{"id":4068,"date":"2013-05-27T12:33:19","date_gmt":"2013-05-27T12:33:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=4068"},"modified":"2016-10-04T18:29:06","modified_gmt":"2016-10-04T18:29:06","slug":"deir-tusa-slan-deirimse-halo-saying-hello-and-goodbye-in-irish-cuid-a-do-goodbye","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/deir-tusa-slan-deirimse-halo-saying-hello-and-goodbye-in-irish-cuid-a-do-goodbye\/","title":{"rendered":"Deir Tusa ‘Sl\u00e1n,’ Deirimse ‘Hal\u00f3’ (Saying ‘Hello’ and ‘Goodbye’ in Irish, Cuid a D\u00f3: Goodbye)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

After some deliberation, I decided to hold off on the blog on “ainmneacha sa tuiseal gairmeach<\/strong>” (names in the vocative case), since I think that will probably also be a blag dh\u00e1 chuid<\/strong> (two-part blog).\u00a0\u00a0 Let’s cut right to the chase here and go over some possibilities for saying “goodbye” in Irish.\u00a0 That means that our vocative case examples like “A Sh\u00e9amais,” “A She\u00e1in,” “A Shin\u00e9ad,”<\/strong> and “A Shiobh\u00e1n,”<\/strong> and, well, for good measure, ” A I\u00f3b”<\/strong> and “A Nab\u00facadnazar,”<\/strong> will have to wait tamaill\u00edn beag eile<\/strong>.\u00a0 Ach c\u00e9n dochar<\/strong>?\u00a0 De r\u00e9ir a ch\u00e9ile a th\u00f3gtar na caisle\u00e1in! <\/strong>(aistri\u00fach\u00e1n an tseanfhocail sin th\u00edos<\/strong> but a hint, you’ve probably heard it already, faoin R\u00f3imh<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

So let’s look at the actual possibilities for saying “goodbye” (sl\u00e1n agat, sl\u00e1n leat, sl\u00e1n go f\u00f3ill<\/strong>, etc.).\u00a0 The core word here, as many of you will recognize, is “sl\u00e1n<\/strong>,” functioning as a noun, related to “sl\u00e1inte<\/strong>.”\u00a0 And probably even more of you know “sl\u00e1inte,<\/strong>” with the basic meaning of “health,” but also used for making toasts, as in “Sl\u00e1inte<\/strong>!” (Cheers!).\u00a0 Aside from saying “goodbye,” most of the time when we use “sl\u00e1n<\/strong>” it’s an adjective (m. sh. “a bheith sl\u00e1n s\u00e1bh\u00e1ilte<\/strong>,” to be safe and sound).\u00a0 However, as we see here, “sl\u00e1n<\/strong>” can also be a noun.\u00a0 It can mean “healthy person,” as in “an sl\u00e1n agus an t-easl\u00e1n<\/strong>.”\u00a0 Or you might recall it from “d\u00fashl\u00e1n<\/strong>” [doo-hlawn, “s” is silent], which means “a challenge” or “defiance.” “Sl\u00e1n<\/strong>” (challenge) can also be used without the “d\u00fa<\/strong>-” (black) prefix, as in “sl\u00e1n a chur faoi I\u00f3b<\/strong>” (to put a challenge to Job).<\/p>\n

And I can’t resist adding that “sl\u00e1n<\/strong>,” as a noun, can also be used in two slightly different ways to refer to Coronopus squamatus <\/em>or C. didymus<\/em>, aka “swine’s-cress,” or for that matter, “wart cress,” another name for the same plant.\u00a0\u00a0 Hmmm, put them together and we’d almost have “Hogwarts.”\u00a0 Not exactly the same hogwort plant (Croton capitatus<\/em>) that may have subconsciously inspired J.K. Rowling’s name for the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in her Harry Potter series, but close enough to be intriguing. \u00a0At any rate, the two names for “swine’s cress” are “Sl\u00e1n na muice<\/strong>” and “Sl\u00e1nlus na muc<\/strong>.”\u00a0 Note the difference between the genitive singular form, “na<\/strong> muice<\/strong>” (of the pig) and the genitive plural form, “na<\/strong> muc<\/strong>” (of the pigs), but actually, please don’t ask me why the terms are slightly different — diabhal a fhios agamsa<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

