Tag Archives: Spanish
Ón Teanga Taíno go Gaeilge (‘barabicu’ go ‘beárbaiciú’) Posted by róislín on May 22, 2014
(le Róislín) In the last blog, we referred to “séasúr na mbeárbaiciúnna” (barbecue season) while discussing the Irish word “citseap” (from the Chinese ‘kôe-chiap’ or its Malay variation). This blog will look more closely at the word “beárbaiciú” itself, which, clearly enough, means “barbecue.” Or should that be “barbeque”? Or “bar-b-q”? Or BBQ? Or, “the…
From ‘Multilingual Madness’ to the ‘Siege Perilous’ via a Discussion of ‘Ord na bhFocal’ in Irish Posted by róislín on Apr 14, 2014
(le Róislín) Lately we’ve looked at the possibilities for saying “multilingual” and “madness” in Irish (ilteangach, buile, among other choices). The next question is how do we put the two words together. We’ll follow the typical word order in Irish, first noun, then adjective. This is the reverse of the normal word order in English…
An Ráineach ag Seitreach (The Hinny Hinnying) Posted by róislín on Sep 3, 2012
(le Róislín) We’ve had quite a run of exploring vocabulary related to horses in recent blogs, but, believe me, the topic is far from exhausted. So today’s take is about “ráinigh” and the sound they make (seitreach). And while “Tá an ráineach ag seitreach” does have an intriguing ring to it, I have to admit…
Saying “I love you” in Irish and Minding Your Velar Fricatives Posted by róislín on Oct 9, 2011
(le Róislín) We’ve recently been looking at different ways to say “I love you” in Irish. Some of you might have been wondering how to pronounce them, especially the phrases where the straightforward “grá” [graw] changes to “ghrá” [γraw, to be explained below, note the IPA gamma symbol for the “gh”] and the straightforward “croí” changes…
Cineálacha Stoirmeacha (Kinds of Storms) Posted by róislín on Sep 3, 2010
Last blog we discussed hairicíní, for which the Irish word is an adaptation of either the Carib for “God of Evil” or the name of a Mayan storm god, Hurakan – the sources for this don’t agree on which. Either way, the word went through a couple of filters before reaching Irish, namely Spanish “huracán”…
Dá mBeadh Dalí ina Ghaeilgeoir – an tSeasmhacht Cuimhne, srl. Posted by róislín on May 31, 2010
Well, not really. Tá brón orm má ghéaraigh an teideal sin ar do ghoile. I’m afraid I indulged in a bit of “meall agus malartaigh” in the title. This blog is just an examination of words like “memory,” “remembrance,” and “memorial,” “remember,” and perhaps the most basic of all, “I remember.” So we’ll be looking at “cuimhne,” “cuimhneamh,”…
Bob nó Bia – Trick or Treat Posted by róislín on Oct 24, 2009
(le Róislín) Sorry, all you Bobs in the Bob Club (www.thebobclub.com). This blog (“Bob nó Bia“) is not specifically about you, though I hope you’ll find it of interest if you’ve made it this far through cibearspás [KIB-yar-SPAWSS],. “Bob” is an Irish word that means “a trick” or “a target” (in games). Pronunciation is…