{"id":3887,"date":"2013-04-11T19:15:03","date_gmt":"2013-04-11T19:15:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=3887"},"modified":"2013-10-06T12:52:53","modified_gmt":"2013-10-06T12:52:53","slug":"bean-an-tuiodora-the-wife-of-the-thatcher","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/bean-an-tuiodora-the-wife-of-the-thatcher\/","title":{"rendered":"Bean an Tu\u00edod\u00f3ra (The Wife of the Thatcher)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

teach ceann tu\u00ed<\/p><\/div>\n

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

Well, no, this blog is not going to be about the late Margaret Hilda Thatcher, An Banbhar\u00fan Thatcher (13 Deireadh F\u00f3mhair 1925-8 Aibre\u00e1n 2013)<\/strong>.\u00a0 She actually only acquired the name “Thatcher” through marriage, having been born a “Roberts.”\u00a0 While it’s interesting to ponder the origin of the surname “Thatcher” in England, and the history of thatched cottages (plus the “cottage orn\u00e9” movement there), that would be beyond the scope of this blog.<\/p>\n

So let’s look at thatch (tu\u00ed<\/strong>), thatching (tu\u00edod\u00f3ireacht<\/strong>), and thatchers (tu\u00edod\u00f3ir\u00ed<\/strong>) in Irish.\u00a0 As words, that is — discussing the actual practice would take far more space than this blog affords.\u00a0 A good place to start, for those interested in the tradition and the craft in general, would be: Donegal Homesteads: The Disappearance of the Irish Thatched Cottage<\/em> (Paperback), by Lida Bulf (http:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/donegal-homesteads-lida-bulf\/1029253620<\/a>), or, for DF\u00c9<\/strong> diehards (more power to ye, a lucht “De\u00e1n F\u00e9in \u00c9<\/strong>!), you’ll find the cur chuige teagmh\u00e1lach<\/strong> at http:\/\/www.ehow.com\/how_12205723_doityourself-thatch-roof-design.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Here’s the basic vocab for “thatch”:<\/p>\n

tu\u00ed <\/strong>(thatch); an tu\u00ed<\/strong> (the thatch); na tu\u00ed<\/strong> (of the thatch).\u00a0 Regarding pronunciation, this is a fairly straightforward word, but remember the “t” is the typical Irish “dental t,” meaning that the tongue sticks out a little bit between the upper and lower teeth as you say it (unlike the “t” in American English).\u00a0 The initial “t” is not like the “t” in the English words “tee” or “tea.”\u00a0 As for the “-u\u00ed,” remember that when there are two Irish vowels together, and one is long, it’s the long one that gets pronounced.\u00a0 So the only vowel sound is “ee.”<\/p>\n

tu\u00edod\u00f3ireacht<\/strong> (thatching, the act or practice of thatching)<\/p>\n

tu\u00edod\u00f3ir<\/strong> (thatcher); an tu\u00edod\u00f3ir<\/strong> (the thatcher); an tu\u00edod\u00f3ra<\/strong> (of the thatcher); na tu\u00edod\u00f3ir\u00ed<\/strong> (the thatchers); na dtu\u00edod\u00f3ir\u00ed<\/strong> (of the thatchers)<\/p>\n

bean an tu\u00edod\u00f3ra<\/strong> (the wife of the thatcher); dr\u00e9imire<\/strong> an tu\u00edod\u00f3ra<\/strong> (the ladder of the thatcher)<\/p>\n

ceann tu\u00ed<\/strong>: thatched roof (“ceann<\/strong>” normally means “head” but here means “roof” and it can be used for the upper portion of many things, e.g. ceann tairne<\/strong>, the head of a nail, or ceann leapa<\/strong>, the head of a bed)<\/p>\n

