Coronavirus Terms in Irish: A-Z (aisdúichiú go zónóiseach) Posted by róislín on Jan 31, 2020
(le Róislín) There are, of course, many ways to look at and discuss the ongoing coróinvíreas, but, since this is a language-learning site, how about the tried and true method of ord na haibítre (alphabetical order)? Irish to English — and that may be a bit of a challenge since the Irish alphabet doesn’t typically…
Saying ‘The First of the Month’ in Irish and Other Special Names for ‘First Days’ (pt. 2: April, May, June) Posted by róislín on Jan 18, 2020
(le Róislín) Cén lá a dtarlaíonn damhsa mar seo? Cén bhliain a ndearna na cailíní sa phictiúr an damhsa seo, i do bharúil: sna 1930í? sna 1940í? sna 1950í? sna 1960í? sna 1970í? sna 1980í? sna 1990í? Ar ndóigh, is féidir linn a bheith cinnte nach raibh sé san aois seo. Freagra thíos, bunoscionn. Grafaic…
Saying ‘The First of the Month’ in Irish and Other Special Names for ‘First Days’ Posted by róislín on Dec 31, 2019
(le Róislín) From New Year’s Day (1 Eanáir) to World AIDS Day (1 Mí na Nollag), there are significant events on the first day of each month of the year. Some, like Lá Domhanda SEIF, are of profound importance in recognizing the issues of 21st-century life. Others, like *Lá Náisiúnta Brioscaí Baile (1 Deireadh Fómhair), are…
Some Consonant Clusters in Irish (thbhl, thbh, thbhr, thchl, thfh, and ch-chl) Posted by róislín on Dec 21, 2019
(le Róislín) Irish can have up to five consonants in a row, something we rarely encounter in English. These situations usually occur because a prefix has been added to a word, so the seemingly simple “cleas” (trick) can become “droch-chleas” when we add the prefix “droch-” (bad). In this case, with “ch” followed by “ch,”…
Frásaí an tSéasúir (Seasonal Phrases) in Irish: ‘Sona’ or not ‘Sona’? (‘happy’ or not ‘happy’?) Posted by róislín on Nov 30, 2019
(le Róislín, taking a short break from the “Nature Words” series, in honor of the season) ‘Tis the season where we go around wishing people ‘Happy’ (‘sona‘ in Irish) _____ (fill in your holiday). Or do we? One of the most basic words for “happy” in Irish is “sona,” which sometimes appears as “shona,” as…
Nature Words in Irish, pt. 7: Holly (following ‘acorn’ to ‘herring’) Posted by róislín on Nov 18, 2019
(le Róislín) Which words should be in a dictionary and which ones should be removed after a certain period of time? We can all probably agree that for modern English pocket dictionaries, we probably don’t need to take up space with words like “apricity” or “yelm,” although I’m delighted to find them in Landmarks, Robert…
Nature Words in Irish, pt. 6: Ferret to Herring (following ‘acorn’ to ‘crocus’) Posted by róislín on Oct 31, 2019
(le Róislín) If you’ve been following this blog series, you probably know the drill by now. The last few blog posts in this series have featured Irish words for nature terms, ranging so far from “acorn” to “crocus.” What’s special about these particular words? They are the Irish equivalents of the 50 or so nature…