{"id":3654,"date":"2013-01-26T22:55:31","date_gmt":"2013-01-26T22:55:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=3654"},"modified":"2017-05-09T02:06:12","modified_gmt":"2017-05-09T02:06:12","slug":"cinealacha-rothai-including-the-scottie-pinwheel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/cinealacha-rothai-including-the-scottie-pinwheel\/","title":{"rendered":"Cine\u00e1lacha Rotha\u00ed – Including the “Scottie Pinwheel”"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

When I first heard about the Scottie Pinwheel (‘sea, s\u00e9 bhrocaire Albanacha ag si\u00fal timpeall ar mhol, agus cad \u00e9 at\u00e1 sa mhol sin ach “babhla bainne gabhair,”<\/strong>\u00a0a bowl of goat’s milk), I thought “Now there’s a great phrase to translate.”\u00a0 \u00a0Perhaps you’ve seen the video?\u00a0http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=vDa0z0gEvI4<\/a><\/p>\n

But, of course, there are lots of other types of wheels that we might talk about, and which might sometimes be more practical, as vocabulary goes, than pinwheels.\u00a0 So first, we’ll look at the word for “wheel” itself, a few other types of wheels and wheel terms, then pinwheels, and finally, as the pi\u00e8ce de r\u00e9sistance, we’ll check out the components of the phrase “Scottie Pinwheel.”<\/p>\n

wheel: roth<\/strong> [say “ruh;” the “t” is silent, so it’s not like the surname “Roth;” the vowel sound is “uh,” as in English “run,” not like the “uh” in German “Huhn,” etc.]<\/p>\n

the wheel: an roth<\/strong><\/p>\n

of a wheel: rotha<\/strong> [RUH-huh]: galt\u00e1n rotha<\/strong>, a paddle steamer (steamboat)<\/p>\n

of the wheel: an rotha<\/strong><\/p>\n

wheels: rotha\u00ed<\/strong> [RUH-hee]: b\u00e9il\u00ed ar rotha\u00ed<\/strong>, meals on wheels<\/p>\n

the wheels: na rotha\u00ed<\/strong><\/p>\n

of the wheels: na rotha\u00ed<\/strong><\/p>\n

And here are a few specific types:<\/em><\/p>\n

roth deiridh<\/strong> [ruh DJERzh-ee], back wheel<\/p>\n

roth tosaigh<\/strong> [ruh TUSS-ee], front wheel<\/p>\n

roth sti\u00fartha<\/strong> [ruh SHTOOR-huh], steering wheel<\/p>\n

roth Chaitr\u00edona<\/strong> [ruh KHATCH-ree-uh-nuh], Catherine wheel (in fireworks)<\/p>\n

And a few phrases or terms using “wheel”<\/em><\/p>\n

barra rotha<\/strong>, a wheelbarrow (“rotha<\/strong>” presumably since the item has one wheel)<\/p>\n

cathaoir rotha\u00ed<\/strong>, a wheelchair (“rotha\u00ed<\/strong>” because the chair has two wheels)<\/p>\n

rothad\u00f3ir<\/strong>, a wheelwright (if anyone still practices that occupation)<\/p>\n

A few words that have “wheel” in English, but not in Irish:<\/em><\/p>\n

r\u00f3itifear<\/strong>, a wheel animalcule or rotifer (I know, not much in daily use, but perhaps it could come in handy in a barfight or an epithet-hurling match).<\/p>\n

tuirne<\/strong>, a spinning-wheel (apparently an earlier form was “roth tuirne<\/strong>” but that’s not common today)<\/p>\n

And the metaphorical wheels:<\/em><\/p>\n

a bheith ar rotha\u00ed an tsaoil<\/strong> [uh veh erzh RUH-hee un teel], to be on top of the world, lit. to be on the wheels of life\/of the world\/of destiny<\/p>\n

roth m\u00f3r an tsaoil<\/strong> [ruh mor un teel; the “s” is silent], the wheel of destiny\/of life.\u00a0 The phrase was also immortalized in Mic\u00ed Mac Gabhann’s classic 1959 memoir, Rotha M\u00f3r an tSaoil<\/em><\/strong>, which, incidentally uses “rotha<\/strong>” as a variant form of “roth<\/strong>” as the subject, singular in number.\u00a0 \u00a0Mac Gabhann’s story was made into a film in 1998 and the trailer for it can be seen on YouTube (http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=EVQTbtZNGEU<\/a>)<\/p>\n

And at least one metaphorical situation using “wheel” in English but not in Irish, as in<\/em>:<\/p>\n

modhanna casta an rialtais<\/strong> [KAHSS-tuh un REE-ul-tish], the “wheels” of government, lit. the “complicated ways” of the government, politicians being known for being strange “bed-felloes.”\u00a0 <och drochimeartas focal<\/strong>><\/p>\n

And back to our main topic, “pinwheel” is “roth pionna\u00ed<\/strong>,” straightforward enough, meaning “wheel of pins.”\u00a0 I’m actually a little puzzled as to why the plural (pins) is used, instead of the singular (pin), since each pinwheel has just one pin, but so be it.\u00a0 By the way, “pionna<\/strong>” means “pin,” but it isn’t the most common or basic word for “pin” in Irish; that would be “bior\u00e1n<\/strong>” and a full discussion of the difference would fill blag eile<\/strong>, so will have to wait for am eile<\/strong>.\u00a0 But in a nutshell, “pionna<\/strong>” can also mean a “peg,” whereas “bior\u00e1n<\/strong>” is also used for terms like “safety pin” (bior\u00e1n d\u00fanta<\/strong>) and “hat-pin” (bior\u00e1n hata<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

