{"id":3998,"date":"2013-05-07T13:03:14","date_gmt":"2013-05-07T13:03:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=3998"},"modified":"2013-05-28T21:13:43","modified_gmt":"2013-05-28T21:13:43","slug":"when-is-a-mathair-not-a-mother-literally-that-is","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/when-is-a-mathair-not-a-mother-literally-that-is\/","title":{"rendered":"When Is A ‘M\u00e1thair” Not A ‘Mother’ (literally, that is)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Cathain nach 'm\u00e1thair' \u00ed 'an mh\u00e1thair'? (When is 'the mother' not 'a mother'?)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn)<\/strong><\/p>\n

No, this blog isn’t going to be about toircheas fireann<\/strong> (\u00e0 la Trip Tucker and the Xyrillians in Star Trek: Enterprise, The Unexpected).\u00a0 Nor will it be about capaill mhara<\/strong> or sn\u00e1thaid\u00ed mara<\/strong> or the possibilities of toirchis eacht\u00f3pacha<\/strong> i bhfir<\/strong> as postulated in our homeworld or as speculated about i bhficsean eola\u00edoch<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

What we will do in this blog is look at some words or phrases based on “m\u00e1thair<\/strong>” (mother) in Irish but which don’t get translated into “mother” in English (1a-d, below).\u00a0 And we’ll look at the opposite situation also, terms that include “mother” in English, but not in Irish (2a-d below).<\/p>\n

Before we even do that though, let’s do a quick review of the “mother \/ mom (mam, mum) \/ mommy (mammy, mummy)” continuum in Irish. \u00a0The basic words are:<\/p>\n

m\u00e1thair<\/strong> [MAW-hirzh], mother; an mh\u00e1thair<\/strong> [un WAW-hirzh], the mother<\/p>\n

m\u00e1thar<\/strong>, of a mother (gach mac m\u00e1thar<\/strong>, every mother’s son, everyone); note that the final “-r” is no longer “slender” (since it’s no longer next to the letter “i”), so it doesn’t have that buzzy “zh” quality to it<\/p>\n

na m\u00e1thar<\/strong>, of the mother (muintir na m\u00e1thar<\/strong>, the mother’s people\/kin)<\/p>\n

m\u00e1ithreacha<\/strong> [MAW-hrzhuh-khuh], mothers; note that we’re back to the “slender r” sound, since the “r” is now wedged between “i” and “e,” which are slender vowels \u00a0(\u00e1r m\u00e1ithreacha romhainn<\/strong>)<\/p>\n

na m\u00e1ithreacha<\/strong>, the mothers (T\u00e1 na m\u00e1ithreacha sacair ag tiom\u00e1int a gcuid SUVanna<\/strong>)<\/p>\n

m\u00e1ithreacha<\/strong>, of mothers; na m\u00e1ithreacha<\/strong>, of the mothers; note that there’s no change from the two plurals given above so we rely on word order and context to tell if these forms are possessive (staid m\u00e1ithreacha singile<\/strong>, “L\u00e1 na M\u00e1ithreacha Sona!”<\/strong>)<\/p>\n

A diminutive form is “m\u00e1ithr\u00edn<\/strong>,” literally “little mother,” typically with implication of “darling mother,” or “mother dear” (but hopefully not “Mommie Dearest” in the full sense of the word!).<\/p>\n

On the less formal side of things, we have “mam” <\/strong>(pl: mamanna)<\/strong>, with “maime<\/strong>” as a variant.\u00a0 Forms typically used by younger children include mama\u00ed <\/strong>(pl: mamaithe<\/strong>), with the variant “maim\u00ed<\/strong>.”\u00a0 “Maime<\/strong>” can be a variant for either “mam<\/strong>” or “mama\u00ed<\/strong>.”<\/p>\n

Now, on to our main topic, examples where we have the word “m\u00e1thair<\/strong>” in Irish, but we don’t have “mother” in English.\u00a0 An dtuigeann t\u00fa iad seo?\u00a0 (Aistri\u00fach\u00e1in th\u00edos)<\/strong><\/p>\n

