Tag Archives: :Urú
Love (Grá) and the Art of Applying Initial Consonant Mutations in Irish Posted by róislín on Feb 14, 2015
(le Róislín) In recent blogs and a few others from previous years, we’ve looked at ways to say “I love you,” in Irish. Often these phrases include initial consonant mutation, so what better way to practice the mutations than with variations on a theme of “grá“? In this blog, I’ll use some of the phrases…
Sacar / Peil (Soccer / Football) : A “Matching” Game of Terminology in Irish Posted by róislín on Jul 9, 2014
(le Róislín) This blog will present 10 soccer (football) terms in English and Irish. Can you match them up? Note also that there is one extra Irish term, just for the challenge (“dúshlán” [doo-hlawn] note the silent “s”). Some of the Irish terms can also be used outside of soccer/football discussions, as can some of…
Ten St. Patrick’s Day Items and How to Lenite and Eclipse Them Posted by róislín on Mar 19, 2014
(le Róislín) Before we completely leave Lá Fhéile Pádraig (aka Lá ‘le Pádraig) behind us and turn to “céad lá an Earraigh” (20 mí an Mhárta 2014), let’s practice lenition and eclipsis of some Irish nouns pertaining to “an Naomh é féin” and the celebrations of the day. The concepts of lenition and eclipsis have been discussed many times…
When to Say ‘Pádraig,’ When to Say ‘Phádraig,’ and When to say ‘Saxifraga spathularis’ Posted by róislín on Mar 11, 2014
(le Róislín) With Lá Fhéile Pádraig just around the corner, let’s take a closer look at the name “Pádraig” itself. It has two main forms, “Pádraig” being the basic form, and “Phádraig,” used in certain types of phrases. Less frequently, we may also encounter “bPádraig.” Of course, there are also nicknames, like Páidín, Páid, Padhra…
Droichead na Cónaidhme nó ‘Réise na mBeann Glas’ (Mar a Dúradh) Posted by róislín on Feb 22, 2014
(le Róislín) I couldn’t resist spending a little more time with bridges (droichid) since Canada’s Confederation Bridge has such a clever nickname, as bestowed by …, hmm, which Irish person? (freagra thíos). Just a quick review of the phrase “Droichead na Cónaidhme,” before we get to the nickname: droichead [DRIH-hud], bridge na [nuh], here it…
Deireadh Fómhair agus Mí na Samhna: Séasúr na bPuimcíní (Pumpkin Season) Posted by róislín on Oct 15, 2013
(le Róislín) In some previous blogs, we’ve counted pumpkins (puimcín amháin go fiche puimcín, srl.) and talked about smashing them (for which I finally decided on “smidiríní a dhéanamh de phuimcín“); tá cúpla nasc thíos. In this blog we’ll look a little further into different forms of the word “puimcín,” glance at its history (i…
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…