{"id":1217,"date":"2011-09-12T10:32:54","date_gmt":"2011-09-12T10:32:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=1217"},"modified":"2014-04-30T16:32:11","modified_gmt":"2014-04-30T16:32:11","slug":"to-%e2%80%9cmi%e2%80%9d-or-not-to-%e2%80%9cmi%e2%80%9d-using-the-word-%e2%80%9cmonth%e2%80%9d-in-irish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/to-%e2%80%9cmi%e2%80%9d-or-not-to-%e2%80%9cmi%e2%80%9d-using-the-word-%e2%80%9cmonth%e2%80%9d-in-irish\/","title":{"rendered":"To \u201cM\u00ed\u201d or not to \u201cM\u00ed\u201d (Using The Word \u201cMonth\u201d in Irish)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

The last few blogs have dealt with the names of the months in Irish.\u00a0 For most of the months\u2019 names, there are at least two choices, one that is simply the basic name of the month, like \u201cM\u00e1rta\u201d <\/strong>and the other using the word for \u201cmonth\u201d to make a full phrase (M\u00ed an Mh\u00e1rta).\u00a0 <\/strong>Using the word \u201cm\u00ed\u201d <\/strong>(month), triggers the possible use of the definite article (as \u201can\u201d <\/strong>or \u201cna<\/strong>\u201d) and the use of the genitive case, which may or may not be marked by features such as lenition (like M\u00e1rta <\/strong>becoming Mh\u00e1rta) <\/strong>or special endings (like Aibre\u00e1n <\/strong>becoming Aibre\u00e1in).\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Two of the twelve months require the use of the word \u201cm\u00ed\u201d <\/strong>for reasons we previously discussed.\u00a0 An cuimhin leat c\u00e9 hiad?\u00a0 Agus c\u00e9n f\u00e1th? <\/strong>(Do you remember which ones?\u00a0 And why?)\u00a0 Freagra\u00ed (A) th\u00edos.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

In fact, we do have this choice in English as well, but as I write this, it seems far more typical to say \u201cin the month of \u2026\u201d in Irish (i m\u00ed \u2026 ) <\/strong>than in English.\u00a0 Saying \u201cin the month of \u2026\u201d instead of just \u201cin June,\u201d etc., in English, seems to be either reserved for broad generalizations or for being a bit poetic.<\/p>\n

For example, speaking generally, I might say, \u201cIn the month of August, many Americans take a vacation.\u201d\u00a0 But I\u2019d probably be more likely to say, \u201cMany Americans take a vacation in August,\u201d and leave out the word \u201cmonth,\u201d altogether.<\/p>\n

Ever since I started thinking about this blog, the phrase, \u201cin the merry, merry month of May\u201d has been running through my head.\u00a0 I thought I finally remembered where it\u2019s from, recalling the song \u201cWhile Strolling Through The Park One Day.\u201d\u00a0 That turns out to be \u201cAll in the merry month of May.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cMerry, Merry,\u201d as it turns out, occurs in a song by Stephen Collins Foster (a third-generation Irish-American, by the way, not that he probably used the term in his lifetime).\u00a0 Foster uses the refrain \u201cin the merry, merry month of May\u201d in an 1862 song.<\/p>\n

Anyway, that \u201cin the month of\u201d construction is fine for songs and such.\u00a0 And it\u2019s also typical when we want to add adjectives to describe the month in question, be it \u201cmerry\u201d or \u201cmerry, merry.\u201d\u00a0 It sounds intuitively better to apply the adjective(s) to the word \u201cmonth\u201d than to say \u201cin merry May\u201d or \u201cin merry, merry May.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTry to remember that time in September\u2026\u201d \u2013 yes.\u00a0 \u201cTry to remember that time in the month of September \u2026\u201d \u2013 not!\u00a0 Unless you\u2019re a vocal contortionist.<\/p>\n

What else?\u00a0 \u201cWill I see you in September?\u201d \u2013 yes.\u00a0 \u201cWill I see you in the month of September?\u201d \u2013 not likely.\u00a0 (Leithsc\u00e9alta do Na Happenings, d\u00e1la an sc\u00e9al.\u00a0 Is d\u00f3cha n\u00e1r sh\u00edl siad go mbeadh a gcnagamhr\u00e1n in \u00fas\u00e1id mar chuid de cheacht gramada\u00ed!\u00a0 Do Na Tempos, le bheith n\u00edos cirte faoi, ach ba mh\u00f3 an \u201chit\u201d ag Na Happenings n\u00e1 ag Na Tempos \u00e9).<\/p>\n

