{"id":6066,"date":"2014-12-21T21:26:12","date_gmt":"2014-12-21T21:26:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=6066"},"modified":"2014-12-27T14:22:06","modified_gmt":"2014-12-27T14:22:06","slug":"ababu-ca-as-a-dtainig-an-litir-b-as-ait-sa-bhlag-deireanach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/ababu-ca-as-a-dtainig-an-litir-b-as-ait-sa-bhlag-deireanach\/","title":{"rendered":"Abab\u00fa! — C\u00e1 as a dt\u00e1inig an litir “b” as \u00e1it sa bhlag deireanach?\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

Bhuel<\/strong>, some of you may have noticed the mysterious “b” in the emailed version of the last blog.\u00a0 In one case, it replaced the word “o\u00edche<\/strong>” and in another case, it showed up at the end of what should have been “Nollag<\/strong>.”<\/p>\n

After staring at those words for a while, when I got my own emailed copy, I realized that it must have happened while I was highlighting the words (ag aibhsi\u00fa na bhfocal<\/strong>) to make the print bold (trom<\/strong>), the ‘b” being part of the character string for “bold.”\u00a0 Bhuel, sin rud n\u00e1r tharla dom roimhe seo agus t\u00e1 s\u00fail agam nach dtarl\u00f3idh s\u00e9 ar\u00eds!<\/strong><\/p>\n

D\u00e1la an sc\u00e9il, t\u00e1 s\u00e9 ceartaithe anois.<\/strong>\u00a0 So if you read the blog now, everything should be “ceart<\/strong>.”<\/p>\n

But to look on the positive side, being focused on the letter “b” finally gave me a nice chance to use the interjection (an intriacht<\/strong>) which opens the title of this blog — abab\u00fa<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

“Abab\u00fa<\/strong>” is loosely translated as “Heavens!,” but remember, this is “Heavens” as an interjection, not the actual plural of “Neamh<\/strong>” (Heaven).\u00a0 In fact, the plural of “Neamh<\/strong>” is an interesting question.\u00a0 The word is often considered today not to have a plural, just a genitive case form (Neimhe<\/strong>); historically, one could use “Neamha<\/strong>” for “Heavens.”\u00a0 Or sometimes “Neamh<\/strong>” itself could be translated as plural, if needed.\u00a0 And then there’s also “Na Flaithis<\/strong>,” also another word for “Heaven.”\u00a0 “Na Flaithis<\/strong>” \u00a0is inherently plural in Irish, as we can see by the use of “na<\/strong>” (“the” for plural nouns). \u00a0“Na Flaithis<\/strong>” is not considered to have a singular form as such; “an flaitheas<\/strong>” (the singular form) means “rule” or “sovereignty,” but not “heaven.”<\/p>\n

There are a few other interjections and exclamations that refer to “heaven” in English, but don’t mention “heaven” in Irish, such as:<\/p>\n

Thank Heaven! – Bu\u00edochas le Dia!<\/strong>, lit. thanks (be) with God<\/p>\n

For Heaven’s sake! – De gheall ar Dhia!<\/strong>, lit. for the sake of God<\/p>\n

And completely separate from religion:<\/p>\n

Good Heavens!\u00a0 – A thiarcais<\/strong>, which can also be translated as “Dear dear!” or “Dear me!”\u00a0 As far as I know, the word “thiarcais<\/strong>” only exists in this lenited form, used as an exclamation.\u00a0 I’ve never been able to track down anything like “tiarcas<\/strong>” or “tiarcais<\/strong>,” but have always been curious about the possibilities.<\/p>\n

As for “Heavens to Murgatroyd!” and “Heavens to Betsy!” I have to admit, I’ve got no particular suggestions, since I don’t think these were ever traditional Irish phrases!\u00a0 How “Murgatroyd” ever even got into the exclamation is a curious tale in and of itself, but with little bearing on Irish.\u00a0 For the a few more details, including its use by Snagglepuss in the 1960s, in the 1944 movie Meet the people<\/em>, and the Murgatroyds’ appearance in Ruddigore, you might want to check out The Phrase Finder (http:\/\/www.phrases.org.uk\/meanings\/heavens-to-murgatroyd.html).\u00a0 \u00a0As for the “Betsy” expression, The Phrase Finder concludes that the origin is unknown, although there have been various theories (http:\/\/www.phrases.org.uk\/meanings\/heavens-to-betsy.html and\u00a0 http:\/\/www.phrases.org.uk\/bulletin_board\/18\/messages\/376.html)<\/p>\n

Anyway, speaking of Snagglepuss, or at least of cart\u00fain na seascaid\u00ed<\/strong>, I’ve always wondered if Fred Flintstone’s catchphrase, “Yabba dabba doo,” might have been loosely based on this Irish expression.\u00a0 Not that there’s any particular Irish heritage to the show, but one never knows.<\/p>\n

And there you have it, an explanation of those mysterious b’s, and a chance to check out some fun Irish interjections. \u00a0Abab\u00fa — c\u00e9n t-\u00e1bhar a sh\u00e1r\u00f3dh sin?\u00a0 SGF – R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn) Bhuel, some of you may have noticed the mysterious “b” in the emailed version of the last blog.\u00a0 In one case, it replaced the word “o\u00edche” and in another case, it showed up at the end of what should have been “Nollag.” After staring at those words for a while, when I got…<\/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":[365230,96563,365217,365245,365228,365242,365241,365239,365234,365235,365221,365222,365240,365238,365236,196907,365227,365225,365244,85,331880,365229,365226,6230,365220,365219,6273,6274,365223,365231,365224,365237,365233,365232,365243,365218],"class_list":["post-6066","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-irish-language","tag-365230","tag-a-thiarcais","tag-ababu","tag-aibhsiu","tag-betsy","tag-bold","tag-buiochas-le-dia","tag-de-gheall-ar-dhia","tag-dear-dear","tag-dear-me","tag-flaitheas","tag-flaithis","tag-flintsone","tag-for-heavens-sake","tag-good-heavens","tag-heaven","tag-heavens-to-betsy","tag-heavens-to-murgatroyd","tag-highlighting","tag-interjection","tag-intriacht","tag-meet-the-people","tag-murgatroyd","tag-neamh","tag-neamha","tag-neimhe","tag-nollag","tag-nollaig","tag-rule","tag-snagglepuss","tag-sovereignty","tag-thank-heaven","tag-tiarcais","tag-tiarcas","tag-trom","tag-yabba-dabba-doo"],"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