{"id":10740,"date":"2018-08-04T03:29:21","date_gmt":"2018-08-04T03:29:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=10740"},"modified":"2018-08-17T21:16:12","modified_gmt":"2018-08-17T21:16:12","slug":"another-irish-word-beginning-with-the-letter-y-yolais-as-well-as-yo-yo-etc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/another-irish-word-beginning-with-the-letter-y-yolais-as-well-as-yo-yo-etc\/","title":{"rendered":"Another Irish Word Beginning with the Letter ‘Y’ (\u2018Y\u00f3lais’ as well as ‘y\u00f3-y\u00f3,\u2019 etc.)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\"\"<\/a>

1) http:\/\/www.clker.com\/clipart-contour-maps-of-ireland.html<\/a>, Contour Maps of Ireland Clip Art, Shared by Kamila, 12-29-2011; 2) Baronies of Forth and Bargy in County Wexford, Ireland, Public Domain, Created 11 November 2006, Geraldkelly\u00a0at\u00a0English Wikipedia\u00a0–\u00a0Transferred from\u00a0en.wikipedia\u00a0to Commons; https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Forth_and_Bargy_dialect#\/media\/File:Forth-Bargy.gif<\/a>; t\u00e9acs & dearadh le R\u00f3isl\u00edn, 2018<\/p><\/div>\n

A few years ago I ran a mionsraith<\/strong> of blagmh\u00edreanna<\/strong> about Irish words that started with some of the litreacha neamhthraidisi\u00fanta<\/strong> in the Irish alphabet, like v, w, x, and y (naisc th\u00edos<\/strong>).\u00a0 Among the few examples that we have for \u201cy\u201d are \u201cy\u00f3-y\u00f3<\/strong>\u201d (not surprisingly, just add the s\u00edneadh fada<\/strong>) and yainc\u00edn<\/strong> (a type of sail, aka a \u201cyankee\u201d), both clearly adapted from English.<\/p>\n

A few other y-initial words are exactly the same in Irish and English, like \u201cyurt<\/strong>,\u201d \u201cyen<\/strong>\u201d (re: money, not \u201chaving a yen for something\u201d which would use “fonn<\/strong>“), and \u201cyarmulka\/yarmulke<\/strong>;\u201d these are basically borrowings to begin with, not native English words.\u00a0 In one unusual case, we have a choice, \u201cyucca<\/strong>\u201d (accepted as a loan word in Irish) or \u201cgioca,<\/strong>\u201d gaelicized.\u00a0 Often the \u201cy\u201d is simply changed, often to a \u201cg,\u201d as in \u201cgeoidil<\/strong>\u201d (yodel) and \u201cgioca<\/strong>,\u201d or \u201ci\u201d as in \u201ci\u00f3ga<\/strong>,\u201d or eliminated as in \u201c\u00c9imin<\/strong>\u201d (Yemen).<\/p>\n

Another word that keeps the “y” in Irish is \u201cyotta-,\u201d the prefix used in mathematics, which makes the concession of dropping the double \u201ct\u201d (which would never occur in a native Irish word) to become \u201cyota<\/strong>-\u201c, with a variation \u201cyotai<\/strong>-\u201c if it comes before a slender consonant.\u00a0 So presumably we have \u201c*yotaibheart<\/strong>\u201d (yottabyte), although I have to say, I can\u2019t find it online anywhere. I could tell you all the interesting results I got while searching for it, but that might be too much \u201cyotta, yotta, yotta.\u201d \u00a0Anyway, at most we typically find anywhere from a tiny handful to at most a few dozen words beginning with \u201cy\u201d in an Irish dictionary. And of those we do have, mostly they don\u2019t come up much in gn\u00e1thchaint agus gn\u00e1thshaol<\/strong>, at least not in my \u201cgn\u00e1thshaol.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n

But, lo and behold (iontas na n-iontas<\/strong>), another word has recently come to my attention for the letter \u201cy\u201d in Irish, namely, \u201cY\u00f3lais<\/strong>,\u201d which is the Irish name for the Yola language.\u00a0 And where was that spoken, you may well ask?\u00a0 In \u00c9irinn n\u00f3 taobh amuigh d\u2019\u00c9irinn?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The answer is \u201cin \u00c9irinn<\/strong>,\u201d Contae Loch Garman, le bheith cruinn<\/strong> (Co. Wexford, to be specific).\u00a0 \u00a0We don\u2019t know a lot about Yola, since it died out in the 19th<\/sup> century, but I see that the Wikipedia article for Co. Wexford gives the Yola name for the county as \u201cWeiseforthe,\u201d apparently a version of \u201cWex-\u201c and \u201c-ford.\u201d\u00a0 The word \u201cYola\u201d itself means \u201cold.\u201d\u00a0 There is a related form in the local townland name Yoletown, which is \u201cAn Seanbhaile<\/strong>\u201d in Irish.<\/p>\n

