{"id":1346,"date":"2011-10-24T00:08:04","date_gmt":"2011-10-24T00:08:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=1346"},"modified":"2011-11-05T07:10:05","modified_gmt":"2011-11-05T07:10:05","slug":"foirmeacha-iolra-le-%e2%80%9c-aithe%e2%80%9d-agus-le-%e2%80%9c-ai%e2%80%9d-plural-forms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/foirmeacha-iolra-le-%e2%80%9c-aithe%e2%80%9d-agus-le-%e2%80%9c-ai%e2%80%9d-plural-forms\/","title":{"rendered":"Foirmeacha Iolra le \u201c-aithe\u201d agus le \u201c-a\u00ed\u201d (Plural Forms)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

In the last few blogs, we\u2019ve used words like \u201czomba\u00ed<\/strong>\u201d (plural: zombaithe<\/strong>) and \u201cmonca\u00ed<\/strong>\u201d (pl. moncaithe<\/strong>), as well as \u201cstocamhonca\u00ed<\/strong>\u201d and \u201cstocamhoncaithe<\/strong>,\u201d for \u201csock monkey(s).” \u00a0It may just be my memory, but I don\u2019t remember stocamhoncaithe zomba\u00ed<\/strong> ever being so popular before this year\u2019s O\u00edche Shamhna<\/strong> (Halloween 2011)<\/p>\n

In Irish, it would be highly unlikely for any word to end in \u201c-ie,\u201d so a word like \u201czombie\u201d (\u00f3n gCri\u00f3l H\u00e1\u00edt\u00edoch<\/strong> \u201czonbi<\/em>\u201d) will get a new ending to fit the Irish spelling system, in this case, \u201c-a\u00ed\u201d (pronounced \u201cee\u201d).\u00a0\u00a0For nouns that end in \u201c-a\u00ed\u201d in the singular, like \u201czomba\u00ed<\/strong>,\u201d the plural is usually \u201c-aithe\u201d [ih-huh], with the \u201ct\u201d always silent, which we also see in \u201cmoncaithe<\/strong>\u201d [MON-kih-huh] and \u201cstocamhoncaithe<\/strong>\u201d [STOKK-uh-WON-kih-huh, where, btw, the \u201cmh\u201d is pronounced like a \u201cw\u201d]..<\/p>\n

Keep in mind that the letter \u201cy\u201d is fairly rare in Irish, in general, so borrowed words with a \u201cy,\u201d like \u201cmonkey\u201d will also typically get their spelling changed as they are adapted into Irish.\u00a0\u00a0The \u201c-a\u00ed\u201c endings of \u201czomba\u00ed<\/strong>\u201d and \u201cmonca\u00ed<\/strong>\u201d fit an existing and widely-populated category of Irish nouns (4th<\/sup>-declension, by the way), including the examples below.\u00a0\u00a0In all these cases, the plural is formed by shortening the \u201c\u00ed\u201d and adding \u201c-the\u201d (so \u201c-a\u00ed\u201d changes to \u201c-aithe).<\/p>\n

r\u00fana\u00ed, r\u00fanaithe<\/strong>, secretary(-ies)<\/p>\n

garra\u00ed, garraithe<\/strong>, field(s), garden(s)<\/p>\n

r\u00e1sa\u00ed, r\u00e1saithe<\/strong>, racer(s)<\/p>\n

reatha\u00ed<\/strong>, reathaithe<\/strong>, another word for \u201cracer(s),\u201d more literally, a runner, mar shampla i gcruic\u00e9ad<\/strong><\/p>\n

Agus \u201cM\u00edp-m\u00edp!,\u201d seo ceann eile:<\/strong><\/p>\n

reatha\u00ed an bh\u00f3thair<\/strong> (pl. reathaithe an bh\u00f3thair<\/strong>), road runner (an t-\u00e9an a thugtar <\/strong>“chaparral bird” air i mB\u00e9arla freisin<\/strong>)<\/p>\n

