{"id":4971,"date":"2014-02-22T19:43:50","date_gmt":"2014-02-22T19:43:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=4971"},"modified":"2014-03-18T11:44:03","modified_gmt":"2014-03-18T11:44:03","slug":"droichead-na-conaidhme-no-reise-na-mbeann-glas-mar-a-duradh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/droichead-na-conaidhme-no-reise-na-mbeann-glas-mar-a-duradh\/","title":{"rendered":"Droichead na C\u00f3naidhme n\u00f3 ‘R\u00e9ise na mBeann Glas’ (Mar a D\u00faradh)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Droichead<\/a>

Droichead na C\u00f3naidhme n\u00f3 “R\u00e9ise na mBeann\u00a0Glas i gCeanada (grianghraf: http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/tuergeist\/1639829750\/ )<\/p><\/div>\n

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

I couldn’t resist spending a little more time with bridges (droichid<\/b>) since Canada’s Confederation Bridge has such a clever nickname, as bestowed by …, hmm, which Irish person? \u00a0(freagra th\u00edos<\/b>).<\/p>\n

Just a quick review of the phrase “Droichead na C\u00f3naidhme<\/b>,” before we get to the nickname:<\/p>\n

droichead<\/b> [DRIH-hud], bridge<\/p>\n

na<\/b> [nuh], here it means “of the,” leading into the possessive part of the phrase<\/p>\n

c\u00f3naidhm<\/b> [KOH-naim, with the “naim” rhyming with “time,” “lime,” or, for that matter, “rhyme”], confederation; this word is a combination of “comh<\/b>-” (together, mutual, etc.) and “sn<\/strong>aidhm<\/b>” (knot, bond; becoming “shnaidhm<\/strong>” after “comh<\/strong>-” with the “mh” and the “sh” disappearing from most modern spelling).\u00a0 “Federation,” as such, can be “c\u00f3nascadh<\/b>” (comh- + nascadh<\/b>, linking, binding, tying, etc.) or it can also be “c\u00f3naidhm<\/b>,” as in the names of various countries or organizations (C\u00f3naidhm na R\u00faise<\/b>, C\u00f3naidhm San Cr\u00edost\u00f3ir-Nimheas<\/b>, and C\u00f3naidhm Gh\u00e1rthach Mholta na h\u00c9ireann<\/b>)<\/p>\n

c\u00f3naidhme<\/b> [KOH-naim-uh], of confederation<\/p>\n

na c\u00f3naidhme<\/b>, of the confederation<\/p>\n

And, of course, given that this bridge is in Canada, we shouldn’t forget “an Fhraincis<\/b>“: \u00a0Pont de la Conf\u00e9d\u00e9ration<\/i>. It’s interesting to note how the three languages (B\u00e9arla, Gaeilge, Fraincis<\/b>) structure the phrase differently.\u00a0 English uses “Confederation” as an adjective (technically, an “attributive noun”).\u00a0 Irish uses “an tuiseal ginideach<\/b>” (the genitive case), adding an ending to “c\u00f3naidhm<\/b>“), and French uses a prepositional phrase (de la<\/i>) to add the description to the bridge.<\/p>\n

Given its Canadian maritime location, I also hunted a bit online to see if the bridge also has a Micmac name, which would seem fitting. I didn’t find anything official but I did find an interesting article on “The Abegweit Crossing” as a proposed name, based on the Micmac for “lying in the water” or “lying parallel with the land.”\u00a0 The pithy title of the article, “Nincompoop Bureaucrats Bungle a Bridge Name,” reflects the opinions of its author, Bill Casselman, who writes extensively on etymology and words, especially home-grown Canadian ones, on his website (http:\/\/www.billcasselman.com\/).\u00a0 The article can be found at http:\/\/www.canadiangeographic.ca\/magazine\/ma97\/tongue.asp.<\/p>\n

If, by any chance you’re wondering about the Irish for “nincompoop,” two of the choices are “gamal<\/b>” and “amad\u00e1n<\/b>,” which simply mean “fool.”\u00a0 Casselman also refers mordantly (finally, a chance to use that word! — “go goimhi\u00fail<\/b>” in Irish) to mugwumps (“glum mugwumps,” no less), bullyboys, and muckamucks, all of which might eventually prove to be grist for this mill (i mblaganna eile sa todhcha\u00ed<\/b>).<\/p>\n

But back to our main topic, the wittily created Irish moniker for the Confederation Bridge.\u00a0 By the way, the word “Irish” is used here just in regard to nationality and culture.\u00a0 The original phrase is in English and I translated it into Irish just for this article (no sign of it elsewhere online, fad m’eolais<\/b>).\u00a0 So let’s translate “R\u00e9ise na mBeann Glas<\/b>” back into English and see what we get.\u00a0 At some point, the phrase may jog your memory, or at least pique special interest among Lucy Maud Montgomery fans.<\/p>\n

r\u00e9ise<\/b> [RAY-shuh], span; this word can be used for a bridge (r\u00e9ise droichid<\/b>) or for wings (r\u00e9ise sciath\u00e1n<\/b>)<\/p>\n

na<\/b>, of the (this time leading into a plural phrase — and how do we know that? by the eclipsis \/ ur\u00fa<\/b> that follows: “mBeann<\/b>” instead of “Beann<\/b>”<\/p>\n

mbeann<\/b> [my<\/sup>awn or my<\/sup>own, the “ow” of the latter like “gown” or “frown,” not like “own” or “shown”): this is a plural form of “binn<\/b>,” which is one of those prize-words in Irish that can mean about 15 different things, primarily “peak” or “gable.”\u00a0 With ur\u00fa<\/b> (“b” becoming “mb”), we see that this is genitive plural, so “na mbeann<\/b>” here means “of the gables”<\/p>\n