1a) m\u00e1thair abhann<\/strong><\/p>\n

1b) m\u00e1thair sh\u00faigh <\/strong><OK, yes, this one does make me chuckle><\/strong><\/p>\n

1c) m\u00e1thair na mballach<\/strong><\/p>\n

1d) m\u00e1thair\u00e1bhar<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are also a few situations, where we have the word “mother” in English, but not in the traditional Irish equivalent.\u00a0 \u00a0An dtuigeann t\u00fa na cinn seo?\u00a0 (Aistri\u00fach\u00e1n th\u00edos).<\/strong><\/p>\n

2a. M\u00faineann g\u00e1 seift.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

2b. long choimhdeachta<\/strong><\/p>\n

2c. teanga dh\u00fachais<\/strong><\/p>\n

2d. gus<\/strong> (Yes, just “gus<\/strong>“)<\/p>\n

That’s just a selection, of course, of some of the possibilities.\u00a0\u00a0 As we approach “L\u00e1 na nAithreacha<\/strong>” in June, maybe I’ll try the same approach for “athair<\/strong>” (father). \u00a0And then, hmm,\u00a0 do we have a “L\u00e1 na nUncail\u00ed<\/strong>” or “L\u00e1 na nAint\u00edn\u00ed<\/strong>“?\u00a0 There are a least a couple of good “uncle\/non-uncle” phrases out there, and then, of course, there’s Shakespeare’s slightly overuncled phrase from Richard II, “Uncle me no uncle.”\u00a0 That could be an interesting phrase to translate into Irish.\u00a0 And the “Tut, tut!” part that precedes it will no doubt provide an interesting reason to explore some “intriachta\u00ed Gaeilge<\/strong>.”\u00a0 Bhuel, bhuel, don daighe! F\u00e9ach air sin anois!\u00a0 \u00a0A Mhuiric\u00edn!<\/strong><\/p>\n

For “aunts,” though, frankly it seems to me that an aunt is an aunt is an aunt.\u00a0 I don’t see much figurative use of the expression, short of, perhaps, the use in some cultures of “aunt,” or especially “aunty,” as a term of respect from children to adult women not related to them.<\/p>\n

At any rate, the examples in 1a-d and 2a-d remind us that literal, word-by-word translations don’t always work.\u00a0 Best rule of thumb is always double-check and don’t necessarily take the first definition you find.\u00a0 Just because English has a phrase like “Necessity is the mother of invention,” doesn’t mean the Irish equivalent will use the word “m\u00e1thair<\/strong>” or the word “fionnachtain<\/strong>” (invention).\u00a0 As the translation below will show (2a), Irish simply uses “g\u00e1<\/strong>” and “seift<\/strong>” to express the same concept.\u00a0 Of course, it’s basically a good thing that the English phrase is what it is.\u00a0 Otherwise, we might never have had the Mothers of Invention, which might then mean that Frank Zappa’s career path wouldn’t have followed the same trajectory. \u00a0“M\u00e1ithreacha Fionnachtana<\/strong>” doesn’t seem to have quite the same linguistic panache!\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0SGF, R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gluais agus n\u00f3ta\u00ed: capall mara<\/strong>, a sea-horse, quite literally; sn\u00e1thaid mhara<\/strong>, pipe-fish or needle-fish, lit. sea-needle, both species in which the male carries the young.\u00a0 “Romhainn<\/strong>,” means “before us,” so the phrase “\u00e1r m\u00e1ithreacha romhainn<\/strong>” means “our mothers before us.”\u00a0 It could also be translated as “our foremothers,” although I can’t say I’ve heard “foremother” used much in English, except by Vulcans (T’Pol talking about T’Mir in “Carbon Creek,” Star Trek: Enterprise).<\/p>\n

Aistri\u00fach\u00e1in: \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

1a) m\u00e1thair abhann<\/strong>, source of a river, lit. “river-mother”; “foinse abhann<\/strong>” is another option<\/p>\n