The language was spoken in the bar\u00fantachta\u00ed<\/strong> (baronies) of Forth and Bargy, right along the coast, which makes sense, when one considers that the Yola people were of Anglo-Norman descent.\u00a0 For centuries, they maintained some distinctive features of their ancestors, especially seasonal and funeral customs, traditional dress, and foodways.\u00a0 But the Yola language itself is considered a dialect of English (not of French), with loanwords from Norman French and Irish Gaelic.\u00a0 While we primarily think of Ireland as bilingual, with Irish and English, or trilingual if we include the linguistically rare Shelta, the existence of Yola points to even further linguistic diversity, at least from a historical perspective.\u00a0 A fifth linguistic feature for Ireland, by the way, was Fingallian, which was a Middle English dialect spoken in Fingal (in the North Dublin area).\u00a0 Fingallian has a similar status to Yola, geographically limited and primarily used by descendants of the original settlers\/invaders.\u00a0 Both were extinct by the mid-19th<\/sup> century.<\/p>\n

Before moving on with Yola, I should also note that if we are specifically referring to Northern Ireland, there’s a sixth linguistic feature, which is Ullans or Ulster-Scots, called “Ultais<\/strong>” in Irish.\u00a0 For that matter, there’s also a large community speaking “Polainnis<\/strong>,” and no doubt there are other communities of speakers of languages not native to Ireland, but I’m focusing on native languages of Ireland, not all possible speakers of all possible languages.<\/p>\n

Back to Yola, regarding the two baronies, \u201cForth\u201d should not be mistaken for another barony with the same name in County Carlow.\u00a0 Both are called \u201cForth\u201d and both have the same Irish name, \u201cFotharta<\/strong>\u201d.\u00a0 \u201cBargy\u201d in Irish is \u201cU\u00ed Bhairrche<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

I was pleasantly surprised to find a video on YouTube with a song in Yola, recorded in 1969 (definitely a revival or recreation, but delightful, nonetheless).\u00a0 The link is https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=RFl9ptuxd8s<\/a> (Yola Language Song).\u00a0 There is a transcript of two verses, so you don\u2019t have to rack your brains trying to figure the text; you have to click on \u201csee more\u201d in order to see the text.\u00a0 It is, however, a nice challenge to listen a few times before resorting to the transcript.\u00a0 The singer is Paddy Berry (b. 1937), a Wexford native, born in the Barony of Forth, who has his own Wikipedia page, listing two books and three recordings by this folksinger and song collector (naisc th\u00edos<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

In the graphic above, you can see an interesting selection of Yola words, or, to say it in Irish, focail Y\u00f3laise<\/strong>.\u00a0 I\u2019ve listed them below with their meanings.\u00a0 Some are pretty recognizable, others, well, aren\u2019t.\u00a0 If any Wexfordians are reading this, I, and am sure many readers, would love to know how this resonates today.\u00a0 Have any of these survived in your everyday speech?\u00a0 Or were they in your grandparents’ speech?\u00a0 In many areas, these kinds of localisms are often recognized but not necessarily widely used.\u00a0 In American English, for example, people might use phrases like, \u201cthere\u2019s gold in them thar hills\u201d if trying to imitate Gold Rush-era mining talk, but most would never say, \u201cI\u2019m going to look at them thar co-axial cables.\u201d\u00a0 And how many Londoners really use \u201capples and pears\u201d or \u201ctrouble and strife,\u201d or do they mostly turn the local lingo on when tourists want to hear Cockney?\u00a0 A Charmanacha, cad a deir sibh?<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/td>\nForth and Bargy<\/td>\nEnglish<\/td>\nIrish (mostly just for<\/p>\n

