{"id":1247,"date":"2011-09-24T12:45:13","date_gmt":"2011-09-24T12:45:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=1247"},"modified":"2011-10-09T13:41:26","modified_gmt":"2011-10-09T13:41:26","slug":"laethanta-na-seachtaine-days-of-the-week-in-irish-with-pronunciation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/laethanta-na-seachtaine-days-of-the-week-in-irish-with-pronunciation\/","title":{"rendered":"Laethanta na Seachtaine (Days of the Week, in Irish, with pronunciation)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

And one more f\u00e9ilire<\/strong>-related topic: laethanta na seachtaine.\u00a0 <\/strong>Which could also be called \u201claethe na seachtaine.\u201d\u00a0 <\/strong>Both plural forms of \u201cl\u00e1\u201d <\/strong>are widely used, \u201claethanta\u201d <\/strong>and \u201claethe.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

You\u2019ve already noticed the use of \u201can tuiseal ginideach\u201d <\/strong>in this phrase, right?\u00a0 That accounts for the \u201c-e\u201d ending to the word \u201cseachtain.\u201d\u00a0 <\/strong>Since we\u2019re saying \u201cof the week,\u201d not just \u201cthe week,\u201d the common form \u201cseachtain\u201d <\/strong>undergoes a change for the genitive case (to \u201cseachtaine<\/strong>\u201d).\u00a0 The definite article also changes from \u201can\u201d <\/strong>to \u201cna.\u201d\u00a0 <\/strong>That last change is quite systematic in Irish, and is also quite separate from the use of \u201cna\u201d <\/strong>for plural forms, which you\u2019ve probably also seen.\u00a0 Just to hammer that point home, what form of the definite article (\u201can<\/strong>\u201d or \u201cna<\/strong>\u201d) would you use for the following phrases?\u00a0 Freagra\u00ed th\u00edos (A).<\/strong><\/p>\n

1) Raidi\u00f3 ____ Gaeltachta<\/strong><\/p>\n

2) doras ____ hoifige<\/strong><\/p>\n

3) M\u00ed ____ Nollag<\/strong><\/p>\n

4) ____ Nollaig<\/strong><\/p>\n

5) ____\u00a0 horduimhreacha<\/strong><\/p>\n

And now to na laethanta iad f\u00e9in.\u00a0 <\/strong>There are two main forms for each day, so this theme will take at least two blogs.\u00a0 The forms in today\u2019s blog are used for sentences like \u201cToday is Monday\u201d or \u201cMonday is the first day of the work week.\u201d\u00a0 A separate blog will deal with the phrases that start with the word \u201cD\u00e9\u201d <\/strong>as in \u201cD\u00e9 Luain,\u201d <\/strong>(on Monday) where an tuiseal ginideach <\/strong>is once again required, even though the phrase appears adverbial.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As you can see from this list, some of the weekday names are masculine (like An Luan<\/strong>) and some are feminine (marked by lenition, or in the case of Aoine<\/strong>, marked by the lack<\/em> of a prefixed \u201ct-\u201c).\u00a0 Starting with Sunday:<\/strong><\/p>\n

An Domhnach <\/strong>[un DOH-nukh, with the \u201cm\u201d silent]<\/strong><\/p>\n

An Luan <\/strong>[un LOO-un]<\/p>\n

An Mh\u00e1irt <\/strong>[un wartch, <\/sup>with the \u201cm\u201d silent]<\/p>\n

An Ch\u00e9adaoin <\/strong>[un Hy<\/sup>AY-deen, with the \u201cc\u201d silent and an initial \u201ch\u201d sound as in English \u201chuman\u201d or the name Hugh \/ Huw, in other words, not like the \u201ch\u201d of \u201chat,\u201d \u201chall,\u201d or \u201chello.\u201d]<\/p>\n

