{"id":5413,"date":"2014-07-04T19:58:40","date_gmt":"2014-07-04T19:58:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=5413"},"modified":"2016-07-05T12:37:10","modified_gmt":"2016-07-05T12:37:10","slug":"four-ways-to-say-star-spangled-in-irish-plus-star-in-general-realta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/four-ways-to-say-star-spangled-in-irish-plus-star-in-general-realta\/","title":{"rendered":"Four Ways to Say ‘Star-Spangled’ in Irish (plus ‘star’ in general — r\u00e9alta)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\"Bratach<\/a>

Bratach na St\u00e1t Aontaithe (http:\/\/www.publicdomainpictures.net\/view-image.php?image=84553&picture=wavy-american-flag)<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

It seems like such a specific term, but there at least four ways to say “star-spangled” in Irish. \u00a0A timely phrase for this time of year (L\u00e1 na Saoirse<\/strong>) in the United States.<\/p>\n

Let’s start with the ‘star” part, since that’s the basis of all of the terms that follow, and also probably the most broadly applicable in daily life.\u00a0 ‘Cos what else do we really describe as being ‘spangled’?<\/p>\n

r\u00e9alta<\/strong>, star (sometimes the singular is given as “r\u00e9alt<\/strong>,” which seems more in line with typical Irish noun endings, but so be it — “r\u00e9alta<\/strong>” always “looks” plural to me, by analogy with “sc\u00e9alta<\/strong>” and “n\u00e9alta.<\/strong>” \u00a0 It is what it is, as they say, or a bit less succinctly, in Irish, “Is \u00e9 an rud at\u00e1 ann at\u00e1 ann<\/strong>“),<\/p>\n

r\u00e9alta\u00ed<\/strong>, stars.\u00a0 That’s the standard plural these days.\u00a0 “R\u00e9altana<\/strong>” was also used at one time.<\/p>\n

“R\u00e9alta<\/strong>” is a feminine noun, so we could have phrases like (aistri\u00fach\u00e1n th\u00edos<\/strong>):<\/p>\n

r\u00e9alta dhonn<\/strong><\/p>\n

r\u00e9alta charb\u00f3in<\/strong><\/p>\n

r\u00e9alta thimpholach<\/strong><\/p>\n

r\u00e9alta dh\u00edchine\u00e1lach<\/strong> — gotta love a term like that!\u00a0 Try to figure it out and if no luck, the “aistri\u00fach\u00e1n<\/strong>” is “th\u00edos<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

But if you’re looking for “dwarf star,” there’s no lenition, because it’s a compound word, with “r\u00e9alta<\/strong> ” as the second element: abhacr\u00e9alta<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now having said all that, the word “r\u00e9alta<\/strong>” sometimes does appear as just “r\u00e9alt<\/strong>,” with <get ready>, “r\u00e9alta<\/strong>” as the plural.\u00a0 Which means we often have to look at context to see what’s what. \u00a0But, n\u00ed ionadh \u00e9 sin,<\/strong> we have the same situation with other words in Irish, like “apple,” which is “\u00fall<\/strong>, plural: \u00falla<\/strong>” in standard Irish, but “\u00falla<\/strong>, plural \u00falla\u00ed<\/strong>” in Cois Fhairrge Irish.\u00a0 Maybe it’s no worse than dealing with “sheep \/ sheep” and “deer \/ deer” in English.\u00a0 We have to look at context.<\/p>\n

The word “r\u00e9alta<\/strong>” can take an adjective ending, to become “r\u00e9altach<\/strong>” (starry).\u00a0 There’s also “reannach<\/strong>” (starry) in Irish, for those who want to exhaust all possibilities, but it’s not used as much as “r\u00e9altach<\/strong>,” i mo thaith\u00ed f\u00e9in, ar a laghad<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

“R\u00e9altach<\/strong>” becomes the basis of “geal-r\u00e9altach<\/strong>,” lit. bright-starred, which is in the following phrase, from the American national anthem:<\/p>\n

\u00d3 abair ‘bhfuil an bhratach gheal-r\u00e9altach go s\u00edor \/ os cionn th\u00edr na gcr\u00f3gach is talamh na saor?<\/strong><\/p>\n

an bhratach gheal-r\u00e9altach<\/strong>, lit. \u00a0the brightly starred flag (not “spangled” as such), or very literally, the flag bright-starry<\/p>\n

The hyphenation is not typical today, but it does help show the two parts of the compound word.<\/p>\n

“Geal<\/strong>,” the first part of the compound word, means “bright.”<\/p>\n

And for our second choice:<\/p>\n

r\u00e9altbhreac <\/strong>[raylt-vrak],\u00a0<\/strong>star-spangled (lit. star-specked, since the actual word for a \u201cspangle\u201d in Irish is\u00a0\u201cspaglainn\u201d<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

