{"id":1121,"date":"2011-07-28T23:29:11","date_gmt":"2011-07-28T23:29:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=1121"},"modified":"2015-02-05T16:13:15","modified_gmt":"2015-02-05T16:13:15","slug":"logainmneacha-le-%e2%80%9cna%e2%80%9d-sna-bahamai-sna-forbacha-sna-hamptons-srl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/logainmneacha-le-%e2%80%9cna%e2%80%9d-sna-bahamai-sna-forbacha-sna-hamptons-srl\/","title":{"rendered":"Logainmneacha le \u201cna\u201d: Sna Bah\u00e1ma\u00ed, Sna Forbacha, Sna Hamptons, srl."},"content":{"rendered":"

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

It may seem like a stretch when people tell you that the Irish preposition \u201ci\u201d <\/strong>becomes \u201csna\u201d <\/strong>before certain nouns, including a small, but not insignificant, number of place names.\u00a0 But it\u2019s actually quite a logical step when you remember that \u201ci\u201d <\/strong>is another form of \u201cins,\u201d <\/strong>both of which mean \u201cin.\u201d<\/p>\n

So if you have a place name that starts with \u201cna<\/strong>\u201d (\u201cthe,\u201d plural), you use \u201csna\u201d <\/strong>to say \u201cin\u201d that place.<\/p>\n

Mar shampla: <\/strong><\/p>\n

ins + na Bah\u00e1ma\u00ed: sna Bah\u00e1ma\u00ed<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Ireland, a fair number of local village, district or townland names may include \u201cna\u201d <\/strong>as the first part of the place name, far more frequently than one would find \u201cthe\u201d as part of an American place name.\u00a0 Mar shampla, agus leaganacha galldaithe th\u00edos ag bun an bhlag (Gr\u00fapa 1):<\/strong><\/p>\n

ins + na Forbacha: sna Forbacha<\/strong><\/p>\n

ins + na Cealla Beaga: sna Cealla Beaga<\/strong><\/p>\n

ins + na Beanna Gorma: sna Beanna Gorma<\/strong><\/p>\n

ins + na D\u00fanaibh: sna D\u00fanaibh<\/strong><\/p>\n

ins + na D\u00fain\u00edn\u00ed: sna D\u00fain\u00edn\u00ed, <\/strong>a townland in Cork, not to be confused with the various other places called D\u00fain\u00edn <\/strong>as a singular entity, which occur in Kerry, Clare, Fermanagh, Galway, Limerick, Roscommon, Waterford, and Sligo, and also Cork.\u00a0 Presumably one of these was the origin of the well-loved song, \u201cThe Cliffs of Dooneen,\u201d but, at least according to a thread started by \u201cParanoid Android\u201d in 2005 (http:\/\/mudcat.org\/thread.cfm?threadid=77631#1386199), there are many differing opinions about where those cliffs are, or if, Gloccamorrishly, they just exist in the songwriter\u2019s imagination.\u00a0 Input from any readers who might know the actual \u201caillte\u201d <\/strong>themselves welcome!\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

You may have noticed that, so far, we\u2019ve seen no initial changes after \u201csna.\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0 Is it too good to be true?\u00a0 Are there really no mutations after \u201csna\u201d?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well, remember the same rules you\u2019d use for generic nouns, to say, for example, \u201cthe worms are in the apples \u201d as opposed to \u201cthe worms are in the jars\u201d:<\/p>\n

\u201cT\u00e1 na p\u00e9isteanna sna h\u00falla (<\/strong>or for Gaeilge Chonamara, ar a laghad, \u2018sna h\u00falla\u00ed\u2019).\u201d\u00a0 <\/strong>Whichever way you make \u201c\u00fall\u201d <\/strong>(apple) plural, it still starts with a vowel (\u00falla \/ \u00falla\u00ed).\u00a0 <\/strong>And after \u201csna,\u201d <\/strong>we insert \u201ch\u201d <\/strong>before vowels.<\/p>\n

But, T\u00e1 na p\u00e9isteanna (<\/strong>or na cruimheanna, etc.) sna pr\u00f3ca\u00ed.\u00a0 <\/strong>Nice and straightforward.\u00a0 No change to \u201cpr\u00f3ca\u00ed<\/strong>\u201d because it starts with a consonant.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve probably seen all this before in everyday phrases like:<\/p>\n

sna h\u00e1ras\u00e1in, sna heilifint\u00ed, sna h\u00edogl\u00fanna, sna h\u00f3st\u00e1in, sna hubhchup\u00e1in<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well, OK, \u201csna h\u00edogl\u00fanna\u201d <\/strong>might not be so \u201ceveryday\u201d unless you speak Irish and live in the Arctic, but there is at least some discussion of \u00edogl\u00fanna\u201d <\/strong>in the book \u201cInuk, An Buachaill Eiscimeach<\/em>\u201d <\/strong>that was part of the seriously cute 1970s-ish \u201csraith\u201d <\/strong>called \u201cT\u00edortha agus N\u00f3sanna,\u201d <\/strong>which features a number of interesting non-Irish terms incorporated into Irish versions of tales of children\u2019s lives in various countries.\u00a0 Any guesses as to which book in this series featured \u201cKuko\u201d <\/em>(b\u00e9ar) <\/strong>and \u201cGora\u201d<\/em> (monca\u00ed beag)?\u00a0 Freagra <\/strong>not th\u00edos, <\/strong>this time, but in an upcoming blog, just to keep you geussing!<\/p>\n

