{"id":5701,"date":"2014-09-26T20:04:46","date_gmt":"2014-09-26T20:04:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=5701"},"modified":"2016-12-24T19:27:12","modified_gmt":"2016-12-24T19:27:12","slug":"from-stait-to-stat-and-back-again-various-ways-to-say-the-united-states-of-america-in-irish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/from-stait-to-stat-and-back-again-various-ways-to-say-the-united-states-of-america-in-irish\/","title":{"rendered":"From \u2018St\u00e1it\u2019 to \u2018St\u00e1t\u2019 and Back Again: Various Ways to Say \u2018The United States of America\u2019 in Irish"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\"C\u00e9<\/a>

C\u00e9 h\u00e9 seo agus c\u00e9n f\u00e1th a bhfuil a phicti\u00far sa bhlag seo? L\u00e9igh leat chun an freagra a fh\u00e1il! (Domenico Ghirlandaio [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons)<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

In the last blog, about the word “aontaithe<\/strong>,” (nasc\u00a0th\u00edos<\/strong>), we referred briefly to the various ways to say “the United States of America” in Irish. \u00a0There are some subtle differences, depending on how the phrase is used. \u00a0And of course, there are different phrases for specifically saying “the United States of America,” “the United States,” and, simply, “America.”<\/p>\n

Here are the basics:<\/p>\n

St\u00e1it Aontaithe Mheirice\u00e1<\/strong> (abbreviated conveniently as \u201cS.A.M.<\/strong>\u201d)<\/p>\n

Na St\u00e1it Aontaithe<\/strong><\/p>\n

Meirice\u00e1<\/strong><\/p>\n

Two grammatical points to notice here are:<\/p>\n

1) \u201cMeirice\u00e1<\/strong>\u201d [MERzh<\/sup>-ik-yaw] gets lenited after \u201cSt\u00e1it Aontaithe<\/strong>,\u201d to become \u201cMheirice\u00e1<\/strong>\u201d [VERzh<\/sup>-ik-yaw]<\/p>\n

2) the word \u201cthe\u201d (na<\/strong>) is included if we are just saying \u201cthe United States\u201d but it\u2019s dropped if we\u2019re saying the full phrase \u201cthe United States of America.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regarding point 1, the \u201cMeirice\u00e1<\/strong>\u201d to \u201cMheirice\u00e1<\/strong>\u201d switch is the same process by which we show possession in general, for example:<\/p>\n

c\u00f3ta Ch\u00e1it<\/strong> [KOH-tuh khawtch], the coat of C\u00e1it, C\u00e1it\u2019s coat<\/p>\n

leabhar Sh\u00e9amais<\/strong> [ly<\/sup>owr HAY-mish], the book of S\u00e9amas, S\u00e9amas\u2019s book<\/p>\n

The process happens even when we\u2019re not speaking of literal possession:<\/p>\n

athair Ph\u00e1draig<\/strong> [AH-hirzh<\/sup> FAWD-rig], the father of P\u00e1draig<\/p>\n

muintir Mheirice\u00e1<\/strong> [MW<\/sup>INTCH-irzh<\/sup>\u00a0VERzh<\/sup>-ik-yaw], the people\/inhabitants of America (i.e. the American people, but note that it\u2019s literally \u201cof America,\u201d not \u201cAmerican\u201d as an adjective)<\/p>\n

muintir Bhaile \u00c1tha Cliath<\/strong> [MW<\/sup>INTCH-irzh<\/sup>\u00a0 WAHL-yuh AW-huh KLEE-uh], the people\/inhabitants of Dublin (remember: the Irish word for the city of Dublin looks nothing like \u201cdubh<\/strong>\u201d or \u201clinn<\/strong>;\u201d it\u2019s \u201cBaile \u00c1tha Cliath<\/strong>,\u201d lit. \u201cthe town of the ford of the hurdle\u201d)<\/p>\n

Regarding point 2, the definite article (the word \u201cthe\u201d) is routinely dropped in Irish when we go from saying \u201cthe coat\u201d (an c\u00f3ta<\/strong>) to \u201cthe coat of C\u00e1it\u201d (c\u00f3ta Ch\u00e1it<\/strong>)<\/p>\n

So if we\u2019re just saying \u201cthe United States,\u201d we include the word \u201cthe,\u201d which here is plural (na<\/strong>):<\/p>\n

na St\u00e1it Aontaithe<\/strong><\/p>\n

But if we\u2019re including \u201cAmerica,\u201d the \u201cthe\u201d gets dropped, as we saw earlier: St\u00e1it Aontaithe Mheirice\u00e1<\/strong>, the United States of America<\/p>\n

\u201cMeirice\u00e1<\/strong>,\u201d clearly enough, is \u201cAmerica.\u201d It\u2019s sometimes spelled \u201cMeireac\u00e1<\/strong>,\u201d as in the Cois Fhairrge dialect described by M\u00edche\u00e1l \u00d3 Siadhail. \u00a0Kudos to anyone who can tell us who the country is named after? Leid: is ainm taisc\u00e9ala\u00ed \u00e9. Leid eile: Iod\u00e1lach. \u00a0Freagra sa ch\u00e9ad bhlag eile n\u00f3 b’fh\u00e9idir i mionbhlag idir an d\u00e1 linn n\u00f3 b’fh\u00e9idir sna n\u00f3ta\u00ed tr\u00e1chta m\u00e1 fhreagra\u00edonn duine \u00e9igin an cheist. \u00a0(13 Bealtaine 2015: freagra curtha leis an mblag seo\u00a0anois mar n\u00ed\u00a0bhfuair muid\u00a0\u00f3 dhuine ar bith \u00e9; t\u00e1 an freagra th\u00edos).<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here are a few more phrases using the various forms of \u201cAmerica\u201d and “the United States”:<\/p>\n

