{"id":105,"date":"2009-11-18T09:58:11","date_gmt":"2009-11-18T13:58:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=100"},"modified":"2012-12-02T14:16:11","modified_gmt":"2012-12-02T14:16:11","slug":"comhaireamh-sios-go-la-an-altaithe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/comhaireamh-sios-go-la-an-altaithe\/","title":{"rendered":"Comhaireamh S\u00edos go L\u00e1 (an) Altaithe"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

For years, I wondered what the best way would be to say \u201cThanksgiving Day\u201d or \u201cHappy Thanksgiving!\u201d i nGaeilge<\/strong>. \u00a0<\/span>Since it\u2019s not a traditional holiday in Ireland, or Europe in general for that matter, there is no real precedent for this particular phrase.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve experimented with several versions, and since the advent of Google, I\u2019ve checked <\/span>ar l\u00edne<\/strong> from time to time to see what others are using.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Prior to ready access to the <\/span>Idirl\u00edon<\/strong>, it wasn\u2019t easy to check up on these types of questions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tortha\u00ed<\/span><\/strong>?<\/span><\/p>\n

1) L\u00e1 an Altaithe<\/span><\/strong> \u2013 44 hits (use of the definite article is almost \u201cgob ar ghob<\/strong>\u201d with the version without the definite article)<\/span><\/p>\n

2) L\u00e1 Altaithe<\/span><\/strong> \u2013 45 hits<\/span><\/p>\n

3) L\u00e1 Bu\u00edochais<\/span><\/strong> \u2013 5 hits<\/span><\/p>\n

4) an L\u00e1 Gabh\u00e1la Bu\u00edochais<\/span><\/strong> \u2013 1 hit (but found by \u201cguided browsing,\u201d not by \u201cGoogle\u201d)<\/span><\/p>\n

The first two options come from the verb \u201c<\/span>altaigh<\/strong>\u201d (give thanks, generally implying to God), which has the verbal noun form \u201c<\/span>alt\u00fa<\/strong>\u201d (to give thanks, giving thanks, act of giving thanks).<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Put the verbal noun in its possessive form (for the idea of \u201cof Thanksgiving\u201d) and you get \u201c<\/span>altaithe<\/strong>.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Bu\u00edochas<\/strong>\u201d means \u201cthanks\u201d or \u201cgratitude\u201d and here is in the possessive, so it has an extra \u201ci.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>In its \u201croot\u201d form, it\u2019s really widely used in the phrase \u201c<\/span>Bu\u00edochas le Dia<\/strong>\u201d (thank God, or as many say, \u201cThanks be to God,\u201d lit. \u201cthanks with God).<\/span><\/p>\n

The idea of using \u201c<\/span>gabh\u00e1il<\/strong>\u201d (taking, giving, catching, invading, seizing, assuming, accepting, <\/span>srl., srl<\/strong>.!) or \u201c<\/span>gabh\u00e1la<\/strong>,\u201d its possessive form, seems definitely in the minority in this small sample, so I\u2019d recommend using one of the shorter forms.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As for the \u201cHappy\u201d part?<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Again, these are all basically by analogy, since there\u2019s no traditional precedent.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Most straightforward is \u201c<\/span>sona<\/strong>,\u201d as we also see in the phrases \u201c<\/span>L\u00e1 Breithe Sona duit<\/strong>\u201d or \u201c<\/span>Nollaig Shona duit<\/strong>.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Why \u201c<\/span>sona<\/strong>\u201d in some cases and \u201c<\/span>shona<\/strong>\u201d in others?<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201c<\/span>Sona<\/strong>\u201d is used for masculine nouns and \u201c<\/span>shona<\/strong>\u201d for feminine ones.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>This refers to the key noun in the phrase, like \u201c<\/span>l\u00e1<\/strong>\u201d for \u201c<\/span>l\u00e1 breithe<\/strong>.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I\u2019ve seen \u201c<\/span>shona<\/strong>\u201d used for \u201cHappy Birthday\u201d all over the Internet, but there\u2019s no real reason for lenition in that case.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>For \u201cHappy Thanksgiving,\u201d the same rule applies, with \u201c<\/span>sona<\/strong>\u201d modifying \u201c<\/span>l\u00e1<\/strong>\u201d itself, not \u201c<\/span>altaithe<\/strong>\u201d or \u201c<\/span>bu\u00edochais<\/strong>.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 So we have\u00a0“L\u00e1 Altaithe Sona<\/strong>” or “L\u00e1 Bu\u00edochais Sona<\/strong>” or “ L\u00e1 Gabh\u00e1la Bu\u00edochais<\/strong>\u00a0Sona,<\/strong>” and of those, “L\u00e1 Altaithe Sona<\/strong>” certainly seems to be the most straightforward. \u00a0<\/span>Christmas (<\/span>Nollaig<\/strong>) is feminine, hence \u201c<\/span>Nollaig Shona<\/strong>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Two other options for saying “happy” are \u201c<\/span>faoi sh\u00e9an<\/strong>\u201d and \u201c<\/span>faoi mhaise<\/strong>,\u201d basically meaning, literally, \u201cunder happiness \/ prosperity\u201d and \u201cadorned \/ under adornment.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>The latter is typically used for \u201cHappy New Year!\u201d \u2013 \u201cAthbhliain Faoi Mhaise!\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Note that for \u201cHappy\u201d New Year, we\u2019re not really using the adjective \u201chappy,\u201d but instead a phrase meaning “adorned.”<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Sometimes these phrases are doubled up for New Year\u2019s (<\/span>Athbhliain faoi Sh\u00e9an agus faoi Mhaise<\/strong>.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>But more on that <\/span>ar an 31\u00fa l\u00e1 de mh\u00ed na Nollag!<\/strong><\/p>\n

