From ‘fleasc’ to ‘fleiscín’ in Irish, or, What does a ‘wreath’ have to do with a ‘hyphen’ Posted by róislín on Aug 20, 2015
(le Róislín) In the last blog, I made quite a point of saying that certain compound words include a ‘fleiscín‘ in Irish and others do not, all depending on the spelling of the words that happen to be joined together in a ‘comhfhocal.’ What pattern do you see in these examples, all of which are…
Leathanaigh Bhána, Órga, Facebook, agus Cineálacha Eile Posted by róislín on Aug 17, 2015
(le Róislín) Remember the abbreviations “lch.” and “lgh.“? How would you say them out loud if you encountered them in a page of Irish text? We saw them in a blog originally posted here on April 20, 2015 (nasc thíos) and recently reposted (http://ow.ly/QPmCU). No great mysteries here. The abbreviation “lch.” stands for “leathanach” ([LyA-huh-nukh]…
‘Bléinbheart’ go ‘Zeitibheart’ — Cineálacha Beart agus Beartanna i nGaeilge Posted by róislín on Aug 14, 2015
(le Róislín) When I first thought of this blog topic, I thought I’d just do types of clothing, like “bléinbheart” and “coisbheart.” But then I figured we might as well do “an banana iomlán.” If we’re in for a “pingin,” we may as well be in for a “punt.” Or actually, as the more traditional…
From ‘Buatais’ to ‘Bútáil’ — And Why Do We Say ‘ReBOOTing’ Anyway? Posted by róislín on Aug 10, 2015
(le Róislín) Bhuel, I guess the word “bootstrap” bridges the gap between a “boot” (buatais) as a physical item, and “booting” (bútáil), as in “starting a computer.” So what is the Irish for “bootstrap”? Ironically, the most common word for the original idea of a physical bootstrap takes us back to “bróg” not “buatais.” As…
Leabharlann, Leabhartha, agus an Leabhar Ab Fhearr / Is Fearr Leat Posted by róislín on Aug 6, 2015
(le Róislín) Many Irish words referring to different types of buildings end in “-lann.” Among these is “leabharlann,” our topic for today. “Leabharlann” ([LyOW -ur-lahn], library) is clearly related to the word “leabhar” ([LyOW -ur], book). In this regard, Irish is more systematic than English, which has a Germanic word “book” (cf. das Buch) for…
Bróga vs. Buataisí (Boots and Shoes in Irish, and some other types of footwear — to boot) Posted by róislín on Jul 31, 2015
(le Róislín) Which to say — “bróg” or “buatais“? Well, there seems to be some overlap in the terms, as we briefly addressed in the last blog (nasc thíos). There we focused mostly on “buataisí,” the related word “buataisíní” (bootees), and a related word outside the realm of coisbheart, “búiteanna.” Remember “búiteanna“? Muna cuimhin leat…
Buataisí, Buataisíní, agus Búiteanna: Variations on a theme of “boot” in Irish Posted by róislín on Jul 28, 2015
(le Róislín) In some previous blog posts (naisc thíos), there were passing references to the Irish words for boot (buatais) and bootees (buataisíní). Perhaps this would be a good time to look further into those words and check out “búiteanna” as well. So let’s start with the basics, and then we’ll look at some additional…