A number of occupational terms end in \u201c-a\u00ed\u201d in the singular, such as t\u00f3g\u00e1la\u00ed<\/strong> (builder), tiom\u00e1na\u00ed<\/strong> (driver), and l\u00fathchleasa\u00ed<\/strong> (athlete [LOO-HLASS-ee]), and their plurals follow the same pattern: t\u00f3g\u00e1laithe, tiom\u00e1naithe<\/strong>, l\u00fathchleasaithe\u00a0<\/strong>[LOO-HLASS-ih-huh].<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the big caveat though.\u00a0\u00a0In the words above, \u201c-a\u00ed\u201d is a singular ending.\u00a0\u00a0For words, like the following, \u201c-a\u00ed\u201d is actually the plural ending,\u201d formed by adding \u201c-\u00ed\u201d to a final \u201ca.\u201d<\/p>\n

g\u00fana, g\u00fana\u00ed,<\/strong> dress(es)<\/p>\n

hata, hata\u00ed,<\/strong> hat(s)<\/p>\n

fr\u00e1sa, fr\u00e1sa\u00ed,<\/strong> phrase(s)<\/p>\n

Occasionally \u201c-a\u00ed\u201d occurs as the ending of in one-syllable words.\u00a0\u00a0In these cases, the \u201c-a\u00ed\u201d isn\u2019t actually a suffix as such (the word\u2019s too short to have a suffix), and there are various plural forms:<\/p>\n

fa\u00ed<\/strong>, pl. faithe<\/strong>, note, cry, or, in grammar, \u201cvoice\u201d (as in \u201cfa\u00ed ghn\u00edomhach<\/strong>\u201d and \u201cfa\u00ed ch\u00e9asta<\/strong>\u201d)<\/p>\n

la\u00ed<\/strong>, pl. la\u00edonna<\/strong>, pole, shaft, door-post<\/p>\n

These aren\u2019t the only possible uses of the suffix \u201c-a\u00ed\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0It can also show up on verbs (go mbeanna\u00ed Dia dhuit<\/strong>, hello, lit. may God bless you) and it can show possession in nouns in phrases like \u201csolas na geala\u00ed<\/strong>\u201d (the light of the moon), but sin \u00e1bhar blag eile.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mar achoimre, seo na f\u00e9idearthachta\u00ed do “-a\u00ed”\u00a0<\/strong>(cuid acu, ar a laghad)<\/strong><\/p>\n

1)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u2013a\u00ed (uatha, mar \u201cr\u00fana\u00ed”)<\/strong><\/p>\n

2)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u2013a\u00ed (iolra, mar \u201cg\u00fana\u00ed,\u201d foirm iolra an fhocail \u201cg\u00fana\u201d)<\/strong><\/p>\n

3)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u2013a\u00ed (i bhfocail aonsiolla, mar \u201cla\u00ed\u201d)<\/strong><\/p>\n

4)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u2013a\u00ed (i mbriathar, modh foshuiteach, mar \u201cgo mbeanna\u00ed\u201d )<\/strong><\/p>\n

5)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u2013a\u00ed (tuiseal ginideach, baininscneach, uatha, mar \u201cgeala\u00ed\u201d sa bhfr\u00e1sa \u201csolas na geala\u00ed\u201d<\/strong>)<\/p>\n

T\u00e1 s\u00fail agam go raibh s\u00e9 seo \u00fas\u00e1ideach. \u00a0SGF, R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gluais: beannaigh<\/strong>, bless; c\u00e9asta<\/strong>, passive; cruic\u00e9ad<\/strong>, cricket;\u00a0gealach<\/strong>, moon; gn\u00edomhach<\/strong>, active; iolra <\/strong>[IL-ruh],\u00a0plural;\u00a0stoca<\/strong>, sock; uatha <\/strong>[OO-uh-huh], singular<\/p>\n

