{"id":34,"date":"2009-05-25T00:01:07","date_gmt":"2009-05-25T04:01:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=34"},"modified":"2009-05-25T00:01:07","modified_gmt":"2009-05-25T04:01:07","slug":"an-bliosan-greine-jerusalem-artichoke-ainm-contrailte-i-mbearla-ach-%e2%80%9cneamhchontrailte%e2%80%9d-i-ngaeilge-an-english-misnomer-but-irish-%e2%80%9cnon-misnomer%e2%80%9d","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/an-bliosan-greine-jerusalem-artichoke-ainm-contrailte-i-mbearla-ach-%e2%80%9cneamhchontrailte%e2%80%9d-i-ngaeilge-an-english-misnomer-but-irish-%e2%80%9cnon-misnomer%e2%80%9d\/","title":{"rendered":"An Blios\u00e1n Gr\u00e9ine (Jerusalem Artichoke): Ainm Contr\u00e1ilte i mB\u00e9arla ach \u201cNeamhchontr\u00e1ilte\u201d i nGaeilge (An English Misnomer but Irish \u201cNon-Misnomer\u201d)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tamaill\u00edn \u00f3 shin<\/strong> (a little while ago, May 6 to be specific), I hinted at a discussion of the term \u201cJerusalem artichoke\u201d in Irish.\u00a0 <\/span>And why not?\u00a0 <\/span>It\u2019s suimi\u00fail<\/strong> (interesting) on several counts: \u201cluibheola\u00edocht<\/strong>\u201d (botany), \u201clogainmn\u00edocht\u201d (<\/strong>toponymy), \u201csanasa\u00edocht\u201d <\/strong>and \u201cbr\u00e9agshanasa\u00edocht<\/strong>\u201d (etymology and pseudo-etymology), \u201cc\u00f3caireacht<\/strong>\u201d (cooking), and \u201ceolas contr\u00e1ilte\u201d<\/strong>(misinformation), to name just a few. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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

You may recall that the key to understanding \u201c<\/span><\/em>Jerusalem<\/span> artichoke,\u201d the English name of the plant Helianthus tuberosus, <\/span><\/em>is the Italian word \u201cgirasole<\/em>\u201d (turning toward the sun, heliotropic).\u00a0 <\/span>It has nothing to do with Jerusalem, which, if it were part of the phrase, would be \u201cIar\u00fasail\u00e9im<\/strong>.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>So, if we look at the word\u2019s history, its sanasa\u00edocht<\/strong>, or in this case, br\u00e9agshanasa\u00edocht<\/strong>, we find that the \u201cgirasole\u201d element eventually became Jerusalem, through similarity of sound and the fact that so many plant and animal species are, in fact, named after geographic locations, accurate or not.\u00a0 <\/span>Stranger things have been known to happen, soundwise, like \u201csparrowgrass\u201d for \u201casparagus,\u201d or toponymically, as in Philadelphia Cream Cheese, which originated in New York, or \u201cPanama hats,\u201d which are traditionally made in Ecuador.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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

Whether the plant actually turns to the sun or not, I will not question here, not being a luibheola\u00ed <\/strong>(botanist), but if anyone can vouch for the plant\u2019s h\u00e9ileatr\u00f3pacht<\/strong> (heliotropism), I\u2019d be interested to hear about it.\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Or maybe we should ask the aptly named character, Miss Heliotrope, from the children\u2019s book, The Little White Horse, <\/em>which is one of my all-time favorites, and to judge from her recent endorsement, one of J. K. Rowling\u2019s childhood favorites also.\u00a0 <\/span>Of course, Miss Heliotrope\u2019s name comes from the color of her nose, which matches the color of the heliotrope flower, and not from any sun-turning propensities, but, sin \u00c1.B.E.<\/strong> <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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

