{"id":12,"date":"2009-03-30T16:11:47","date_gmt":"2009-03-30T20:11:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=12"},"modified":"2016-07-22T19:52:14","modified_gmt":"2016-07-22T19:52:14","slug":"sraothartach-sneezing-smaoisil-sniffling-and-srannadh-snoring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/sraothartach-sneezing-smaoisil-sniffling-and-srannadh-snoring\/","title":{"rendered":"Sraothartach (Sneezing), Smaois\u00edl (Sniffling), and Srannadh (Snoring)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

As promised, we\u2019ll address sneezing and related phenomena in today\u2019s blog. You might have already anticipated that some more beannachta\u00ed <\/strong>(blessings) and wishes for good health will be involved, just as they are with English (bless you, Gesundheit<\/em>). <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Sraoth<\/span><\/strong> is a sneeze. In Irish, it\u2019s not so customary to use a verb that actually means \u201cto sneeze,\u201d but rather someone \u201cmakes\u201d or \u201creleases\u201d a sneeze. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re fairly new to the language, remember that the \u201cth\u201d at the end of sraoth<\/strong> is basically silent, just a little puff of breath. The same thing applies to sraothartach<\/strong>, although the puff of breath in the middle of the word is more pronounced, like the \u201ch\u201d sound in \u201chuh\u201d \u2013 SREE-hur-tukh.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Examples could include:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Rinne s\u00e9 sraoth<\/span><\/strong>. He sneezed. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Lig s\u00e9 sraoth dh\u00e1 uair. <\/span><\/strong>He sneezed two times. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Cad a deir t\u00fa m\u00e1 ligeann duine sraoth? <\/span><\/strong>What do you say (in Irish) when someone sneezes?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The most widely heard response for the first sneeze is \u201cDia linn<\/strong>\u201d (God bless us, or literally, God with us). This would seem to ensure the good health of everyone in the vicinity! In Irish formulaic fashion, the response to a second sneeze, or a first sneeze if it is especially strong, is \u201cDia linn, is Muire<\/strong>\u201d (God and Mary bless us). <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

A little more cryptically, one could wish the sneezer \u201ccapall b\u00e1n f\u00fat<\/strong>\u201d (a white horse beneath you). I\u2019ve never found a real explanation for this unusual phrase and can\u2019t say I\u2019ve heard it used very often. \u201dDia linn<\/strong>\u201c is far more widespread. But at least the white horse wish is intriguing (like many other traditional phrases in Irish)! <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

A few other choice terms pertaining to one\u2019s sr\u00f3n<\/strong> (nose):<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

smaois\u00edl <\/span><\/strong>(sniffling, sniveling), as in T\u00e1 an leanbh ag smaois\u00edl <\/strong>(The child is sniffling).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

srannadh<\/span><\/strong> (snoring), as in T\u00e1 an seanduine ag srannadh<\/strong> (The old man is snoring). <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

As far as I know, there are no traditional blessings for sniffling, sniveling, or snoring, although some srannair\u00ed <\/strong>(snorers) could probably use some. Or at least those in aice leo<\/strong> (near them) could!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Bhur mblag\u00e1la\u00ed – R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn) As promised, we\u2019ll address sneezing and related phenomena in today\u2019s blog. You might have already anticipated that some more beannachta\u00ed (blessings) and wishes for good health will be involved, just as they are with English (bless you, Gesundheit). Sraoth is a sneeze. In Irish, it\u2019s not so customary to use a verb that…<\/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":[374814,374815,374854,374855,374856,374852,273983,374848,374853,12528,374850,374847],"class_list":["post-12","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-irish-language","tag-capall-ban","tag-capall-ban-fut","tag-dia-linn","tag-dia-linn-is-muire","tag-second-sneeze","tag-smaoisil","tag-sneeze","tag-sneezing","tag-sniffling","tag-snoring","tag-srannadh","tag-sraothartach"],"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