{"id":5556,"date":"2014-07-27T20:00:51","date_gmt":"2014-07-27T20:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=5556"},"modified":"2014-11-09T11:38:25","modified_gmt":"2014-11-09T11:38:25","slug":"nil-aon-p-breagleannta-i-ngaeilge-bearla-ptarmigan-vs-gaeilge-tarmachan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/nil-aon-p-breagleannta-i-ngaeilge-bearla-ptarmigan-vs-gaeilge-tarmachan\/","title":{"rendered":"N\u00edl aon “P” br\u00e9agl\u00e9annta i nGaeilge (B\u00e9arla: ptarmigan vs. Gaeilge: tarmachan)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\"C\u00e9n<\/a>

C\u00e9n cine\u00e1l \u00e9in m\u00e9? — Is tarmachan m\u00e9. Agus n\u00edl an litir “P” i m’ainm mar at\u00e1 sa Bh\u00e9arla br\u00e9agl\u00e9annta at\u00e1 orm. Image: http:\/\/all-free-download.com\/free-vector\/vector-clip-art\/ptarmigan_116168.html<\/p><\/div>\n

We recently noted some extreme examples of English spelling (like chthonic, mnemonic, and pneumonia) and a couple of English words with initial “pt” like “pteranodon” and “ptarmigan” (naisc th\u00edos<\/strong>)\u00a0 One of those words was an example of pseudo-learned spelling in English since the initial silent letter was added, to make the word look impressively Greek.\u00a0 While most English words beginning with “pt-” do come from Greek (ptosis, ptomaine, pterodactyl, Ptolemy, etc.), there’s at least one that doesn’t.\u00a0 Which one?\u00a0 Kudos (ar\u00eds<\/strong>) to Se\u00e1n \u00d3 Briain who sent in the correct answer for that: ptarmigan, with the pseudo-learned “p” prefixed to an anglicization of the solid Gaelic word, “t\u00e0rmachan<\/em>” (tarmachan<\/strong>, with no long mark, in Irish).\u00a0 Why bother, one might wonder, but what’s done is done, and “ptarmigan” doesn’t seem to be changing.<\/p>\n

So let’s look at a few other words that start with “pt” in English,” in this case, legitimately.\u00a0 In other words, these “pt” clusters do in fact go back to the ancient Greek.\u00a0 And, in all cases, the Irish words are spelled without the “p,” showing us that the Irish spelling system can be straightforward and logical.\u00a0 Remember the “p” of the “pt” cluster isn’t pronounced in any of these English words, so it seems consistent that all the Irish words simply start with “t.”\u00a0 Here are some samples:<\/p>\n

1) pteranodon: tearan\u00f3d\u00f3n<\/strong>.\u00a0 You might remember this from the 3-part blog on “Traein na nDineas\u00e1r” (nasc th\u00edos)<\/strong>, where I also provided the vocabulary for the very catchy theme song (t\u00e9amamhr\u00e1n<\/strong>) for the show, great in English (Dinosaur Traaaiiin!), n\u00edos fearr f\u00f3s i nGaeilge (i mo bhar\u00fail f\u00e9in).<\/strong><\/p>\n

2) pterido- (as a prefix): teiridea<\/strong>– (before broad consonants) and teiridi<\/strong>– (before slender consonants)<\/p>\n

3) pteridology (the study of ferns and other pteridophytes): well, I haven’t actually found this one in print or cyberprint so far, but putting the prefix and suffix together, we should have *teirideola\u00edocht.\u00a0 Eolas ag Gaeilgeoir\/teirideola\u00ed amuigh ansin faoi seo?<\/strong><\/p>\n

4) pteridophyte (a plant in the Pteridophyta division, including ferns, horsetails, and club mosses): teiridif\u00edt<\/strong><\/p>\n

5) pterodactyl – just a brief mention here since the topic was pretty thoroughly covered in the blog “An \u00c9an \u00c9? An Reipt\u00edl \u00c9? An Dineas\u00e1r \u00c9? Bhuel, N\u00ed Hea, \u2018Sea, agus N\u00ed Hea<\/a> (nasc th\u00edos): teireadachtalach<\/strong>, with the caveat, as discussed in that blog, that, technically, pterodactyls don’t exist.<\/p>\n

But, as Nuala N\u00ed Dhomhnaill wrote about in her famous essay \u201cWhy I Choose to Write in Irish: The Corpse That Sits Up and Talks Back\u201d (New York Times<\/em>, 8\u00a0Ean\u00e1ir\u00a01995), non-existent things exist, at least according to the Irish Folklore file on “Neacha Neamhbheo agus Nithe Nach Bhfuil Ann<\/strong>\u201d (Unalive beings and things that don\u2019t exist).\u00a0 So we might as well deal with the word for “pterodactyl,” even if they didn’t exist.\u00a0 First “Pl\u00fat\u00f3n<\/strong>,” then “domhantarraingt<\/strong>” (yes, that’s been challenged too, nasc th\u00edos<\/strong>) then pterodactyls.\u00a0 What will be eliminated next?\u00a0 In my imagination (Lennonesque-ly), it would be fuath, santacht<\/strong>, and for\u00e9igean<\/strong>, but I think that’s a long way off, given the state of the world.<\/p>\n