Irish, I\u2019m pleased to say, drops the ainm contr\u00e1ilte<\/strong> (misnomer) and simply uses \u201cblios\u00e1n gr\u00e9ine<\/strong>\u201d (sun artichoke) for H. tuberosus<\/span><\/em>.\u00a0 <\/span>We\u2019re still left with calling this sunflower an \u201cartichoke\u201d but that much seems irreversible.\u00a0 <\/span>Apparently its root is edible and tastes something like artichoke, hence the connection.\u00a0 <\/span>Can\u2019t say I\u2019ve ever tried it though.\u00a0 <\/span>Agus tusa?\u00a0 <\/span>Ar ith t\u00fa fr\u00e9amh blios\u00e1n gr\u00e9ine riamh? <\/strong>(And yourself?\u00a0 <\/span>Ever eat Jerusalem artichoke root?).\u00a0 <\/span>If so, I\u2019d be interested to know how it was prepared and I\u2019m sure other readers would be interested too.\u00a0 <\/span>That might even help us work on one particularly ambiguous bit of Irish vocabulary, the verb \u201cbruith<\/strong>,\u201d which can mean to boil, bake, broil, grill, or become burnt, usually from the sun, not culinarily, which would typically use the verb \u201cd\u00f3<\/strong>\u201d (to burn).\u00a0 <\/span>So that\u2019s our c\u00f3caireacht<\/strong> connection.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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

The globe artichoke (Cynara cardunculus), <\/span><\/em>the plant we normally eat,<\/span> is actually member of the feochad\u00e1n <\/strong>(thistle) family.\u00a0 <\/span>Thistles and their Celtic connections could easily occupy a full blog, so I\u2019ll save that for blag \u00e9igin eile<\/strong>.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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

Pronunciation tip:<\/span><\/p>\n

sanasa\u00edocht: <\/strong>SAHN-uss-ee-ukht; the \u201ckh\u201d here represents the guttural \u201cch\u201d sound, like German has in \u201cBuch\u201d or \u201cAchtung\u201d and as in the word \u201cChutzpah.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

br\u00e9agshanasa\u00edocht<\/strong>: remember the \u201cbr\u00e9ag<\/strong>\u201d (false) part is a prefix, which softens or \u201clenites\u201d the initial \u201cs\u201d of sanasa\u00edocht<\/strong> to \u201csh,\u201d and that means that the original initial \u201cs\u201d is not pronounced at all!\u00a0 <\/span>The \u201csh\u201d sound in Irish is pronounced like an \u201ch,\u201d so here we have BRAYG-HAHN-uss-ee-ukht.\u00a0 <\/span>You may have learned that the first syllable is stressed in pronouncing Irish words, which is true, but the rule changes for compound words.\u00a0 <\/span>They typically have equal stress on the prefix and the first syllable, which I indicate here with ceannlitreacha<\/strong> (capital letters).\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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