This compound word is based on “r\u00e9alt<\/strong>-” (star-) as we’ve already discussed and “breac<\/strong>” (speckled, spotted, or in some American vernacular, “brackled;” “breac<\/strong>” also means “trout” in Irish, naturally enough).<\/p>\n

Although the phrase, an bhratach gheal-r\u00e9altach<\/strong> has probably now been immortalized in the Irish version of the song, “The Star-Spangled Banner,” there is at least one other alternative phrase, using “r\u00e9altbhreac<\/strong>“:<\/p>\n

an bhrat\u00f3g r\u00e9altbhreac<\/strong>, [un VRAH-tohg raylt-vrak] the star-spangled banner<\/p>\n

Third choice:<\/p>\n

breactha le r\u00e9alta\u00ed<\/strong>, lit. dotted or speckled with stars.\u00a0 Straightforward, but not very poetic-feeling, i mo bhar\u00fail f\u00e9in, ar a laghad<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

And fourth, and finally (at least for today’s blog):<\/p>\n

buailte le r\u00e9alta\u00ed<\/strong>, lit. struck or beaten with stars<\/p>\n

And how about “spangled” on its own?\u00a0 Or bespangled?\u00a0 Seo an briathar<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

to spangle (not that it’s a word I use all that often, especially transitively; maybe “bespangled” from time to time): breacadh le spaglainn\u00ed<\/strong>, lit. to dot or speckle with spangles<\/p>\n

breactha le spaglainn\u00ed<\/strong>, bespangled<\/p>\n

And finally, so maybe a fifth alternative, there’s a somewhat obscure word, ‘scragallach<\/strong>,’ meaning ‘spangled,’ which could be made into a compound word:<\/p>\n

*r\u00e9altscragallach<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is based on another word for “spangle,” scragall<\/strong>, which also means “thin leaf of gold or silver foil” (gold foil, silver foil)<\/p>\n

But somehow, “r\u00e9altscragallach<\/strong>” doesn’t have much aesthetic appeal to me, as words go.\u00a0 And a quick Google search shows no results at all for this word, so I think the opinion is probably general.<\/p>\n

And what exactly is a ‘spangle’?\u00a0 Apparently the same as a sequin, aka paillette.<\/p>\n

If it weren’t for that fact that we’ve already got four good choices above, we could play with the word “seacain<\/strong>” (or variant: s\u00e9acain<\/strong>) in Irish.\u00a0 Any guesses as to what this noun means?\u00a0 Leid<\/strong>: it’s an indirect adaptation from the Italian word zecchino<\/em> via French and then English, to reach Irish.\u00a0 As far as I know, despite their torques (toirc<\/strong>) and penannular brooches (dealga neasfh\u00e1inneach<\/strong>a), the ancient Irish didn’t have “seacain\u00ed<\/strong>” as such.<\/p>\n

Now, after all of this discussion of starriness and spangledness (a word?), perhaps you’re chomping (or champing) at the bit to actually sing the one song that actually contains this phrase, especially given the time of year (i Meirice\u00e1, ar a laghad<\/strong>).\u00a0 Seo v\u00e9arsa a haon<\/strong>, and if you want the other three verses, in Irish, you’ll find them at the links at the end of this article, with glossaries AND pronunciation guides.\u00a0 Not that we usually sing the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th verses, of “The Star-spangled Banner,” fi\u00fa i mB\u00e9arla<\/strong>, but it’s always interesting to check them out:<\/p>\n

\u00d3 abair, an l\u00e9ir dhuit, le f\u00e1inne an lae, an bhratach ‘bh\u00ed ‘n-airde le titim na ho\u00edche<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tr\u00edd an chath ‘bh\u00ed na riabha ‘s na r\u00e9alta\u00ed geal-ghl\u00e9 ag luascadh go huasal ‘s ag m\u00edni\u00fa \u00e1r gcro\u00edthe<\/strong><\/p>\n

Is ar n-imeacht don l\u00f3 n\u00edor gh\u00e9ill s\u00e9 go deo ach a caorthinte ag pl\u00e9ascadh sna sp\u00e9artha le gleo!<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00d3 abair ‘bhfuil an bhratach gheal-r\u00e9altach go s\u00edor os cionn th\u00edr na gcr\u00f3gach is talamh na saor?<\/strong><\/p>\n

And if you’re wondering which is the super-high note, it’s the “-gach” of “na gcr\u00f3gach<\/strong>” (of the brave).\u00a0 The Irish word order is reversed, so we have “the land (t\u00edr<\/strong>) of the brave and the land (talamh<\/strong>) of the free.”\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 So “saor<\/strong>” at the end can rhyme with “go s\u00edor<\/strong>” (eternally, still).\u00a0 Saoirse fhileata!<\/strong><\/p>\n

