{"id":648,"date":"2011-02-09T14:48:55","date_gmt":"2011-02-09T14:48:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=648"},"modified":"2015-02-12T19:18:52","modified_gmt":"2015-02-12T19:18:52","slug":"tearmai-muirneise-terms-of-endearment-do-la-vailintin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/tearmai-muirneise-terms-of-endearment-do-la-vailintin\/","title":{"rendered":"T\u00e9arma\u00ed Muirn\u00e9ise (Terms of Endearment) do L\u00e1 Vailint\u00edn"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

As L\u00e1 Vailint\u00edn<\/strong> approaches, it seems appropriate to go over some useful phrases for the holiday.<\/p>\n

First, let\u2019s look at the term \u201cendearment\u201d itself, \u201cmuirn\u00e9is<\/strong>.\u201d\u00a0 In the title of this blog, the phrase is \u201cof endearment.\u201d\u00a0 We don\u2019t actually use a word for \u201cof\u201d in a case like this but instead we add the \u201c-e\u201d ending, giving us \u201cmuirn\u00e9ise<\/strong>\u201d (t\u00e9arma\u00ed muirn\u00e9ise<\/strong>). \u00a0A\u00a0similar phrase is\u00a0“t\u00e9arma\u00ed ceana<\/strong>“ (cion<\/strong>, affection; ceana<\/strong>, of affection). \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cMuirn\u00e9is<\/strong>\u201d is based on \u201cmuirn<\/strong>,\u201d which means \u201caffection\u201d or \u201cendearment.\u201d\u00a0 As always, though, we need to keep context in mind.\u00a0 There are phrases like \u201cmuirn an chatha<\/strong>\u201d and \u201cmuirn na dtonn<\/strong>.\u201d\u00a0 You might be wondering how to translate \u201cmuirn<\/strong>\u201d in these cases, since \u201can chatha<\/strong>\u201d means \u201cof the battle\u201d and \u201cna dtonn<\/strong>\u201d means \u201cof the waves.\u201d\u00a0 Good point, since here we have an older literary meaning of \u201cmuirn<\/strong>,\u201d namely, \u201cconfused noise.\u201d\u00a0 I must confess that I enjoy such discoveries, that one of the Irish words for \u201caffection\u201d can also mean \u201cconfused noise!\u201d\u00a0 To paraphrase the real estate agent\u2019s motto, \u201cLocation!\u00a0 Location!\u00a0 Location!,\u201d with Irish, or any language for that matter, it\u2019s \u201cComhth\u00e9acs!\u00a0 Comhth\u00e9acs!\u00a0 Comhth\u00e9acs<\/strong>!\u201d<\/p>\n

What else is based on the word \u201cmuirn<\/strong>\u201d?\u00a0 Well, as we might expect, where there\u2019s a noun, there\u2019s often a related adjective and verb as well:<\/p>\n

muirneach<\/strong>: affectionate or beloved, among other meanings; note the contrast in phrases like \u201cleanbh muirneach<\/strong>\u201d (beloved child) and \u201cbarr\u00f3g mhuirneach<\/strong>\u201d (an affectionate hug).\u00a0 \u201cBarr\u00f3g<\/strong>\u201d can also mean \u201ca grip in wrestling,\u201d but, like I said, \u201cComhth\u00e9acs<\/strong>!\u201d\u00a0 A \u201cleanbh muirneach<\/strong>\u201d could, in fact, also be \u201can affectionate child.\u201d\u00a0 Well, it\u2019s probably true that the more beloved a child is, the more affectionate he or she will be, in turn.<\/p>\n

muirnigh<\/strong>: this is the command form of the verb meaning \u201ccherish,\u201d \u201ccaress\u201d or \u201ccuddle.\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s probably not used all that often as the actual command form (imperative mood, if you want to be more grammatical), at least not in\u00e1r mblag teaghlaigh<\/strong>.\u201d\u00a0 But please do remember that in Irish, the command form is considered the most basic form of a verb, the form to which endings are added to create different tenses and moods.\u00a0 In this respect, it serves the function that the infinitive does for Romance languages \u2013 once you know the infinitive of a verb in French or Spanish, for example, you should be able to create a complete conjugation, with some minor exceptions and a bit of tweaking.<\/p>\n

More likely you\u2019ll find the verb “muirnigh<\/strong>” in one of its conjugated forms:<\/p>\n

Mhuirnigh s\u00e9 an leanbh<\/strong>. (He cuddled the child)<\/p>\n

Muirn\u00edonn an leanbh a b\u00e9ir\u00edn go minic<\/strong>. (The child often cuddles her teddy bear).<\/p>\n