Uachtar\u00e1n St\u00e1it Aontaithe Mheirice\u00e1<\/strong><\/p>\n

Uachtar\u00e1n na St\u00e1t Aontaithe<\/strong> (notice \u201cst\u00e1t<\/strong>\u201d for the plural possessive form, not \u201cst\u00e1it<\/strong>\u201d)<\/p>\n

daonra na St\u00e1t Aontaithe<\/strong><\/p>\n

pr\u00edomhchathair na St\u00e1t Aontaithe<\/strong><\/p>\n

i St\u00e1it Aontaithe Mheirice\u00e1<\/strong><\/p>\n

sna St\u00e1it Aontaithe<\/strong><\/p>\n

sna St\u00e1it<\/strong> (often understood as \u201cthe United States\u201d)<\/p>\n

How about the word for \u201cstate\u201d itself, \u201cst\u00e1t<\/strong>\u201d (lower-case for general references). Here are some of its forms:<\/p>\n

an st\u00e1t<\/strong>, the state<\/p>\n

an st\u00e1it<\/strong>, of the state (pr\u00edomhchathair an st\u00e1it<\/strong>)<\/p>\n

na st\u00e1it<\/strong>, the states (na st\u00e1it ghorma, na st\u00e1it dhearga, na st\u00e1it chorcra, mar a deirtear faoi st\u00e1it na St\u00e1t Aontaithe nuair a bh\u00edonn toghch\u00e1n ann<\/strong>)<\/p>\n

na st\u00e1t<\/strong>, of the states (pr\u00edomhchathracha na st\u00e1t<\/strong>)<\/p>\n

As you can see, “st\u00e1t<\/strong>” is a typical example of a first-declension noun, masculine, as are all nouns in that category.<\/p>\n

And, as mentioned in the last blog, \u201cstate\u201d is used for some other countries as well:<\/p>\n

St\u00e1it Aontaithe Mheicsiceo<\/strong><\/p>\n

pr\u00edomhchathair St\u00e1it Aontaithe Mheicsiceo (pr\u00edomhchathair Mheicsiceo)<\/strong><\/p>\n

i St\u00e1it Aontaithe Mheicsiceo,<\/strong> though most people probably just say, \u201ci Meicsiceo<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n

And what\u2019s the state of your \u201ccoirt\u00e9is cheirbreach<\/strong>\u201d after all that?<\/p>\n

SGF — R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gluais: ceirbreach<\/strong>, cerebral; coirt\u00e9is<\/strong>, cortex; daonra<\/strong>, population; pr\u00edomhchathair<\/strong> [PREEV-KHAH-hirzh<\/sup>], capital (capital city)<\/p>\n

Nasc don bhlag faoin bhfocal ‘aontaithe’:<\/strong>\u00a0https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/looking-at-the-aon-in-aontaithe-united\/<\/p>\n

Freagra (an t-eapainm a bhfaigheann muid an t-ainm “Meirice\u00e1”<\/strong>\u00a0uaidh): <\/strong>Amerigo Vespucci (1454-1512), Americus Vespucius<\/em> i Laidin. \u00a0Seo alt beag suimi\u00fail faoin bhfear agus faoin\u00a0ainm:\u00a0<\/strong>http:\/\/www.straightdope.com\/columns\/read\/951\/why-was-america-named-after-amerigo-vespucci. \u00a0Deirtear gurb \u00e9 Amerigo Vespucci mar bhuachaill at\u00e1 ina sheasamh in aice leis an Maighdean Mhuire sa phicti\u00far <\/strong>‘Madonna della misericordia’<\/em> le Dominico Ghirlandaio. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"'Madonna<\/a>

‘Madonna della misericordia’ le Domenico Ghirlandaio. Deirtear gurb \u00e9 Amerigo an d\u00e9ag\u00f3ir at\u00e1 ina sheasamh in aice leis an Maighdean Mhuire. (Domenico Ghirlandaio [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons)<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn)   In the last blog, about the word “aontaithe,” (nasc\u00a0th\u00edos), we referred briefly to the various ways to say “the United States of America” in Irish. \u00a0There are some subtle differences, depending on how the phrase is used. \u00a0And of course, there are different phrases for specifically saying “the United States of America,”…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":6664,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3898],"tags":[358983,359622,359621,4907,96412,6057,104,359620,359623,359624,6938,359617,359618,2544,7218,358985],"class_list":["post-5701","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-irish-language","tag-aontaithe","tag-ceirbreach","tag-coirteis","tag-daonra","tag-meicsiceo","tag-meiricea","tag-mexico","tag-mheicsiceo","tag-priomhchathair","tag-priomhchathracha","tag-stait-aontaithe","tag-stat","tag-stat-aontaithe-mheiricea","tag-states","tag-uachtaran","tag-united"],"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