{"id":4795,"date":"2014-01-09T21:16:03","date_gmt":"2014-01-09T21:16:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=4795"},"modified":"2015-06-18T17:24:07","modified_gmt":"2015-06-18T17:24:07","slug":"oh-man-fear-fir-fhir-and-bhfear-how-to-say-man-and-men-in-irish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/oh-man-fear-fir-fhir-and-bhfear-how-to-say-man-and-men-in-irish\/","title":{"rendered":"Oh, Man! ‘Fear,’ ‘Fir,’ ‘Fhir,’ and ‘bhFear,’ (How to say ‘man’ and ‘men’ in Irish)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\"Gr\u00fapa<\/a>

Gr\u00fapa fear gan hata\u00ed agus fear amh\u00e1in a bhfuil hata air. Nach m\u00f3r \u00e9 hata an fhir seo! N\u00edl hata\u00ed ar na fir eile. C\u00e1 bhfuil hata\u00ed na bhfear sin?<\/p><\/div>\n

Since Nollaig na mBan<\/strong> on January 6th gave us the opportunity to discuss the Irish word for ‘woman,’ we might as well follow up with the word for ‘man.’<\/p>\n

First, let me clarify that this blog will discuss ‘man’ (fear<\/strong>) as opposed to woman (bean<\/strong>), not “man” as opposed to the following:<\/p>\n

plants (planda\u00ed<\/strong>)<\/p>\n

animals (ainmhithe<\/strong>)<\/p>\n

human holograms (holograim dhaonna<\/strong>)<\/p>\n

extraterrestrials (eachtardhomhandaigh<\/strong>)<\/p>\n

supernatural creatures (neacha osn\u00e1d\u00fartha mar abhaic, hobaid, agus leipreach\u00e1in<\/strong>) or<\/p>\n

other sentient beings (neacha mothaitheacha<\/strong>) such as the hungry crystalline entity (beith chriostalach ocrach<\/strong>) san eipeas\u00f3id\u00a0<\/strong>“Silicon Avatar” (TNG)\u00a0or the shimmering mass of energy (meall crithlonrach fuinnimh<\/strong>) that rescues the spaceship-wrecked Zefram Cochrane san eipeas\u00f3id <\/strong>“Metamorphosis” (TOS)\u00a0<\/strong>in Star Trek.<\/p>\n

‘Man’ in these philosophical and existential contexts would be “duine<\/strong>,” a cousin of the Welsh word “dyn<\/em>.”<\/p>\n

So what are the forms of the word ‘fear<\/strong>‘ (“man,” in the biological sense)?\u00a0 It’s a first- declension noun, masculine by default, and follows quite a regular pattern:<\/p>\n

fear<\/strong> [f\u00e6r, with a very slight “y” quality to the “f”; the vowel sound is as in “Harry” or “Faraday,” not as in “Mary” or “far,” or the English chance-lookalike, “fear,” as in “fear \/ fright”], man.\u00a0 Sampla<\/em>: Is fear \u00e9 Tarzan agus is bean \u00ed Jane, ach n\u00ed s\u00edota \u00e9 Cheeta — is simpeansa\u00ed \u00e9 Cheeta.<\/strong><\/p>\n

an fear<\/strong>, the man.\u00a0 Sampla<\/em>: T\u00e1 an fear anseo.<\/strong><\/p>\n