And now the Scotties!\u00a0 “Scottish Terrier” is “brocaire Albanach<\/strong>“(plural: “brocair\u00ed Albanacha<\/strong>“). To combine this with “roth pionna\u00ed<\/strong>,” we reverse the English sequence, to suit Irish word order (“Pinwheel of Scotties” instead of “Scottie Pinwheel”), giving us: “roth pionna\u00ed brocair\u00ed Albanacha<\/strong>.”\u00a0To make it “The Scottie Pinwheel,” we add “na<\/strong>” and eclipsis: “Roth Pionna\u00ed na mBrocair\u00ed Albanacha<\/strong>” (The Scottie Pinwheel).\u00a0 Of course, that could mean that the Scotties own a pinwheel (unlikely, in reality). \u00a0The Irish name for the video could be a little less figurative, perhaps something more like “Brocair\u00ed Albanacha ag Rothl\u00fa thart ar a mBabhla<\/strong>” (Scottish Terriers rotating around their bowl) or “Brocair\u00ed Albanacha ar Casadh<\/strong>” (spinning Scotties).\u00a0 “Spinning Scotties,” in English, is, of course, ambiguous, but n\u00edl neart agam ar \u00e9iginnteachta\u00ed an Bh\u00e9arla<\/strong>!\u00a0 I can just imagine na Brocair\u00ed Albanacha ag a gcuid tuirn\u00ed<\/strong> (“at their spinning wheels” — \u00a0works well for a country known for its home-spun goods!).<\/p>\n

Or perhaps we could have “Brocair\u00ed Albanacha Mar Sp\u00f3ca\u00ed Rotha<\/strong>” (Scotties as spokes in a wheel), which, for dramatic effect could be extended to “Brocair\u00ed Albanacha Mar Sp\u00f3ca\u00ed i Rotha M\u00f3r an tSaoil<\/strong>.”\u00a0 Hmm, that might even lead us to a discussion of the parts of a wheel in general, primarily the mol<\/strong> (hub), the sp\u00f3ca\u00ed<\/strong> (spokes), and the fiolla<\/strong> (felloe).\u00a0 \u00a0Bhuel, sin \u00e1bhar blag eile<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

Although “goat’s milk” isn’t part of the video’s title, it’s worth a gander as a nice example of Irish word order and possessive forms:\u00a0 “babhla bainne gabhair<\/strong>” (a bowl of milk of goat, with “gabhar<\/strong>” in the genitive case).\u00a0 Recognize “gabhar<\/strong>“?\u00a0 It’s closely related to Welsh “gafr<\/em>,” directly related to Scottish Gaelic “gabhar<\/strong>,” and a “cousin” of “goat” in various Romance languages (ch\u00e8vre, cabra, caper<\/em>, etc.).<\/p>\n

Dare I say I was bowled over by the r\u00f3ghleoiteacht<\/strong> of the f\u00edse\u00e1n<\/strong>?\u00a0 Agus,<\/strong> hmm, c\u00e9n Ghaeilge a bheadh air sin mar chor cainte? \u00a0\u00c1, ‘sea, “baineadh biongadh asam”<\/strong> ( I was bowled over, staggered, etc.)<\/p>\n

The original “Scottie Pinwheel” video appears to have been “post\u00e1ilte<\/strong>” by “bggann.”\u00a0 Go raibh maith agat, a bggann, as \u00e1bhar an bhlag seo!\u00a0 SGF, R\u00f3isl\u00edn <\/strong><\/p>\n

Gluais: brocaire<\/strong>, terrier, lit. “badgerer” (i.e. badger-dog); \u00e9iginnteacht<\/strong>, ambiguity; f\u00edse\u00e1n mearscaipthe<\/strong>, viral video, lit. quickly-distributed video (no reference to “viral” or “virus” in the phrase); gleoite<\/strong>, pretty or “cute” in the US sense (i.e. like kittens and puppies, not as in “acuteness”), which paves the way for my new Irish coinage, “r\u00f3ghleoiteacht<\/strong>” (“toocuteness”); imeartas focal<\/strong>, pun; mol<\/strong>, hub<\/p>\n

N\u00f3ta<\/strong>: please don’t confuse a “roth pionna\u00ed<\/strong>” with a “pionna rotha<\/strong>” — the latter would be a “linchpin,” literally a “wheel-pin” or “pin of wheel,” reflecting the linchpin’s role in fastening a wheel to a “crann fearsaide<\/strong>” (axle-tree).\u00a0 “Ord na bhfocal<\/strong>” rules!<\/p>\n

Nasc<\/strong>:\u00a0http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=vDa0z0gEvI4<\/a> (The Scottie Pinwheel, posted by bggan, Jan. 25, 2013)<\/p>\n

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

le R\u00f3isl\u00edn When I first heard about the Scottie Pinwheel (‘sea, s\u00e9 bhrocaire Albanacha ag si\u00fal timpeall ar mhol, agus cad \u00e9 at\u00e1 sa mhol sin ach “babhla bainne gabhair,”\u00a0a bowl of goat’s milk), I thought “Now there’s a great phrase to translate.”\u00a0 \u00a0Perhaps you’ve seen the video?\u00a0http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=vDa0z0gEvI4 But, of course, there are lots of…<\/p>\n

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