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Tag Archives: interesting

Which Irish Speaker Visited ‘Oirthear na Gearmáine’ (East Germany) in 1960? (cuid/pt. 1) Posted by on May 8, 2018

(le Róislín) Recently we practiced different ways to say “East” and “West” in Irish, and one set of examples used in passing was “Oirthear na Gearmáine” and “Iarthar na Gearmáine.”  Most of the examples, as you may recall, used “Thoir” (East) and “Thiar” (West).  While doing some online checks for examples of these phrases, I…

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An Bliosán Gréine (Jerusalem Artichoke): Ainm Contráilte i mBéarla ach “Neamhchontráilte” i nGaeilge (An English Misnomer but Irish “Non-Misnomer”) Posted by on May 25, 2009

Tamaillín ó shin (a little while ago, May 6 to be specific), I hinted at a discussion of the term “Jerusalem artichoke” in Irish.  And why not?  It’s suimiúil (interesting) on several counts: “luibheolaíocht” (botany), “logainmníocht” (toponymy), “sanasaíocht” and “bréagshanasaíocht” (etymology and pseudo-etymology), “cócaireacht” (cooking), and “eolas contráilte”(misinformation), to name just a few.   You…

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