fir<\/strong> [firzh<\/sup>, with the buzzy slender “r” not typically found in English but like the “r” of the Czech name “Ji\u0159\u00ed<\/em>“], of a man; hata fir<\/strong>, a man’s hat.\u00a0 Sampla<\/em>: Nuair a bh\u00ed s\u00e9 s\u00e9 bliana d’aois, l\u00ednigh aithriseoir an leabhair An Prionsa Beag<\/em>\u00a0nathair a raibh eilifint \u00e1 d\u00edle\u00e1 aici. \u00a0Bh\u00ed cuma hata fir<\/em> ar an nathair sa phicti\u00far mar bh\u00ed an eilifint i mbolg na nathrach — ceann agus ruball na nathrach mar dhuilleog an hata, ceann agus cabhail na heilifinte mar th\u00f3in (!) an hata<\/strong> (“crown of the hat” a deirtear i mB\u00e9arla<\/strong>).\u00a0 B’fh\u00e9idir gur cuimhin leat an picti\u00far cl\u00faiteach i leagan \u00e9igin den leabhar<\/strong> (an bunleagan<\/strong>: Le Petit Prince<\/em> agus leaganacha eile<\/strong>: The Little Prince, Der Kleine Prinz, El Principito, Y Tywysog Bach, Ar Pri\u00f1s Bihan<\/em>, srl.<\/strong>)<\/p>\n

an fhir<\/strong> [un irzh<\/sup>, with the “fh” silent], of the man.\u00a0 Sampla<\/em>: Seo hata an fhir.<\/strong><\/p>\n

fir<\/strong>, men.\u00a0 Sampla<\/em>: N\u00edl fir ina gc\u00f3na\u00ed i<\/strong> “Herland,” ainm t\u00edre san \u00farsc\u00e9al \u00fat\u00f3ipeach<\/strong>\u00a0Herland<\/em>\u00a0a scr\u00edobh<\/strong> Charlotte Perkins Gilman i 1915<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

na fir<\/strong>, the men.\u00a0 Sampla<\/em>: “Sl\u00e1inte chuig na fir is go maire na mn\u00e1 go deo.” (cuspa sl\u00e1inte traidisi\u00fanta)<\/strong><\/p>\n

fear<\/strong>, of men.\u00a0 Sampla<\/em>: hata\u00ed fear<\/strong>, men’s hats<\/p>\n

na bhfear<\/strong> [nuh v\u00e6r], of the men.\u00a0 Sampla<\/em>: “Sl\u00e1inte na bhfear is go maire na mn\u00e1 go deo!”<\/strong>\u00a0 Another version of the same toast given above, this time using the phrasing “the health of<\/em> the men” instead of “health to<\/em> the men.”<\/p>\n

And, for good measure, another example of “na bhfear<\/strong>“: “Seomra na bhFear<\/strong>” (Men’s Room, i.e. men’s restroom, “teach an asail<\/span><\/strong>,” or call it what you will)<\/span><\/p>\n

You might also encounter:<\/p>\n

i bhfear<\/strong>, in a man<\/p>\n

i bhfir<\/strong>, in men, admittedly not real widely used but it did appear in a previous blog in this series, “No, this blog isn\u2019t going to be about\u00a0toircheas fireann<\/b>\u00a0(\u00e0 la Trip Tucker and the Xyrillians in Star Trek: Enterprise<\/em>, “The Unexpected”).\u00a0 Nor will it be about\u00a0capaill mhara<\/b>\u00a0or\u00a0sn\u00e1thaid\u00ed mara<\/b>\u00a0or the possibilities of\u00a0toirchis eacht\u00f3pacha<\/b>\u00a0i bhfir<\/b><\/em>\u00a0as postulated in our homeworld or as speculated about\u00a0i bhficsean eola\u00edoch<\/b>.” (https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/when-is-a-mathair-not-a-mother-literally-that-is\/<\/a>, 7 Bealtaine<\/strong> 2013)<\/p>\n

Bhuel<\/strong>, that’s it for equal opportunity noun paradigms for now.\u00a0 Sl\u00e1n go dt\u00ed an ch\u00e9ad uair eile, a fheara agus a mhn\u00e1! \u00da\u00faps, sin foirm eile f\u00f3s: “a fheara”<\/strong> [uh \u00c6R-uh, silent “fh”]” that’s the traditional vocative plural form, for direct address.\u00a0 – R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/strong><\/p>\n

C\u00fapla nasc shuimi\u00fala<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

An Prionsa Beag, ar f\u00e1il \u00f3<\/strong> www.readireland.ie\/<\/a>\u00a0agus<\/strong> \u00a0http:\/\/www.litriocht.com\/shop\/index.php#.UtMDXfRDtrk<\/a>, and other major online bookdealers.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>