1b) m\u00e1thair sh\u00faigh<\/strong> [… HOO-ee], squid.\u00a0 This apparently breaks down literally to “mother of sucking” based on the verb “s\u00faigh<\/strong>” (suck, absorb) or its verbal noun “s\u00fa<\/strong>” (absorption, suction). Of course, with “m\u00e1thair<\/strong>” also meaning “matter,” “source,” or “cause,” the interpretation could be more like “cause of suction,” referring more specifically to the s\u00faiteoir\u00ed<\/strong>.\u00a0 At any rate, “scuid<\/strong>” is another name for this cephalopod.<\/p>\n

1c. m\u00e1thair na mballach<\/strong>, sea-wife (type of fish), lit. “mother of the wrasse” (“wrasse” being a fish whose name, ironically, comes from the Cornish, “wrach\/gwrach<\/em>“. \u00a0Note to self: future blog, wrasse, gwrach<\/em>, Cornish sea creatures names translated into Irish (porbeagle et al. !), and whether sea-wives are similar to ale-wives. \u00a0That is the Pomolobus pseudoharengus<\/em> type of ale-wife, not the “bean a’ leanna<\/strong>‘ type!<\/p>\n

1d. m\u00e1thair\u00e1bhar<\/strong> (lit. mother-material), primary cause, cause, parent material, the last meaning somewhat ironic because the English word “material” ultimately derives from Latin “mater<\/em>” (mother).<\/p>\n

2a) M\u00faineann g\u00e1 seift<\/strong>.\u00a0 Necessity is the mother of invention, lit. Need teaches shift\/device\/resource.<\/p>\n

2b. long choimhdeachta<\/strong> [lung KHIV-djukh-tuh], mothership, based on “coimhdeacht<\/strong>” ([KIV-djukht], accompaniment), although apparently the new term for “mothership,” in space travel, is “m\u00e1thair-\u00e1rthach<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

2c. teanga dh\u00fachais<\/strong>, mother tongue, native tongue, lit. language of heritage (aka “teanga mh\u00e1thartha<\/strong>,” which does have the reference to “m\u00e1thair<\/strong>,” albeit in adjective form, “m\u00e1thartha<\/strong>,” lit. “maternal”)<\/p>\n

2d. gus<\/strong>, mother wit (i.e. common sense).\u00a0 For pronunciation, remember this more like the “u” of English “put” than the “u” of English “putt.”\u00a0 In other words, it’s not really pronounced like the English man’s name “Gus” or the adjective “gusty,” but, reasonably enough, it sounds like the “-gus<\/strong>” part of “agus<\/strong>.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

\u00a0(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn) No, this blog isn’t going to be about toircheas fireann (\u00e0 la Trip Tucker and the Xyrillians in Star Trek: Enterprise, The Unexpected).\u00a0 Nor will it be about capaill mhara or sn\u00e1thaid\u00ed mara or the possibilities of toirchis eacht\u00f3pacha i bhfir as postulated in our homeworld or as speculated about i bhficsean eola\u00edoch…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":4006,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3898],"tags":[289715,273408,94538,289714,289727,289725,2135,289728,289711,3201,111705,5927,5978,289701,289704,6022,6025,6076,7478,289705,6144,289709,208992,289719,6148,289710,289717,289703,173173,6381,289716,289723,218826,289712,6757,13307,289708,6940,7035,94537,289722,289726,289729,289713],"class_list":["post-3998","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-irish-language","tag-ale-wife","tag-arthach","tag-aunt","tag-ballach","tag-carbon-creek","tag-enterprise","tag-fish","tag-foremother","tag-frank-zappa","tag-ga","tag-happy-mothers-day","tag-long","tag-maithreacha","tag-mam","tag-mammy","tag-mathair","tag-mathar","tag-mhathair","tag-mom","tag-mommy","tag-mother","tag-mother-of-invention","tag-mother-tongue","tag-mother-wit","tag-mothers-day","tag-mothers-of-invention","tag-mothership","tag-mum","tag-mummy","tag-our-mothers-before-us","tag-primary-cause","tag-richard-ii","tag-river","tag-sea-wife","tag-seift","tag-shakespeare","tag-squid","tag-star-trek","tag-teanga","tag-uncle","tag-uncle-me-no-uncle","tag-unexpected","tag-vulcan","tag-wrasse"],"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