More Names for Dandelions in Irish (and in Welsh, too) [Ainmneacha Plandaí 3] Posted by róislín on Sep 25, 2016
(le Roislin) Searbh … searbhán … caisearbhán. That’s how the Irish language builds up its most basic term for dandelion (caisearbhán, say “kash-ar-uv-awn”) as we’ve seen in the most recent blogpost here, as well as a few earlier ones (naisc thíos). But wait there’s more! In fact, four more ways to say “dandelion” in Irish…
If ‘Dandelion’ Comes from “Dent de Lion,” Where does the Irish name ‘Caisearbhán’ come from? [Ainmneacha Plandaí 2] Posted by róislín on Sep 23, 2016
(le Róislín) Since we’ve recently been looking at luibhainmneacha (plant names) in Irish, I thought this would be a good time to revisit the dandelion, one of the mostly widely visible and easily recognizable plants of all, even for a “neamhluibheolaí” like myself. You might remember cúpla iarbhlagmhír on this topic (naisc thíos), but here’s…
Rós agus cúpla ainm eile air (a ‘rose’ and a couple of other names for it) [Ainmneacha Plandaí i nGaeilge: 1] Posted by róislín on Sep 20, 2016
(le Róislín) It looks like this will be the beginning of another occasional series, this time on plant names, probably mostly flowers (bláthanna), but eventually trees (crainn), bushes (toim, srl.), grasses (féara), and that intriguing category, “weeds” (fiailí). You might remember that we previously did a series of girls’ names based on flowers (nasc thíos)…
Leaves, Limes, Lambs, and Goosefoots and Goose Feet: An Irish Language Botanical Discussion Posted by róislín on Sep 17, 2016
(le Róislín) Plant names are probably intriguing in every language, and Irish is no exception. When people first start Irish, they probably learn the more basic ones, ones that readily identifiable in nature, like “nóinín” and “caisearbhán.” Even easier for the Anglophone learner are the ones that are similar in both languages, like “rós,” “tiúilip,”…
How to say ‘leaves’ and ‘foliage’ in Irish Posted by róislín on Sep 12, 2016
(le Róislín) ‘Tis the season, no, not ‘An Nollaig‘ yet, but the season for falling leaves, at least for ‘crainn‘ that are ‘duillsilteach.’ So today, let’s look at the forms of the word “leaf” and also “foliage.” Starting with the basics: duilleog [DIL-yohg, with the “ll” about like the “ll” in English “million”], a leaf…
How to say ‘Bearded Bornean Pig’ in Irish Posted by róislín on Sep 6, 2016
(le Róislín) Bhuel, one might first ask, “Why say Bearded Bornean Pig” in Irish? To which my response would be, why not? It’ll give us a chance to practice the words “pig,” “bearded” (+ “beard”), and Bornean (+ Borneo). Plus, we used an illustration of these impressive-looking swine in the last blog (nasc thíos), on…
On The Pig’s Back vs. On the (implied) Hog’s Back: An Irish Expression Exegetically Examined Posted by róislín on Aug 31, 2016
(le Róislín) A recent query about the Irish expression “on the pig’s back” prompted me to go back to the original blogpost on that topic in this series (nasc thíos, agus GRMA, a Jacqueline). Apparently over the years (and long before the beginning of this blog in 2009), many people have wondered whether the Irish…