An D\u00e9ardaoin <\/strong>[un Dj<\/sup>AYR-deen]<\/p>\n

An Aoine <\/strong>[un EEN-yuh]<\/p>\n

An Satharn <\/strong>[un SAH-hurn, with the \u201ct\u201d silent].<\/p>\n

So, could you tell which of these are the feminine nouns, and which are masculine?\u00a0 Freagra\u00ed th\u00edos (B).<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sin \u00e9 <\/strong>for the \u201can\u201d <\/strong>forms.\u00a0 Next time, the \u201cD\u00e9\u201d <\/strong>forms.\u00a0 <\/strong>But in case you thought this blog was quite short and sweet, you\u2019ll see that the n\u00f3ta\u00ed th\u00edos <\/strong>are about as long as an blag \u00e9 f\u00e9in.\u00a0 <\/strong>Vive la \u201cfootnote\u201d!<\/em>\u00a0 <\/strong>Or should that be \u201cle footnote\u201d<\/em>? \u00a0<\/strong>Oh, I guess it really should be <\/strong>\u201cVive la note en bas de page<\/em>!\u201d\u00a0 But that doesn\u2019t have quite the bilingual panache I was hoping for.\u00a0 So maybe I should just stick to unadorned Irish.\u00a0 \u201cFon\u00f3ta\u00ed ab\u00fa!\u201d \u00a0S\u00e1s\u00fail?\u00a0 SGF, R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gluais do na freagra\u00ed: baininscneach <\/strong>(feminine), firinscneach<\/strong> (masculine)<\/p>\n

Freagra\u00ed <\/strong>(A): 1) Raidi\u00f3 na Gaeltachta<\/strong>, 2) doras na hoifige<\/strong>, the door of the office, 3) M\u00ed na Nollag, <\/strong>December, lit. the month of (the) Christmas, 4) An Nollaig, <\/strong>(the) Christmas, with the basic form of the definite article, \u201can<\/strong>,\u201d since for this example, the word \u201cChristmas\u201d stands alone, not embedded in a possessive context like \u201cDaid\u00ed na Nollag\u201d <\/strong>or \u201cM\u00ed na Nollag,\u201d <\/strong>5) na horduimhreacha, <\/strong>the ordinal numbers, with \u201cna\u201d <\/strong>used here because the noun is plural, not because it\u2019s in a possessive relationship to another noun.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Freagra\u00ed <\/strong>(B): <\/strong><\/p>\n

Baininscneach: An Mh\u00e1irt <\/strong>and An Ch\u00e9adaoin, <\/strong>marked by lenition, and An Aoine, <\/strong>marked by the absence of a prefixed \u201ct-\u201c before vowels.\u00a0 How can something be marked grammatically by the absence<\/em> of a letter?\u00a0 Well, I guess it doesn\u2019t happen in English, but remember the following basic nouns in Irish: an t-\u00fall <\/strong>(masculine), an uimhir <\/strong>(feminine),\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 an t-or\u00e1iste <\/strong>(masculine), and an oifig <\/strong>(feminine).\u00a0 The \u201ct-\u201c in front of \u201c\u00fall\u201d <\/strong>and \u201cor\u00e1iste\u201d <\/strong>marks these words as masculine, and the lack of a prefixed \u201ct-\u201c in front of \u201cuimhir\u201d <\/strong>and \u201coifig\u201d <\/strong>marks those words as feminine.\u00a0 Why does this matter?\u00a0 As with the Romance languages, adjectives in Irish agree with the noun in gender, so we need to know a noun\u2019s gender in order to pair it up with an adjective. \u00a0Of course, in Irish this is mostly indicated by initial consonant change, not by alternate endings like the Spanish \u201c-o\u201d and \u201c-a,\u201d but the concept still applies \u2013 masculine noun, masculine adjective form; feminine noun, feminine adjective form. We also need to know a noun\u2019s gender to create the correct possessive form.\u00a0 And to deal with all of that would take way more than one blog, so for here, it\u2019s just a heads-up for future topics.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Firinscneach: An Domhnach, An Luan, An D\u00e9ardaoin, An Satharn<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fon\u00f3ta faoi na Freagra\u00ed:<\/strong> To be a little more beacht <\/strong>and to harken back to the word\u2019s origin, we should remember that \u201cD\u00e9ardaoin\u201d <\/strong>is actually variable.\u00a0 Some speakers consider it feminine, which is logical enough, given that it is based on the word \u201cAoine,\u201d <\/strong>which, as we saw above, is feminine. \u00a0\u201cAoine\u201d <\/strong>is an old word for \u201cfasting,\u201d and \u201cD\u00e9ardaoin\u201d<\/strong> means \u201cthe day between two fasts.\u201d\u00a0 Normally when various prefixed elements (here, the whole \u201cd\u00e9ard-\u201c <\/strong>part) are added to a root noun, the noun retains the original gender, but not in this case, at least not by most modern standards.\u00a0 But the variability of gender here does reflect the fact that the original root of this phrase (aoine<\/strong>) is feminine.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The good news?\u00a0 Since this day\u2019s name happens to start with the consonant \u201cd,\u201d which resists lenition after \u201cn,\u201d in most cases it really won\u2019t matter if the word is considered masculine or feminine \u2013 you still say \u201can D\u00e9ardaoin.\u201d <\/strong>\u00a0Gender would normally come into play if you wanted to say something like \u201cBlack Thursday,\u201d (referring to October 24, 1929, a seminal day in the fall of Wall Street, which led to the Great Depression of the 1930s).\u00a0 But even there,\u00a0the same\u00a0rule kicks in, \u201cd\u201d resisting lenition after \u201cn\u201d in the preceding word (which is why we say \u201cAn Danmhairg,\u201d <\/strong>Denmark, a feminine noun, and \u201can deacracht,\u201d <\/strong>the difficulty, also feminine, without changing the \u201cd\u201d to \u201cdh\u201d).\u00a0 So we say \u201cD\u00e9ardaoin Dubh,\u201d <\/strong>whether we consider the word \u201cD\u00e9ardaoin\u201d <\/strong>to be masculine or feminine; in other words, we don\u2019t use the usual feminine form, \u201cdhubh<\/strong>\u201d.<\/p>\n

