Tag Archives: sinséar
25 Ways to Say ‘Family’ in Irish, Cuid a Ceathair (Pt. 4) Posted by róislín on Mar 6, 2016
(le Róislín) The previous three blogs have dealt with fifteen different ways to say “family” in Irish (naisc thíos), starting with “teaghlach” and “clann.” Today we’ll look at some aspects of the extended family, referring to “descendants”, starting our list with no. 16. Remember, “gs” for “genitive singular and “gpl” for “genitive plural” D…
Men and Christmas, specifically, ‘Fir Shneachta’ and ‘Fir Shinséir’ Posted by róislín on Dec 13, 2015
(le Róislín) OK, so this isn’t really going to be a Men-Are-from-Mars-Women-Are-from-Venus-y exposé of the relationship between men and women around Christmastime. So we won’t be dealing with “man caves” (*fearuaimheanna, is dócha) or oidhreacht an uaimhigh i sochaí an lae inniu. Instead, we’ll simply look at the Irish words for “snowmen” and “gingerbread men,”…
Nite, Bruite, is Ite — Na Prátaí (aka Fataí), That Is! Posted by róislín on Nov 5, 2013
(le Róislín) While potatoes are a popular food year round and worldwide, they are especially popular at this time of year in the U.S. with Lá Altaithe approaching. This is one of few times, at least i mo thaithí féin, when more than one kind of práta is typically served with a meal. In Ireland…
Nótaí Fuaimnithe don Bhlag Roimhe (Pronunciation Notes for the Previous Blog) Posted by róislín on Dec 31, 2009
This blog is mostly pronunciation notes for the previous entry, since pronunciation is one of the aspects of Irish that many of my students keep asking about. As usual, I’ll be concentrating on the words that have silent letters or that tend to raise questions. I hope this will be useful for relative…
Blastanas Turcaí (Blag Deireanach faoi Thurcaithe, ar feadh tamaill!) Posted by róislín on Nov 26, 2009
(le Róislín) You might recognize “blastanas” from two similar, more widely-used words, “blas” and “blasta.” “Blas” is “taste” if talking about food and “accent” if talking about language. “Blas” is also found in Irish English, particularly when discussing the Irish language, “great ‘blas,’” etc. “Blasta” means “tasty,” “delicious,” or sometimes “fluent” (though “líofa” is a more…