An Prionsa Beag i nGaeilge, arna aistri\u00fa go Gaeilge le Breand\u00e1n \u00d3 Doibhlin<\/p><\/div>\n

Seo an m\u00e9id a deir an t-aithriseoir faoina eisp\u00e9ireas le l\u00edn\u00edocht: “Thaispe\u00e1in m\u00e9 an s\u00e1rshaothar seo liom do na daoine m\u00f3ra agus d’fhiafraigh m\u00e9 d\u00edbh ar chuir mo phicti\u00far eagla orthu.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“D’fhreagair siad: ‘C\u00e9n f\u00e1th a gcuirfeadh hata [.i. “hata fir<\/em>” mar at\u00e1 sa chur s\u00edos thuas <\/strong>– R\u00f3isl\u00edn] eagla orm?’\u00a0 N\u00ed hata a bh\u00ed i mo phicti\u00far.\u00a0 Picti\u00far ab ea \u00e9 de nathair boa agus eilifint \u00e1 d\u00edle\u00e1 aici.\u00a0 Mar sin rinne m\u00e9 picti\u00far den taobh istigh de nathair boa, sa chaoi go bhf\u00e9adfadh na daoine m\u00f3ra \u00e9 a thuiscint.\u00a0 B\u00edonn m\u00edni\u00fa de dh\u00edth orthu i gc\u00f3na\u00ed.\u00a0 … \u00a0D\u00fairt na daoine m\u00f3ra na picti\u00fair de nathracha boa, ar oscailt n\u00f3 d\u00fanta, a fh\u00e1g\u00e1il i leataobh, agus lu\u00ed isteach ina \u00e1it sin le mo cheachtanna t\u00edreolais, stair <\/strong>[sic], uimhr\u00edochta agus gramada\u00ed<\/strong>.”\u00a0 And thereby hangs a tale but one far beyond the scope of this blog.\u00a0 Maidir le ruball na heilifinte boichte, sin sc\u00e9al<\/strong> \/ tale \/ tail eile ar fad!\u00a0 \u00c9 d\u00edle\u00e1ite le fada an l\u00e1, is d\u00f3cha.\u00a0 Ar aon chaoi,<\/strong> The Little Prince<\/em> is one of my all-time favorite books, and I was delighted when the Irish version appeared in 1997, republished by Read Ireland in 2007.<\/p>\n

Gluais\u00edn beag don athfhriotal:<\/strong> s\u00e1rshaothar<\/strong>, major work; d\u00edle\u00e1<\/strong>, digesting; go bhf\u00e9adfadh<\/strong>, would be able; m\u00edni\u00fa<\/strong>, explanation; i leataobh<\/strong>, aside<\/p>\n