So where\u2019s this getting us?\u00a0 English is somewhat averse to using the phrase \u201cmonth of\u201d unless there\u2019s a broad generalization or a specific purpose (oddly ironic) or, for the songs, rhyme scheme.\u00a0 Irish, if anything, seems to me more prone to use the construction with \u201cm\u00ed<\/strong>\u201d and accompanying changes (using \u201can\u201d <\/strong>or \u201cna\u201d <\/strong>and using the genitive ending for the noun).<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a sample of possibilities for when we want to say \u201con January 1st<\/sup>.\u201d\u00a0 Of course there\u2019s always the possibility of writing \u201cTarl\u00f3idh s\u00e9 ar 1 Ean\u00e1ir,\u201d <\/strong>but this always strikes me as a sort of shorthand style, much as \u201cIt will happen on 1 January\u201d would.\u00a0\u00a0Below are the two traditional ways to say, \u201con the first day of January.\u201d In each case, for the first ten months, the second phrase is actually, \u201con the first (etc.) day of the month of\u201c (January, etc.).\u00a0 For November and December, as previously discussed, the point is inphl\u00e9ite.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Incidentally, as we do this we\u2019ll also see na horduimhreacha <\/strong>in action.\u00a0 From \u201c3\u201d on, they\u2019re quite recognizable, using the ending \u201c-\u00fa.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cFirst\u201d and \u201csecond\u201d are idiosyncratic, which is actually true in English as well.\u00a0 The number \u201cone\u201d becoming \u201cfirst,\u201d as happens in English, is not a logical transition, at least not unless we dip into Old High German, and that is beyond even being \u201c\u00e1bhar blag eile,\u201d <\/strong>at least, sa tsraith seo, <\/strong>unless, of course, readers want to compare why, in so many languages, the word for \u201cone\u201d isn\u2019t at all related to the word for \u201cfirst.\u201d\u00a0 Which we actually could do, discussing the Irish \u201can ch\u00e9ad<\/strong>\u201d (the first) and its variations, like \u201cgc\u00e9ad<\/strong>\u201d for the phrase \u201car an gc\u00e9ad<\/strong>,\u201d etc. \u00a0Ach l\u00e1 \u00e9igin eile!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Seo na sampla\u00ed:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1) ar an gc\u00e9ad l\u00e1 d\u2019Ean\u00e1ir; ar an gc\u00e9ad l\u00e1 de mh\u00ed Ean\u00e1ir<\/strong><\/p>\n

2) ar an dara l\u00e1 d\u2019Fheabhra ; ar an dara l\u00e1 de mh\u00ed na Feabhra<\/strong><\/p>\n

3) ar an tr\u00ed\u00fa l\u00e1 de Mh\u00e1rta; ar an tr\u00ed\u00fa l\u00e1 de mh\u00ed an Mh\u00e1rta<\/strong><\/p>\n

4) ar an gceathr\u00fa l\u00e1 d\u2019Aibre\u00e1n; ar an gceathr\u00fa l\u00e1 de mh\u00ed Aibre\u00e1in<\/strong><\/p>\n

5) ar an gc\u00faigi\u00fa l\u00e1 de Bhealtaine; ar an gc\u00faigi\u00fa l\u00e1 de mh\u00ed na Bealtaine<\/strong><\/p>\n

6) ar an s\u00e9\u00fa l\u00e1 de Mheitheamh; ar an s\u00e9\u00fa l\u00e1 de mh\u00ed an Mheithimh<\/strong><\/p>\n

7) ar an seacht\u00fa l\u00e1 d\u2019I\u00fail; ar an seacht\u00fa l\u00e1 de mh\u00ed I\u00fail<\/strong><\/p>\n

8)) ar an ocht\u00fa l\u00e1 de L\u00fanasa; ar an ocht\u00fa l\u00e1 de mh\u00ed L\u00fanasa<\/strong><\/p>\n

9) ar an nao\u00fa l\u00e1 de Mhe\u00e1n F\u00f3mhair; ar an nao\u00fa l\u00e1 de mh\u00ed Mhe\u00e1n F\u00f3mhair<\/strong><\/p>\n

10) ar an deichi\u00fa l\u00e1 de Dheireadh F\u00f3mhair; ar an deichi\u00fa l\u00e1 de mh\u00ed Dheireadh F\u00f3mhair<\/strong><\/p>\n

