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From ‘vacsaín’ to ‘vuinsciú’ and some other Irish words that start with ‘v’ Posted by róislín on Sep 5, 2015
(le Róislín) From the English perspective, there’s nothing particularly unusual about words starting with the letter ‘v.’ After all, we can go from “vacancy” (casual, or otherwise, noted with homage to JKR) to “vyingly,” without batting a “fabhra” (eyelash). But the traditional Irish alphabet did not include the letter “v,” so most words you’ll find…
Love (Grá) and the Art of Applying Initial Consonant Mutations in Irish Posted by róislín on Feb 14, 2015
(le Róislín) In recent blogs and a few others from previous years, we’ve looked at ways to say “I love you,” in Irish. Often these phrases include initial consonant mutation, so what better way to practice the mutations than with variations on a theme of “grá“? In this blog, I’ll use some of the phrases…
You’ve Gotta Have ‘Croí’ (Heart): Irish Terms and Expressions from ‘heart-ache’ to ‘heart-whole’ Posted by róislín on Feb 5, 2015
(le Róislín) Feabhra … mí leannán … mí Lá Vailintín … agus a lán mothúchán eile bunaithe ar ár gcroí. So let’s take a closer look at this word “heart,” in its basic Irish form and in some loving or love-lorn expressions. First the basics: an croí [un krrree, with a nice flapped Irish “r,”…
St. Bridget and St. Valentine in Irish (1 Feabhra agus 14 Feabhra) Posted by róislín on Jan 31, 2015
(le Róislín) While, yes, there is at least one saint for every day of the year, February is remarkable in celebrating two saints quite prominently. This is especially true in Ireland. February 1st is celebrated as “Lá Fhéile Bríde” in Ireland, and to some extent, in other Celtic areas or diasporas. Anciently, it was…
An bhfuil do ghlas crochta crochta agat fós? Posted by róislín on Feb 14, 2014
(le Róislín) No, that’s not an overlooked duplication of words. “Glas crochta” is a padlock (hmm, guess why that topic came up in today’s blog!) and “crochta” means “hung” or “hanging,” from the verb “croch” (hang). First let’s discuss the word “glas,” since it’s a triple homonym in Irish. One “glas” means “green.” A second…
Let Me Call You … Stóirín (Storeen) (Irish Terms of Endearment) Posted by róislín on Feb 7, 2014
(le Róislín) Irish has many many terms of endearment. It actually also has many pejorative terms for people, ach sin ábhar blag eile. In this blog, given the season, we’ll look at various ways to say “darling,” “sweetheart,” and “love” in Irish. Some of these have been covered in previous blogs around this time of…
An Litir ‘V’ in Aibítir na Gaeilge (The Letter ‘V’ in the Irish Alphabet) Posted by róislín on Oct 6, 2013
(le Róislín) Some of you may have been surprised to see the combination “tv,” followed by a vowel, in the recent post about “tvuíteanna” and “tvuíteáil” ( https://blogs.transparent.com/irish/how-to-say-tweet-and-twitter-in-irish/). Admittedly, it’s not at all common in Irish, or, for that matter, in any other languages that I’ve been able to check (with Russian city and river “Tver”…