Can A Word Look Irish But Not Be Irish? The Curious Case of … (Léigh leat le fáil amach) Posted by róislín on Apr 25, 2018
(le Róislín) As you can see in the graphic above, Irish has a number of words that end in “-inne.” And to add to the mix, the ending “-inné” does exist but is much less common. The ten words above end in either “-inne” or “-inné,” but one of them isn’t actually Irish. So, looking…
A Follow-up to the Irish Vocab for the Parts of a Fiddle Bow: Barr Bogha Fidil Ollmhór Déanta as Cloch le “Roc-Cheol na bhFathach” a Sheinm nó Stua Mara Nádúrtha? Posted by róislín on Apr 22, 2018
(le Róislín) photo: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Bo_Fiddle_Rock_2.jpg, Bow Fiddle Rock near Portknockie, Scotland, Originally uploaded on July 31. 2006, Colourjam [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons, téacs Gaeilge le Róislín, 2018 Before we take a break from talking about music (“ceol“), and specifically fiddles (“fidleacha“) and fiddle bows (“boghanna fidle“), I couldn’t resist adding one more picture for the…
Páirteanna an Bhogha: Irish Words for the Parts of a (Fiddle) Bow (Cuid/Pt. 2) Posted by róislín on Apr 19, 2018
(le Róislín) We’ve recently looked at the Irish words for the parts of a fiddle and the parts of a fiddle bow (naisc thíos). Today we’ll look at a curious term for a part of a fiddle bow (or a bow for other “téaduirlisí” as well) — in English it’s “frog” and in Irish, it’s…
Páirteanna an Bhogha: Irish Words for the Parts of a (Fiddle) Bow (Cuid/Pt.1) Posted by róislín on Apr 14, 2018
(le Róislín) Most of the names for the parts of a fiddle bow are pretty straightforward, as the above graphic shows. So let’s start with those, and then, in the next post, we’ll take up the curious case of the frog on the bow — what does it really mean and where does the…
Páirteanna Fidle (Páirteanna Veidhlín): Parts of a Fiddle (labeled in Irish) Posted by róislín on Apr 11, 2018
(le Róislín) Continuing with our music theme (téama ceoil), let’s look at páirteanna na fidle (or “páirteanna an veidhlín“). Some are quite similar in Irish and English (scrolla, mar shampla), but in some cases, the Irish is well, distinctively Irish, like “eireaballán.” So here are the parts. Can you match them up with what’s in…
Uirlisí Ceoil: Musical Instruments (18 Irish Words or Phrases) Posted by róislín on Apr 7, 2018
(le Róislín) Recently we’ve been looking at the Irish words for various musical instruments, particularly those used for playing ceol traidisiúnta (naisc thíos). Today we’ll review the ten terms previously introduced and add eight more. Additional suggestions are welcome, especially if anyone can think of some non-traditional instruments (uirlisí neamhthraidisiúnta) for playing ceol traidisiúnta. Today, we’ll…
Eleven Pipers Piping, but not for Christmas per se, or, Ó Mhálta go Mars ag píobaireacht linn Posted by róislín on Mar 31, 2018
(le Róislín) Before we continue with the list of Irish traditional instruments, I thought it would be fun to talk about eleven types of pipers from around the world. Why eleven? Well, we’re all familiar with saying “Eleven Pipers Piping,” right? Our definition of “pipes” here will be a little flexible, since it can…