You can also see this pronunciation rule for prefixes in effect in words like \u201cseanchapall<\/strong>\u201d (old horse), which would be represented as SHAN-KHAHP-ull, with the first two syllables having equal emphasis.\u00a0 <\/span>More examples of that later, i mblag eile<\/strong>, if you let me know that \u201ccomhfhocail<\/strong>\u201d (compound words) are of particular interest.\u00a0 <\/span>Bhur mblag\u00e1la\u00ed – R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tamaill\u00edn \u00f3 shin (a little while ago, May 6 to be specific), I hinted at a discussion of the term \u201cJerusalem artichoke\u201d in Irish.\u00a0 And why not?\u00a0 It\u2019s suimi\u00fail (interesting) on several counts: \u201cluibheola\u00edocht\u201d (botany), \u201clogainmn\u00edocht\u201d (toponymy), \u201csanasa\u00edocht\u201d and \u201cbr\u00e9agshanasa\u00edocht\u201d (etymology and pseudo-etymology), \u201cc\u00f3caireacht\u201d (cooking), and \u201ceolas contr\u00e1ilte\u201d(misinformation), to name just a few. \u00a0 You…<\/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":[7693,7700,7704,7706,7722,3970,3972,4012,4024,4057,4171,4179,4195,4200,4219,4223,4263,4307,4313,4350,4351,4386,4402,4403,4417,4426,4427,4436,4437,4480,4486,4488,3134,4553,4563,4605,4621,3601,4659,4665,4676,4712,48,4735,4740,4741,4753,4754,4764,181,4819,4854,4886,3160,5045,5047,5048,5079,5080,5081,5086,930,5098,5099,5100,5102,5103,65,5114,1057,5131,68,2123,5169,5222,5253,5285,1084,5352,935,5364,5365,5374,5388,5389,5420,5443,5444,5447,5448,5466,5467,5468,5509,5512,5513,5514,5515,5516,5580,5597,5646,5655,5667,5702,5716,5747,5754,2242,5765,5873,5877,5878,5912,5925,5948,5949,5950,5951,6030,6033,6034,6035,6124,6125,6127,2341,6253,6254,6283,6315,6357,6388,6389,6390,6440,6441,6476,6479,2418,6528,6530,6542,11,6543,6549,6628,6633,6677,6678,6739,6758,6780,6781,3403,6884,6908,2540,6954,6956,6970,6972,6973,6992,6993,7024,7025,7063,7089,7108,7109,7134,7151,7152,7203,7209,7251,165,7643],"class_list":["post-34","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-irish-language","tag-neamhchontrailte","tag--first-syllable","tag--ngaeilge","tag--original-initial-s","tag-a-b-e","tag-accurate","tag-achtung","tag-agus-tusa","tag-ainm-contrailte","tag-all-time-favorites","tag-and-yourself","tag-animal-species","tag-aptly-named","tag-ar-ith-tu-freamh-bliosan-greine-riamh","tag-artichoke","tag-asparagus","tag-bake","tag-bearla","tag-become-burnt-usually-from-the-sun","tag-bhliosain","tag-bhliosan","tag-blag-eigin-eile","tag-bliosain","tag-bliosan-greine","tag-boil","tag-botanist","tag-botany","tag-breag","tag-breagshanasaiocht","tag-broil","tag-bruith","tag-buch","tag-capital-letters","tag-caps","tag-cardunculus","tag-ceannlitreacha","tag-celtic-connections","tag-cheese","tag-childhood","tag-choke","tag-chutzpah","tag-cocaireacht","tag-color","tag-color-of-her-nose","tag-comhfhocail","tag-comhfhocal","tag-compound-word","tag-compound-words","tag-contrailte","tag-cooking","tag-cream","tag-culinarily","tag-cynara","tag-do","tag-eat","tag-ecuador","tag-edible","tag-element","tag-elizabeth","tag-elizabeth-goudge","tag-endorsement","tag-english","tag-eolaiocht","tag-eolas","tag-eolas-contrailte","tag-equal-emphasis","tag-equal-stress","tag-etymology","tag-ever-eat-jerusalem-artichoke-root","tag-examples","tag-false","tag-family","tag-favorites","tag-feochadan","tag-folk-etymology","tag-freamh","tag-gaeilge","tag-genitive-case","tag-geographic-locations","tag-german","tag-ghrian","tag-ghrianta","tag-girasole","tag-globe","tag-globe-artichoke","tag-goudge","tag-grein","tag-grian","tag-grianta","tag-grill","tag-guttural","tag-guttural-ch-sound","tag-h-tuberosus","tag-heileatropacht","tag-helianthus","tag-helianthus-tuberosus","tag-heliotrope-flower","tag-heliotropic","tag-heliotropism","tag-i-mblag-eile","tag-iarusaileim","tag-initial-s","tag-interesting","tag-irish","tag-irish-words","tag-irreversible","tag-italian","tag-j-k-rowling","tag-jerusalem","tag-jerusalem-artichoke","tag-lenite","tag-lenites","tag-lenition","tag-little-while-ago","tag-logainmniocht","tag-luibh","tag-luibheanna","tag-luibheolai","tag-luibheolaiocht","tag-mbearla","tag-mblagalai","tag-mbliosain","tag-mbliosan","tag-misinformation","tag-misnomer","tag-miss-heliotrope","tag-new-york","tag-ngrian","tag-ngrianta","tag-non-misnomer","tag-o-shin","tag-old-horse","tag-panama","tag-panama-hat","tag-panama-hats","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-cream-cheese","tag-plant","tag-plant-species","tag-prefix","tag-prefixes","tag-prepared","tag-pronouncing","tag-pronunciation","tag-pronunciation-rule","tag-pseudo-etymology","tag-root","tag-rowling","tag-sanas","tag-sanasaiocht","tag-seanchapall","tag-seimhiu","tag-shanas","tag-shanasaiocht","tag-sin","tag-softens","tag-sparrowgrass","tag-species","tag-stranger","tag-stressed","tag-suimiuil","tag-sun-artichoke","tag-sun-turning-propensities","tag-syllable","tag-syllables","tag-tamaillin","tag-tamaillin-o-shin","tag-term","tag-the-little-white-horse","tag-thistle","tag-thistles","tag-to-burn","tag-toponym","tag-toponymically","tag-tuberosus","tag-turning-toward-the-sun","tag-upper-case","tag-verb","tag-words-history"],"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