Getting back to our main topic, though, the meaning of “sl\u00e1n<\/strong>” as a noun that we want here is “health” or “soundness.”\u00a0 How to distinguish “sl\u00e1n<\/strong>” for “health” and “sl\u00e1inte<\/strong>” for “health”?\u00a0 Most of the time, you’ll use “sl\u00e1inte<\/strong>,” for medical issues, health clinics, etc.\u00a0 “Sl\u00e1n<\/strong>” for “health” is mostly limited to set phrases, which will include our “goodbye” words, and it is also often used where we could say “farewell” in English.\u00a0 After all, “farewell” originally meant to travel well, safely, soundly, and in such a way that your body was whole and unharmed.\u00a0 So we can also say “Chuir Laoiseach sl\u00e1n le Liam<\/strong> (Laoiseach bade farewell to Liam) or “D’fh\u00e1g Agaim\u00e9amn\u00f3n sl\u00e1n ag Agata<\/strong>” (Agamemnon took his leave of Agatha).\u00a0 Actually it would have been Cliotaeimn\u00e9istre<\/strong>, but then we wouldn’t have our handy-dandy alliterative preposition mnemonic, to help us remember to use “ag<\/strong>.”<\/p>\n

Most of the time though, at least these days, we simply say “goodbye,” in English; we don’t say “I bid you farewell.”\u00a0 “You bid farewell, I say ‘Hail fellow well met!'” sung to the Beatles’ tune — I don’t think so!<\/p>\n

Here are four possible ways to say “goodbye” in Irish, using “sl\u00e1n<\/strong>” as a noun:<\/p>\n

1) Sl\u00e1n agat<\/strong>!, lit. health at you (plural: Sl\u00e1n agaibh<\/strong>!, lit. health at you all)<\/p>\n

2) Sl\u00e1n leat<\/strong>!, lit. health with you (plural: Sl\u00e1n libh<\/strong>!, lit. health with you all)<\/p>\n

3) Sl\u00e1n go f\u00f3ill<\/strong>!, lit. health for now.\u00a0 Hmmm, now that I think of it, that sounds beag\u00e1in\u00edn<\/strong> macabre.\u00a0 Oh well, it’s widely used, and avoids having to apply the “agat\/leat<\/strong>” formula, which we’ll discuss below.\u00a0 It’s basically understood as “Goodbye for now!,” benign enough.<\/p>\n

4) Sl\u00e1n<\/strong>!, used on its own.\u00a0 I know it’s not officially approved of, since it’s considered incomplete.\u00a0 But I hear it constantly these days.\u00a0 Is it really any different than extracting “bye” from “goodbye” in English?\u00a0 Technically, that leaves us saying “be with you,” since “goodbye” is also a blessing (God be with you!).<\/p>\n

A fifth widely used way to say “goodbye” treats “sl\u00e1n<\/strong>” as a adjective:<\/p>\n

5) Sl\u00e1n abhaile<\/strong>!\u00a0 Of course, this is only used when speaking to someone who really is heading home.\u00a0 “Abhaile<\/strong>” [uh-WAHL-yuh] comes from “chun an bhaile<\/strong>” (homeward, or more literally, “to the home”).\u00a0 Theoretically, “chun an bhaile<\/strong>” could also mean “to the town,” but at least in this context, it is interpreted as “home.”\u00a0 “Baile<\/strong>,” on its own usually does mean “town” and shows up in place names all over Ireland, often anglicized as “bally.” Examples are Baile \u00c1tha Cliath<\/strong> (Dublin), Baile Monaidh<\/strong> (Ballymoney), Baile na nGall<\/strong> (Ballygall), and, as we celebrated (How many blogs ago?), Baile Sh\u00e9amais Dhuibh<\/strong> (Ballyjamesduff).\u00a0 You might remember the Ballyjamesduff blog from March 4, 2010, which practiced the verb “to go” using characters from the song “Come Back, Paddy Reilly (to Ballyjamesduff)” (https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/ag-reimniu-linn-go-meidhreach-an-briathar-%E2%80%9Cteigh%E2%80%9D-go\/<\/a> ).<\/p>\n

