Tag Archives: séimhiú
How To Say ‘Tweet’ and ‘Twitter’ in Irish Posted by róislín on Sep 30, 2013
(le Róislín) Remember when “tweets” and “twittering” mostly referred to birds, especially the “spideog” or the “smólach imirce“? Or perhaps the sound of “caint eachtardhomhandach” (the speech of extra-terrestrials) as in H. G. Wells’ insect-like Selenites? You might recall that they made “a slight elusive twittering,” as observed by Messrs. Bedford and Cavor (The First…
You Just Call Out My Name (sa Tuiseal Gairmeach, of course, in Irish) (Pt. 3: Ainmneacha Buachaillí) Posted by róislín on Jun 14, 2013
(le Róislín) In several previous blogs (links below), we looked at Irish names used in direct address, focusing on names for girls and women in the most recent one. Today we’ll look at saying names for buachaillí (boys) and fir (men) when you’re speaking directly to them. In English, there is no official change when…
Cineálacha Stoirmeacha (Kinds of Storms): An Scéal Leantach (The Sequel) Posted by róislín on Oct 21, 2012
(le Róislín) Kind of has a nice beat, doesn’t it? Cineálacha Stoirmeacha [KIN-yawl-ukh-uh STIRzh-im-ukh-uh]. Storms are possible any time of year, of course, but the month of October can see several types. Stoirmeacha sneachta, mar a bhí ar chósta thiar na Stát Aontaithe i mí Dheireadh Fómhair (go luath don séasúr!) sa bhliain 2011 —…
Puimcín Amháin, Dhá Phuimcín, Trí Phuimcín, Ollphuimcín … Puimcíní Go Leor (One Pumpkin … Pumpkins Galore, and the Great Pumpkin too) Posted by róislín on Oct 18, 2012
(le Róislín) More counting practice, this time, le bheith tráthúil, le puimcíní. First a quick review of the basic set-up for counting objects in Irish: the word for “one” follows the noun, other numbers come before the noun, two through six cause lenition (here, “p” becoming “ph”), and seven through ten cause eclipsis (here, “p”…
Irish Pronunciation: Compound Words Like “Croíbhriste” and “Croíbhrúite” Posted by róislín on Feb 8, 2012
(le Róislín) In addition to some of its inherently long words, like “(go) bhfaighidh” and “(na) haghaidheanna” (fuaimniú thíos), Irish has its share of longish words, which are actually compounds, with one or more prefixes, a root (or two), and/or one or more suffixes. Fortunately, most of these words break down quite nicely, once you…
Pronunciation Follow-up to the “Cúig Fhocal gan Mhaith” Series Posted by róislín on Jan 17, 2012
(le Róislín) The last few blogs have dealt pretty intensely with meaning and slight differences among comhainmneacha (synonyms). Here we’ll look at a much more down-to-earth aspect of some of the same words – how to say them. We’ll look at a few of the longer and more complex ones (tláithíneacht, neamhghontacht, m. sh.) but…
As Easy As “Pióg”: How To Say Kinds of Pies in Irish Posted by róislín on Nov 12, 2011
(le Róislín) In the end, you’ll need to be your own judge as to whether this is really “as easy as pie,” but here at least are some tips for naming different types of pies. And as two holiday seasons approach, Lá Altaithe (Meiriceá) and An Nollaig, what tastier topic? So let’s look at the terms for…