{"id":3001,"date":"2012-08-16T09:28:02","date_gmt":"2012-08-16T09:28:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=3001"},"modified":"2012-08-28T09:49:30","modified_gmt":"2012-08-28T09:49:30","slug":"dogs-days-dog-days-madrai-et-al-laethe-et-al-laethe-madrula-et-al","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/dogs-days-dog-days-madrai-et-al-laethe-et-al-laethe-madrula-et-al\/","title":{"rendered":"Dogs, Days, Dog Days (Madra\u00ed et al., Laethe et al., Laethe Madr\u00fala, et al.)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\"\"<\/a>

Sirius sa r\u00e9altbhu\u00edon "An Madra M\u00f3r"<\/p><\/div>\n

Technically speaking, they’re probably just about over, but a lot of people use the term “Dog Days” rather loosely, for mid- to late-summer, so let’s discuss the phrase while “an samhradh<\/strong>” is still “in it.” \u00a0 The starting date for the “Laethe Madr\u00fala”<\/strong>\u00a0(aka “Laethanta an Mhadra”<\/strong>) varies, sometimes an tr\u00ed\u00fa l\u00e1 d’I\u00fail<\/strong> (July 3rd), sometimes as late as an ceathr\u00fa l\u00e1 is fiche d’I\u00fail<\/strong> (July 24th), as noted in a previous blog on the topic (https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/laethe-madrula-an-tsamhraidh-ca-3-iuil-go-ca-11-lunasa\/<\/a>) .\u00a0 But our concern here will be the vocabulary, not the specific astronomical configuration.<\/p>\n

Once again, Irish provides us with lots of food for thought, vocabulary-wise.\u00a0 We’ll look briefly at the main words for “dog,” the various forms of the adjective “madr\u00fail<\/strong>,” different forms of the word for “day,” and finally the two phrases that can be used for “Dog Days” as such.<\/p>\n

Starting with “dog” (and what better place to start?), there are three main words to know, without getting into specific breeds such as “Brocair\u00ed Albanacha<\/strong>” or “S\u00ed-abhabha\u00ed<\/strong>.”<\/p>\n

madra<\/strong>, dog (and this is the word behind both Irish phrases for “Dog Days,” in one case as noun, in the other, as adjective)<\/p>\n

Its forms are: an madra<\/strong>, the dog; an mhadra<\/strong>, of the dog, na madra\u00ed<\/strong>, the dogs, na madra\u00ed<\/strong>, of the dogs (no change)<\/p>\n

In the North, the singular form usually changes to “madadh<\/strong>” [MAHD-oo], resulting in:<\/p>\n

an madadh<\/strong>, the dog; an mhadaidh<\/strong>, of the dog (as in L\u00e9im an Mhadaidh<\/strong>, Limavady, Co. Derry), and the same plural form, na madra\u00ed<\/strong>, for “the dogs” and “of the dogs”<\/p>\n

Another word for “dog” is “gadhar<\/strong>,” good to know, but not used in the phrases for “Dog Days,” which after all, are named after the star Sirius.\u00a0 In Irish, the two dog constellations are “An Madra M\u00f3r<\/strong>” (which includes Sirius) and “An Madra Beag<\/strong>,” so, whatever dialect variations may occur, “madra<\/strong>” is the word specifically used in the context of “r\u00e9alteola\u00edocht<\/strong>.”\u00a0 “Gadhar<\/strong>” can mean “dog” in general, but in my experience, is mostly used in phrases such as “gadhar fiaigh<\/strong>” (hunting dog) or “gadhar gearr<\/strong>” (mongrel, lit. “short” dog).\u00a0 Its forms are:<\/p>\n

an gadhar<\/strong>, the dog; an ghadhair<\/strong>, of the dog, na gadhair<\/strong>, the dogs, na ngadhar<\/strong>, of the dogs<\/p>\n

And then, of course, there are c\u00fanna<\/strong> (hounds), brocair\u00ed<\/strong> (terriers), and numerous specific breeds far beyond the scope of this blog.\u00a0 \u00c1bhar blag eile<\/strong>?<\/p>\n

