{"id":4048,"date":"2013-05-20T14:15:27","date_gmt":"2013-05-20T14:15:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=4048"},"modified":"2016-11-06T01:07:46","modified_gmt":"2016-11-06T01:07:46","slug":"how-to-say-uncail-uncailin-amhnair-etc-i-ngaeilge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/how-to-say-uncail-uncailin-amhnair-etc-i-ngaeilge\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Say “Uncail” (Uncail\u00edn, Amhnair, etc.) i nGaeilge"},"content":{"rendered":"
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(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn)<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Uncail\u00ed i nDubh? (Uncail\u00ed agus Cultacha Dubha orthu)<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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First, let me clarify that in this blog we’ll just be saying “uncle” in a very straightforward way, no implication of “crying uncle” (yielding, giving in).\u00a0 Even though the Irish language is incredibly rich in idioms and figurative expressions, I haven’t really found much use of the word “uncail<\/strong>” in such expressions.\u00a0 Perhaps it’s because “uncail<\/strong>” is a relatively recent borrowing into the Irish language and a lot of the “nathanna cainte<\/strong>” are much older.<\/div>\n

So “saying uncle” here will deal primarily with the modern word “uncail<\/strong>,” its various forms, and alternate ways to say “father’s brother” and “mother’s brother” in Irish.\u00a0 At any rate, this blog continues an ad hoc series on kinship terms that began with discussing “L\u00e1 na M\u00e1ithreacha<\/strong>,” “L\u00e1 na nAithreacha<\/strong>,” and “L\u00e1 na nAint\u00edn\u00ed<\/strong> (or “na nAinteanna<\/strong>“).<\/p>\n

Let’s start with “uncail<\/strong>” itself.\u00a0 I see no evidence of it before 1900.\u00a0 Prior to that the typical terms were “dearbhr\u00e1thair-athar<\/strong>” (lit. brother of father) and “dearbhr\u00e1thair-m\u00e1thar<\/strong>” (lit. brother of mother).\u00a0 In today’s spellings, those would be “dearth\u00e1ir-athar<\/strong>” and “dearth\u00e1ir-m\u00e1thar<\/strong>.”\u00a0\u00a0 To indicate the exact relationship with those phrases, the possessive adjective would be inserted between the two elements “dearbhr\u00e1thair m’athar<\/strong>” (the brother of my father) and “dearbhr\u00e1thair mo mh\u00e1thar<\/strong>” (the brother of my mother), etc. \u00a0Even if further searching does produce some early examples of “uncail<\/strong>” as such, I think the trend will remain: little or no use of “uncail<\/strong>” before 1900 and increasing displacement of the more traditional kinship terms during the 20th century.\u00a0\u00a0 My search included early variant spellings, like “ongcail<\/strong>” and “onncal<\/strong>” but to no avail.<\/p>\n

Here are the forms for “uncail<\/strong>“:<\/p>\n

an t-uncail<\/strong>, the uncle.\u00a0 Remember why the “t-” is prefixed?\u00a0 Masculine singular nouns beginning with the vowel get the “t-” (an t-uisce, an t-\u00fall, an t-am, srl.<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

uncail<\/strong>, same as the root form, also means “of an uncle” (r\u00f3l uncail sa teaghlach<\/strong>, an uncle’s role in the family)<\/p>\n

an uncail<\/strong>, of the uncle (monca\u00ed an uncail<\/strong>, the uncle’s monkey; note that the “t” disappears when the phrase is possessive)<\/p>\n

uncail\u00ed<\/strong>, uncles; na huncail\u00ed<\/strong>, the uncles<\/p>\n

uncail\u00ed<\/strong>, of uncles, like the singular above, this possessive form is no different from the regular subject form (r\u00f3il uncail\u00ed sna teaghlaigh<\/strong>, uncles’ roles in the families)<\/p>\n

na n-uncail\u00ed<\/strong>, of the uncles (comhairle na n-uncail\u00ed<\/strong>, the advice of the uncles)<\/p>\n

An alternate plural form is “uncaileacha<\/strong>,” which would give us forms like “na huncaileacha<\/strong>” and “na n-uncaileacha<\/strong>.”<\/p>\n