SGF –\u00a0R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/strong><\/p>\n

Aistri\u00fach\u00e1n:<\/strong> r\u00e9alta dhonn<\/strong>, brown star; r\u00e9alta charb\u00f3in<\/strong>, carbon star; r\u00e9alta thimpholach<\/strong>, circumpolar star; r\u00e9alta dh\u00edchine\u00e1lach<\/strong>, degenerate star (not a comment on “mor\u00e1ltachta\u00ed<\/strong>“)<\/p>\n

Gluais: ann <\/strong>[ahn OR own as in “town” or “gown”], in “it” (with “it” as existence), in existence, in him, in it; ar a laghad<\/strong>\u00a0[“laghad<\/b>” rhymes with English “side” or “tide”];\u00a0fi\u00fa<\/b>, even;\u00a0saoirse<\/strong> [SEER-shuh], freedom, and now a popular name for girls as well, as in Saoirse Ronan and Saoirse Roisin Hill (daughter of Courtney Kennedy and Paul Hill)<\/p>\n

Naisc:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Liric\u00ed do “\u00d3 abair an l\u00e9ir dhuit?” \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

V\u00e9arsa a haon:<\/strong>\u00a0https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/o-abair-an-leir-dhuit-oh-say-can-you-see-amhran-naisiunta-na-stat-aontaithe<\/a>
\n (18 Meitheamh 2012)<\/strong><\/p>\n

V\u00e9arsa a d\u00f3:<\/strong> https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/o-abair-an-leir-dhuit-oh-say-can-you-see-2nd-verse-amhran-naisiunta-na-stat-aontaithe-vearsa-2\/<\/a> (21 Meitheamh 2012)<\/strong><\/p>\n

V\u00e9arsa a tr\u00ed:<\/strong> https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/o-abair-an-leir-dhuit-vearsa-3-oh-say-can-you-see-3nd-verse-amhran-naisiunta-na-stat-aontaithe\/<\/a> (24 Meitheamh 2012)<\/strong><\/p>\n

V\u00e9arsa a ceathair:<\/strong> https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/o-abair-an-leir-dhuit-vearsa-4-oh-say-can-you-see-4th-and-final-verse-amhran-naisiunta-na-stat-aontaithe\/<\/a> (27 Meitheamh 2012)<\/strong><\/p>\n

And some further background information:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/which-came-first-o-sagt-konnt-ihr-sehen-o-abair-an-leir-dhuit-aue-sei-e-vaai\/<\/a> (30 Meitheamh 2012<\/strong>; a chronology of translations of The Star-Spangled Banner into eleven languages, starting in 1861 and coming up to the 21st century.\u00a0 The languages include some major world languages (Gearm\u00e1inis, Sp\u00e1innis, m. sh.<\/strong>) to some with far fewer speakers (Sam\u00f3is, O’odham, Navach\u00f3is, srl<\/strong>.)<\/p>\n

P.S. 5 I\u00fail 2014<\/strong>: No sooner did I ponder what might be described as “spangled,” besides the star-spangled banner, than I stumbled on one major example of the word (in English): the great spangled fritillary (butterfly). \u00a0But, so far, at least, I don’t see any official Irish term for them. \u00a0“Fritillary” is “fritile\u00e1n<\/strong>” and “great” would probably be “m\u00f3r.” \u00a0Bar\u00fail ar bith ag duine ar bith agaibh do <\/strong>“spangled” sa ch\u00e1s seo? \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn) It seems like such a specific term, but there at least four ways to say “star-spangled” in Irish. \u00a0A timely phrase for this time of year (L\u00e1 na Saoirse) in the United States. Let’s start with the ‘star” part, since that’s the basis of all of the terms that follow, and also probably…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":5422,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3898],"tags":[289898,229455,4435,290015,332048,5360,5813,332056,289919,229448,290014,11,332047,82455,289974,6686,290013,290012],"class_list":["post-5413","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-irish-language","tag-an-bhratach","tag-an-bhratach-gheal-realtach","tag-bratach","tag-courtney-kennedy","tag-gealrealtach","tag-ghealrealtach","tag-la-na-saoirse","tag-laghad","tag-o-abair-bhfuil-an-bhratach-gheal-realtach-go-sior","tag-o-abair-an-leir-dhuit","tag-paul-hill","tag-pronunciation","tag-realt","tag-realta","tag-realtach","tag-saoirse","tag-saoirse-roisin-hill","tag-saoirse-ronan"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5413","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=5413"}],"version-history":[{"count":29,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5413\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8075,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5413\/revisions\/8075"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5422"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}