So that’s the five ways.\u00a0 There are a few more, but that seems like enough for now. \u00a0What’s the “agat\/leat<\/strong>” formula bit?\u00a0 In a nutshell, the explanation is:<\/p>\n

a) If you’re leaving first, and saying goodbye to someone who’s staying behind, you use “agat<\/strong>.”\u00a0 The other person says “Sl\u00e1n leat<\/strong>!”\u00a0 Mar shampla<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

E.T.: Sl\u00e1n agat, a Elliott<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

Elliott: Sl\u00e1n leat, a <\/strong>E.T.<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

b) If the person who’s staying behind speaks first, they use “leat<\/strong>.”\u00a0 If Elliott speaks before E.T., we’d have:<\/p>\n

Elliott: Sl\u00e1n leat, a <\/strong>E.T.!<\/p>\n

E.T: Sl\u00e1n agat, a<\/strong> Elliott!<\/p>\n

Or if we want to deacronymize it:<\/p>\n

Elliott: Sl\u00e1n leat, a Eachtardhomhandaigh<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

an t-eachtardhomhandach: \u00a0Sl\u00e1n agat, a<\/strong> Elliott.<\/p>\n

Pronunciation lifeline?\u00a0 “A Eachtardhomhandaigh<\/strong>” [uh AKH-tur-\u03b3ohn-dee].\u00a0 As a general term, “an t-eachtardhomhandach<\/strong>” [un TAKH-tur-\u03b3ohn-dukh].\u00a0 Both versions have the voiced velar fricative sound, indicated by the symbol \/\u03b3\/ , the “gamma” sign from Greek.\u00a0 For details on pronouncing it, see https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/saying-i-love-you-in-irish\/<\/a> and the other blogs cited there.<\/p>\n

If saying goodbye to two or more people, the plural forms are used , with “agat<\/strong>” changing to “agaibh<\/strong>” [UG-iv] and “leat<\/strong>” changing to “libh<\/strong>” [liv].\u00a0 We’d see “libh<\/strong>” in the following:<\/p>\n

Gandalf, captured by the Balrog, falling into the lake beneath Moria, to his friends (too many to name here); he is staying behind: Sl\u00e1n libh, a chairde<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

Members of the Fellowship; they are leaving: Sl\u00e1n agat, a Ghandalf<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

Of course, Gandalf actually starts a journey of his own here, although he may not realize it yet, so we could have a “leat<\/strong>“-“leatsa<\/strong>” situation.”\u00a0 In which case, we’d have:<\/p>\n

Gandalf, plunging into the depth, captured by the Balrog; he’s moving away from the others as he falls toward the lake: Sl\u00e1n libh, a chairde<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

The Fellowship; they’re moving away from Gandalf: \u00a0\u00a0Sl\u00e1n leatsa, a Ghandal<\/strong>f!<\/p>\n

Of course, there might not be time at Khazad-d\u00fbm for such formalities.\u00a0 What Gandalf really said, hmmm, actually, “Eitlig\u00ed, a amad\u00e1in<\/strong>!” comes across as very literal, as if all the crew sprouted “sciath\u00e1in<\/strong>.”\u00a0 “Rithig\u00ed, a amad\u00e1in<\/strong>!” would make sense but is it strong enough?\u00a0 “Im\u00edg\u00ed, a amad\u00e1in<\/strong>!” is similar, adequate, but perhaps not desperate enough.\u00a0 Other possibilities include “T\u00f3gaig\u00ed oraibh<\/strong>!” and “Buailig\u00ed an b\u00f3thar<\/strong>!” — that is m\u00e1s f\u00e9idir linn “b\u00f3thar” a chur ar an mbealach as Moria<\/strong>!\u00a0 How about “Brosta\u00edg\u00ed oraibh<\/strong>!”\u00a0 Now we’re talkin’!\u00a0 Bhur mbar\u00falacha, a l\u00e9itheoir\u00ed<\/strong>?<\/p>\n

I assume (and hope) the translations of Tolkien by Nicholas Williams and Evertype, the publisher, \u00a0will continue.\u00a0\u00a0 But so far, we only have An Hobad<\/em><\/strong> (2012) and we’ll have to see what Williams decides for Gandalf’s famous and highly memeable “fools” line, which is in the first book of the trilogy, not in The Hobbit<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Signing out, I tend to use “SGF<\/strong>” (Sl\u00e1n go f\u00f3ill<\/strong>) since it’s short and non-formulaic, so SGF, R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/strong><\/p>\n