I can’t say I’ve heard the diminutive form “uncail\u00edn<\/strong>” used much in real life.\u00a0 But it is interesting that many English kinship terms, except “uncle,” i.e. dad, mom\/mam\/mum, aunt, grandmother, and grandfather have diminutive forms (daddy, mommy\/mammy\/mummy, aunty, grandma\/granny, grandpa\/granddad).\u00a0 \u00a0But not “uncle.”\u00a0 I did look into “unky” but I’ve never heard it used myself in a family context, and most uses of it that I find are more Urban Dictionary-ish slang, rather than a meaningful diminutive.\u00a0 Is it that the spelling of the word “uncle” doesn’t lend itself to having a pet form or suffix?\u00a0 Or is there something in the relationship that discourages having a diminutive?\u00a0 At any rate, it seems the situation is sort of similar in Irish, with “uncail\u00edn<\/strong>” existing as a word, but not, in my experience, very widely used.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0One place it shows up consistently, though often anglicized, is in a stretch of woods west of Galway (Rosshill\/Roscam area).\u00a0 Mostly I see this described as having two sections named “aunteen” (sometimes “auntleen”) and “uncleen” but sometimes the actual Irish spellings are used.\u00a0 Why these names occur remains a mystery, at least for me, although there are a few suggestions online.\u00a0 One is that “uncail\u00edn<\/strong>” isn’t really related to “uncail<\/strong>” but rather that it comes from “uaimh<\/strong>” (cave).\u00a0 Suimi\u00fail<\/strong>!\u00a0 But then, why “aunteen”?\u00a0 By analogy?\u00a0 Folk etymology extension?\u00a0 \u00c1bhar blag eile, b’fh\u00e9idir<\/strong>? \u00a0\u00a0Eolas \u00f3 dhuine ar bith \u00f3n gceantar sin<\/strong>?<\/p>\n

As for as expressions with “uncle,” it’s interesting to see the “uncleless” Irish equivalents of some English “uncle” expressions.\u00a0 \u00a0As I said before, I haven’t really encountered any traditional Irish expressions with “uncail<\/strong>.”\u00a0 But if you want to say that your watch is at your “uncle’s” (i.e. “at the pawnbrokers,” in English slang), you’d simply use “T\u00e1 m’uairead\u00f3ir i ngeall<\/strong>” (lit. My watch is in pawn.).\u00a0 Of course with uairead\u00f3ir\u00ed digiteacha<\/strong> a dime a dozen these days, I’m not sure that the typical geallbhr\u00f3ic\u00e9ir<\/strong> has much interest. \u00a0Unless it’s the Chopard 201-Carat (an t-uairead\u00f3ir is daoire ar domhan<\/strong>).\u00a0 An luach?\u00a0 Th\u00edos, ag deireadh an bhlag.<\/strong>\u00a0 Actually that might be too much watch for the gn\u00e1thgheallbhr\u00f3ic\u00e9ir<\/strong>.\u00a0 Not that anyone owning it would probably need to hock anything.\u00a0 Ach sin sc\u00e9al eile<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

As for “saying uncle,” I’ve found no trace of the expression, as such, in Irish.\u00a0 So what do you say if you don’t say “uncle”?\u00a0 One traditional Irish truce term is “M\u00e9aram<\/strong>!” (Pax!).\u00a0 Of course, in schoolyard play, a truce term isn’t necessarily the same as a complete surrender so “M\u00e9aram<\/strong>” isn’t necessarily exactly the same as “Uncle!”\u00a0 \u00a0“Tr\u00f3caire<\/strong>” (lit. mercy) and “S\u00edoch\u00e1in<\/strong>!” (lit. Peace!) could also be used.\u00a0 Beyond that, once could always say “g\u00e9illim<\/strong>” (I yield \/ surrender).<\/p>\n

There are various suggestions regarding the origin of the English phrase “say uncle,” including one connected to the Irish word “anacal<\/strong>” (alternate spelling “anacol<\/strong>“) which means “protection” or “deliverance.” \u00a0As far as I can tell, this theory was first proposed in 1980 in the journal American Speech<\/em>, long before it was popularized by the late Daniel Cassidy, author of the highly controversial How The Irish Invented Slang<\/em>. \u00a0But in reviewing this possibility, we should keep in mind that “anacal<\/strong>” is a fairly literary word, not in common use, and it would seem an unlikely choice to be in use among schoolchildren in the late 19th century.\u00a0 Let alone that it would have traveled with immigrants to America and survived when so much of the Irish that they knew was forgotten.\u00a0 There is at least one major competing theory, that “saying uncle” is derived (over a 2000-year history) from the Latin “Patrue, m\u012b patruissime! (O uncle, my best of uncles!), used for the same function by Roman schoolboys.\u00a0 Either explanation is a stretch, if you ask me.<\/p>\n