11) ar an aon\u00fa l\u00e1 d\u00e9ag de mh\u00ed na Samhna<\/strong><\/p>\n

12) ar an dara l\u00e1 d\u00e9ag de mh\u00ed na Nollag (<\/strong>or \u201car an d\u00f3\u00fa l\u00e1 d\u00e9ag,\u201d <\/strong>which then fits the normal “-\u00fa<\/strong>” ending pattern for ordinal numbers).<\/p>\n

As you can see, if the month\u2019s name begins with a vowel or vowel sound, as in \u201cd\u2019I\u00fail\u201d <\/strong>or \u201cd\u2019Fheabhra <\/strong>[DJOW-ruh, with the \u201cfh<\/strong>\u201d silent],\u201d we use the contraction (\u201cd<\/strong>\u201d with the apostrophe).\u00a0 If the month\u2019s name begins with a consonant sound, we use the actual preposition \u201cde,\u201d <\/strong>as in \u201cde L\u00fanasa,\u201d <\/strong>or, for a lenitable example, \u201cde Mh\u00e1rta.\u201d\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

So that\u2019s the first through the twelfth days of the twelve months, with two variations wherever possible.\u00a0 My own inclination is to use the \u201cm\u00ed<\/strong>\u201d form, but both options work.<\/p>\n

Having said that, now what\u2019s the difference between these phrases?\u00a0 Freagra\u00ed (B) th\u00edos.<\/strong><\/p>\n

1) ar an gc\u00e9ad l\u00e1 de mh\u00ed na Nollag<\/strong><\/p>\n

2) ar an gc\u00e9ad l\u00e1 den Nollaig<\/strong><\/p>\n

SGF, \u00f3 R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

Gluais: cnagamhr\u00e1n, <\/strong>hit song; inphl\u00e9ite, <\/strong>moot (lit. non-discussable)<\/p>\n

Freagra\u00ed A: M\u00ed na Samhna, <\/strong>November (to distinguish it from the single day of \u201cSamhain<\/strong>,\u201d November 1), and M\u00ed na Nollag, <\/strong>December (to distinguish it from \u201cAn Nollaig,\u201d <\/strong>Christmas)<\/p>\n

Freagra\u00ed B: <\/strong>1) on the first day of (the month of) December \/ on December 1st<\/sup><\/p>\n

2) On the first day of Christmas (An Nollaig<\/strong>, i.e. on December 25th<\/sup> , referring to the 12-day version of the holiday and Christmas carol, described fairly exhaustively in the following blogs:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/dha-la-dheag-na-nollag-the-twelve-days-of-christmas\/<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/cearca-francacha-agus-lonta-dubha-cuid-a-do-don-tsraith-dha-la-dheag-na-nollag\/<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/%e2%80%9cor%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%9coir%e2%80%9d-or-%e2%80%9corga%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%9cfainne%e2%80%9d-or-%e2%80%9cean%e2%80%9d-ean-cuid-a-tri-dha-la-dheag-na-nollag\/<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/geanna-agus-ealai-cuid-a-ceathair-dha-la-dheag-na-nollag\/<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/na-huimhreacha-pearsanta-i-ngaeilge\/<\/a> (yep, that\u2019s part of the sraith Nollag<\/strong>, too, with the fotheideal<\/strong>: Ag comhaireamh na ndaoine san amhr\u00e1n \u201cDh\u00e1 L\u00e1 Dh\u00e9ag na Nollag\u201d)<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn) The last few blogs have dealt with the names of the months in Irish.\u00a0 For most of the months\u2019 names, there are at least two choices, one that is simply the basic name of the month, like \u201cM\u00e1rta\u201d and the other using the word for \u201cmonth\u201d to make a full phrase (M\u00ed an…<\/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":[96687,5148,96697,2295,6085,96693,96690,96692,96691,96694,6136,96695,96696,96700,96698,96699,96701,96702],"class_list":["post-1217","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-irish-language","tag-eanair","tag-feabhra","tag-horduimhreacha","tag-marta","tag-mi","tag-mi-an-mharta","tag-mi-eanair","tag-mi-feabhra","tag-mi-na-feabhra","tag-mionna","tag-month","tag-on-january-1st","tag-orduimhreacha","tag-see-you-in-september","tag-the-happenings","tag-the-tempos","tag-try-to-remember-that-time-in-september","tag-twelve-days-of-christmas-in-irish"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1217","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=1217"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1217\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5190,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1217\/revisions\/5190"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}