{"id":6356,"date":"2015-02-14T21:11:37","date_gmt":"2015-02-14T21:11:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=6356"},"modified":"2015-06-21T23:33:53","modified_gmt":"2015-06-21T23:33:53","slug":"love-gra-and-the-art-of-applying-initial-consonant-mutations-in-irish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/love-gra-and-the-art-of-applying-initial-consonant-mutations-in-irish\/","title":{"rendered":"Love (Gr\u00e1) and the Art of Applying Initial Consonant Mutations in Irish"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

In recent blogs and a few others from previous years, we’ve looked at ways to say “I love you,” in Irish.\u00a0 Often these phrases include initial consonant mutation, so what better way to practice the mutations than with variations on a theme of “gr\u00e1<\/strong>“?<\/p>\n

In this blog, I’ll use some of the phrases we learned in previous blogs, but this time I’ll leave some blanks to be filled in.\u00a0 In some cases, the blank will be just one added letter.\u00a0 In a few other cases, the first two letters will be needed, which makes this a vocabulary review as well as a mutation workout (hmm, that sounds strange, but I guess it works).\u00a0 If two letters are needed, there will be two blanks.<\/p>\n

Oh, and there may be some repetition in the answers.\u00a0 I guess there are only so many ways to say “I love you” in typical use, unless we turn to some of the more unique, less everyday phrases, perhaps from other languages. \u00a0One example would be the Japanese expression for, “The moon is beautiful, isn’t it?” as suggested by Soseki Natsume (1867-1916) and posted in 2013 by Masato Hagiwara on Quora (nasc agus an tSeap\u00e1inis th\u00edos<\/strong>).\u00a0 Hmmm, not that Natsume probably expected the phrase to be translated into Irish, but why not?\u00a0 It would be “T\u00e1 an ghealach go h\u00e1lainn, nach bhfuil?<\/strong>”\u00a0 That would be interesting to try on your significant other, in Irish, the next time the mood strikes, wouldn’t it?<\/p>\n

But anyway, back to the more typical Irish.\u00a0 The answer key, to the extent possible in one blog entry, will include a brief explanation of why the consonants change.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Mo ___ ___r\u00e1 t___\u00fa.<\/strong>\u00a0 You (are) my love. \u00a0Really a little more like saying, “My love you (are),” if you consider the word order.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \n
    1. Is t\u00fa mo ___ ___r\u00e1.<\/strong> You are my love.<\/li>\n
    2. Is t\u00fa mo c__uisle.<\/strong> You are my pulse, with “pulse” here being a term of endearment.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
        \n
      1. Is t\u00fa mo ___ ___uirn\u00edn<\/strong>.\u00a0 You are my darling.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
          \n
        1. Is t\u00fa gr\u00e1 geal mo ___ ___ro\u00ed<\/strong>. You are the bright love of my heart.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
            \n
          1. T\u00e1im i ___gr\u00e1 leat<\/strong>. I am in love with you.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
              \n
            1. T\u00e1 mo ___ ___ ro\u00ed istigh ionat<\/strong>(My heart is within you), or more literally, \u201cinside in you.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              And here are a few phrases that don’t require initial consonant mutation.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Because the “st-” combination, found in the words “st\u00f3r<\/strong>” and “st\u00f3ir\u00edn<\/strong>,” never takes mutation in Irish.\u00a0 It’s exempt from lenition and eclipsis.<\/p>\n

                \n
              1. Is t\u00fa mo st\u00f3r<\/strong>.\u00a0 You are my sweetheart.<\/li>\n
              2. Is t\u00fa mo st\u00f3ir\u00edn<\/strong>.\u00a0 You are my (little) sweetheart<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                And if those phrases don’t give you enough ways to proclaim your affection, you might like to try the following quote from J. M. Synge, which I have translated from his Hiberno-English original to Irish.\u00a0 For present purposes, I’ve also changed the line from the 3rd-person to the 2nd-person so it’s in direct address.\u00a0 In other words, instead of Synge’s main character Christy talking to the Widow Quin about<\/em> his darling Pegeen, this is a line you could say, if you dare, to<\/em> the object your affection<\/p>\n

                  \n
                1. Nach bhfuil m\u00e9 tar<\/strong> \u00e9is gr\u00e1-sholas r\u00e9alta an eolais a fheice\u00e1il agus \u00e9 ag taitneamh as d’\u00e9adan<\/strong> …<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                  (“Amn’t I after seeing the love-light of the star of knowledge shining from your brow …)\u00a0 For the translation, I kept the Hiberno-English “Amn’t I,” but of course one could change it to “Aren’t I.” \u00a0I also added the phrase “and it” (agus \u00e9<\/strong>) for smoother flow in Irish.<\/p>\n