reference; one cognate?)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

1<\/td>\nweddeen<\/td>\nwedding<\/td>\nbainis<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\nmorsaale<\/td>\nmorsel<\/td>\ngreim, ruainne, srl.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3<\/td>\nwough<\/td>\nwe<\/td>\nmuid, sinn<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4<\/td>\nwee<\/td>\nwe<\/td>\nmuid, sinn<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/td>\nich<\/td>\nI<\/td>\nm\u00e9<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6<\/td>\nshoo<\/td>\nshe<\/td>\ns\u00ed<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
7<\/td>\nye<\/td>\nye (you pl.)<\/td>\nsibh<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
8<\/td>\nouse<\/td>\nus<\/td>\nmuid, sinn<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9<\/td>\naamzil<\/td>\nthemselves<\/td>\niad f\u00e9in<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10<\/td>\nbeen<\/td>\nbees<\/td>\nbeacha<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
11<\/td>\ntren<\/td>\ntrees<\/td>\ncrainn, crainnte<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
12<\/td>\nfade<\/td>\nwhat<\/td>\ncad, c\u00e9ard, cad \u00e9, goid\u00e9<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
13<\/td>\nfarthoo<\/td>\nwhy<\/td>\nc\u00e9n faith, cad chuige, srl.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
14<\/td>\nabut<\/td>\nabout (prep.)<\/td>\nfaoi<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
15<\/td>\nabou<\/td>\nabove (prep.)<\/td>\nos cionn, lastuas de, srl.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
16<\/td>\navenst<\/td>\nagainst<\/td>\nin \u00e9adan, in aghaidh, i gcoinne<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
17<\/td>\naloghe<\/td>\nbelow, under<\/td>\nfaoi<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
18<\/td>\nudh<\/td>\nout<\/td>\namach, amuigh<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
19<\/td>\ntrugh<\/td>\nthrough<\/td>\ntr\u00ed, tr\u00edd<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
20<\/td>\nearchee<\/td>\neach, every<\/td>\ngach aon, gach uile, \u2018chuile, ach\u2019an<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
21<\/td>\nvew<\/td>\nfew<\/td>\nbeag\/beaga, gach c\u00fapla, f\u00edorbheag\u00e1n, ar an mbeag\u00e1n, srl.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
22<\/td>\nzin<\/td>\nsun<\/td>\ngrian<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
23<\/td>\nlhoan<\/td>\nland<\/td>\ntalamh<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
24<\/td>\nvriene<\/td>\nfriend<\/td>\ncara<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
25<\/td>\noan, twy, dhree<\/td>\none, two, three<\/td>\na haon, a d\u00f3, a tr\u00ed<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
26<\/td>\ndwanty<\/td>\ntwenty<\/td>\nfiche<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
27<\/td>\nbolsker<\/td>\nunfriendly person<\/td>\n? bolscaire (propagan-dist, proselytizer, promoter, peddler)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
28<\/td>\nTommeen<\/td>\nTommy<\/td>\nTomais\u00edn<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
29<\/td>\nyola<\/td>\nold<\/td>\nsean<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
30<\/td>\nzitch<\/td>\nsuch<\/td>\na leith\u00e9id, an oiread sin, srl.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

I hope you found this as interesting as I did, and, if nothing else, it adds one more word (Y\u00f3lais<\/strong>) to our list of y-initial words in Irish.\u00a0 SGF — R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/strong><\/p>\n

Naisc:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Paddy Berry: https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Paddy_Berry<\/a>.\u00a0 The article refers to Berry\u2019s website but when I tried to connect, it was unreachable.\u00a0 Some of his publications are available at https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20110716012443\/http:\/\/scallta.com\/catalog\/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=Paddy+Berry&x=0&y=0<\/a>.\u00a0 Another interesting reference to his singing is in this article: https:\/\/www.pressreader.com\/ireland\/wexford-people\/20180213\/283132839287896<\/a>, \u201cTraditional Singers Step Back in Time,\u201d Wexford People, 13 Feb. 2018<\/p>\n

Podchraoladh ar RT\u00c9 1<\/strong>: https:\/\/www.rte.ie\/radio1\/doconone\/2010\/1118\/646553-radio-documentary-yola-language-wexford\/<\/a>, \u201cYola \u2013 Lost for Words,\u201d with Shane Dunphy, broadcast 20 November, year not given with the text, but presumably 2010.\u00a0 37:50<\/p>\n

Yoletown: https:\/\/www.townlands.ie\/wexford\/bargy\/kilcowan\/kilcowan\/yoletown\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Iarbhlagmh\u00edreanna faoi fhocail leis na litreacha v, w, x, agus y:<\/strong><\/p>\n

