Cén post atá agat? (How to say what your job is in Irish) Posted by róislín on Aug 14, 2014
(le Róislín) From “agraimeitéareolaí” to “zó-eolaí” (míoleolaí), we recently looked at a lot of “-ologist” occupations (Naisc thíos). But there are many other occupational terms in Irish that don’t have the “-eolaí” ending, which, after all, implies some kind of a scientist. Some of the other typical endings include: “-óir” and its slender variant “-eoir,”…
Whose Hot Dog? Whose Soda Bread? Whose Tea Scone? (Súil Siar ar an Tuiseal Ginideach i nGaeilge) Posted by róislín on Aug 10, 2014
(le Róislín) Our last blog took advantage of the “uaschamóg earráideach” in the now famous café sign from Waterville, Co. Kerry, to work on “an tuiseal ginideach,” the form of the noun used to show possession in Irish. Remember the distinction in English between “loud Americans” and “loud American’s”? For some more entertaining “example’s along…
‘Being Loud’ Not Allowed? (i gcaife sa Choireán, Co. Chiarraí) Posted by róislín on Aug 6, 2014
(le Róislín) By now you might have seen the article about the café sign in Waterville, Co. Kerry (An Coireán, Co. Chiarraí), which appeared to ban bus and coach passengers and loud Americans. Why do I say “appeared”? The punctuation on the sign is such that it defeats its own purpose. The phrase “loud American’s”…
Eolaithe Eile (agus Eolaíochtaí Eile) Posted by róislín on Aug 5, 2014
(le Róislín) While we’re on a roll with occupations, especially “-ologists,” I thought we could add a few more. This time, they’ll be a mix and match, just to add a little more … what’s that great compound word again … “dúshlán.” Understanding “dúshlán” as a compound word (originally “dubh” + “slán,” becoming “shlán” [hlawn]…
Cineálacha eolaithe (síceolaí agus bitheolaí, mar shampla … agus mar nuafhocal–*Pottereolaí) Posted by róislín on Jul 31, 2014
(le Róislín) Ó “agraimeitéareolaí” go “zó-eolaíocht” tá a lán téarmaí leis na foircinn “-eolaí” agus “-eolaíocht” sa Ghaeilge. To back up, just as English has many “-ologists” and “-ologies,” Irish has many words based on “eolaí” (scientist) and “eolaíocht” (science), all related to an even more basic word, “eolas.” You might recognize “eolas” from phrases…
Níl aon “P” bréagléannta i nGaeilge (Béarla: ptarmigan vs. Gaeilge: tarmachan) Posted by róislín on Jul 27, 2014
(le Róislín) We recently noted some extreme examples of English spelling (like chthonic, mnemonic, and pneumonia) and a couple of English words with initial “pt” like “pteranodon” and “ptarmigan” (naisc thíos) One of those words was an example of pseudo-learned spelling in English since the initial silent letter was added, to make the word look…
Vocabulary and Pronunciation Guide for the Recent Blog: Cé mhéad “Shades of Gray” (Grey … Liath … Léith … de Grae, srl.)? Posted by róislín on Jul 25, 2014
(le Róislín) In the last blog, we zoomed (zúmáil muid!) through a fair amount of vocabulary to take some steps towards translating the general phrase “shades of gray” and the title of the recent book and upcoming movie, Fifty Shades of Grey. So this blog will take a closer look at some of those words…