{"id":3395,"date":"2012-10-25T23:26:40","date_gmt":"2012-10-25T23:26:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=3395"},"modified":"2012-11-03T22:26:36","modified_gmt":"2012-11-03T22:26:36","slug":"sarstoirm-meigeastoirm-ollstoirm-superstorm-megastorm-great-storm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/sarstoirm-meigeastoirm-ollstoirm-superstorm-megastorm-great-storm\/","title":{"rendered":"S\u00e1rstoirm, Meigeastoirm, Ollstoirm (Superstorm, Megastorm, Great Storm)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

Several different words have been used to describe Hairic\u00edn Sandy<\/strong> (aka Sp\u00e9irling Sandy<\/strong>).\u00a0 Most of them involve the use of prefixes, although the term “stoirm fhoirfe<\/strong>” [STIRzh-im IRzh-fuh] could also be used.\u00a0 “Stoirm fhoirfe<\/strong>,” is the Irish for “a perfect storm,” a term popularized (in English) by author Sebastian Junger in his 1997 leabhar<\/strong> and in the 2000 scann\u00e1n<\/strong> of the same name.\u00a0 The t\u00e9arma<\/strong> actually predates Junger by deichbhlianta<\/strong> or c\u00e9adta<\/strong>, depending on your notion of the exact correlation (1936 for “a perfect storm” in the meteorological sense and 1718 for a more abstract sense, with Thackeray’s “perfect storm of sympathy” appearing about halfway in-between, ca. 1848).\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0But whatever its popularity in English, to the extent that some advocate cosc<\/strong> (banning) an t\u00e9arma<\/strong> (URL sa nasc th\u00edos<\/strong>), I don’t find any traceable use of “stoirm fhoirfe<\/strong>” in Irish to describe Sandy.<\/p>\n

At any rate, let’s take a closer look at the r\u00e9im\u00edreanna<\/strong> (prefixes).\u00a0 Is there actually any difference between a “s\u00e1rstoirm<\/strong>,” a “meigeastoirm<\/strong>,” and an “ollstoirm<\/strong>“?\u00a0 Not much, d\u00e9arfainn<\/strong>, although we could probable eke out a scealp\u00f3ig\u00edn <\/strong>(little sliver) of differentiation ina gcialla<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

1) “s\u00e1r<\/strong>-”\u00a0 has these meanings: exceeding, surpassing, excellent (n\u00ed i gcomhth\u00e9acs stoirmeacha<\/strong>!), ultra-, most.\u00a0 Seo sampla\u00ed<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

s\u00e1rbhliain<\/strong>, excellent year (s\u00e1rbhliain f\u00edona<\/strong>, excellent vintage)<\/p>\n

s\u00e1rmhargadh<\/strong> [SAWR-WAR-uh-guh], supermarket<\/p>\n

s\u00e1robair<\/strong>, excellent work<\/p>\n

s\u00e1r-riail<\/strong>, golden rule<\/p>\n

2) “oll-<\/strong>” means “great,” “gross (in size),” “huge,” “vast,” or “immense.\u00a0 I only find one example of “ollstoirm<\/strong>” online, from 2010 (http:\/\/seano-thallisabhus.blogspot.com\/2010\/12\/ollstoirm-sneachta.html<\/a> — GRMA, a She\u00e1in<\/strong>!).\u00a0 Samples include:<\/p>\n

ollbhaois<\/strong> [ol-weesh], great folly<\/p>\n

olldord<\/strong>, double bass<\/p>\n

ollmhargadh<\/strong> [OL-WAR-uh-guh], supermarket<\/p>\n

ollmh\u00f3r<\/strong> [ol-wor], huge, immense<\/p>\n

3) “meigea<\/strong>-,” aka “meig<\/strong>-,” “meigi<\/strong>-,” and “meag<\/strong>-,”\u00a0 means simply “mega-,” go d\u00edreach \u00f3n nGr\u00e9igis<\/strong> (m\u00e9gas<\/em>, “many,” though in modern use it usually implies a million times a unit of measurement).\u00a0 \u00a0Despite the widespread use of “megastorm” in English to describe Sandy, a “bigger-than-hurricane” hurricane, I don’t find any actual online examples of “meigeastoirm<\/strong>” to describe Sandy.\u00a0 We do, however, find the prefix in such Irish words as<\/p>\n