And boy, did I just drop a heavy dose of philosophy about human nature into our otherwise light-hearted discussion. (Hey, that was supposed to be the “brief reference.”\u00a0 Ah, well, sin mar at\u00e1.\u00a0 N\u00edl aon dochar d\u00e9anta<\/strong>.)<\/p>\n

6) pteropod (a mollusk, with <you guessed it>, a wing-like foot): teireap\u00f3dach<\/strong><\/p>\n

and irresistibly:<\/p>\n

7) pteropod ooze (I shudder to think …): p\u00fasc\u00e1n teireap\u00f3dach<\/strong><\/p>\n

8) Ptolemy: T\u00e1 n\u00edos m\u00f3 n\u00e1 ceathrar acu ann agus “Tolamaes” mar ainm orthu go l\u00e9ir i nGaeilge:<\/strong><\/p>\n

a) Ptolemy (an matamataiceoir Gr\u00e9agach):<\/strong> Tolamaes<\/strong><\/p>\n

b) Ptolemy (sinsearach r\u00edshliocht Macad\u00f3nach a bh\u00ed ina rialt\u00f3ir\u00ed san \u00c9igipt \u00f3 323 BC go 30 BC): \u00a0Tolamaes.<\/strong> And, yes, there’s a plural: Tolamaesaigh<\/strong>.\u00a0 Wondering about the lack of vowel harmony there? \u00a0The vowel cluster “ae” is considered “broad” in Irish, so it does “harmonize” with the “-aigh” of the suffix.\u00a0 BTW, the slender version of the suffix would be ‘-igh,” which we see in words like “Fairis\u00ednigh<\/strong>” (Pharisees) and “Filist\u00ednigh<\/strong>” Philistines), where “-igh” matches up to the preceding “-in” syllable.<\/p>\n

c) Ptolemy I (Ptolemy Sotor): r\u00ed na h\u00c9igipte<\/strong> (306-285 BCE): Tolamaes I<\/strong><\/p>\n

d) Ptolemy II (Ptolemy Philadelphus): r\u00ed na h\u00c9igipte<\/strong> (285-ca. 247, BCE): Tolamaes II<\/strong><\/p>\n

9) ptomaine (poison produced during putrefaction of animal or plant proteins): t\u00f3im\u00e9in<\/strong>, with a variant, t\u00f3im\u00edn<\/strong>. \u00a0Cheerily, this derives from “pt\u00f3ma<\/em>,” a ancient Greek word for “dead body”<\/p>\n

10) ptyalin (enzyme which converts starch to dextrin and maltose): tiailin<\/strong><\/p>\n

And finally, an ironic note: the English word “pseudo-” includes the silent “p,” as do so many other Greek borrowings.\u00a0 But in the case of the word “br\u00e9agl\u00e9annta<\/strong>” (pseudo-learned), Irish jumps to a more traditional word, based on “br\u00e9ag<\/strong>” (a lie).\u00a0 So the “learned P” isn’t even an issue for that word.<\/p>\n

So, what’s the takeaway here? \u00a0While Irish has plenty of silent letters (just think of “fadhb<\/strong>,” “fhadhb<\/strong>,” and “bhfadhb<\/strong>,” for starters), it doesn’t have a pattern of using “pseudo-learned” prefixes with silent letters.\u00a0 The silent letters in Irish mostly occur for grammatical reasons (“sr\u00e1id<\/strong>” becoming “an tsr\u00e1id<\/strong>,” with the “s” becoming silent, but not “pseudo-learnedly”).\u00a0 I’d hazard a guess that the pseudo-learned prefixes aren’t part of modern Irish spelling at all, but there could always be a stray example, so I won’t say never.\u00a0 I never say “never” when it comes to language issues. \u00a0The pattern seems pretty clear as we look at words like “n\u00e9am\u00f3naic<\/strong>” (aka cuimhneola\u00edocht<\/strong>) and \u00a0“ni\u00fam\u00f3ine<\/strong>,” where the Greek “m” and “p” respectively have disappeared.\u00a0 We certainly see the trend there.<\/p>\n

And the final takeaway?\u00a0 Now you say things like:<\/p>\n

T\u00e1 cn\u00e1mha na dtearan\u00f3d\u00f3n agus iontais\u00ed na dteiridif\u00edt\u00ed sa ph\u00fasc\u00e1n teireap\u00f3dach<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

So just when you got used to discarding the silent pseudo-learned English “p,” in jumps the Irish “d” for eclipsis, making the original “t” of “tearan\u00f3d\u00f3n<\/strong>” and “teiridif\u00edt<\/strong>” silent.\u00a0 Remember, Irish, logically and consistently, makes certain letters silent to show what’s happening grammatically.\u00a0 C\u00e9n c\u00f3ras is fearr leat?<\/strong>\u00a0 Which system do you like better?<\/p>\n