N\u00f3ta faoin bhfr\u00e1sa onamataip\u00e9ach sin thuas \u201cM\u00edp-m\u00edp!\u201d (litrithe i nGaeilge): i mB\u00e9arla, ar nd\u00f3igh, sin<\/strong> \u201cMeep-meep!,\u201d leagan Reatha\u00ed an Bh\u00f3thair d\u2019fhuaim bonn\u00e1n cairr sna cart\u00fain<\/strong> Merrie Melodies agus<\/strong> Looney Tunes ag<\/strong> Warner Brothers.\u00a0\u00a0Ag breathn\u00fa thart ar an Idirl\u00edon, feicim go ndeir an t-\u00e9an ruda\u00ed \u00e9ags\u00fala i dteangacha eile, mar shampla<\/strong>, \u201cBip-bip\u201d (Sp\u00e1innis, Fraincis<\/strong>), \u201cBeep-beep!\u201d (Iod\u00e1ilis, R\u00f3m\u00e1inis, litri\u00fa B\u00e9arla, d\u00e1la an sc\u00e9il<\/strong>), \u201cMiep-miep!\u201d (Ollainis)<\/strong>, agus mar ghreann sa chart\u00fan B\u00e9arla,<\/strong> \u201cbeepus-beepus!\u201d mar bhr\u00e9ag-Laidin.\u00a0\u00a0I su\u00edomh Seicise, feicim a l\u00e1n leaganacha<\/strong>: mik-mik, mig-mig, mip-mip, mic-mic, chomh maith le<\/strong> Beep-beep!\u00a0 M\u00e1 t\u00e1 leaganacha \u00e9ags\u00fala don fhuaim sna teangacha sin, is d\u00f3cha go mba ch\u00f3ir go mbeadh litri\u00fa Gaeilge air, mar n\u00edl \u201c-ee-\u201c i nGaeilge.\u00a0Sa d\u00f3igh ch\u00e9anna, t\u00e1<\/strong> \u201cjeep\u201d litrithe mar \u201cj\u00edp\u201d i nGaeilge, n\u00ed nach ionadh!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gluais don n\u00f3ta: bonn\u00e1n<\/strong>, horn (of car); \u00e9ags\u00fail<\/strong>, various; fuaim<\/strong>, sound; go mba ch\u00f3ir<\/strong>, it would be right that (there should); go mbeadh<\/strong>, there would be; greann<\/strong>, humor; leagan<\/strong>, version; litri\u00fa<\/strong>, spelling; litrithe<\/strong>, spelled; n\u00ed nach ionadh<\/strong>, not surprisingly<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn) In the last few blogs, we\u2019ve used words like \u201czomba\u00ed\u201d (plural: zombaithe) and \u201cmonca\u00ed\u201d (pl. moncaithe), as well as \u201cstocamhonca\u00ed\u201d and \u201cstocamhoncaithe,\u201d for \u201csock monkey(s).” \u00a0It may just be my memory, but I don\u2019t remember stocamhoncaithe zomba\u00ed ever being so popular before this year\u2019s O\u00edche Shamhna (Halloween 2011) In Irish, it would be…<\/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":[111285,121623,122555,111327,111328,111324,111329,122777,111282,111319,111295,119740,120607,120413,120135,111312,5251,5285,5333,111288,122248,111320,111315,120994,119044,119412,111330,111331,111308,120719,111326,118067,118815,121369,111323,111325,111322,121988,111276,111260,2310,6344,111321,111289,111290,111291,111292,111293,111294,111286,111287,111263,111259,111277,111262,111297,118552,111296,118175,11090,111243,111258,111281,111283],"class_list":["post-1346","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-irish-language","tag-4th-declension","tag-aonsiolla","tag-beannaigh","tag-beep-beep","tag-beepus-beepus","tag-bonnan-cairr","tag-breag-laidin","tag-ceasta","tag-criol-haitioch","tag-cruicead","tag-ean-chaparral","tag-fai","tag-fai-cheasta","tag-fai-ghniomhach","tag-faithe","tag-foirm","tag-frasai","tag-gaeilge","tag-garrai","tag-garraithe","tag-gealai","tag-gniomhach","tag-go-mbeannai","tag-go-mbeannai-dia-dhuit","tag-gunai","tag-hatai","tag-jeep","tag-jip","tag-lai","tag-laionna","tag-looney-tunes","tag-luthchleasai","tag-luthchleasaithe","tag-may-god-bless-you","tag-meep-meep","tag-merrie-melodies","tag-mip-mip","tag-modh-foshuiteach","tag-moncai","tag-moncaithe","tag-monkey","tag-oiche-shamhna","tag-onamataipeach","tag-rasai","tag-rasaithe","tag-reathai","tag-reathai-an-bhothair","tag-reathaithe-an-bhothair","tag-road-runner","tag-runai","tag-runaithe","tag-sock-monkey","tag-stoca","tag-stocamhoncai","tag-stocamhoncaithe","tag-tiomanai","tag-tiomanaithe","tag-togalai","tag-togalaithe","tag-uatha","tag-zombai","tag-zombaithe","tag-zombie","tag-zonbi"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1346","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=1346"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1346\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1358,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1346\/revisions\/1358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1346"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1346"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1346"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}