meigeasp\u00f3r<\/strong>, megaspore<\/p>\n

meigeadhumhach<\/strong>, mega-dune (calling all Frank Herbert fans!)<\/p>\n

meigilit<\/strong>, megalith<\/p>\n

meigibheart<\/strong>, megabyte<\/p>\n

meag\u00f3m<\/strong>, megohm<\/p>\n

Another phrase I’m still mulling over is the “one-two” storm, referring to the “one-two” punch, which has been applied, in English, to Sandy and also to other storms.\u00a0\u00a0 A “one-two” punch can either be described literally in Irish as “a haon a d\u00f3<\/strong>” or interpreted as “buille ar bhuille<\/strong>,” lit. “blow on blow.”\u00a0 So would we have a “stoirm a haon a d\u00f3<\/strong>” or a “stoirm bhuille ar bhuille<\/strong>” or “stoirm bhuille a haon a d\u00f3<\/strong>” or some other variation?\u00a0 If we use the phrase “buille ar bhuille<\/strong>” as an adjective, modifying “stoirm<\/strong>,” the first “buille<\/strong>” will also be lenited, since “stoirm<\/strong>” is a feminine noun.\u00a0 Given Sandy’s tripartite nature though (fronta \u00f3n Atlantach, fronta aniar, agus fronta aduaidh<\/strong>), it seems that “stoirm a haon a d\u00f3 a tr\u00ed<\/strong>” (n\u00f3 n\u00edos m\u00f3) at\u00e1 i gceist.\u00a0 Go h\u00e9igr\u00edoch<\/strong> (ad infinitum).<\/p>\n

And, of course, we could say “Frankenstoirm<\/strong>,” patterned after the English “Frankenstorm” — notice the one letter of difference between the Irish and English.\u00a0 That would, of course, be le leithsc\u00e9alta do chruth\u00fa an Docht\u00fair Frankenstein \u00e9 f\u00e9in<\/strong>.\u00a0 After all, n\u00edorbh ar an “chruth\u00fa” sin an locht.\u00a0 Bh\u00ed seisean ag iarraidh a bheith “daonna”<\/strong> (shades of Data and A.I, and of Pinocchio!) ach n\u00edor lig don lucht daonna d\u00f3<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

To the extent that Hurricane Sandy is a hybrid storm, with three fronts, Atlantic, Western, and Arctic, it’s not so unfitting that it should be named after an Docht\u00fair Frankenstein<\/strong>.\u00a0 After all, how many human parts did he use to create what he thought would be his\u00a0“cruth\u00fa foirfe<\/strong>“?<\/p>\n

Other blogs in this series have discussed “cine\u00e1lacha stoirmeacha<\/strong>,” and hopefully, this blog has added more possibilities.\u00a0 Time will tell, perhaps, which word is most fitting.\u00a0 Perhaps we’ll see in the aftermath.<\/p>\n

SGF, R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/strong><\/p>\n

P.S. The actual Irish word for “aftermath” reflects the term’s agricultural origin; it’s “athbharr<\/strong>,” lit. “re-crop” or “second crop.”\u00a0\u00a0 Since it implies something gained after the first harvest, it seems too positive for use here.<\/p>\n

Nasc:<\/strong> http:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/2008\/01\/01\/us-list-idUSN0160393320080101<\/a>, “Wordsmiths, Avoid These Words,” le<\/strong> Andrew Stern, 1 Ean\u00e1ir 2008<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn) Several different words have been used to describe Hairic\u00edn Sandy (aka Sp\u00e9irling Sandy).\u00a0 Most of them involve the use of prefixes, although the term “stoirm fhoirfe” [STIRzh-im IRzh-fuh] could also be used.\u00a0 “Stoirm fhoirfe,” is the Irish for “a perfect storm,” a term popularized (in English) by author Sebastian Junger in his 1997…<\/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":[255134,255133,255129,255130,255132,255128,255125,255126,255131,255123,255124,255127],"class_list":["post-3395","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-irish-language","tag-frankenstoirm","tag-frankenstorm","tag-great-storm","tag-hurricane-sandy","tag-junger","tag-megastorm","tag-meigeastoirm","tag-ollstoirm","tag-perfect-storm","tag-sandy","tag-sarstoirm","tag-superstorm"],"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