So, anyway back to place names, we get a nice little lower case \u201ch\u201d before the capital letter of the place name, if it starts with a vowel.\u00a0 <\/strong>Examples in Ireland, with leaganacha galldaithe th\u00edos (gr\u00fapa 2), <\/strong>include:<\/p>\n

sna hAcra\u00ed, <\/strong>which could be a townland in Kerry, Clare, Cork, Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Limerick, Longford, Mayo, Monaghan, Roscommon or Waterford<\/p>\n

sna hEochracha (i gContae Aontroma)<\/strong><\/p>\n

sna hIalla (baile fearainn sa Chabh\u00e1n)<\/strong><\/p>\n

sna hOirthir \u00cdochtaracha (i gContae Ard Mhacha)<\/strong><\/p>\n

sna hUill\u00ed (i gContae Dh\u00fan na nGall)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Back to the world at large, we have<\/p>\n

sna hOile\u00e1in Fhilip\u00edneacha, <\/strong>or just \u201csna Filip\u00ednigh\u201d (<\/strong>note: \u201ch\u201d before \u201cOile\u00e1in\u201d <\/strong>but no change to \u201cF\u201dwhen just saying \u201cFilip\u00ednigh.\u201d \u201cFhilip\u00edneacha\u201d <\/strong>is the standard lenited pluralized form of \u201cPhilippine\u201d as an adjective, here modifiying a plural noun.<\/p>\n

sna S\u00e9is\u00e9il (\u201csna\u201d <\/strong>followed by a consonant, so no changes)<\/strong><\/p>\n

And if discussing America, we can say:<\/p>\n

sna St\u00e1it Aontaithe, <\/strong>or just \u201csna St\u00e1it\u201d <\/strong>(if the context is clear)<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been hard-pressed to find American local place names where \u201csna\u201d <\/strong>would apply, but this one recently occurred to me (not that I hang out there \u2013 r\u00f3dhaor<\/strong>— or have much reason to discuss the area in Irish, but one never knows!):<\/p>\n

sna Hamptons (Inis Fada, Nua-Eabhrac)<\/strong><\/p>\n

I suppose a die-hard might want to make a plural\u00a0ending for \u201cHampton\u201d if we\u2019re going to go so far as to use \u201csna<\/strong>.\u201d\u00a0 Would it be \u201dna Hamptona\u00ed?\u201d \u201cNa Hamptonacha? O<\/strong>r perhaps \u201cna Hamptoin\u201d <\/strong>\u2013 critically avoiding the s\u00edneadh fada <\/strong>which would suggest something quite different!\u00a0 But I think I\u2019ll quit while I\u2019m (hopefully) ahead, and stick with plural Irish preposition and definite article combo (sna<\/strong>) but regular old English \u201c\u2013s\u201d plural.\u00a0 That\u2019s what sounds n\u00e1d\u00fartha<\/strong> for me, if I were discussing my hypothetical multi-million dollar summer \u201ccottage\u201d there!<\/p>\n

Sin \u00e9 don bhlag seo.\u00a0 <\/strong>Any place names you\u2019d like to discuss or practice, please let me know.\u00a0 SGF, R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/strong><\/p>\n

Leaganacha Galldaithe-1: <\/strong>Furbogh, Killybegs, Bingorms, Downings, Dooneens.\u00a0 As you can see, some of these also look plural in English, with the-s ending, but not Furbogh.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Leaganacha Galldaithe-2 <\/strong>Acres, Crosskeys (though there\u2019s no \u201ccross\u201d part in Irish), Naheellis, Orior Lower, Illies<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn) It may seem like a stretch when people tell you that the Irish preposition \u201ci\u201d becomes \u201csna\u201d before certain nouns, including a small, but not insignificant, number of place names.\u00a0 But it\u2019s actually quite a logical step when you remember that \u201ci\u201d is another form of \u201cins,\u201d both of which mean \u201cin.\u201d So…<\/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":[374878,374877,374876,5649,5924,7480,6861],"class_list":["post-1121","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-irish-language","tag-cealla-beaga","tag-forbacha","tag-hamptons","tag-ins","tag-logainmneacha","tag-na","tag-sna"],"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