{"id":147,"date":"2010-03-15T13:29:35","date_gmt":"2010-03-15T13:29:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=147"},"modified":"2015-03-02T17:22:42","modified_gmt":"2015-03-02T17:22:42","slug":"seachtain-fheile-padraig-a-haon-how-many-shades-of-green","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/seachtain-fheile-padraig-a-haon-how-many-shades-of-green\/","title":{"rendered":"Seachtain Fh\u00e9ile P\u00e1draig a hAon: How Many Shades of Green?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

It\u2019s such a festive week, I thought we\u2019d take a break from irregular verbs (an gcloisim \u201chur\u00e1\u201d?<\/strong>) and do a mionsraith Fh\u00e9ile P\u00e1draig<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Maybe it\u2019s not exactly 40 shades, as in the popular song, but there are two key words for \u201cgreen\u201d in most dialects of Irish: glas<\/strong> and uaine<\/strong>. And yes, they are used for different things. They\u2019re not usually interchangeable. Here\u2019s the traditional breakdown.<\/p>\n

glas<\/strong>: for things in nature (leaves, plants, etc.)<\/p>\n

f\u00e9ar glas<\/strong> [fayr glahss], green grass. Please do note the long mark over the \u201ce\u201d in \u201cf\u00e9ar<\/strong>\u201d here \u2013 this isn\u2019t \u201cfear<\/strong>\u201d (man). So, no, I\u2019m not talking about \u201clittle green men\u201d (though I might if you ask me too!), but simply quite terrestrial green grass.<\/p>\n

seamr\u00f3ga glasa,\u00a0<\/strong>green shamrocks<\/p>\n

gort glas<\/strong>, green field (tilled field, that is \u2013 Irish has at least three words for \u201cfield,\u201d ach sc\u00e9al na bhfocal sin, sin sc\u00e9al eile<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

And here\u2019s a nice proverbial expression for you, at least as long as you\u2019re accustomed to comparing things to \u201cbraird\u201d (more on \u201cbraird\u201d th\u00edos): chomh glas le geamhar<\/strong> (as green as braird).<\/p>\n

Watch out though, for references to a \u201cb\u00f3 ghlas<\/strong>.\u201d When this color is applied to cows, sheep, or horses, it\u2019s understood to mean \u201cgray.\u201d Despite all the cow-painting incidents and innuendos I\u2019ve heard of, I\u2019ve yet to see a cow fully painted green, even with all the glasachan<\/strong> that takes place around L\u00e1 Fh\u00e9ile P\u00e1draig<\/strong>. For non-green cow-painting, you might want to check out the Ad Lab blog for August 8, 2005 (http:\/\/adverlab.blogspot.com\/2005\/08\/advertising-on-cows.html). I\u2019m not talking \u201ctr\u00ed mo hata<\/strong>\u201d here, or should I say, \u201cthrough my caubeen,\u201d just reflecting on the vagaries of human behavior \u2013 after all, the cows didn\u2019t initiate the use of their cliath\u00e1in<\/strong> as advertising panels.<\/p>\n

uaine<\/strong>: for man-made or dyed things<\/p>\n

geansa\u00ed uaine<\/strong>, a green gansey, jumper, sweater or whatever you care to call it (covering Irish, UK, and US English there). Also, crios uaine<\/strong>, green belt (i J\u00fad\u00f3<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

\u201cUaine<\/strong>\u201d is also occasionally used for living creatures, such as the ciar\u00f3g th\u00edograch uaine<\/strong>, which I\u2019ll leave you to translate (hint: ciar\u00f3g<\/strong> = beetle). Perhaps the idea with this word is simply that the green is almost an unnatural shade, not quite like \u201cglas<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, when you come to dyeing rivers green (as in Chicago), you face a dilemma unknown to \u201cna SeanGhaeil<\/strong>,\u201d who presumably started this color differentiation. As a dye, one would think \u201cuaine<\/strong>.\u201d But since the final product is a river, one might think \u201cglas<\/strong>.\u201d Bhuel, we could straddle the \u201ccla\u00ed<\/strong>\u201d and use the compound, glasuaine<\/strong> (vivid green). As for beoir<\/strong>, most of the references I see online do use \u201cuaine<\/strong>,\u201d but \u201cglas<\/strong>\u201d occasionally shows up. Either way, caith siar \u00ed<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

N\u00f3ta\u00ed: cla\u00ed<\/strong>, dyke, wall, fence; cliath\u00e1n<\/strong>, side or flank of a person or animal; glasachan<\/strong>, becoming green or making something green<\/p>\n

geamhar<\/strong>: definable as \u201cbraird\u201d or \u201cspringing corn\u201d (corn in the blade). Somehow, with that samhla\u00edocht r\u00f3-aib\u00ed<\/strong>, I\u2019ve alluded to previously, and which one dedicated reader, \u201cMise\u00c1ine,\u201d has kindly defended, I\u2019m envisioning the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD, dyed green for L\u00e1 Fh\u00e9ile P\u00e1draig<\/strong>. Yes, I have visited the place \u2013 and it\u2019s go hiontach<\/strong>. But chomh glas le geamhar<\/strong>. That\u2019s a stretch, I know. But if I had those green-tinted glasses that they gave visitors to Oz, I\u2019d be all set, or maybe, as they say in Ireland, \u201csorted.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, and there\u2019s always a \u201ccaveat\u201d with Irish vocabulary, this use of the word \u201ccorn\u201d can refer to oats or wheat. Now, I\u2019m thinking of something really \u201cneam\u00fail<\/strong>\u201d (enticing) \u2013 leite uaine<\/strong> (green oatmeal\/porridge). Even the manufacturers of citseap uaine<\/strong> (remember \u2013 sold for a while i mbuid\u00e9il Shrek<\/strong>) seemed to have stayed away from that one. But \u2026 the ehow site (http:\/\/www.ehow.com\/how_14302_make-food-green.html) sports an illustration of green eggs and bacon (sorry, Sam, no r\u00edm<\/strong>) and a reader comment suggesting green-dyed peanut butter and apple jelly sandwiches for a St. Patrick\u2019s Day school lunch. Hmmm, n\u00edl a fhios agam<\/strong>. Just sayin\u2019. \u00a0SGF –\u00a0R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn) It\u2019s such a festive week, I thought we\u2019d take a break from irregular verbs (an gcloisim \u201chur\u00e1\u201d?) and do a mionsraith Fh\u00e9ile P\u00e1draig. Maybe it\u2019s not exactly 40 shades, as in the popular song, but there are two key words for \u201cgreen\u201d in most dialects of Irish: glas and uaine. And yes, they…<\/p>\n

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