{"id":2191,"date":"2012-04-15T15:31:27","date_gmt":"2012-04-15T15:31:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=2191"},"modified":"2016-08-12T17:07:59","modified_gmt":"2016-08-12T17:07:59","slug":"cen-ghaeilge-ata-ar-rusticle-an-ann-di-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/cen-ghaeilge-ata-ar-rusticle-an-ann-di-do\/","title":{"rendered":"C\u00e9n Ghaeilge at\u00e1 ar \u201crusticle\u201d? An Ann Di (D\u00f3)?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\"\"<\/a>

Rusticles (public domain image: http:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Detached_rusticles_hires.jpg<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Amongst the many interesting topics raised by the Titanic centennial, at least one language query emerges.\u00a0 C\u00e9n Ghaeilge at\u00e1 ar<\/strong> \u201crusticle?\u201d\u00a0 First, let\u2019s define \u201crusticle,\u201d since it\u2019s a fairly new word in the English language.\u00a0 It was coined by Robert D. Ballard after he discovered the Titanic, draped with strands of rust on its wrought-iron parts.\u00a0 I\u2019ve yet to find the exact date of the coinage, but I assume it was in 1986, the year of the discovery.\u00a0 Although I\u2019m no micribhitheola\u00ed<\/strong>, my understanding of the phenomena of rusticles, \u00f3 radharc an ghn\u00e1thdhuine<\/strong>, is that they consist of the Halomonas titanicae<\/em> bacterium (named for the ship) and that their distinctive color is due to iron (III) oxide causing the red and goethite crystals causing the orange color.<\/p>\n

\u201cHalomonas\u201d itself is an interesting word, but a bit beyond our blog\u2019s-worth topic here.\u00a0 In a nutshell, it means \u201chalophilic (salt-tolerant) monad\/unit (bacterium).\u00a0 Erm, presumably that would be \u201cmonad halaifileach<\/strong>\u201d in Irish, but I can\u2019t say I\u2019ve found any examples of that phrase as such.\u00a0 But then, mar a d\u00fairt m\u00e9 thuas, n\u00ed micribhitheola\u00ed m\u00e9, agus de ghn\u00e1th n\u00ed bh\u00edm ag l\u00e9amh faoi mhicribhitheola\u00edocht i nGaeilge<\/strong>.\u00a0 Or, for that matter, i mB\u00e9arla<\/strong>, except, ar\u00eds mar a d\u00fairt m\u00e9 thuas, mar ghn\u00e1thdhuine<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Anyway, back to \u201crusticle.\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s a focal portmanta<\/strong>, combining \u201crust\u201d and \u201cicicle.\u201d\u00a0 So, if we can\u2019t find \u201crusticle,\u201d as such, i nGaeilge<\/strong>, we can, at least, look at the Irish for \u201crust\u201d and the Irish for \u201cicicle.\u201d\u00a0 And that will have some use beyond this blog since \u201cMy Irish is rusty\u201d can readily be said in Irish, even if it seems to be an exact match for the English expression.\u00a0 Hmmm, an ndeirtear sin i dteangacha eile freisin<\/strong>? \u00a0\u00a0Rostig?\u00a0 Arruginito?\u00a0 Rhydlyd?\u00a0 Oxidado <\/em>(in the original sense)?\u00a0 Rouill\u00e9?<\/em><\/p>\n

And discussing icicles is no doubt reasonably useful and perhaps more widespread than one might expect in Ireland, since I\u2019ve found so many words for them.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start with the words for \u201crust,\u201d \u201crusty,\u201d etc., all based on \u201cmeirg<\/strong>\u201d [MERzh-ig, note the two-syllable pronunciation], a feminine noun.\u00a0 Like \u201crust\u201d in English, it has no plural.<\/p>\n

an<\/strong> mheirg <\/strong>[un VERzh-ig], the rust; used figuratively, \u201cmeirg<\/strong>\u201d can also mean \u201cirritability\u201d<\/p>\n

meirge<\/strong>, of rust (as in \u201ccoisctheoir meirge<\/strong>,\u201d a rust preventative); not to be mistaken with a completely different word, meirge<\/strong> (a banner), as in \u201cmeirge scailleag\u00e1in<\/strong>\u201d (a skyscraper banner, in computing)<\/p>\n

na meirge<\/strong>, of the rust<\/p>\n

And some related words:<\/p>\n

meirgeach<\/strong>, rusty (or “irritable”)<\/p>\n

meirgeacht<\/strong>, rustiness<\/p>\n

meirgstroighin<\/strong> [MERzh-ig-STRY-in], rust cement<\/p>\n

As for one\u2019s rusty Irish?\u00a0 We can say, \u201cT\u00e1 meirg ar mo chuid Gaeilge<\/strong>,\u201d lit. \u201cThere is rust on my share of Irish.\u201d\u00a0 Why \u201cmy share\u201d (mo chuid<\/strong>) and not just \u201cmy Irish\u201d?\u00a0 Tradition, I suppose.\u00a0 I\u2019d say, with almost 100% consistency, that I always hear people referring to someone\u2019s \u201cshare\u201d of Irish, or their own \u201cshare\u201d of Irish, perhaps as if we\u2019re all partaking of an enormous rich language legacy, for which no one has absolutely every bit.<\/p>\n