The noun “madra<\/strong>” provides us with the core of the adjective “madr\u00fail<\/strong>,” which can mean “doglike,” “doggish,” “canine,” or simply “of dog” in the adjectival sense.\u00a0 It can also mean “coarse” or “unmannerly,” though it always disappoints my dog-loving heart to hear this noble animal used in derogatory idioms like “a bheith madr\u00fail le Se\u00e1n”<\/strong>\u00a0(to treat Se\u00e1n in a brutish way). \u00a0Maybe we should lobby for PC vocabulary for dogs? \u00a0At any rate, the adjective has a plural form, “madr\u00fala<\/strong>,” which is used in one of the two phrases for “Dog Days.”<\/p>\n

The word for “day” is quite consistent in the singular (l\u00e1<\/strong>, day; lae<\/strong>, of a day; an lae<\/strong>, of the day), but the plural has several variations: laethanta<\/strong> [LAY-hun-tuh], laetha<\/strong>, and laethe<\/strong>.\u00a0 Remember, the “t” is lenited in all of these, so it’s always silent.<\/p>\n

Finally, there are at least two main phrases for “Dog Days,”<\/p>\n

Laethanta an Mhadra<\/strong> [LAY-hun-tuh un WAH-druh], lit. the days of the dog<\/p>\n

na Laethe Madr\u00fala<\/strong>, lit. the doggish days<\/p>\n

Which phrase is more prevalent? \u00a0My most recent Google search turned up no hits (amas ar bith!<\/strong>) for “Laethanta an Mhadra<\/strong>,” though the phrase most certainly exists.\u00a0 “Laethe Madr\u00fala<\/strong>” turns up 11 hits, several of which point back to the earlier blog in this series, and most of which are followed by “an tSamhraidh<\/strong>” (of the summer). \u00a0Adding “of the Summer” (an tSamhraidh<\/strong>, {un TOW-ree]) to “Laethanta an Mhadra<\/strong>” triggers a slight change, resulting in “Laethanta Madra an tSamhraidh<\/strong>,” which gives me a grand total of c\u00faig amas<\/strong> (5 hits) today.\u00a0 Not much, all around.\u00a0 Doesn’t seem like there’s that much discussion of “Dog Days” going on in Irish.\u00a0 And what could we do to remedy that – bheith ag caint faoi ar l\u00edne, ceisteanna, tagairt\u00ed, srl.<\/strong><\/p>\n

At any rate, that’s the vocabulary for “Dog Days,” broken down into its various component parts.\u00a0 Next up, and speaking of navigation, how about “the horse latitudes” in Irish? \u00a0Hint: in Irish, the phrase doesn’t use any of several words of horse (capall, each<\/strong> [akh], etc.), but refers more fundamentally to the type of waters involved.\u00a0 On that lexicographical cliff-hanger, SGF, R\u00f3is<\/strong>l\u00edn<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn) Technically speaking, they’re probably just about over, but a lot of people use the term “Dog Days” rather loosely, for mid- to late-summer, so let’s discuss the phrase while “an samhradh” is still “in it.” \u00a0 The starting date for the “Laethe Madr\u00fala”\u00a0(aka “Laethanta an Mhadra”) varies, sometimes an tr\u00ed\u00fa l\u00e1 d’I\u00fail (July…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":3014,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3898],"tags":[229682,229683,229686,229684,3604,95028,229678,1048,229680,229676,5826,229675,5966,5967,229679,229681,111046,173257,1327],"class_list":["post-3001","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-irish-language","tag-an-madra-beag","tag-an-madra-mor","tag-an-tsamhraidh","tag-constellation","tag-days","tag-dog-days","tag-dog-days-of-summer","tag-dogs","tag-horse-latitudes","tag-laethanta-an-mhadra","tag-laethe","tag-laethe-madrula","tag-madra","tag-madrai","tag-mhadra","tag-realtbhuion","tag-samhradh","tag-sirius","tag-summer"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t