{"id":10188,"date":"2018-02-16T20:22:35","date_gmt":"2018-02-16T20:22:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=10188"},"modified":"2018-02-27T07:33:02","modified_gmt":"2018-02-27T07:33:02","slug":"how-to-say-winter-olympics-in-irish-geimhreadh-geimhridh-gheimhridh-geimhriuil-or-geimhreata","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/how-to-say-winter-olympics-in-irish-geimhreadh-geimhridh-gheimhridh-geimhriuil-or-geimhreata\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Say “Winter Olympics” in Irish: Geimhreadh, Geimhridh, Gheimhridh, Geimhri\u00fail, or Geimhreata?"},"content":{"rendered":"

(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:PyeongChang_2018_Winter_Olympics.svg<\/a>, By The original uploader was AxG at English Wikipedia [Public domain, Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons<\/p><\/div>One of the tricky features of Irish is figuring out how to use one noun (like “winter”) to describe another noun (like “Olympics”).\u00a0 There are many examples of this structure in Irish.\u00a0 One example would be using “cat<\/strong>” (changed to “chait<\/strong>“) to describe “easair<\/strong>” (litter) giving us the phrase “easair chait<\/strong>” (cat litter).\u00a0 Other examples of this process include “obair t\u00ed<\/strong>” (housework, from “obair<\/strong>” +” teach<\/strong>” changed to “t\u00ed<\/strong>“) and “crann Nollag<\/strong>” (a Christmas tree, from “crann<\/strong>” + “Nollaig<\/strong>” changed to “Nollag<\/strong>“).\u00a0 BTW, if “easair<\/strong>” is a new word, you might want to check out a few more meanings below (N\u00f3ta 1<\/strong>)<\/p>\n

So what happens with “Winter Olympics” in Irish?\u00a0 How do we treat the word “winter”?\u00a0 \u00a0We can consider five words:<\/p>\n

geimhreadh<\/strong>, winter<\/p>\n

geimhridh,<\/strong> of winter, sometimes “wintry”<\/p>\n

gheimhridh<\/strong>, of winter, sometimes “wintry” following specific categories of nouns (feminine singular nominative or masculine singular genitive)<\/p>\n

geimhri\u00fail<\/strong>, wintry<\/p>\n

geimhreata<\/strong>, wintry<\/p>\n

So, to arrive at our phrase, “The Winter Olympics” in Irish, first, let’s eliminate the last two choices, “geimhri\u00fail<\/strong>” and “geimhreata<\/strong>.”\u00a0 They really mean “wintry,” not “winter,” and behave like ordinary adjectives, in phrases like “l\u00e1 geimhri\u00fail<\/strong>” (wintry day) and “tr\u00e1thn\u00f3na geimhreat<\/strong>a” (wintry afternoon).\u00a0 Of course, “winter” itself can be used as an adjective, giving us phrases like “l\u00e1 geimhridh<\/strong>” (winter day) and “aimsir gheimhridh<\/strong>” (winter weather).\u00a0 But these are not necessarily the same as “l\u00e1 geimhri\u00fail<\/strong>“(a wintry day) or “aimsir gheimhri\u00fail<\/strong>” (wintry weather). \u00a0“Geimhri\u00fail<\/strong>” and “geimhreata<\/strong>” are just about interchangeable, but it would be interesting to see if the usages show any tendency to prefer the “-i\u00fail” ending or the “-reata” ending — a research project for a rainy, or perhaps snowy day (l\u00e1 sneacht\u00fail<\/strong>).\u00a0 C\u00fapla sampla eile — n\u00f3ta 2 th\u00edos<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

That leaves us with three choices (geimhreadh, geimhridh, gheimhridh<\/strong>).\u00a0 We can eliminate the first one, since it the subject form, used to say sentences like “Winter is here” or “Winter in tropical countries isn’t usually cold.”\u00a0 “Geimhreadh<\/strong>,” as such, isn’t usually used to describe another noun.<\/p>\n

So that leaves us two choices, “geimhridh<\/strong>” and “gheimhridh<\/strong>.”\u00a0 And it’s really just a matter of applying the rules for using “attributive nouns” (nouns used to describe another noun).\u00a0 The “-idh” ending is because we need the genitive case.\u00a0 And we pick “geimhridh<\/strong>” because there is nothing to trigger the s\u00e9imhi\u00fa<\/strong> we see on “gheimhridh<\/strong>” (the change from “g” to “gh”).\u00a0 So where do we use “gheimhridh<\/strong>” (with s\u00e9imhi\u00fa<\/strong>)?\u00a0 With feminine singular nouns (aimsir gheimhridh<\/strong>) or masculine singular nouns in the genitive (gruamacht an lae gheimhridh<\/strong>, the gloominess of the winter day).<\/p>\n

Now we’ve narrowed down our choices to one, so we have “Na Cluich\u00ed Oilimpeacha Geimhridh<\/strong>” for “The Winter Olympics.”\u00a0\u00a0 Not such a big deal — just remember, use “geimhridh<\/strong>” for “winter” as a description (i.e. as an attributive noun).\u00a0 Oh, one last point.\u00a0 Most sources I looked at included the word “cluich\u00ed<\/strong>” (games), even though the English usage often drops the word “games.”\u00a0 So I’m just following what I have mostly seen.<\/p>\n

