An bhfuil do ghlas crochta crochta agat fós? Posted by róislín on Feb 14, 2014
(le Róislín) No, that’s not an overlooked duplication of words. “Glas crochta” is a padlock (hmm, guess why that topic came up in today’s blog!) and “crochta” means “hung” or “hanging,” from the verb “croch” (hang). First let’s discuss the word “glas,” since it’s a triple homonym in Irish. One “glas” means “green.” A second…
An Tuiseal Gairmeach sa Ghaeilge: Dealing with Nouns of Direct Address in Irish Posted by róislín on Feb 11, 2014
(le Róislín) “A Shéamais!” “A Shinéad!” “A chuisle!” “A stór!” “A óinseach!” “A amadáin!” What do all these Irish phrases have in common? The vocative particle “a,” which has no exact equivalent in English. In addition to being used with terms of endearment, as discussed in the most recent blog (nasc thíos), this particle is…
Let Me Call You … Stóirín (Storeen) (Irish Terms of Endearment) Posted by róislín on Feb 7, 2014
(le Róislín) Irish has many many terms of endearment. It actually also has many pejorative terms for people, ach sin ábhar blag eile. In this blog, given the season, we’ll look at various ways to say “darling,” “sweetheart,” and “love” in Irish. Some of these have been covered in previous blogs around this time of…
Beirt Naomh Mhí na Feabhra: Naomh Bríd agus San Vailintín Posted by róislín on Feb 3, 2014
(le Róislín) Irish has two words for “saint.” I wonder if any other language is similar in this regard, but for now, we’ll just look at the two Irish words, “naomh” and “san.” For most purposes, they are not interchangeable. February celebrates both “Naomh Bríd” and “San Vailintín,” so let’s look at why they have…
Apostles, Mill-Clappers, and Zodiac Signs (And The Common Thread Is … the Number 12) Posted by róislín on Jan 29, 2014
(le Róislín) You may have noticed that both “dhéag” and “déag” were used in the last blog title (nasc thíos). For “twelve animals,” we said “dhá ainmhí dhéag” with the lenited form “dhéag” [yayg]. For “twelve years,” we said “dhá bhliain déag,” with the basic form of “déag” ([djayg] not lenited). So what’s going on…
Dhá Ainmhí Dhéag, Dhá Bhliain Déag, agus Cén Fhoirm den Alt? Posted by róislín on Jan 27, 2014
(le Róislín) Seo (2014) Bliain an Chapaill de réir fhéilire na Síneach. Agus cad faoi na blianta eile? Agus na hainmhithe a bhaineanns leo? So we’ve all heard that this (2014) is the Year of the Horse (Bliain an Chapaill) in the Chinese calendar. But how would we say the other eleven Chinese years in…
Years, Ears, and Donkeys in Irish (Bhuel, Not Really Donkeys!) Posted by róislín on Jan 25, 2014
(le Róislín) This time in January, in between the western New Year (1 Eanáir) and Chinese New Year (31 Eanáir i 2014) seems like a good time to look again at the word “bliain” (year) in Irish (nasc thíos do bhlag eile faoi seo). In this blog, we’ll look at the basic forms of the…