teach an asail<\/strong>: http:\/\/www.spailpin.com\/en\/language-more\/gifts\/the-donkey-s-house-teach-an-asail-wooden-sign-detail<\/a> (Yes, you can buy a handmade wooden sign saying “teach an asail<\/strong>,” in a choice of three colors, from “Spailp\u00edn<\/strong>,” located in An Spid\u00e9al<\/strong>, in the Conamara Gaeltacht.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn) Since Nollaig na mBan on January 6th gave us the opportunity to discuss the Irish word for ‘woman,’ we might as well follow up with the word for ‘man.’ First, let me clarify that this blog will discuss ‘man’ (fear) as opposed to woman (bean), not “man” as opposed to the following: plants…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":4810,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3898],"tags":[307016,306989,306065,307039,3958,307013,229913,307047,307010,229757,33010,4301,4326,306976,207444,306961,306988,307041,307045,307001,307035,307015,306985,4756,306979,307003,306975,307020,4888,307048,306999,307043,172902,229801,307000,306986,306987,289831,307049,306998,307042,289725,306969,32970,207439,307038,32971,306980,5307,359430,219085,5495,306995,307021,8068,307012,289839,306968,306967,11014,307028,307030,307029,307031,307011,306991,306990,307019,306993,111728,306994,307007,307005,272961,11606,307006,3294,306996,2993,6022,306978,289999,307022,307027,306930,306984,306974,6144,307017,6222,32984,32986,306971,306992,6276,307046,11037,306963,306964,306965,306966,306972,307004,193008,3349,307008,306997,307040,6581,306973,307026,306977,306983,307018,307023,211691,307036,306981,6902,307044,6940,306970,7588,306962,12269,307002,307032,307037,307033,307009,289726,307014,3895,7296,10747,307034,306982],"class_list":["post-4795","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-irish-language","tag-307016","tag-1st-declension","tag-a-fheara","tag-a-mhna","tag-abhac","tag-ainm-tire","tag-ainmhi","tag-antoine","tag-ar-prins-bihan","tag-asail","tag-asal","tag-bean","tag-being","tag-beith-chriostalach","tag-bhfear","tag-bhfir","tag-biological","tag-boa","tag-breandan-o-doibhlin","tag-cabhail-na-heilifinte","tag-capall-mara","tag-charlotte-perkins-gilman","tag-companion","tag-conamara","tag-crithlonrach","tag-crown","tag-crystalline-entity","tag-cuspa-slainte","tag-czech","tag-de-saint-exupery","tag-dilea","tag-dileaite","tag-direct-address","tag-donkey","tag-duilleog-hata","tag-duine","tag-dyn","tag-eachtardhomhandach","tag-edward-lear","tag-eilifint","tag-eilifint-bhocht","tag-enterprise","tag-extraterrestrial","tag-fear","tag-fhir","tag-ficsean-eolaioch","tag-fir","tag-fuinnimh","tag-gaeltacht","tag-gilman","tag-hat","tag-hata-an-fhir","tag-hata-fir","tag-hatai-fear","tag-health","tag-herland","tag-hobad","tag-hologram-daonna","tag-human-hologram","tag-hungry","tag-i-bhfear","tag-i-bhfir","tag-in-a-man","tag-in-men","tag-ina-gconai","tag-is-bean-i-jane","tag-is-fear-e-tarzan","tag-is-go-maire-na-mna-go-deo","tag-is-simpeansai-e-cheeta","tag-january-6","tag-jiri","tag-kleine-prinz","tag-leagan","tag-leipreachan","tag-litriocht","tag-little-prince","tag-man","tag-mans-hat","tag-masculine","tag-mathair","tag-meall","tag-men","tag-mens-hats","tag-mens-restroom","tag-mens-room","tag-metamorphosis","tag-mothaitheach","tag-mother","tag-na-fir","tag-nathair","tag-nathrach","tag-nathracha","tag-neach","tag-ni-siota-e-cheeta","tag-nollaig-na-mban","tag-o-doibhlin","tag-ocrach","tag-of-a-man","tag-of-men","tag-of-the-man","tag-of-the-men","tag-osnadurtha","tag-petit-prince","tag-planda","tag-plural","tag-principito","tag-prionsa-beag","tag-readireland","tag-realtaistear","tag-sentient","tag-seomra-na-bhfear","tag-shimmering-mass-of-energy","tag-silicon-avatar","tag-slainte-chuig-na-fir","tag-slainte-na-bhfear","tag-slender-r","tag-snathaid-mhara","tag-spaceship-wrecked","tag-spailpin","tag-spideal","tag-star-trek","tag-supernatural-creature","tag-teach","tag-teach-an-asail","tag-toast","tag-toin-hata","tag-toircheas-fireann","tag-toirchis-eachtopacha-i-bhfir","tag-trip-tucker","tag-tywysog-bach","tag-unexpected","tag-ursceal-utoipeach","tag-vocative","tag-welsh","tag-woman","tag-xyrillians","tag-zefram-cochrane"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4795","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=4795"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4795\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6826,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4795\/revisions\/6826"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4795"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4795"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4795"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}