Cé mhéad “Shades of Gray” (Grey … Liath … Léith … de Grae, srl.)? Posted by róislín on Jul 22, 2014
(le Róislín) I was recently reminded of a rather infamous episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, entitled “Shades of Gray.” B’fhéidir gur cuimhin leat é. That got me thinking of other uses of the phrase, “Shades of Gray (Grey),” even aside from the current tie-in by E. L. James. I’ve been pondering how to…
Cineálacha Eile Peile Posted by róislín on Jul 15, 2014
(le Róislín) We recently covered some soccer terms (téarmaí sacair) in this blog and briefly discussed the term “sacar” used in Irish, as opposed to “peil,” which is usually used for “peil ghaelach.” Even though “peil” usually means the football itself, or the game of football, it can also be used to create the names…
Sacar / Peil (Soccer / Football) : A “Matching” Game of Terminology in Irish Posted by róislín on Jul 9, 2014
(le Róislín) This blog will present 10 soccer (football) terms in English and Irish. Can you match them up? Note also that there is one extra Irish term, just for the challenge (“dúshlán” [doo-hlawn] note the silent “s”). Some of the Irish terms can also be used outside of soccer/football discussions, as can some of…
Amhrán Náisiúnta na Stát Aontaithe: All Four Verses of “The Star-Spangled Banner” in Irish with a glossary, literal translation, and pronunciation guide Posted by róislín on Jul 6, 2014
(le Róislín) I wonder how many Americans have actually sung all four verses of “The Star-Spangled Banner” in English, let alone in Irish. Well, here’s your opportunity! And if it’s not your own “amhrán náisiúnta,” it’s certainly an interesting song vocabulary-wise and history-wise. In fact, I find all “amhráin náisiúnta” to be fascinating (and have…
Four Ways to Say ‘Star-Spangled’ in Irish (plus ‘star’ in general — réalta) Posted by róislín on Jul 4, 2014
(le Róislín) It seems like such a specific term, but there at least four ways to say “star-spangled” in Irish. A timely phrase for this time of year (Lá na Saoirse) in the United States. Let’s start with the ‘star” part, since that’s the basis of all of the terms that follow, and also probably…
An Teach is saoire (ba shaoire ?) in Éirinn … Posted by róislín on Jun 30, 2014
(le Róislín) I recently noticed an eye-catching article about a house for sale in Ireland, announcing that it was the cheapest house in Ireland (nasc thíos; 17 Aibreán 2014). It’s located in Magheracorran (Machaire an Chorráin) in Co. Donegal, between Letterkenny and Donegal Town. How big is it? Reasonably big — 4 bedrooms, about 1800 sq…
Seven words for ‘ball’ in Irish, including “football” (soccer ball) Posted by róislín on Jun 28, 2014
(le Róislín) Irish has one basic word for “ball” for most sports, “liathróid,” and another word, “sliotar,” which is specifically for a hurling ball. Let’s take a look at these, and then as space permits, we’ll look at other related phrases (snowball, meatball, etc.) “Liathróid” [LEE-uh-HROHDJ] is a feminine noun, with the following forms: an…