The above, of course, refers to when “binn<\/b>” (peak, gable, etc.) isn’t busy as the homonym “binn<\/b>,” a completely different word meaning “sweet” or “melodious,” as in the famous proverb, “Is binn <\/b>(sweet) b\u00e9al ina thost<\/b>.”<\/p>\n

glas<\/b> [glahss], green; this is another word with a major homonym (“glas<\/b>” as “lock,” as recently discussed in https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/an-bhfuil-do-ghlas-crochta-gra-crochta-agat-fos\/).\u00a0 But here we are concerned with “glas<\/b>” as a color.\u00a0 Sure, we could make a case for another color term, “uaine<\/b>” (green, especially for man-made or painted things), so I’m just going by precedent, such as the article by Breand\u00e1n de Galla\u00ed about Oile\u00e1n Phrionsa \u00c9adbhard<\/b> (http:\/\/www.beo.ie\/alt-charlottetown.aspx).\u00a0 Since this and the scant handful of other references in Irish to “\u00c1ine na mBeann Glas<\/b>” (Anne of Green Gables) already use “glas<\/b>,” I’ll follow suit.<\/p>\n

So that brings us back to the full phrase, “R\u00e9ise na mBeann Glas<\/b>,” which, in the original English was “Span of Green Gables.”\u00a0 Touch\u00e9<\/i>, a Mh\u00e1ire Mhic Ghiolla \u00cdosa (<\/b>Uachtar\u00e1n na h\u00c9ireann, 1997-2011)<\/b>!\u00a0 OK, I admit, the Irish is just my translation.\u00a0 It’s the English that really carries the wordplay in this case.\u00a0 But it makes for a good teachable moment, a chance to consider the issue of multiple names for the same place or thing, indigenous names, and the specific words, “r\u00e9ise<\/b>” (span), “binn<\/b>” (peak, gable, corner, edge, margin, etc.), and “glas<\/b>” (green).\u00a0 And it also gave us a workout with the genitive plural (“binn<\/b>” becoming “mbeann<\/b>“).<\/p>\n

I’m curious if Mary McAleese’s pun was the result of a sudden brainwave at the site, which she visited in 1998, or if she had thought it out in advance.\u00a0 And I guess the next question is whether she is a “kindred spirit” (as Anne fans like to call themselves), hmmm, “duine d’aon mhianach” i nGaeilge<\/b>, or whether her interest in Anne Shirley was just in passing.\u00a0 For many people, especially women it seems, it depends on whether they read the original book as a child and used it a role model\u00a0 or for comfort as they had to meet their own challenges growing up.\u00a0 The “Kindred Spirits” have generally read all the L. M. Montgomery books, make regular pilgrimages to Prince Edward Island to see the Anne sites, and participate in research (e.g. The L. M. Montgomery Institute, http:\/\/www.lmmontgomery.ca\/), fan activities (e.g. the Japan-Prince Edward Island Society, http:\/\/japan-pei-society.org\/english.htm) and tourist activities (e.g. http:\/\/www.tourismpei.com\/anne-of-green-gables#).\u00a0 And of course there’s lots of Irishness to explore in regards to “an \u00c1ine rua sin<\/b>,” who a hundred years ago proclaimed, i mB\u00e9arla ar nd\u00f3igh<\/b>, “Is \u00ed br\u00f3n mo shaoil mo chuid gruaige rua<\/b>.”\u00a0 To judge from the great popularity of red hair today, from Celtic Woman CD covers to Karen Gillan and Isla Fisher, you’ve come a long way, a ruafholtacha<\/b>!<\/p>\n

Whatever triggered McAleese’s “Span of Green Gables” quip, it certainly seems to follow the pattern already established with such witty nicknames for public works of art in Ireland as “The Tart with the Cart” (Molly Malone), “The Floozie in the Jacuzzi” (Anna Livia as the River Liffey, also borrowed for “The River” in Birmingham), and “The Time in the Slime” (the short-lived underwater clock in the River Liffey, meant to celebrate the new Millennium).\u00a0 It’s interesting how these nicknames seem to spring up overnight and yet do we ever know who first thought them up?\u00a0 Bhuel, \u00e1bhar blag eile, is d\u00f3cha, an m\u00e9id agus is f\u00e9idir! SGF — R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/b><\/p>\n

gluais: C\u00f3naidhm Gh\u00e1rthach Mholta na h\u00c9ireann<\/b>, Cheerleading Federation of Ireland; mianach<\/b>, substance, basic material, also, and more typically, “an ore” or “a mine”; Nimheas<\/b> [NIV-us], Nevis (the island); ruafholtach<\/b> [ROO-uh-UL-tukh], red-headed, redhead<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn) I couldn’t resist spending a little more time with bridges (droichid) since Canada’s Confederation Bridge has such a clever nickname, as bestowed by …, hmm, which Irish person? \u00a0(freagra th\u00edos). Just a quick review of the phrase “Droichead na C\u00f3naidhme,” before we get to the nickname: droichead [DRIH-hud], bridge na [nuh], here it…<\/p>\n

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