One last comment — it’s often a dilemma where to put the word “the” in the Irish for phrases like “The Winter Olympics.”\u00a0 The dictionaries and credible online sources I checked all used “Na Cluich\u00ed Oilimpeacha Geimhridh<\/strong>,” with “na<\/strong>” upfront.\u00a0 Google Translate offered up “Cluich\u00ed Oilimpeacha an Gheimhridh<\/strong>,” with “an<\/strong>” in the middle, but I’m more inclined to trust actual Irish dictionaries and sources that real people write and edit, rather than some faceless algorithm.<\/p>\n

So that’s the phrase.\u00a0 I guess I’ll have to keep all this in mind next time “Na Cluich\u00ed Oilimpeacha Samhraidh<\/strong>” roll around again!\u00a0 SGF — R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/strong><\/p>\n

N\u00f3ta 1: easair<\/strong> — this is an interesting word.\u00a0 In addition to meaning “bedding” or “litter,” it can also be combined with “cos\u00e1n<\/strong>” to give us “easair chos\u00e1in<\/strong>” meaning “trampled matter” or “trampled corn” (remember “corn” in UK and Irish English is “edible grain in general” so this isn’t specifically or limited to “maize”).\u00a0 “Cos\u00e1n<\/strong>” itself has a variety of meanings (footway, track, path, way, pathway, trail, sidewalk, pavement, passage, etc.).\u00a0 “Easair<\/strong>”\u00a0 also has a figurative usage, as in “Bh\u00ed siad ag troid faoin easair fholamh<\/strong>” (They were fighting over nothing, lit. “over the empty bedding”).\u00a0 Note that “cos\u00e1n” has the same changes as we discussed above for Cluich\u00ed Oilimpeacha Geimhridh, obair t\u00ed<\/strong>, and crann Nollag<\/strong> — changing to the genitive case, since one noun (e.g. cos\u00e1n<\/strong>) is being used to describe another noun.\u00a0 Specifically, “cos\u00e1n<\/strong>” changes to “chos\u00e1in<\/strong>,” as “geimhreadh<\/strong>” changed to “geimhridh<\/strong>,” ‘teach<\/strong>” (house) changed to “t\u00ed<\/strong>” (of a house), and “Nollaig<\/strong>” (Christmas) changed to “Nollag<\/strong>” (of Christmas).\u00a0 One reason why these changes are so important is that Irish doesn’t use a word like “of” to show possession or some aspects of description .\u00a0 So to show that we are talking about a Christmas tree (i.e. a tree of Christmas), we have to adjust the word “Christmas” so it describes<\/em> “crann<\/strong>” — we want to be clear that we’re not simply talking about Christmas and about some generic tree.\u00a0 At any rate, back to “easair<\/strong>,” we have “easair chait<\/strong>” and to tie back into our main theme, we use “geimhridh<\/strong>” at the end of “Cluich\u00ed Oilimpeacha<\/strong>,” not simply “geimhreadh<\/strong>.”<\/p>\n

N\u00f3ta 2:<\/strong> Some additional examples of “geimhreata<\/strong>” are “gaoth gheimhreata<\/strong>” and “solas geimhreata<\/strong>.”\u00a0 The poet M\u00e1ire Mhac an tSaoi (b. 1922) uses the word in an interesting way in her phrase “geimhreata an gheon,<\/strong>” in her own translation “wintry their wail,” referring to the fairies (s\u00edofra\u00ed<\/strong>), in her poem “Sunt Lacrimae Rerum: I nD\u00edlchuimhne ar Sh\u00e9amus Ennis.”\u00a0 Ennis lived from 1919 to 1984.\u00a0 BTW, Mhac an tSaoi translates the title as “Lament: For S\u00e9amus Ennis, late Champion Piper of Ireland\u00a0 (Slow Air).\u00a0 Pondering the actual Latin\u00a0“Sunt Lacrimae Rerum<\/em>“?\u00a0 It’s literally (“Here” or “There” – it’s not specific) are (the) tears of things,” from Virgil’s Aeneid<\/em> (Book 1, line 462)<\/p>\n

Seo naisc d’iarbhlagmh\u00edreanna Gaeilge ar na Cluich\u00ed Oilimpeacha \u00f3 2012 go 2016 ar shu\u00edomh Transparent Language)<\/strong><\/p>\n

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In \u00c1it na mBonn: C\u00faig Bhonn d\u2019\u00c9irinn sna Cluich\u00ed Oilimpeacha<\/a> Posted by\u00a0r\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/a>\u00a0on Aug 12, 2012 in\u00a0Irish Language<\/a><\/p>\n

Na Cluich\u00ed Oilimpeacha \u00f3 A go Z (An Olympics Alphabet in Irish)<\/span><\/a><\/span>Posted by\u00a0r\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/span><\/a>\u00a0on Aug 16, 2016 in\u00a0Irish Language<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Na Cluich\u00ed Oilimpeacha \u00f3 A go Z: The Quiz! (Sports Terms in Irish)<\/span><\/a><\/span>Posted by\u00a0r\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/span><\/a>\u00a0on Aug 20, 2016 in\u00a0Irish Language<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn) One of the tricky features of Irish is figuring out how to use one noun (like “winter”) to describe another noun (like “Olympics”).\u00a0 There are many examples of this structure in Irish.\u00a0 One example would be using “cat” (changed to “chait“) to describe “easair” (litter) giving us the phrase “easair chait” (cat litter).\u00a0…<\/p>\n

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