There aren\u2019t too many other \u201cThursday\u201d phrases that would be followed by adjectives, at least not that come readily to mind.\u00a0 Hmm, how about \u201cSweet Thursday,\u201d as in the John Steinbeck novel?\u00a0 Well, D\u00e9ardaoin Milis<\/strong>, if we stick with the masculine interpretation.\u00a0 D\u00e9ardaoin Mhilis, <\/strong>if we consider it feminine, but given that the novel is in English, and there\u2019s no Irish translation, fad m\u2019eolais<\/strong>, it\u2019s a bit of a moot point.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThursday Next,\u201d as in the Jasper Fforde novels, is a character name, so even if we translated Fforde\u2019s works into Irish, the character name would likely stay the same as in English.\u00a0 Especially since in Irish the idea of \u201cnext\u201d (in time) takes three words (an __ seo chugainn<\/strong>), so it would be a bit awkward as a character name (An D\u00e9ardaoin Seo Chugainn<\/strong>).\u00a0 A bit like being named \u201cMoon Unit,\u201d perhaps, although she seems to have adjusted just fine.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Other \u201cnext\u201d possibilities?\u00a0 Equally problematic: An Ch\u00e9ad D\u00e9ardaoin Eile<\/strong> (next Thursday, in sequence, not in time).\u00a0 Not likely for a character name, and not really a characteristic usage in Irish.\u00a0 For normal Irish adverbial use, \u201can D\u00e9ardaoin dar gcionn<\/strong>\u201d would be more typical (next, i.e. the following Thursday).\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The next (nearest in distance) Thursday: An D\u00e9ardaoin Is Neasa<\/strong>, but that is a fairly improbable form, unless the character \u201cThursday\u201d got cloned and a group of identical Thursdays was standing in line, one being nearest to you.\u00a0 Bottom line, though, is even if someone wanted to use any of these possible forms, they still wouldn\u2019t clarify the gender issue for \u201cD\u00e9ardaoin<\/strong>.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cSeo<\/strong>\u201d doesn\u2019t change for gender and nor would \u201ceile<\/strong>\u201d since it starts with a vowel (not-lenitable).\u00a0 Nor would \u201cIs Neasa<\/strong>\u201d since it starts with a vowel and<\/em> the first word of that phrase \u00a0is actually a verb (\u201cis<\/strong>\u201d).\u00a0 And verbs in Irish don\u2019t have gender!\u00a0 Unless they are ainmfhocail bhriathartha<\/strong>, but that is definitely \u201csc\u00e9al eile<\/strong>.\u201d\u00a0 So, returning to the crux of the issue, \u201cD\u00e9ardaoin<\/strong>\u201d is considered masculine according to the modern standard, and most other uses in which it would possibly occur are unlikely to shed any further light on the topic because of the chance spellings of the words that would follow.\u00a0 So we\u2019ll leave it as firinscneach<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Anyway, now I\u2019ll have to go hunt up whether Fforde or the Steinbeck novel have been translated into Irish and if a translator has already pondered these issues, but my hunch is \u201cneamhdh\u00f3ch\u00fail\u201d <\/strong>(unlikely).