                  So with all the phrases we’ve been practicing, you should have plenty of choices for saying “I love you” in Irish.\u00a0 And with the extra attention to differences like “gr\u00e1<\/strong>” and “ghr\u00e1<\/strong>” and “ngr\u00e1<\/strong>” \u00a0you should be well prepared to take care of the mutations as you go.\u00a0 Hope that works, for L\u00e1 Vailint\u00edn<\/strong>, or any other time of year!\u00a0 – R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/strong><\/p>\n

                  Nasc don abairt i Seap\u00e1inis<\/strong>: http:\/\/www.quora.com\/How-do-you-say-I-Love-You-in-different-languages,\u00a0 Agus seo cuid de phost Masato<\/strong> (April 11, 2013): … “Here’s one of my favorite stories to tell Japanese characteristics — when the great Japanese novelist, Soseki Natsume, found one of his students trying to translate “I love you” into “\u6211\u541b\u30f2\u611b\u30b9,” (lit. I love you) he suggested it be translated as “\u6708\u304c\u7dba\u9e97\u3067\u3059\u306d” (lit. The moon is beautiful, isn’t it?) instead. Just imagine — a Japanese couple sitting side by side, looking up the moon together, and one of them says this — it would be enough to convey his\/her feelings to the other.\u00a0”<\/p>\n

                  Freagra\u00ed<\/strong><\/p>\n

                  1.\u00a0Mo ghr\u00e1 th\u00fa<\/strong>. You (are) my love. \u00a0Or really a little more like saying, “My love you (are),” if you consider the word order.\u00a0 (“ghr\u00e1<\/strong>” after the possessive adjective “mo<\/strong>” and “th\u00fa<\/strong>” instead of “t\u00fa<\/strong>” because it’s separated from where the verb would<\/em> be if<\/em> there were a verb in this sentence.\u00a0 But, remember, as previously stated, this sentence is complete without an actual verb.<\/p>\n

                    \n
                  1. Is t\u00fa mo ghr\u00e1.<\/strong> You are my love. (“ghr\u00e1<\/strong>” after “mo<\/strong>“)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
                      \n
                    1. Is t\u00fa mo chuisle<\/strong>. You are my pulse, with “pulse” here being a term of endearment. (“c” of “cuisle<\/strong>” becomes “ch” after “mo<\/strong>“)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
                        \n
                      1. Is t\u00fa mo mhuirn\u00edn<\/strong>.\u00a0 You are my darling. (“m” of “muirn\u00edn<\/strong>” becomes “mh” after “mo<\/strong>“)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
                          \n
                        1. Is t\u00fa gr\u00e1 geal mo chro\u00ed<\/strong>. You are the bright love of my heart. (“c” of “cro\u00ed<\/strong>” becomes “ch<\/strong>” after “mo<\/strong>“)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
                            \n
                          1. T\u00e1im i ngr\u00e1 leat<\/strong>. I am in love with you. (“g” of “gr\u00e1<\/strong>” becomes “ng” after “i<\/strong>“)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
                              \n
                            1. T\u00e1 mo chro\u00ed istigh ionat<\/strong>(My heart is within you), or more literally, \u201cinside in you.\u201d (“c” of “cro\u00ed<\/strong>” becomes “ch” after “mo<\/strong>“). Some versions of this say “isteach<\/strong>” instead of “istigh<\/strong>;” I’ve seen both.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                              Examples 1 through 5 and example 7 all show “lenition” (adding the “h) while example 6 shows “eclipsis,” covering over the original first letter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                              (le R\u00f3isl\u00edn) In recent blogs and a few others from previous years, we’ve looked at ways to say “I love you,” in Irish.\u00a0 Often these phrases include initial consonant mutation, so what better way to practice the mutations than with variations on a theme of “gr\u00e1“? In this blog, I’ll use some of the phrases…<\/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":[96397,375050,29203,8667,375048,289961,111207,111195,474,2241,298529,5878,100,375051,94610,375046,9173,375045,111196,375042,375047,82455,6758,6796,6890,375044,8149,30603,28716,375043,375049],"class_list":["post-6356","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-irish-language","tag-uru","tag-christy","tag-cuisle","tag-eclipsis","tag-eolais","tag-geal","tag-ghra","tag-gra","tag-i-love-you","tag-japanese","tag-knowledge","tag-lenition","tag-love","tag-love-light","tag-moon","tag-moon-is-beautiful","tag-muirnin","tag-natsume","tag-ngra","tag-pegeen","tag-quora","tag-realta","tag-seimhiu","tag-sholas","tag-solas","tag-soseki","tag-star","tag-synge","tag-valentine","tag-western-world","tag-widow-quin"],"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