{"id":31,"date":"2009-05-16T00:56:34","date_gmt":"2009-05-16T04:56:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=31"},"modified":"2009-05-16T00:56:34","modified_gmt":"2009-05-16T04:56:34","slug":"bhuf-bhuf-an-chead-mhadra-%e2%80%93-bo-obama-%e2%80%93-the-first-dog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/bhuf-bhuf-an-chead-mhadra-%e2%80%93-bo-obama-%e2%80%93-the-first-dog\/","title":{"rendered":"Bhuf! Bhuf! An Ch\u00e9ad Mhadra \u2013 Bo Obama \u2013 The First Dog"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you don’t see the image, please go to http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:First_Dog_Bo_Obama.jpg<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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Does it get any cuter?\u00a0 <\/span>Bo Obama agus lei (muince Hav\u00e1\u00edoch) air.<\/strong> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Stoca\u00ed b\u00e1na ar a chosa tosaigh agus eireaball pom-pom! <\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Bibe b\u00e1n aige.\u00a0 <\/span>Is Uiscead\u00f3ir Portaing\u00e9alach \u00e9.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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N\u00ed d\u00f3igh liom go bhfuil aon rud n\u00edos gleoite!<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Bo<\/p>\n

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Photo: Pete Souza, U.S. Government (Public Domain)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:First_Dog_Bo_Obama.jpg<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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So what\u2019s that all about?\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cMuince<\/strong>\u201d used rather loosely here for \u201cnecklace\u201d since there\u2019s no real Irish word for a Hawaiian \u201clei.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>After all, it\u2019s a focal iasachta<\/strong> (loan word) even in English, so remains a focal iasachta<\/strong> in Irish.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Here the function of the simple word \u201cagus<\/strong>\u201d (and) is amplificative, adding more detail without using a verb. This is a typical sentence structure in Irish and in Hiberno-English (\u201cHe came home and him tired\u201d).\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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stoca\u00ed b\u00e1na: <\/span><\/strong>white socks; cosa tosaigh:<\/strong> forelegs; a chosa tosaigh:<\/strong> his forelegs <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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eireaball:<\/span><\/strong> tail; pom-pom = pom-pom (n\u00ed nach h-ionadh<\/strong>, not surprisingly, focal iasachta eile, \u00f3n bhFraincis <\/strong>\u201cpompon”)<\/em>.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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n\u00ed d\u00f3igh liom<\/span><\/strong>: I don\u2019t suppose; go bhfuil<\/strong>: that there is; aon rud<\/strong>: anything<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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bibe b\u00e1n: <\/span><\/strong>white bib; aige: <\/strong>at him, i.e. \u201che has\u201d (another type of verbless Irish sentence, typical in extended descriptions)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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uiscead\u00f3ir: <\/span><\/strong>water dog, from \u201cuisce\u201d <\/strong>(water) and \u201c-\u00f3ir<\/strong>,\u201d a suffix of agent. <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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gleoite<\/span><\/strong> (cute) and n\u00edos gleoite (<\/strong>cuter), but remember that this is the U.S. sense of the word \u201ccute\u201d (i.e. adorable).\u00a0 <\/span>In Hiberno-English, the word \u201ccute,\u201d from \u201cacute,\u201d generally means \u201ctricky\u201d or \u201cclever,\u201d the same sense in which Mark Twain used it here years ago.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Care to add a further description?\u00a0 <\/span>If so, please send it to me and we\u2019ll incorporate it into a future \u201cdog blog.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Does anyone know if that little white tip on his \u201csmig<\/strong>\u201d (chin) has a special name in dog grooming?