Dreoilíní, Boscaí, agus Dea-thoil (26 Mí na Nollag 2013) Posted by róislín on Dec 26, 2013
(le Róislín) So what do “wrens,” “boxes,” and “goodwill” have in common? All pertain in one way or another to a day celebrated as a holiday under various names in Ireland, Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and some Commonwealth countries. An 26ú lá de mhí na Nollag atá i gceist. For the benefit…
Nollaig nó Nollag (How To Say ‘Christmas’ or ‘of Christmas’ in Irish) Posted by róislín on Dec 24, 2013
(le Róislín) As Christmas approaches, you might be wondering why there’s such a constant variation of whether to say “Nollaig” or “Nollag,” and in a similar vein, “An Nollaig” or “na Nollag.” First, the basic answer, and then some examples. And before that, a pronunciation pointer. What is the difference in sound between “Nollaig” and…
Cé Mhéad Patraisc? Cé Mhéad Drumadóir? (or ’12 Lá na Nollag’ Redux and an Irish Counting Lesson to boot) Posted by róislín on Dec 18, 2013
(le Róislín) In the last blog, we discussed “fearáin” (aka “fearáin bhreaca“) amongst other members of the order Columbiformes (coilm agus colúir, doves and pigeons, etc.). And we briefly alluded to the fact that the Irish for “turtledove” doesn’t have the element “turtle” (turtar) or “dove” (colm, or sometimes “colúir” — for more on the…
Speaking of Pigeons (Colúir) Posted by róislín on Dec 14, 2013
(le Róislín) I’ll leave journalists Sean Dunne (IrishCentral) and Liz Alderman (New York Times) to “squabble” over the accuracy of the recent reference in the New York Times to “pigeon-eating” in Ireland. But it does seem to me like a good opportunity to explore the related Irish vocabulary (naisc do na hailt thíos). So we’ll…
Cait: Cúpla Téarma Eile (Mothchat, Baldúin, Crúbálaí) Posted by róislín on Dec 9, 2013
(le Róislín) A few more cat terms have recently come to my attention. Let’s start with the rather eye-catching: mothchat [muh-khaht] tomcat Ar dtús báire, ní peata “Leamhanfhir” é. Nó “peata Fhear an Leamhain,” más fearr leat mar sin é. So, no, the Mothman of West Virginia (and of “Prophecies” fame) didn’t suddenly become a…
Cats Galore in Irish (Cait, Caitíní, Piscíní, Pisíní, srl.) Posted by róislín on Dec 4, 2013
(le Róislín) I suppose I should have saved this blog for National Cat Day (29 Deireadh Fómhair 2014; naisc thíos) but coming swift on the heels of the recent “caitín gleoite caillte sa spás amuigh” blog (thanks to Miley Cyrus’s recent CGI imagery), I couldn’t resist taking the plunge. So how many different ways are…
‘Caitín’ + ‘Caillte’ + ‘Caoineadh’ = Cén Rud? Posted by róislín on Nov 27, 2013
(le Róislín) De ghnáth éistim le ceol traidisiúnta níos minice ná popcheol ach bhí an scéal seo rótharraingteach le bheith “ag imeacht uaidh.” Right, well, that’s not exactly the phrase, “to walk away,” but it’s a close Irish equivalent. For all the possible words in Irish to say “away” (ábhar blag eile?), none of them…