subject, topic; beartaithe, decided; ceanncheathrú, headquarters; costasach, costly, expensive; cuireadh, was buried; de réir, according to; gearrscéal, short story; idirdhealú, to distinguish; iompar, transportation, transit, also “carrying” in general; ionam, yam; itear, are eaten; más amhlaidh, if so, if thus; múrmhaisiú, mural; osclaíodh, was opened; saoire, holiday; tagairt, reference

Ainmneacha na gcriptea-ainmhithe: Niseag, Nessie [Gaeilge na hAlban, ach cóngarach go leor, is dócha]; Mucky, earc uisce Loch Mhucrois.  N.B.: criptea– = crypto-.  Ní bhfuair mé aon Ghaeilge ar “cryptid” in aon áit.  Mar sin, d’úsáid mé “criptea-ainmhí.”  Sásúil go leor, is dócha.

Aistriúcháin: 1) in Scotland [for Albain, say “AHL-uh-bin,” three syllables]; 2) in Ireland; 3) in Easkey; 4) in Eightyeight Acres [sic]; 5) in Oughterard [pronounced a lot like the Irish, Uachtar Ard, [OO-ukh-tur AWRD], but the anglicized spelling glides the first two syllables closer together, more like “awkh”]

Freagraí: a) Youghal, Co. Cork; b) Istanbul, Turkey; c) Oola, Co. Limerick; d) Oranmore, Co. Galway; e) Ardmore, Co. Waterford