So what did that sentence mean anyway?<\/p>\n

The bones of the pteranodons and the fossils of the pteridophytes are in the pteropod ooze.<\/p>\n

If you don’t imagine taking part in too much discussion on the “paleo” side of things, at least that last sentence gave you the imminently useful words “cn\u00e1mha<\/strong>” (bones) and “p\u00fasc\u00e1n<\/strong>” (ooze).\u00a0 I see there are at least five other types of “ooze” we could potentially discuss, but they’ll have to wait for blag \u00e9igin eile<\/strong>.\u00a0 And that’s not even counting “Armus” from the “Skin of Evil” episode (Craiceann Oilc, b’fh\u00e9idir<\/strong>) of “R\u00e9altAistear: An Ch\u00e9ad Ghl\u00fain Eile<\/strong>.”\u00a0 Or was Armus more “sl\u00e1thach<\/strong>” (slime) than “ooze?”\u00a0 Why does every topic seem to take me back to Star Trek<\/em>.\u00a0 Hmmm, I wonder.\u00a0 Anyway, stay tuned, since we can’t let that topic go undiscussed.\u00a0 It might even take us back to that baker’s dozen of words for “mud” in Irish, which some of you might remember from a couple of years ago (nasc th\u00edos<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

I can potentially see the pail\u00e9-ointeolaithe<\/strong> and teirideolaithe<\/strong> challenging me for my probable telescoping of geologic time periods in the sentence above, but, my main goal was simply to use these words in a somewhat plausible context.\u00a0 And if “pteropod ooze” isn’t an engaging topic of conversation, I don’t know what is.\u00a0 On that slithery note, SGF – R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

How To Say Irish Words Like \u2018Aghaidh,\u2019 \u2018Bhratach,\u2019 and \u2018Shaoirse\u2019 (Pronunciation Guide for the Red, White and Blue Blog)<\/a> \u00a0<\/strong>Posted on 20. Jun, 2013 by\u00a0r\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0Irish Language<\/a><\/p>\n

Athphost\u00e1ilte ar 31 I\u00fail 2014 mar<\/strong>: How do you pronounce that? A sample Irish pronunciation guide:http:\/\/ow.ly\/zLj2H<\/a><\/p>\n

An \u00c9an \u00c9? An Reipt\u00edl \u00c9? An Dineas\u00e1r \u00c9? Bhuel, N\u00ed Hea, \u2018Sea, agus N\u00ed Hea<\/a>\u00a0 Posted on 27. Jun, 2013 by\u00a0r\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0Irish Language<\/a><\/p>\n

Traein na nDineas\u00e1r: Gluais\u00edn do Th\u00e9amamhr\u00e1n an Chl\u00e1ir Teilif\u00edse (Cuid 1\/3)<\/a> Posted on 07. Jul, 2013 by\u00a0r\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0Irish Language<\/a> .\u00a0 If you open the first of the three, you’ll be able to link to the other 2 in the series)<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/need-to-know\/five-things\/grade-school-science\/2705\/, which quotes physicist Erik Verline as telling a New York Times reporter, \u201cWe\u2019ve known for a long time gravity doesn\u2019t exist. It\u2019s time to yell it.\u201d\u00a0 To which my humble response is, “Say what?”\u00a0 But then, n\u00ed fisiceoir m\u00e9<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Maidir le \u201cMud\u201d (Muck, Mire, etc.)<\/a> Posted on 23. Mar, 2012 by\u00a0r\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0Irish Language<\/a><\/p>\n

Grafaic<\/strong>:\u00a0http:\/\/all-free-download.com\/free-vector\/vector-clip-art\/ptarmigan_116168.html<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn) We recently noted some extreme examples of English spelling (like chthonic, mnemonic, and pneumonia) and a couple of English words with initial “pt” like “pteranodon” and “ptarmigan” (naisc th\u00edos)\u00a0 One of those words was an example of pseudo-learned spelling in English since the initial silent letter was added, to make the word look…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":5564,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3898],"tags":[359553,332211,359547,359548,207406,298566,359544,359545,359542,207407,359546,332210,290036,290064,332212,290037,332213,332214,359551,359550,359554,359555,6940,290039,359549,359552,359543],"class_list":["post-5556","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-irish-language","tag-armus","tag-breagleannta","tag-domhantarraingt","tag-mollusk","tag-mud","tag-neacha","tag-neamhbheo","tag-nithe","tag-nuala-ni-dhomhnaill","tag-ooze","tag-pluton","tag-pseudo-learned","tag-ptarmigan","tag-pteranodon","tag-pteridology","tag-pterodactyl","tag-pteropod","tag-pteropod-ooze","tag-ptolemy","tag-puscan-teireapodach","tag-skin-of-evil","tag-slime","tag-star-trek","tag-tarmachan","tag-teireapodach","tag-tolamaes","tag-why-i-choose-to-write-in-irish"],"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