teach ceann tu\u00ed<\/strong>: thatched roof house, as in the catchphrase “teach beag ceann tu\u00ed in ascaill an ghleanna<\/strong>.”\u00a0 Presumably this would be another way to describe the “teach beag aolbh\u00e1n neamhfholl\u00e1in<\/strong>” (small unhealthy whitewashed house) which was the home of Miche\u00e1langal\u00f3 \u00d3 C\u00fanasa, the protagonist of Myles na gCopaleen’s classic satire, An B\u00e9al Bocht<\/em><\/strong> [The Poor Mouth, 1941].\u00a0 “An ghleanna<\/strong>” means “of the glen,” and “ascaill<\/strong>” means, bhuel,<\/strong> “armpit” (aka “oxter”).\u00a0 More on the relationship of “ascaill\u00ed<\/strong>” to “gleannta<\/strong>” in another blog, b’fh\u00e9idir.<\/strong>\u00a0 I’ll just leave the topographical “ascaill<\/strong>” as a linguistic cliffhanger here.<\/p>\n

What exactly is “thatch” anyway?\u00a0 It can refer to various materials used to make roofs.\u00a0 In Ireland or Britain, it is generally straw, rushes, bent-grass, or sedge.\u00a0 \u00a0Styles of thatching exist far beyond Ireland and Britain, of course.\u00a0 Palmetto thatch was used in Florida by the Seminoles for the traditional “Chikee” house, and to some extent, it is still used decoratively today.\u00a0 Attap palm leaves are used in thatching some traditional homes in Southeast Asia.\u00a0 These “attap huts,” which also use the attap palm to make wattle for the hut walls, inspired the design of Singapore’s 36-storey Newton Suites, which won the 2007 Silver\u00a0Emporis Skyscraper Award<\/a>.\u00a0 N\u00ed h\u00e9 teach beag ceann tu\u00ed do mham\u00f3 \u00e9!\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

As for the next logical extension of “thatch” as our basic theme for the day, “Thatcherism,” I don’t actually see any official listing for “Thatcherachas<\/strong>” in any dictionary, but I did find 5 different references to “Thatcherachas<\/strong>” online.\u00a0 One is a particularly emphatic expression, adding “amach is amach” (“Thatcherachas amach is amach at\u00e1 anseo<\/strong> …), in a comment by “Colm” responding to a “Suirbh\u00e9<\/em><\/strong>” posted by igaeilge on 19 Bealtaine 2009 asking what you would do with a \u00a0\u20ac3m grant to support the Irish language (http:\/\/igaeilge.ie\/2009\/05\/19\/cad-a-dheanfa-le-e3m-suirbhe\/<\/a>).<\/p>\n

And, lo and behold, double-checking for “Thatchereachas<\/strong>” (with the suffix “-eachas<\/strong>” instead of “-achas<\/strong>“) brings up a grand total of dh\u00e1 amas eile<\/strong>, reminding us of the pervasive and very important system of “guta\u00ed<\/strong>” and “consain<\/strong>” being either “caol<\/strong>” or “leathan<\/strong>” in Irish.\u00a0 \u00a0Meirgeach<\/strong>?\u00a0 The guta\u00ed caola<\/strong> are “e” and “i.”\u00a0 The guta\u00ed leathana<\/strong> are “a,”o,” and “u.”\u00a0 According to the vowel harmony rules of Irish, a suffix should match the consonant it’s being attached to.\u00a0 For broad consonants, we add endings like “-anna<\/strong>” for “carr<\/strong>” or “bus” (carranna, busanna<\/strong>) but for slender consonants we add “-eanna<\/strong>,” as with \u00a0“scoil” <\/strong>or “scil” (scoileanna, scileanna)<\/strong>.\u00a0 Similarly, “-faidh<\/strong>” for “\u00f3lfaidh<\/strong>” but “-fidh<\/strong>” for “brisfidh<\/strong>.”\u00a0 So for the abstract “-ism-izing” suffix, we have two versions in Irish “-achas<\/strong>” and “-eachas<\/strong>.”\u00a0 Since “Thatcher(e)achas<\/strong>” is not really a standard word in Irish, and since its root is an English word, both options exist at the moment.\u00a0\u00a0 C\u00e9 acu litri\u00fa is fearr leatsa<\/strong>?<\/p>\n