N\u00f3ta\u00ed:<\/strong><\/p>\n

An seanfhocal: De r\u00e9ir a ch\u00e9ile a th\u00f3gtar na caisle\u00e1in<\/strong>, lit. bit after bit the castles are built, i.e. Rome wasn’t built in a day.<\/p>\n

Maidir leis an ainm “Gandalf” i nGaeilge<\/strong>.\u00a0 Apparently Williams has decided it will be a 4th-declension noun.\u00a0 The vocative is “A Ghandalf<\/strong>!” (no inserted “-i-” at the end, which would be characteristic of a 1st-declension noun).\u00a0\u00a0 The phrase “i l\u00e1mha Ghandalf<\/strong>” also shows us that the name is 4th-declension, since again the “-i-” is not inserted.\u00a0\u00a0 However we do see that the name gets lenited (“g” becoming “gh”) in the vocative, genitive, and after certain prepositions (ar Ghandalf, \u00f3 Ghandalf, srl<\/strong>.).\u00a0 T\u00e1 an t-aistri\u00fach\u00e1n (An Hobad, ISBN 978-1-904808-90-9) ar f\u00e1il ag \u00e1iteanna mar<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/exec\/obidos\/ASIN\/1904808905\/evertype-21<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/exec\/obidos\/ASIN\/1904808905\/evertype-20<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.cnagsiopa.com\/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=7&products_id=3390<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.litriocht.com\/shop\/product_info.php?products_id=6699<\/a><\/p>\n

And one last afterthought, as I find myself wondering, for the sake of completeness in paradigms, what would the plural of Gandalf be in Irish, if, for example, he got cloned? \u00a0Gandalfanna?\u00a0 Gandalfa\u00ed<\/strong>?\u00a0 Presumably not “Gandailf<\/strong>,” since that would bring the name back to the first declension.\u00a0 I don’t think there’s any reference to plural Gandalfs in The Hobbit<\/em>, or for that matter, in The Lord of the Rings<\/em>.\u00a0 A Niocl\u00e1is<\/strong>?\u00a0 \u00c1\u00e1\u00e1<\/strong>!\u00a0 The things we take for granted in English, like one plural ending for 99.99 percent of the nouns!\u00a0 Bhuel<\/strong>, it makes saol an Ghaeilgeora<\/strong> interesting!\u00a0 M\u00f3imint\u00ed leadr\u00e1nacha ar bith sa teanga seo!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn) After some deliberation, I decided to hold off on the blog on “ainmneacha sa tuiseal gairmeach” (names in the vocative case), since I think that will probably also be a blag dh\u00e1 chuid (two-part blog).\u00a0\u00a0 Let’s cut right to the chase here and go over some possibilities for saying “goodbye” in Irish.\u00a0 That…<\/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":[211651,211650,289838,4312,289829,289831,289832,289830,6538,289834,289840,111216,5322,289828,1083,2909,2175,5491,289843,289839,289837,229845,229847,289826,289827,229719,109569,289845,211632,211633,289835,6633,289841,289824,272977,289825,289848,289846,289833,289836,111217,3895,30166,289847,289844],"class_list":["post-4068","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-irish-language","tag-agaibh","tag-agat","tag-an-hobad","tag-beatles","tag-e-t","tag-eachtardhomhandach","tag-eachtarrdhomhandaigh","tag-elliott","tag-et","tag-evertype","tag-fly-you-fools","tag-fricative","tag-gamma","tag-gandalf","tag-genitive","tag-good-bye","tag-goodbye","tag-harry-potter","tag-hello-goodbye","tag-hobad","tag-hobbit","tag-hogwarts","tag-hogwort","tag-leat","tag-libh","tag-lord-of-the-rings","tag-meme","tag-moria","tag-muc","tag-muice","tag-nicholas-williams","tag-rowling","tag-run-you-fools","tag-say-goodbye","tag-slainte","tag-slan","tag-slanlus","tag-swines-cress","tag-t-eachtardhomhandach","tag-tolkien","tag-velar-fricative","tag-vocative","tag-voiced-velar-fricative","tag-wart-cress","tag-you-say-goodbye-and-i-say-hello"],"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