{"id":588,"date":"2011-01-04T20:42:05","date_gmt":"2011-01-04T20:42:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=588"},"modified":"2015-12-29T20:54:16","modified_gmt":"2015-12-29T20:54:16","slug":"geanna-agus-ealai-cuid-a-ceathair-dha-la-dheag-na-nollag","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/geanna-agus-ealai-cuid-a-ceathair-dha-la-dheag-na-nollag\/","title":{"rendered":"G\u00e9anna agus Eala\u00ed (Cuid a Ceathair: Dh\u00e1 L\u00e1 Dh\u00e9ag na Nollag)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

Time to give \u201cfaoistin ghearr\u201d <\/strong>to \u201cDh\u00e1 L\u00e1 Dh\u00e9ag na Nollag,\u201d <\/strong>at least, perhaps, until next year when we can resume looking at some of the f\u00e9idearthachta\u00ed eile<\/strong>. \u00a0Before we start, you might like to know a more folksy way to refer to \u201cshort shrift:\u201d<\/p>\n

N\u00edor thug s\u00e9 saol pr\u00e1ta i mb\u00e9al muice di.\u00a0 <\/strong>Equivalent to \u201c<\/strong>He gave her short shrift,\u201d but literally, \u201cHe didn\u2019t give her (even) the life of a potato a pig\u2019s mouth\u201d\u00a0 With all that pig and potato imagery, you probably noticed that there\u2019s no mention of an actual confession (faoistin). \u00a0<\/strong>Traditional sayings like this rarely translate literally from language to language.<\/p>\n

As for why some people were shriven in a short time period, and how to describe the situation in Irish, let\u2019s hold that topic for another time, say, An Inid.\u00a0 <\/strong>Specifically, we could say M\u00e1irt Inide, <\/strong>which this year will fall ar an 8\u00fa l\u00e1 de mh\u00ed an Mh\u00e1rta, <\/strong>a little late compared to some years.\u00a0\u00a0 But we\u2019ll get there.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Anyway, so much for pr\u00e1ta\u00ed agus muca, <\/strong>and back to the topic at hand, g\u00e9anna agus eala\u00ed. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Looking at the song from a language point of view, we\u2019ve now gotten to some verses where the grammar isn\u2019t quite as complex.\u00a0 The reason is simply that the geese and swans in the next two verses aren\u2019t described with adjectives, which, as you may recall, may need s\u00e9imhi\u00fa <\/strong>or plural endings applied.\u00a0 The song doesn\u2019t specify that the geese are g\u00e9anna t\u00ed (<\/strong>aka g\u00e9anna cl\u00f3is) <\/strong>or any other particular type, such as \u201c g\u00e9 Cheanada\u201d <\/strong>or \u201cg\u00e9 ghobghearr.\u201d\u00a0 <\/strong>Just, \u201csix geese.\u201d<\/p>\n

The main grammatical point that arises with counting \u201csix geese\u201d and \u201cseven swans\u201d involves using the numbers with the nouns.\u00a0 In fact, the song is ideally written to illustrate what happens when counting things in Irish.\u00a0 As many of you know, if you have two to six of an item, you apply lenition (s\u00e9imhi\u00fa) <\/strong>wherever possible (dh\u00e1 bh\u00e1d, tr\u00ed chat, srl.), <\/strong>keeping in mind the important exceptions (“tr\u00ed bliana,” mar shampla).\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

So, \u201csix geese\u201d?\u00a0 Delightfully, it rhymes:<\/p>\n

s\u00e9 gh\u00e9 <\/strong>(lenition of \u201cg\u00e9\u201d <\/strong>after \u201cs\u00e9\u201d). \u00a0<\/strong>Remember the sound for the slender \u201cgh,\u201d like English \u201cy\u201d?\u00a0 So \u201cgh\u00e9\u201d <\/strong>sounds pretty much like English \u201cyay!\u201d (as opposed to the broad \u201cgh,\u201d which, in Irish, is guttural).\u00a0 Of course, this is the \u201cs\u00e9\u201d <\/strong>meaning \u201csix,\u201d not the \u201cs\u00e9\u201d <\/strong>meaning \u201che, it.\u201d\u00a0 For better or for worse, Irish throws a comhainm<\/strong> at learners in what is often one of their first lessons, \u201cs\u00e9\u201d <\/strong>as a pronoun (“he”) and \u201cs\u00e9\u201d <\/strong>as a number (“six”).<\/p>\n