Finally, no discussion of thatching would be complete without an seanfhocal coitianta seo<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

N\u00ed h\u00e9 l\u00e1 na gaoithe l\u00e1 na scolb<\/strong>.\u00a0 The windy day is not the day for thatching\u00a0\u00a0 Lit. The day of the wind isn’t the day of (for) scollops.\u00a0 “Scollop” refers to a looped stick used in thatching.\u00a0 “Scollop” is a Hiberno-English word based on the actual focal Gaeilge<\/strong>, “scolb<\/strong>,” which can also mean a splinter or the indentations on the edge of a scallop-shell.\u00a0 “Scollops” can also be referred to as “thatching spars,” and they were traditionally made of wood, but more recently might be made of steel.<\/p>\n

So, with a nod to the passing of the Thatcher era, there you have some of the basics creating the iconic calendar-photo Irish cottage, or at least talking about one i nGaeilge<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

N\u00f3ta<\/strong>: Yes, “ism-ize” is a fairly new verb in English, but it fits a purpose and is gaining some popularity on the Internet.\u00a0 So t\u00e1 m\u00e9 \u00e1 \u00fas\u00e1id anseo<\/strong>.\u00a0 An Ghaeilge ar<\/strong> “to ism-ize” — sin ceist<\/strong>!\u00a0 Mholfainn “*achas\u00fa,” mar thriail ar a laghad<\/strong>.\u00a0 Sampla\u00ed: *D’achasaigh s\u00e9 an focal<\/strong> (He ism-ized the word). \u00a0*Achasa\u00edtear a l\u00e1n focal inniu<\/strong> (A lot of words are ism-ized today).\u00a0 Do bhar\u00fail?<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn) Well, no, this blog is not going to be about the late Margaret Hilda Thatcher, An Banbhar\u00fan Thatcher (13 Deireadh F\u00f3mhair 1925-8 Aibre\u00e1n 2013).\u00a0 She actually only acquired the name “Thatcher” through marriage, having been born a “Roberts.”\u00a0 While it’s interesting to ponder the origin of the surname “Thatcher” in England, and the…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":3890,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3898],"tags":[298571,207494,298606,275748,4222,298583,298582,298592,298591,298590,1913,298576,229776,4604,298589,298577,299277,11603,298587,298608,299786,298602,298600,300411,298572,298585,11604,298607,298594,298601,298586,298573,298574,275607,275606,298575,298588,273831,299563,111745,7588,7031,275603,275608,275604,298598,298599,275610,275605,300093,207495,298579,298581,298580,111748,275615,275609,275611,298584],"class_list":["post-3887","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-irish-language","tag-achasu","tag-an-beal-bocht","tag-aolbhan","tag-armpit","tag-ascaill","tag-ascaill-a-ghleanna","tag-ascaill-an-ghleanna","tag-attap","tag-attap-hut","tag-attap-palm","tag-award","tag-bent-grass","tag-caol","tag-ceann-tui","tag-chikee","tag-cottage-orne","tag-emporis","tag-flann-obrien","tag-florida","tag-hilda","tag-ism-ization","tag-ism-ize","tag-leathan","tag-looped-stick","tag-margaret-thatcher","tag-michealangalo-o-cunasa","tag-myles-na-gcopaleen","tag-neamhfhollain","tag-newton-suites","tag-ni-he-la-na-gaoithe-la-na-scolb","tag-palmetto","tag-roberts","tag-rushes","tag-scolb","tag-scollop","tag-sedge","tag-seminole","tag-singapore","tag-skyscraper","tag-straw","tag-teach","tag-teach-ceann-tui","tag-thatch","tag-thatched","tag-thatcher","tag-thatcherachas","tag-thatchereachas","tag-thatchers","tag-thatching","tag-thatching-spar","tag-the-poor-mouth","tag-thui","tag-thuiodoir","tag-thuiodoiri","tag-tui","tag-tuiodoir","tag-tuiodoireacht","tag-tuiodoiri","tag-whitewashed"],"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