{"id":6194,"date":"2015-01-23T16:36:23","date_gmt":"2015-01-23T16:36:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=6194"},"modified":"2018-03-22T20:53:34","modified_gmt":"2018-03-22T20:53:34","slug":"i-am-not-an-uimhir-and-other-indefinite-predicate-nominatives-lets-say-them-in-irish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/i-am-not-an-uimhir-and-other-indefinite-predicate-nominatives-lets-say-them-in-irish\/","title":{"rendered":"‘I am not an ‘uimhir’ ‘ and Other Indefinite Predicate Nominatives — Let’s Say Them in Irish"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\"An<\/a>

An uimhir “6,” ‘sea. Ach an gcuirfe\u00e1 an cheist “An uimhir th\u00fa?” ar an uimhir? C\u00e9 leis a nd\u00e9arf\u00e1 “An uimhir th\u00fa?” Agus cad a fhreagr\u00f3dh an “Pr\u00edos\u00fanach” d\u00e1 gcuirfe\u00e1 an cheist sin air? \u00a0D\u00e1 mbeadh Gaeilge aige, ar nd\u00f3igh. \u00a0Ach b\u00edodh cuimhne agat gur Gael-Mheirice\u00e1nach a bh\u00ed sa Chuach\u00e1nach at\u00e1 i gceist anseo. L\u00e9igh leat le f\u00e1il amach c\u00e9n Ghaeilge a bheadh ar a fhreagra. Grafaic:
http:\/\/www.clker.com\/clipart-number-6-1.html<\/p><\/div>\n

Whenever I see or hear the phrase “Doctor Who,” I always end up thinking of the typical Irish question, “An docht\u00fair th\u00fa?<\/strong>” (Are you a doctor?).\u00a0 Remember, the “t” of “th\u00fa<\/strong>” is silent, so “th\u00fa<\/strong>” sounds like “who.”\u00a0 I’ve actually tried putting together questions in Irish that would have the phrase “Doctor Who Th\u00fa<\/strong>” in them but mostly they don’t really fit together grammatically.\u00a0 That’s basically because the Doctor’s name isn’t “Doctor Who.”\u00a0 “Doctor Who” is the name of the television program and it’s a bit of a stretch to ask someone if they are a “cl\u00e1r teilif\u00edse<\/strong>.”\u00a0 And that’s even considering the unusual questions that sometimes come up in various language instruction materials, like this one from a 1906 phrasebook as posted at http:\/\/www.zompist.com\/thought.html.\u00a0 C\u00e9n teanga \u00ed?\u00a0 Freagra th\u00edos.<\/strong><\/p>\n

How much for that lot of razors, scissors, knives, horseshoes, and yokes?
\nHeaha ko kela puu pahi umiumi, upa, pahi, kamaa lio me na lei-pipi?<\/em><\/p>\n

Or “Qo’noSDaq bIghIQ’a’<\/em>?” (Are you vacationing on Kronos?)\u00a0 C\u00e9n teanga \u00ed an ceann seo?\u00a0 Freagra th\u00edos agus foinse<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Anyway, all of this gets back to the main topic of the day.\u00a0 How do you ask, “Are you a doctor?” and “Are you the doctor?” (or as per the TV show: “Are you the Doctor?”). \u00a0And what are some other useful, or at least informative, examples of these structures, with nationalities for example? \u00a0Here we go, and watch the word order!\u00a0 By the way, we’ll also dabble in another popular TV show that must have been running parallel to Patrick Troughton’s time as “An Dara Docht\u00fair<\/strong>,” that is to say, in 1967-68.<\/p>\n

ARE YOU A …?<\/span> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ARE YOU THE …?<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

1) An docht\u00fair th\u00fa?<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 An t\u00fa an docht\u00fair?<\/strong>\u00a0 (for “the Doctor”: “An t\u00fa an Docht\u00fair<\/strong>?”)<\/p>\n

For this pair, and any of the examples below, “thusa<\/strong>” can also be used instead of “th\u00fa<\/strong>” to emphasize contrast with someone else; “tusa<\/strong>” would be used in the “An t\u00fa …?<\/strong>” question: \u00a0An docht\u00fair thusa?\u00a0 An tusa an docht\u00fair?<\/strong><\/p>\n