Once you hit seven, you no longer use \u201cs\u00e9imhi\u00fa\u201d<\/strong> but \u201cur\u00fa\u201d <\/strong>(eclipsis) instead.\u00a0 So instead of \u201csoftening\u201d the initial consonant, shown in spelling by adding the letter \u201ch\u201d (b\u00e1d \/ bh\u00e1d, cat \/ chat<\/strong>), you cover over the original letter, just like an actual eclipse, except we’re adding letters to the word, not heavenly bodies.\u00a0 This process also occurs for many other reasons in Irish, and you\u2019ve likely seen some of them (i mBost\u00fan, ag an bPaorach, an dt\u00f3gann, srl.).\u00a0 <\/strong>There are seven possible combinations for applying eclipsis to consonants, and we can\u2019t treat all of them here, since we\u2019re only talking about geese and swans.\u00a0 For the examples just given in parentheses, we had \u201cm\u201d eclipsing \u201cBost\u00fan,\u201d <\/strong>the letter \u201cb\u201d eclipsing \u201cPaorach\u201d <\/strong>(Mr. Power), and \u201cd\u201d eclipsing \u201ct\u00f3gann.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Seven swans?\u00a0 The word for swan, \u201ceala,\u201d <\/strong>begins with a vowel, so we\u2019re not using the rules for words that begin with consonants.\u00a0 Vowels can also be eclipsed in Irish, but unlike the consonant system, it\u2019s always with the same letter, \u201cn.\u201d\u00a0 You might remember \u201cseacht n-\u00fall\u201d<\/strong> and \u201cnaoi n-or\u00e1iste\u201d <\/strong>(7 apples, 9 oranges) as examples.<\/p>\n

seacht n-eala<\/strong> (eclipsis of \u201ceala<\/strong>\u201d after \u201cseacht<\/strong>\u201d)<\/p>\n

Remember that in both these cases, the noun (g\u00e9, eala), <\/strong>stays singular after the number.\u00a0 That\u2019s the process in Irish, even if it seems unusual to an English speaker.<\/p>\n

And what were these birds up to?<\/p>\n

s\u00e9 gh\u00e9 ag breith<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, the archaic style of the English \u201ca-laying\u201d isn\u2019t really a feature of the Irish version.\u00a0 In Irish, it is quite normal to use the preposition \u201cag<\/strong>\u201d (at) before the rangabh\u00e1il l\u00e1ithreach<\/strong> (present participle, i.e. the \u201c\u2013ing\u201d form of the verbal noun), as you\u2019ve no doubt seen (T\u00e1 m\u00e9 ag rith, T\u00e1 s\u00e9 ag ithe<\/strong>).\u00a0 So, the \u201cag<\/strong> + verbal noun\u201d structure fits the rhythm of the song perfectly, without any need to deliberately archaize it.\u00a0 English actually used to have a similar feature, which survives i bhfr\u00e1sa\u00ed iontaisithe<\/strong> today, in the other verses if this song, as well as elsewhere (\u201ca-swimming,\u201d etc., and more generally, \u201ca-wassailing\u201d and \u201ca-maying\u201d).\u00a0 Admittedly, the fossilized survivals of this structure are somewhat old-fashioned in English \u2013 I\u2019ve never heard of anyone going \u201ca-texting.\u201d\u00a0 In English, this \u201ca-\u201c was originally the preposition \u201con.\u201d\u00a0 Over time, it got reduced to \u201ca-\u201c and eventually dropped altogether, except in phrases like the ones just given.<\/p>\n

If these geese were actually hatching their eggs, instead of laying them, we could use a fascinating Irish word, \u201cgor<\/strong>,\u201d which refers to broodiness, clocking (clucking), or hatching (regarding poultry), or medically, pus or inflammation.\u00a0 It gives us a great figurative expression, m\u00e1thair an ghoir<\/strong>, which means both \u201cthe root of all evil\u201d and \u201cthe core of an abscess.\u201d\u00a0 But I suppose any further discussion of that topic should be \u00e1bhar blag eile<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

As for the swimming swans, oops, \u201cswans a-swimming\u201d:<\/p>\n

seacht n-eala ag sn\u00e1mh<\/strong><\/p>\n

The most basic meaning of \u201csn\u00e1mh<\/strong>\u201d is \u201cswim,\u201d but don\u2019t be too surprised if you see it used to describe land animals though.\u00a0 On land, it can mean \u201ccreep\u201d or \u201ccrawl, as in, \u201dT\u00e1 an leithph\u00e9ist str\u00edoca canda\u00ed ag sn\u00e1mh ar an ngaineamh<\/strong>,\u201d which means \u201cThe candy-striped flatworm is creeping on the sand.\u201d\u00a0 Why the *candy-striped flatworm? \u00a0I guess I like the image.\u00a0 If ever there was a worm name designed to tempt the proverbial worm-eater of the proverbial worm-eating song (“Nobody likes me, everybody hates me …”), I guess this would be it.\u00a0 But this worm is especially interesting for our purposes since it can also swim.\u00a0 Hmm, I see potential issues in **distinctio<\/em> here, but will also save that for \u00e1bhar blag eile<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