\u00a0 <\/span>If not, I\u2019d opt to call it a \u201csmigscead<\/strong>\u201d (chin-blaze), but I\u2019m open to \u201cmolta\u00ed<\/strong>\u201d (suggestions).\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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And yes, \u201cBhuf! Bhuf!\u201d<\/strong> is how dogs bark in Irish.\u00a0 <\/span>The \u201cbh\u201d of \u201cbhuf<\/strong>\u201d is pronounced like a \u201cw\u201d so the phrase sounds just about like the English \u201cwoof.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>Very very few Irish words actually start with \u201cw,\u201d one of the rare exceptions being in the broadcasting phrase\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/strong><\/span><\/span>waighnde\u00e1il<\/span> an t\u00e9ip<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/a>\u201d<\/span> (wind the tape), so \u201cwuf\u201d in Irish would be unlikely.\u00a0 <\/span>Yes, it\u2019s quite probable that the Irish \u201cbhuf<\/strong>\u201d is probably directly influenced by the English, but given the paucity of early Irish children\u2019s books with talking animals and onomatopoeia, we\u2019ll probably never know how a native Irish speaker ca. 1800 would have interpreted the sound of a bark, with no English interference.\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cBhuf! Bhuf!\u201d<\/strong> has made recent inroads into the world of Irish children\u2019s literature and looks like it is here to stay.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, we know that the way a dog\u2019s bark is represented varies greatly in different languages, ranging from \u201cau au\u201d (Portaing\u00e9ilis)<\/strong> to \u201cvov vov\u201d (Sualainnis, <\/strong>Swedish), so it\u2019s all a bit random anyway. Ach sin \u00c1.B.E<\/strong>. (which I hope you remember is \u00e1bhar blag eile<\/strong>).\u00a0 <\/span>Perhaps even \u00e1bhar do mo chomhghleacaithe, na blag\u00e1laithe eile ag Transparent Language<\/strong>.\u00a0 <\/span>In case you\u2019re wondering, that\u2019s the plural of \u201ccomhghleaca\u00ed<\/strong>\u201d (colleague) and of a term you\u2019re probably well aware of by now, \u201cblag\u00e1la\u00ed<\/strong>\u201d (blogger).\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Maybe some day we could synchronize the Transparent Language blogs to deal with animal sounds in our respective tongues.\u00a0 <\/span>Perhaps next L\u00e1 Naisi\u00fanta na Madra\u00ed<\/strong>? In case you weren\u2019t already aware that there was such a holiday, well, I wasn\u2019t either, until I started writiing this blog and researched it.\u00a0 <\/span>Since \u201cevery dog has its day,\u201c I assumed that dogs at large must have their day, and iontas na n-iontas<\/strong> (basically but not literally \u201clo and behold\u201d), there it was, August 26th (www.nationaldogday.com). Its founder, Colleen Paige, has also founded L\u00e1 N\u00e1isi\u00fanta na gCoile\u00e1n<\/strong> for puppies (3\/23) and L\u00e1 N\u00e1isi\u00fanta na gCat<\/strong> for cats (10\/29), and several others.\u00a0 <\/span>Maith th\u00fa, a Chail\u00edn<\/strong>!\u00a0 <\/span>(Well done, Colleen)!\u00a0 <\/span>Bhur smaointe, a chomhghleacaithe<\/strong> (your thoughts, colleagues)? \u00a0<\/span>– Bhur mblag\u00e1la\u00ed – R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you don’t see the image, please go to http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:First_Dog_Bo_Obama.jpg \u00a0 Does it get any cuter?\u00a0 Bo Obama agus lei (muince Hav\u00e1\u00edoch) air. \u00a0 Stoca\u00ed b\u00e1na ar a chosa tosaigh agus eireaball pom-pom! \u00a0 Bibe b\u00e1n aige.\u00a0 Is Uiscead\u00f3ir Portaing\u00e9alach \u00e9. \u00a0 N\u00ed d\u00f3igh liom go bhfuil aon rud n\u00edos gleoite! \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Photo: Pete…<\/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":[3938,3981,4357,4368,4369,4410,4879,4880,4982,5061,5062,5386,5498,5862,6163,6268,6490,6491,6507,6510,6946,6948,7237,7238],"class_list":["post-31","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-irish-language","tag-a-chosa-tosaigh","tag-acute","tag-bhuf","tag-bibe","tag-bibe-ban","tag-bo-obama","tag-cute","tag-cuter","tag-doigh-liom","tag-eireaball","tag-eireaball-pom-pom","tag-gleoite","tag-havaioch","tag-lei","tag-muince","tag-nios-gleoite","tag-pom-pom","tag-pompon","tag-portaingealach","tag-portuguese-water-dog","tag-stoca-ban","tag-stocai-bana","tag-uisceadoir","tag-uisceadoir-portaingealach"],"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