‘Sea, is docht\u00fair m\u00e9<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Is m\u00e9, is m\u00e9 <\/strong>(or: mise<\/strong>) an docht\u00fair<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

N\u00ed hea, n\u00ed docht\u00fair m\u00e9<\/strong>. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 N\u00ed m\u00e9, n\u00ed m\u00e9 <\/strong>(or: mise<\/strong>) an docht\u00fair.<\/strong><\/p>\n

2) An iascaire th\u00fa<\/strong>?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 An t\u00fa an t-iascaire?<\/strong><\/p>\n

‘Sea, is iascaire m\u00e9<\/strong>. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Is m\u00e9, is m\u00e9 an t-iascaire.<\/strong><\/p>\n

N\u00ed hea, n\u00ed iascaire m\u00e9<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 N\u00ed m\u00e9, n\u00ed m\u00e9 an t-iascaire.<\/strong><\/p>\n

3) An Meirice\u00e1nach th\u00fa<\/strong>? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 An t\u00fa an Meirice\u00e1nach<\/strong>?<\/p>\n

‘Sea, is Meirice\u00e1nach m\u00e9<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Is m\u00e9, is m\u00e9 an Meirice\u00e1nach<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

N\u00ed hea, n\u00ed Meirice\u00e1nach m\u00e9<\/strong>. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 N\u00ed m\u00e9, n\u00ed m\u00e9 an Meirice\u00e1nach<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

4) An Francach th\u00fa<\/strong>? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 An t\u00fa an Francach<\/strong>?<\/p>\n

‘Sea, is Francach m\u00e9<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Is m\u00e9, is m\u00e9 an Francach<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

N\u00ed hea, n\u00ed Francach m\u00e9<\/strong>. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 N\u00ed m\u00e9, n\u00ed m\u00e9 an Francach<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

A little less probable, but somewhat probable within the realm of televised (un)reality:<\/p>\n

5) An uimhir th\u00fa?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 An t\u00fa an uimhir?<\/strong><\/p>\n

‘Sea, is uimhir m\u00e9. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Is m\u00e9, is m\u00e9 an uimhir.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

(Aw, don’t give up, a Ph\u00e1draig Mhig Cuach\u00e1in! C\u00e9 heisean<\/strong>?\u00a0 Patrick McGoohan aka “The Prisoner.”)<\/p>\n

Here’s the answer we want:<\/p>\n

N\u00ed hea, n\u00ed uimhir m\u00e9.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

To which we must add, to complete the meme, “Is fear saor m\u00e9<\/strong>.” (aistri\u00fach\u00e1n agus nasc th\u00edos<\/strong>)<\/p>\n

The negative answer for the “definite” side of our chart (An t\u00fa an uimhir<\/strong>?) has less resonance, but I suppose there’s always a possibility: N\u00ed m\u00e9, n\u00ed m\u00e9 an uimhir <\/strong>(or: n\u00ed mise an uimhir<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

And now to get back to Doctor Who. \u00a0I finally thought of a way to string “Doctor Who” and “th\u00fa<\/strong>” together, with a sound grammatical basis.\u00a0 Only took me 20 years, admittedly of backburnered mulling, since I mostly do try to think of more practical questions like “C\u00e1 bhfuil t\u00fa i do ch\u00f3na\u00ed<\/strong>?” or “Cad a dh\u00e9anfaidh muid faoi dh\u00ed-arm\u00e1il n\u00faicl\u00e9ach<\/strong>?”<\/p>\n

Here’s my solution:<\/p>\n

An m\u00f3id\u00edn Doctor Who th\u00fa<\/strong>?\u00a0\u00a0 Which means … (aistri\u00fach\u00e1n th\u00edos)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

By the way, I use the word “m\u00f3id\u00edn<\/strong>” with some slight reservation, since I think it’s a pretty recent trend to use it for “fan” and it doesn’t ring real familiar in my mind’s ear.\u00a0 The phrase “lucht lean\u00fana<\/strong>” (lit. crowd of followers) is used a lot for “fans” (plural), but to make it singular, you have to add a phrase like “duine de<\/strong>,” giving phrases like “duine de lucht lean\u00fana Doctor Who<\/strong>,” lit. “a person of (the) crowd of followers (of) Doctor Who.”\u00a0 That gets pretty cumbersome, if you’re asking something like: “An duine de lucht lean\u00fana Doctor Who th\u00fa<\/strong>?”\u00a0 But we still do have the rollicking “Who th\u00fa<\/strong>” sound at the end.<\/p>\n