And finally, there are other words for “uncle” in Irish, even beyond the “dearth\u00e1ir m’athar<\/strong>” and “deirfi\u00far mo mh\u00e1thar<\/strong>” type combinations discussed above.\u00a0 One is “amhnair<\/strong>,” a relatively little-used additional Irish word for “maternal uncle,” which has survived best in the Irish of Tory Island.\u00a0 It links to the Welsh “ewythr<\/em>” and Breton “eontr<\/em>” via the Latin “avunculus<\/em>,” itself a diminutive of Latin “avus<\/em>” (grandfather).\u00a0 I always wondered where an unusual-looking word like “ewythr<\/em>” came from!\u00a0 A lot of people think most Welsh words, even everyday ones like “cyllell<\/em>” (knife), “cwrw”<\/em> (beer), and “sglodion<\/em>” (chips), look unusual, but once you get immersed in the language, there’s just a smaller number that stand out as not looking typical.\u00a0 I suppose it’s all a matter of opinion.\u00a0 In Welsh, there are a few words that I find especially intriguing looking, like “ysgyrnygu<\/em>” (gnashing the teeth) and “llwyrymwrthodwr<\/em>” (teetotaler).\u00a0 Of course, I have my favorites in English too, like “chthonic” and “sesquipedalian,” but all of that must remain, sadly, not just \u00e1bhar blag eile<\/strong>, but \u00e1bhar do shraith blaganna eile<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Ar an “n\u00f3ta” sin agus, t\u00e1 s\u00fail agam, gan aon d\u00edoscarnach fiacla<\/strong> (“gnashing of teeth” in Irish), SGF — R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/strong><\/p>\n

N\u00f3ta: Luach an uairead\u00f3ra is daoire ar domhan faoi l\u00e1thair<\/strong>: $25,000,000 (US).\u00a0 Hmm, an ndeir muid “25 milli\u00fan fionnuar”? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0N\u00f3 “25 milli\u00fan r\u00e9ch\u00faiseach”?\u00a0 N\u00f3 an bhfanfaidh muid just in\u00e1r staiceanna <\/strong>(dumbstruck)?\u00a0 Tuilleadh eolais faoi, m\u00e1 t\u00e1 suim agat ann:<\/strong> http:\/\/famousdiamonds.tripod.com\/chopard201watch.html<\/a><\/p>\n

N\u00f3ta don\u00a0n\u00f3ta<\/strong>: both “fionnuar<\/strong>” and “r\u00e9ch\u00faiseach<\/strong>” mean “cool” although I’m not convinced we can use either for mindbogglingly large sums of money.\u00a0\u00a0 Come to think of it, “cool” is mostly used for milli\u00fan amh\u00e1in<\/strong>, not increments beyond one, isn’t it?\u00a0 The phrase “cool million” dates back to at least June 19, 1934, the publication date of the novel of the same name by the tragically short-lived Nathaniel West.\u00a0 But did he make up the term or was it already in existence?\u00a0 Bhuel, sin \u00e1bhar taighde do l\u00e1 fearthainne<\/strong>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn) First, let me clarify that in this blog we’ll just be saying “uncle” in a very straightforward way, no implication of “crying uncle” (yielding, giving in).\u00a0 Even though the Irish language is incredibly rich in idioms and figurative expressions, I haven’t really found much use of the word “uncail” in such expressions.\u00a0 Perhaps…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":4052,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3898],"tags":[289793,289813,289804,289806,289798,289797,289805,289812,289811,289802,289794,289795,289800,289799,289809,289803,289815,289807,289796,289784,289810,289808,289801,289814,289817,211676,289816,289766,94537],"class_list":["post-4048","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-irish-language","tag-amhnair","tag-an-t-uncail","tag-anacal","tag-at-my-uncles","tag-avunculus","tag-avus","tag-cassidy","tag-chopard","tag-chopard-201-carat","tag-cry-uncle","tag-dearthair-athar","tag-dearthair-mathar","tag-eontr","tag-ewythr","tag-hock","tag-holler-uncle","tag-huncail","tag-in-pawn","tag-irish-kinship","tag-kinship","tag-most-expensive-watch-in-the-world","tag-pawnbroker","tag-say-uncle","tag-t-uncail","tag-thoraigh","tag-toraigh","tag-tory-island","tag-uncail","tag-uncle"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4048"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4048\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8535,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4048\/revisions\/8535"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}