One last point about the word \u201csn\u00e1mh<\/strong>.\u201d\u00a0 Students (at least in my classes) seem to find it an unusual-looking word, but it is a nice straightforward cognate, minus the initial \u201c\u2013s,\u201d to the Welsh \u201cnofio<\/em>\u201d and to related words in other languages like both \u201cnatare\u201d<\/em> and \u201cnavigare\u201d <\/em>in Latin, as well as \u201cnadar,\u201d<\/em> \u201cnager,\u201d<\/em> and \u201cnuotare<\/em>,\u201d etc.<\/p>\n

Bhuel,<\/strong> that may not have been such \u201cshort shrift\u201d after all.\u00a0 C\u00faig v\u00e9arsa f\u00e1gtha!<\/strong>\u00a0 Pr\u00e1ta crua i mb\u00e9al muc mhantach, is d\u00f3cha<\/strong>. \u00a0— Sl\u00e1n go f\u00f3ill —<\/strong>\u00a0R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/strong><\/p>\n

*\u00a0 I wrote about the candy-striped worms in this blog for Halloween 2009.\u00a0 B\u2019fh\u00e9idir gur cuimhin leat \u00e9<\/strong>?\u00a0 The general topic was \u201cL\u00e1 N\u00e1isi\u00fanta Canda\u00ed Arbhair<\/strong>,\u201d which is on October 30th<\/sup> of every year.\u00a0 That\u2019s \u201cn\u00e1isi\u00fanta<\/strong>\u201d of the U.S.\u00a0 Something tells me that no other countries have a \u201cNational Candy Corn Day.\u201d\u00a0 The general context was the use of the word \u201ccanda\u00ed<\/strong>\u201d as opposed to \u201cmilse\u00e1in<\/strong>\u201d in Irish.<\/p>\n

** <\/strong>I don\u2019t see any Irish word for the rhetorical device \u201cdistinctio<\/em>,\u201d as opposed to \u201cdistinction,\u201d but I suppose \u201cidirdhealachas\u201d <\/strong>could do in a pinch.\u00a0 That, at least, would be distinct from \u201cidirdheal\u00fa,\u201d <\/strong>which is simply \u201cdistinction\u201d (or differentiation) and \u201cidirdheal\u00fach\u00e1n<\/strong>,\u201d which is basically the same thing, but a little more concretely stated.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>Gluais: comhainm, <\/strong>homonym; g\u00e9anna t\u00ed <\/strong>or g\u00e9anna cl\u00f3is, <\/strong>domestic geese, lit. \u201chouse geese\u201d or \u201cyard geese,\u201d gobghearr, <\/strong>at least in reference to geese, literally means \u201cshort-beaked\u201d but is used in Irish to refer to the \u201c<\/strong>pink-footed goose\u201d (Anser brachyrhynchus<\/em>); iontaisithe<\/strong>, fossilized; mantach, <\/strong>toothless<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn) Time to give \u201cfaoistin ghearr\u201d to \u201cDh\u00e1 L\u00e1 Dh\u00e9ag na Nollag,\u201d at least, perhaps, until next year when we can resume looking at some of the f\u00e9idearthachta\u00ed eile. \u00a0Before we start, you might like to know a more folksy way to refer to \u201cshort shrift:\u201d N\u00edor thug s\u00e9 saol pr\u00e1ta i mb\u00e9al muice…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3898],"tags":[13375,390733,390732,13374,13367,13369,5139,5343,13368,13365,13372,390731,390741,390742,211632,390738,55396,390736,6224,390737,390735,6273,6274,390740,13373,13371,13370,229601,13366,390734],"class_list":["post-588","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-irish-language","tag-candy-striped-flatworm","tag-crawl","tag-creep","tag-distinctio","tag-eala","tag-ealai","tag-fata","tag-ge","tag-geanna","tag-goose","tag-gor","tag-leithpheist-strioca-candai","tag-mantach","tag-mhantach","tag-muc","tag-nadar","tag-nager","tag-natare","tag-national-candy-corn-day","tag-navigare","tag-nofio","tag-nollag","tag-nollaig","tag-nuotare","tag-saol-prata-i-mbeal-muice","tag-se-ghe-ag-breith","tag-seacht-n-eala-ag-snamh","tag-snamh","tag-swan","tag-swim"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588","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=588"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7464,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588\/revisions\/7464"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}