\u00a0 \u00a0Deireadh na n\u00f3ta\u00ed, faoi dheireadh!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn) And one more f\u00e9ilire-related topic: laethanta na seachtaine.\u00a0 Which could also be called \u201claethe na seachtaine.\u201d\u00a0 Both plural forms of \u201cl\u00e1\u201d are widely used, \u201claethanta\u201d and \u201claethe.\u201d You\u2019ve already noticed the use of \u201can tuiseal ginideach\u201d in this phrase, right?\u00a0 That accounts for the \u201c-e\u201d ending to the word \u201cseachtain.\u201d\u00a0 Since we\u2019re saying…<\/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":[1875,3090,111121,111079,111115,111077,111100,111102,111078,111074,111075,111076,4136,111089,111080,111088,111086,111087,111082,111095,43,111067,4890,111117,111094,3706,4917,111104,111108,111107,96682,3153,1046,2068,111085,5058,80220,111064,2906,111111,111083,111081,74,111098,111119,111110,111062,111065,5878,2993,96681,111114,7480,96704,111118,111116,111112,111120,111096,111071,111091,3349,3351,111073,11,111084,111099,111092,111066,111068,111113,111106,111105,111109,111070,7207,111090,111097],"class_list":["post-1247","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-irish-language","tag-adjective","tag-adverbial","tag-ainmfhocail-bhriathartha","tag-an-aoine","tag-an-chead","tag-an-cheadaoin","tag-an-danmhairg","tag-an-deacracht","tag-an-deardaoin","tag-an-domhnach","tag-an-luan","tag-an-mhairt","tag-an-nollaig","tag-an-oifig","tag-an-satharn","tag-an-t-oraiste","tag-an-t-ull","tag-an-uimhir","tag-baininscneach","tag-black-thursday","tag-christmas","tag-common-form","tag-daidi-na-nollag","tag-dar-gcionn","tag-day-between-two-fasts","tag-days-of-the-week","tag-de-luain","tag-deardaoin-dubh","tag-deardaoin-mhilis","tag-deardaoin-milis","tag-december","tag-definite-article","tag-denmark","tag-difficulty","tag-doras-na-hoifige","tag-eile","tag-fasting","tag-feilire","tag-feminine","tag-fforde","tag-firinscneach","tag-fonotai-abu","tag-gender","tag-great-depression","tag-is-neasa","tag-jasper-fforde","tag-laethanta-na-seachtaine","tag-laethe-na-seachtaine","tag-lenition","tag-masculine","tag-mi-na-nollag","tag-moon-unit","tag-na","tag-na-horduimhreacha","tag-next-in-distance","tag-next-in-sequence","tag-next-in-time","tag-not-lenitable","tag-october-24-1929","tag-on-monday","tag-oraiste","tag-plural","tag-possessive","tag-prefixed-t","tag-pronunciation","tag-raidio-na-gaeltachta","tag-resisting-lenition","tag-romance-languages","tag-seachtain","tag-seachtaine","tag-seo-chugainn","tag-steinbeck","tag-sweet-thursday","tag-thursday-next","tag-today-is-monday","tag-tuiseal-ginideach","tag-ull","tag-wall-street"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1247","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=1247"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1247\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1252,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1247\/revisions\/1252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}