(le Róislín)

 

Today we’ll have the final touch to our recent turnip terminology tour (naisc thíos).  We’ll complete the vocabulary roundup for the earlier blogpost of conversations that had a pumpkin talking to a turnip, a Vegemite vignette, a confession from an undercover Martian, a Doctor Who conversation, and an “otairinealaraingeolaí” thrown in, all as a way of practicing the Irish linking verb (aka “an chopail“).  Nothing like sneaking grammar in through the backdoor, eh?  That “eh” is for you “Ceanadaigh” on the list, or any Down Easters.

And time turnipping, oops, permitting (some weird semi-Spoonerism there), we’ll look at a few more types of turnips.  BTW, this is still the unofficial turnip terminology tour.  I hope to dedicate an entire post to the topic someday.  How will you know?  That blogpost will probably be called the “Official Turnip Terminology Tour: Gaeilge agus Béarla agus beagán Sualainnise” whereas here I’m just adding a few more types of turnips for good measure. .

So, first the nitty gritty, corrfhocail as comhrá a trí, a ceathair, agus a cúig, again, from the previously noted blogs (naisc thíos) .  And BTW, for where it pertains, I’m just doing the nominative singular and plural here, not the genitive or vocative.  Déanfaidh muid an tuiseal ginideach agus an tuiseal gairmeach am éigin eile.  There is such as thing as TMI, at least all at once.

3: As comhrá a trí (náisiúntachtaí)

Astrálach (an tAstrálach, iol: na hAstrálaigh), Australian (person).  This word can also be the adjective to describe the culture or some animal species, like “gliomach spíonach Astrálach” (Australian spiny lobster).  Betcha can’t guess which word means “lobster” in that phrase  — that was “teanga i bpluc,” ar ndóigh.

Ceanadach (an Ceanadach, iol: na Ceanadaigh), Canadian (person/adjective)

As for “Vegemite,” ní shílim go bhfuil aon Ghaeilge air, mar is táirge ainm branda é.  But we could do “yeast extract,” which is:

úsc giosta (an t-úsc giosta, gan iolra, that is “no plural,” at least in typical usage), yeast extract.  The word “úsc” is fun to say, isn’t it?

Remember, “úsc” [oosk] and its tuiseal ginideach, “úisc” [ooshk], are completely different from “uaisc” [say: OO-ishk], which is a variation of “fóisc” [fohshk], which means “yearling ewe,” or sometimes is just defined as “ewe,” but then, that could be “caora,” and off we go tripping merrily down animal husbandry terminology lane.  Well, not really here, right now, but just because I can’t resist adding it, there are a few more variations for “ewe,” namely óisc and óthaisc (silent t, remember).

4: As comhrá a ceathair (speicis)

ag obair faoi rún, working undercover

duilleog, here “a brim” (of a hat), elsewhere: most commonly, a leaf, also a page, a frond

idir-réaltrach, intergalactic

in-chreidte, convincing (an-inchreidte, very convincing)

Marsach (an Marsach, iol: na Marsaigh), Martian

neach daonna (an neach daonna, iol: na neacha daonna), human being

5: As comhrá a cúig (comhrá idir mhóidíní Doctor Who  — remember, one of my favorite ceisteanna to ask in Irish: “An móidín Doctor Who thú?,” and remember also, it really means, “Are you a fan of Doctor Who?” i.e. the TV show, not “an dochtúir é féin,” which would end up as “An móidín an Dochtúra thú?“)

móidín (an móidín, iol: na móidíní), fan (as in a pop culture fan, not any of the following types of mechanical apparatus: fean, gaothrán, geolán, séideal).  The word “móidín” also means “devotee” and some other words for “fan” are “leantóir” (a follower) or the somewhat cumbersome “ball de lucht tacaíochta” (a member of [the] supporters, lit. … of [the] crowd/group of support).

ag cur gotha ort féin, posing (lit. something like putting fancy poses on yourself).  With “ort,” this phrase is specifically for “you.”  Not the aforementioned “ewe,” although we could always say, “Tá an fhóisc ag cur gotha uirthi féin,” which is a good start to considering the other forms of this phrase: ag cur gotha orm féin, … air féin, uirthi féin, orainn féin, oraibh féin, orthu féin.

macasamhail (an mhacasamhail, iol: na macasamhla, NB the somewhat irregular plural there), replica

So that’s the end of the vocabulary roundup.  Anois, na tornapaí.  Seo cúpla cineál tornapaí eile, nach raibh san alt eile, mar a gheall mé:

red turnip, tornapa dearg

turnip rape, ráib thornapa or alternately (natch!) tornapa ráibe, that’s “rape” as in “rapeseed oil” and actually as in some versions of “Rapunzell” (where Rapunzell’s mother wants to eat the rape plant, which is growing in the witch’s garden).  Anyway, not “rape” the violent crime.

white turnip, tornapa bán.  This may need some clarification.  Is this term supposed to refer to “Tokyo turnips” aka “white turnips” (the so-called “kabura-type”) which are small, white inside and out, somewhat sweet when steamed (often whole), and edible raw?  Or does it refer to the European/North American turnips which are simply white, not yellow, and which I think could never be cooked by steaming them whole.  I can’t find a single reference to “tornapa” combined with “Tóiceo” in Irish in any online source, so I think the answer will have to wait until I can visit a Japanese restaurant in the Gaeltacht with a fluent bilingual speaker of Gaeilge and Seapáinis.  “Béarla a plus,” of course.  But I think we really need a turnipologist.  Or should I say “brassicologist” — I did find 12 hits online for that word.

wild turnip, tornapa fiáin (quite straightforward, that, for “Brassica rapa“)

But “Indian turnip” aka Jack-in-the-Pulpit and “wild turnip” (the flower, a the member of the genus Arisaema, not simply the wild version of the vegetable) doesn’t have any version of the word “turnip” in it.  It’s “draganlus trídhuilleach” (lit. three-leaved dragonplant).  OK!  I don’t totally get the “turnip” connection, since Jack-in-the-Pulpits contain oxalic acid, which is toxic if eaten.  “Indian” here presumably refers to North American Indian, since this a “planda as Meiriceá Thuaidh.”  For that phrase, note that while “Meiriceánach” is typical for “an American” or “American” (the adjective), once we start saying something is “North American” or “South American,” the tendency is to use either the prepositional phrase “as Meiriceá Thuaidh / Theas” or “ó Mheiriceá Thuaidh / Theas (lit. from North / South America).

The use of “neep”, which is a saga unto itself, will have to wait for another time.

So turnips, Vegemite, and Martians — can’t say this blog isn’t far-reaching!  SGF — Róislín

naisc: Vocabulary Roundup for the Blogpost ”Is (X) mé — An (X) tusa? — Saying “I am a (X)” — “Are you a (X)?” in Irish” (Cuid/Pt. 1) Posted by róislín on Oct 29, 2017 in Irish Language

Is (X) mé — An (X) thusa?  — Saying ‘I am a (X)’ — ‘Are you a (X)?’ in Irish  Posted by róislín on Oct 27, 2017 in Irish Language