Of course, I wonder if anyone is considered to know every single word of English either.\u00a0 Certainly not mise<\/strong>.\u00a0 I keep discovering new English words all the time, some archaic (like \u201ckench\u201d), some newly or fairly coined (like \u201crusticle\u201d), and some just outside my usual linguistic haunts but interesting nonetheless (like \u201chackamore,\u201d which I must have heard as a child, on TV, but which I had completely forgotten about until I recently rewatched, erm, shall I say, \u201cAn Saoiste Aonarach<\/strong>\u201d).<\/p>\n

Anyway, let\u2019s keep \u201cmeirg, meirge<\/strong>\u201d in mind for \u201crusticle.\u201d\u00a0 Now for \u201cicicle.\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s actually fascinating to me how many words there are for \u201cicicle\u201d in Irish, especially since I don\u2019t have that much of a mental image of a traditional Irish cottage with icicles dripping from the eaves.\u00a0 Hmm, do icicles form on the edge of a thatched roof?\u00a0 Bhuel, sin ceist do bhlag eile, agus b\u2019fh\u00e9idir do thu\u00edod\u00f3ir\u00ed ar bith at\u00e1 ar an liosta seo<\/strong>.\u00a0 Anyway, here are some words for icicle in Irish, with their literal meanings where available:<\/p>\n

bior\u00e1n seaca<\/strong>, lit. pin (hook) of frost<\/p>\n

bir\u00edn seaca<\/strong>, lit. little pin (hook) of frost<\/p>\n

coinl\u00edn oighreoige<\/strong>, lit. little stalk of ice<\/p>\n

coinl\u00edn reo<\/strong>, lit. little frost-stalk<\/p>\n

coinneal bhraon\u00e1in<\/strong>, lit. droplet-candle (why not ginideach iolra<\/strong>, which would be \u201cbhraon\u00e1n<\/strong>\u201d not \u201cbhraon\u00e1in<\/strong>\u201d? DAF(h)A<\/strong>!\u00a0 Is an icicle considered one droplet?)<\/p>\n

coinnea<\/strong>l reo<\/strong>, lit. frost-candle<\/p>\n

oighreog<\/strong> (based on \u201coighear<\/strong>,\u201d ice)<\/p>\n

reod\u00f3g<\/strong> (based on \u201creo<\/strong>,\u201d frost), not to be confused with \u201creoideog<\/strong>\u201d or \u201creoiteog<\/strong>\u201d (ice-cream, which is aka \u201cuachtar reoite<\/strong>\u201d)<\/p>\n

sioc\u00e1n<\/strong>, more typically \u201cfrost\u201d itself or a \u201cfrozen person\u201d (based on \u201csioc<\/strong>,\u201d frost)<\/p>\n

spiac\u00e1n<\/strong>, more typically \u201csharp spiky object\u201d in general<\/p>\n

spinc\u00edn seaca<\/strong>, lit. little point of frost<\/p>\n

Now whether any of these words are really limited to the size of any given icicle (bior\u00e1n seaca<\/strong> vs. bir\u00edn seaca<\/strong>) is beyond my ken.\u00a0 I\u2019d direct that question to a, hmm, what do you call someone who studies snow and ice formations and who also knows Irish?\u00a0 Well, I guess that question can be backburnered (as long as you don\u2019t melt the icicle on that c\u00fald\u00f3ire<\/strong>!). Speaking from general experience, I\u2019d say that \u201ccoinl\u00edn reo<\/strong>\u201d is probably the most commonly used of all these choices.\u00a0 Bhur mbar\u00falacha<\/strong>?<\/p>\n