You may have been wondering how the well known phrase, \u201c<\/span>Go raibh maith agat<\/strong>\u201d (thank you, usually to a person) fits into all this.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>It doesn\u2019t really, except thematically!<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>GRMA<\/strong>,\u201d as many write it now, literally means \u201cmay there be good at you,\u201d so it doesn\u2019t actually use the verb \u201cto thank\u201d or the noun \u201cgratitude.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>It is however, I\u2019d venture, much more widely used than the verb \u201c<\/span>altaigh \/ alt\u00fa<\/strong>,\u201d since we use it constantly in daily conversation.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201c<\/span>Alt\u00fa<\/strong>\u201d does show up in various phrases, certainly, but not like <\/span>GRMA<\/strong>.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Some examples are \u201c<\/span>ag alt\u00fa bu\u00ed\u201d <\/strong>(saying grace) and \u201c<\/span>deoch altaithe<\/strong>\u201d (a drink at the end of a meal).<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And just \u201car son cuimsitheachta,<\/strong>\u201d I\u2019ll note here that Thanksgiving, as such, is celebrated both i Meirice\u00e1 <\/strong>agus i gCeanada<\/strong>, albeit on different days.\u00a0 I\u2019ve seen it described ar an Idirl\u00edon <\/strong>as a \u201c100% American holiday,\u201d\u00a0but we should always remember the Canadian aspect. \u00a0So I hope this blog will be of interest to lucht labhartha na Gaeilge \u00f3 Thalamh an \u00c9isc go dt\u00ed <\/strong><\/span>an Chol\u00f3im Bhriotanach agus Yukon.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong>Next up, cranberries et al. <\/span>i nGaeilge<\/strong>.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I\u2019ve still never found an Irish equivalent for \u201csuccotash,\u201d which we should be eating at this time of year in honor of <\/span>na hIndiaigh<\/strong> who helped the Pilgrims survive their first year in America. <\/span>\u00a0<\/strong>Much \u201cfood for thought\u201d!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn) For years, I wondered what the best way would be to say \u201cThanksgiving Day\u201d or \u201cHappy Thanksgiving!\u201d i nGaeilge. \u00a0Since it\u2019s not a traditional holiday in Ireland, or Europe in general for that matter, there is no real precedent for this particular phrase. I\u2019ve experimented with several versions, and since the advent of…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3898],"tags":[111649,255525,4540,255522,255521,255526,5285,255527,255528,255523,111593,13285,255519,5530,5667,255520,13057,12670,255524,13052,111625,2567],"class_list":["post-105","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-irish-language","tag-athbhliain-faoi-mhaise","tag-buiochas","tag-canada","tag-canadian-thanksgiving","tag-faoi-shean","tag-gabhail","tag-gaeilge","tag-go-raibh-maith-agat","tag-grma","tag-guided-browsing","tag-happy-christmas","tag-happy-new-year","tag-happy-thanksgiving","tag-hits","tag-irish","tag-la-altaithe-sona","tag-la-breithe","tag-la-buiochais","tag-la-gabhala-buiochais","tag-nollaig-shona","tag-shona","tag-thanksgiving"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t