The most basic meaning of the word “m\u00f3id\u00edn<\/strong>” is “devotee,” and it typically has a religious context.\u00a0 Of course, when speaking of Whovians, it may that “devotee” and “fan” are pretty much the same thing.<\/p>\n

Anyhoo ( a colloquialism I don’t actually really use much in real life but couldn’t resist here), I hope the above gives some good grist for your conversational mills. \u00a0Now you can ask people their jobs and nationalities, interview Patrick McGoohan as “The Prisoner,” and when the context works, you can ask someone if they’re a Doctor Who fan.\u00a0 And you have a legitimate way to articulate the sound “hoo-hoo” in an Irish sentence!\u00a0 Sl\u00e1n go f\u00f3ill — R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/strong><\/p>\n

Freagra\u00ed: a) Hav\u00e1is, b) Tliong\u00e1inis<\/strong> (Conversational Klingon<\/em>, by Marc Okrand, presented by Michael Dorn, Simon & Schuster, ISBN 0-671-79739-5)<\/p>\n

Aistri\u00fach\u00e1in: <\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. a) fear saor<\/strong>, free man. In English the full catchphrase, “I am not a number. I am a free man.” has an impressive\u00a081,400 hits, such as https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/beccamedwards\/i-am-not-a-number-i-am-a-free-man\/.\u00a0 Many of the hits are for Iron Maiden’s Prisoner lyrics. \u00a0Now I’ll have to start Googling the quote\u00a0in Irish and see how many hits there are and if interest seems to be spreading.<\/li>\n
  2. b) An m\u00f3id\u00edn Doctor Who th\u00fa?<\/strong> Are you a Doctor Who fan?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Gluais\u00edn: d\u00ed-arm\u00e1il<\/strong>, disarmament; Francach<\/strong>, Frenchman (note, with the “f” in lowercase , “francach<\/strong>” means “rat”); iascaire<\/strong>, fisherman; Mag Cuach\u00e1in<\/strong>, McGoohan, note the “Mag<\/strong>” instead of the more traditional “Mac<\/strong>,” at least in this fairly standard form of the surname.\u00a0 And there’s no lenition after the “Mhig<\/strong>” form of this name, as in “Don’t give up, a Ph\u00e1draig Mhig Cuach\u00e1in!”<\/strong> \u00a0Eisceacht eile i measc na n-eisceachta\u00ed!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

    (le R\u00f3isl\u00edn) Whenever I see or hear the phrase “Doctor Who,” I always end up thinking of the typical Irish question, “An docht\u00fair th\u00fa?” (Are you a doctor?).\u00a0 Remember, the “t” of “th\u00fa” is silent, so “th\u00fa” sounds like “who.”\u00a0 I’ve actually tried putting together questions in Irish that would have the phrase “Doctor Who…<\/p>\n

    Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":6196,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3898],"tags":[374789,3152,374803,374796,374780,306399,5133,5240,331996,331997,374801,374800,3232,374784,273337,374786,374797,229691,374798,374799,6090,374802,374785,374791,374795,374794,374787,6980,374790,374781,374782,374783,7132,374788,374804],"class_list":["post-6194","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-irish-language","tag-a-doctor","tag-definite","tag-devotee","tag-di-armail","tag-doctor-who","tag-dorn","tag-fan","tag-francach","tag-havais","tag-hawaiian","tag-i-am-a-free-man","tag-i-am-not-a-number","tag-indefinite","tag-iron-maiden","tag-klingon","tag-kronos","tag-mag-cuachain","tag-marc","tag-mhig","tag-mhig-cuachain","tag-michael","tag-okrand","tag-patrick-mcgoohan","tag-phrasebook","tag-predicate-nominative","tag-predicate-subject","tag-qonos","tag-surname","tag-the-doctor","tag-the-prisoner","tag-thu","tag-thusa","tag-tliongainis","tag-troughton","tag-whovian"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6194","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=6194"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6194\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10295,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6194\/revisions\/10295"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}