From \u2018vacsa\u00edn\u2019 to \u2018vuinsci\u00fa\u2019 and some other Irish words that start with \u2018v\u2019<\/a>\u00a0Posted on 05. Sep, 2015 by r\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/a> in Irish Language<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/from-vacsain-to-vuinsciu-and-some-other-irish-words-that-start-with-v\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Irish Words Starting with \u2018w\u2019 (dorn\u00e1n beag ach dorn\u00e1n acu ann!)<\/a>\u00a0Posted on 09. Sep, 2015 by r\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/a> in Irish Language<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/irish-words-starting-with-w-dornan-beag-ach-dornan-acu-ann\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Some Irish Words Starting with the Letter \u2018X\u2019 (Part 1 of 2)<\/a>\u00a0Posted on 14. Sep, 2015 by r\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/a> in Irish Language<\/a>\u00a0https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/some-irish-words-starting-with-the-letter-x-part-1-of-2\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Some Irish Words Starting with the Letter \u2018X\u2019 (Part 2 of 2): xileaf\u00f3n agus xifisteirneam<\/a>\u00a0Posted on 18. Sep, 2015 by r\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/a> in Irish Language<\/a>\u00a0https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/some-irish-words-starting-with-the-letter-x-part-2-of-2-xileafon-agus-xifisteirneam\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Some Irish Words Starting with the Letter \u2018Y\u2019 (y\u00f3y\u00f3 ina measc)<\/a> Posted by\u00a0r\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/a>\u00a0on Sep 21, 2015 in\u00a0Irish Language<\/a>\u00a0 https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/some-irish-words-starting-with-the-letter-y-yoyo-ina-measc\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Catching Some \u2018Z-Words\u2019 in Irish: What Are The Others besides \u2018Z\u00fa\u2019 and \u2018Z\u00fanna\u2019?<\/a>Posted by\u00a0r\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/a>\u00a0on Sep 25, 2015 in\u00a0Irish Language<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn) A few years ago I ran a mionsraith of blagmh\u00edreanna about Irish words that started with some of the litreacha neamhthraidisi\u00fanta in the Irish alphabet, like v, w, x, and y (naisc th\u00edos).\u00a0 Among the few examples that we have for \u201cy\u201d are \u201cy\u00f3-y\u00f3\u201d (not surprisingly, just add the s\u00edneadh fada) and yainc\u00edn…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":10747,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3898],"tags":[316090,513379,513397,462466,513398,513395,316088,513402,513405,211583,489468,474899,513361,513401,292547,513357,513384,4293,513414,513436,513382,513383,513406,111569,513427,513425,513389,513394,365308,229395,513358,513390,513393,474727,489852,4870,513422,58,3160,513363,513423,229690,513410,513411,376605,513387,365253,513391,513413,5182,513415,513356,229393,316087,316089,365309,474579,5444,5482,9180,513404,513381,513372,5616,513403,5835,513400,390628,513418,11724,513365,513366,513370,359241,513420,359612,339422,3328,513399,513378,513408,309616,513431,3349,513430,513428,513429,513367,2503,513360,513362,275338,513374,9945,111620,513205,513435,27752,289975,337466,7113,289986,513433,513432,9164,11810,513385,7188,289985,513409,513424,7211,513830,513407,365254,513426,2609,513412,513419,513369,513364,9693,513371,96409,2629,1393,513368,513377,513353,513354,513355,513359,11723,117786,513434],"class_list":["post-10740","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-irish-language","tag-chuile","tag-aamzil","tag-abou","tag-about","tag-above","tag-abut","tag-achan","tag-against","tag-aloghe","tag-am","tag-amach","tag-amuigh","tag-anglo","tag-avenst","tag-bainis","tag-bargy","tag-beacha","tag-beag","tag-beaga","tag-beagan","tag-been","tag-bees","tag-below","tag-berry","tag-bolscaire","tag-bolsker","tag-cad","tag-cad-chuige","tag-cad-e","tag-cara","tag-carlow","tag-ceard","tag-cen-fath","tag-crainn","tag-crainnte","tag-cupla","tag-dhree","tag-dialect","tag-do","tag-dunphy","tag-dwanty","tag-each","tag-earchee","tag-every","tag-extinct","tag-fade","tag-faoi","tag-farthoo","tag-few","tag-fiche","tag-fiorbheagan","tag-forth","tag-friend","tag-gach-aon","tag-gach-uile","tag-goide","tag-greim","tag-grian","tag-haon","tag-i","tag-i-gcoinne","tag-iad-fein","tag-ich","tag-in-aghaidh","tag-in-eadan","tag-land","tag-lastuas-de","tag-leitheid","tag-lhoan","tag-me","tag-morsaale","tag-morsel","tag-muid","tag-norman","tag-oan","tag-oiread","tag-old","tag-one","tag-os-cionn","tag-ouse","tag-out","tag-paddy","tag-peddler","tag-plural","tag-promoter","tag-propagandist","tag-proselytizer","tag-ruainne","tag-sean","tag-seanbhaile","tag-shane","tag-she","tag-shoo","tag-si","tag-sibh","tag-sinn","tag-such","tag-sun","tag-talamh","tag-themselves","tag-three","tag-through","tag-tomaisin","tag-tommeen","tag-tommy","tag-trees","tag-tren","tag-tri","tag-trid","tag-trugh","tag-twenty","tag-two","tag-twy","tag-udh","tag-under","tag-unfriendly-person","tag-us","tag-vew","tag-vriene","tag-we","tag-weddeen","tag-wedding","tag-wee","tag-wexford","tag-what","tag-why","tag-wough","tag-ye","tag-yola","tag-yolais","tag-yolaise","tag-yoletown","tag-you","tag-zin","tag-zitch"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10740","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10740"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10740\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10749,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10740\/revisions\/10749"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10747"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}