Interesting that there are at least those eleven words for icicle.\u00a0 So now I\u2019ll have to figure out some way to learn how many words there are for icicle in Inuktitut, the language reputed to have 17 (or 50) words for snow.\u00a0 Actually I understand that it\u2019s not necessarily a full 17 (or 50) words<\/em> for snow, but 17 (or so) categories<\/em> of snow, some of which would just be described in phrases as we do in English, by \u201cwet snow,\u201d \u201clight snow,\u201d etc. \u00a0But sin blag eile, b\u2019fh\u00e9idir do bhlag\u00e1la\u00ed na teanga sin (agus crostagairt d\u00fainne, b\u2019fh\u00e9idir)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Getting back to \u201crusticle,\u201d it seems that \u201ccoinl\u00edn meirge<\/strong>\u201d would be a good equivalent, if not quite so portmanteauish.\u00a0 Ar\u00eds, bhur mbar\u00falacha<\/strong>?\u00a0 Especially since I see no other discussion of this, as Gaeilge<\/strong>, that is.\u00a0 Sl\u00e1n go f\u00f3ill — R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gluais: DAF(h)A<\/strong>, my newly minted abbreviation for \u201cdiabhal a fhios agam<\/strong>\u201d (divil if I know), newly minted fad m\u2019eolais<\/strong>, that is, no signs of it online that I can find; –fileach<\/strong>, philic (also \u2013philous, hmm, how much difference is there between \u2013philic and \u2013philous?\u00a0 Eolas ag duine ar bith<\/strong>?); gn\u00e1thdhuine<\/strong>, layperson; halaifileach<\/strong>, halophilic, halophilous; monad<\/strong>, monad (both in biology and in philosophy); saoiste<\/strong> [SEESH-chuh], ranger<\/p>\n

P.S. In case you\u2019re wondering about na l\u00faib\u00edn\u00ed<\/strong> in this blog\u2019s title, I figured we could have both a feminine and a masculine angle (grammatically speaking, that is).\u00a0 \u201cAn ann di?<\/strong>\u201d means \u201cDoes it exist?\u201d for a feminine noun (like \u201can Ghaeilge\u201d<\/strong>).\u00a0 \u201cAn ann d\u00f3<\/strong>? means \u201cDoes it exist?\u201d for a masculine noun, implying \u201cfocal Gaeilge<\/strong>\u201d (\u201can Irish word\u201d).\u00a0 Being idir chomhairl\u00ed<\/strong> (indecisive) as well as um chomhionannas deiseanna <\/strong>(for equal-opportunity), I decided to use both.<\/p>\n

P.P.S.: And if I were actually i mo mhicribhitheola\u00ed<\/strong>, I might have something more to say about qualities of rusticles, which we could perhaps then call \u201crusticle qualities.\u201d\u00a0 But, n\u00ed micribhitheola\u00ed mise n\u00e1 baol air<\/strong>, and so I\u2019ll leave such a discussion to whichever \u201canon.\u201d authored one of my favorite folksongs from childhood, \u201cRisselty Rosselty.\u201d\u00a0 Perhaps some of you may remember it.\u00a0 Or if you saw the Hitchcock movie, The Birds<\/em>, you heard the children sweetly singing it in the schoolhouse of that infamous but real California community Bodega Bay.\u00a0 That is, until the birds attack!\u00a0 Remember it?\u00a0 \u201cRisselty rosselty, hey bombosity, knickety, knackety, rustical quality\u201d and all that?\u00a0 The Pennsylvania-based \u201cRustical Quality String Band\u201d has immortalized the phrase, but I don\u2019t know if they make any references to The Birds<\/em> or, for that matter, to the quality of the Titanic\u2019s rusticles!<\/p>\n

Now why Hitchcock chose to relocate a perfectly nice Celtic setting (Cornwall), as it appears in Daphne du Maurier\u2019s original short story, \u201cThe Birds,\u201d is to me unfathomable, except perhaps in terms of convenience to Hollywood.\u00a0 Surely the rugged Cornish coast could have made an equally dramatic backdrop.\u00a0 And why not leave the story\u2019s original dialect and ambiance intact?\u00a0 But as with most major films, Hollywood will have its way.\u00a0 If anyone is interested in the California location of the Hitchcock film, you can read more about it at: http:\/\/www.bodegabay.com\/index.php\/visitor-info\/articles-reviews-and-stories\/41-the-birds-and-bodega-bay<\/a> and at http:\/\/www.sfgate.com\/cgi-bin\/article.cgi?f=\/c\/a\/2001\/08\/19\/TR84630.DTL&ao=2<\/a> . I wonder if the local schoolkids still sing \u201cRisselty Rosselty\u201d now, now, now!<\/p>\n

The Rustical Quality String Band doesn\u2019t seem to have its own website, but can easily be found on YouTube, or at www.statecollege.com\/calendar\/detail.php?id=15834<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn) Amongst the many interesting topics raised by the Titanic centennial, at least one language query emerges.\u00a0 C\u00e9n Ghaeilge at\u00e1 ar \u201crusticle?\u201d\u00a0 First, let\u2019s define \u201crusticle,\u201d since it\u2019s a fairly new word in the English language.\u00a0 It was coined by Robert D. Ballard after he discovered the Titanic, draped with strands of rust on…<\/p>\n

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