And there can be more than one noun related to a key concept like this, so we have:<\/p>\n

muirn\u00edn<\/strong>, darling, sweetheart.\u00a0 Like many terms of endearment, this one is frequently found in direct address (\u201cO darling!\u201d).\u00a0 This form, in Irish, is \u201ca mhuirn\u00edn<\/strong>,\u201d with the \u201cmh\u201d being pronounced like a \u201cv\u201d or a \u201cw,\u201d depending on dialect.<\/p>\n

The v-pronunciation has become immortalized in the terms \u201cavourneen\u201d and \u201cmavourneen,\u201d which show up, in their anglicized spellings, in the works of authors like Synge and Joyce.\u00a0 \u201cMavourneen,\u201d of course, is even further immortalized as a song title, (\u201cKathleen Mavourneen\u201d).\u00a0 So, no, this isn\u2019t a strange new Irish surname, as some of my students have wondered, but simply a term of endearment following the girl\u2019s name.\u00a0 In Irish, it would be \u201cmo mhuirn\u00edn<\/strong>\u201d (my dear).<\/p>\n

On that note, we\u2019ll sign off on this blog and round up another st\u00f3ir\u00edn focal<\/strong> for at least one more blog ag ceili\u00faradh L\u00e1 Vailint\u00edn<\/strong>. \u00a0Sl\u00e1n go f\u00f3ill,\u00a0R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gluais: cath<\/strong>, battle; ceili\u00faradh<\/strong>, celebrating; comhth\u00e9acs <\/strong>[koh-hayks], context; tonn<\/strong>, a wave (in the ocean); st\u00f3r focal<\/strong>, vocabulary, lit. word-store, storehouse of words, word-treasure (lots of possibilities there!)<\/p>\n

N\u00f3ta don ghluais:<\/strong> As for \u201cst\u00f3ir\u00edn focal<\/strong>,\u201d well, I have to admit I\u2019m playing with the phrase a bit.\u00a0 \u201cSt\u00f3ir\u00edn<\/strong>\u201d is usually understood as \u201clittle sweetheart,\u201d \u201clittle darling,\u201d or \u201clittle treasure.\u201d\u00a0 So \u201cst\u00f3ir\u00edn focal<\/strong>\u201d could either be \u201ca little storehouse of words\u201d (i.e. a short vocabulary list) or a \u201clittle sweetheart of words,\u201d which would presumably mean a sweetheart who is also a focalbh\u00e1ch<\/strong> (logophile).\u00a0 Sounds good to me \u2013 just don\u2019t mistake your focalbh\u00e1ch<\/strong> for \u201cfocalbh\u00e1<\/strong>\u201d (ellipsis).\u00a0 Focalbh\u00e1ch<\/strong>, if broken apart, would mean something like \u201cword-affectionate person,\u201d whereas \u201cfocalbh\u00e1<\/strong>\u201d is \u201cword-drowning,\u201d that is, deliberately removing a word from a phrase or creating a gap before the word appears, usually for emphasis, as in Dracula\u2019s famous line, which I\u2019ll take the liberty of translating here, \u201cN\u00ed \u00f3laim \u2026 f\u00edon<\/strong>.\u201d\u00a0 More on \u201cb\u00e1ch<\/strong>,\u201d and other affectionate terms sa ch\u00e9ad bhlag eile, mar a d\u00fairt m\u00e9<\/strong> a couple of digressions ago!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn) As L\u00e1 Vailint\u00edn approaches, it seems appropriate to go over some useful phrases for the holiday. First, let\u2019s look at the term \u201cendearment\u201d itself, \u201cmuirn\u00e9is.\u201d\u00a0 In the title of this blog, the phrase is \u201cof endearment.\u201d\u00a0 We don\u2019t actually use a word for \u201cof\u201d in a case like this but instead we add…<\/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":[374942,21485,21287,21134,20902,374945,315790,374944,19690,20006,374943,20763,9174,20310,20436,9173,19375,30603,172898],"class_list":["post-648","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-irish-language","tag-avourneen","tag-dracula","tag-ellipsis","tag-focalbha","tag-focalbhach","tag-i-dont-drink-wine","tag-joyce","tag-kathleen","tag-la-vailintin","tag-logophile","tag-mavourneen","tag-mhuirnigh","tag-mhuirnin","tag-muirn","tag-muirnigh","tag-muirnin","tag-ni-olaim--fion","tag-synge","tag-vailintin"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/648","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=648"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/648\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6325,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/648\/revisions\/6325"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=648"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}