{"id":652,"date":"2011-02-12T20:31:57","date_gmt":"2011-02-12T20:31:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=652"},"modified":"2013-02-19T11:05:07","modified_gmt":"2013-02-19T11:05:07","slug":"doigheanna-le-%e2%80%9ci-love-you%e2%80%9d-a-ra-i-ngaeilge-let-me-count-the-ways","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/doigheanna-le-%e2%80%9ci-love-you%e2%80%9d-a-ra-i-ngaeilge-let-me-count-the-ways\/","title":{"rendered":"D\u00f3igheanna le \u201cI Love You!\u201d a R\u00e1 i nGaeilge: Let Me Count the Ways!"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

Many languages, perhaps most, have numerous ways to say \u201cI love you!\u201d and Irish is no exception.\u00a0 But, compared to other languages, Irish may be somewhat unusual in not really using the verb \u201cto love,\u201d as such, as much as it uses noun phrases.\u00a0 Examples would include calling the object of your affection \u201cpulse of my heart\u201d (cuisle mo chro\u00ed<\/strong>) or \u201clittle treasure\u201d (st\u00f3ir\u00edn<\/strong>)\u00a0\u00a0 And for a fuller sentence, \u201cYou are my love\u201d is more typical than \u201cI love you.\u201d<\/p>\n

The verb \u201clove\u201d is \u201cgr\u00e1igh<\/strong>\u201d but those of you who have been learning or speaking Irish for a while will probably recognize that it is relatively uncommon, even in the first-person singular form, gr\u00e1\u00edm <\/strong>(I love).<\/p>\n

So, instead, let\u2019s start with:<\/p>\n

Mo ghr\u00e1 th\u00fa!\u00a0 <\/strong>You (are) my love!, or in very literal word order, \u201cmy love you.\u201d\u00a0 No verb is actually needed in this expression, as with other traditional expressions like \u201cMo cheol th\u00fa!\u201d<\/strong> or \u201cMo ghairm th\u00fa!<\/strong>\u201d \u00a0This phrase might be a good motivational factor for revisiting the sound in Irish known by linguists as the \u2018voiced velar fricative.\u201d\u00a0 We\u2019ve actually dealt with this before in some previous blogs (see below).<\/p>\n

I\u2019d beware of pronunciation guides that simply repeat \u201cgh\u201d in their transcription, since that\u2019s very very vague, and yes, I\u2019ve seen a number that do just leave it at that.\u00a0 The sound does not occur in English, and leaving it in an English-based pronunciation guide could suggest \u201cf\u201d (laugh) or various vowel sounds, as in \u201cthrough\u201d or \u201cthough.\u201d\u00a0 This Irish \u201cgh\u201d is sort of like the German \u201cch\u201d as in \u201cBuch<\/em>\u201d or the Irish \u201cch\u201d in \u201cloch<\/strong>,\u201d but the vibration is lower down in the throat. The phonetic symbol for this sound is \u03b3 (gamma).<\/p>\n

So, to say \u201cI love you!\u201d (You are my love!) in Irish, you really have to work your vocal cords.\u00a0 A small request, I\u2019d say, given the potential payback!<\/p>\n

And how to respond?\u00a0 Well , there\u2019s lots of ways, of course, but a nice, back-at-you type of response would be \u201cMo ghr\u00e1 thusa<\/strong>!\u201d (You yourself are my<\/em> love!).\u00a0 Note that the long \u201c\u00fa\u201d of \u201cth\u00fa<\/strong>\u201d becomes short in the form \u201cthusa<\/strong>,\u201d which is used for contrast.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll have more on the actual verb \u201cto love\u201d in the next blog, and some more phrases as well.<\/p>\n

If any of this seems a little over-the-top poetic to you, it\u2019s just the tip of the iceberg really.\u00a0 There are phrases out there that are even more flowery, such as playwright John Millington Synge\u2019s Christy declaring that the \u201clove-light of the star of knowledge\u201d shines from the brow of his beloved Pegeen.\u00a0 This is quite likely based on a phrase in the Irish language, though last I checked, no one had found a specific source that Synge might have used.<\/p>\n

In a more humorous vein, you might like to check out Tadhg Mac Dhonnag\u00e1in\u2019s love-song, \u201cIs T\u00fa Mo Chiar\u00f3g<\/strong>\u201d (You are my beetle), which you can hear or download at http:\/\/www.cdbaby.com\/cd\/tmdhonnagain3.\u00a0 In this song, Mac Dhonnag\u00e1in piles on the metaphors, to a point of deliberate and delightful exaggeration.\u00a0 He uses comparisons that aren\u2019t traditionally addressed to one\u2019s sweetheart, however enticingly they can be crooned.\u00a0 He culls them from traditional Irish songs, proverbs, and sayings.\u00a0 His\u00a0beloved is likened to the beetle of the proverb \u201cAithn\u00edonn ciar\u00f3g ciar\u00f3g eile<\/strong>,\u201d and to the \u201cstaic\u00edn eorna<\/strong>\u201d and \u201cbeinns\u00edn luachra<\/strong>\u201d of Irish traditional song.\u00a0 Hmmm, \u201cde-liberate and de-lightful exaggeration\u201d \u2013 guess I\u2019ll have to end with \u201cd\u00ed-lis<\/strong>,\u201d if not \u201cde-lovely! \u00a0Sl\u00e1n go f\u00f3ill,\u00a0R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gluais: aithn\u00edonn, <\/strong>knows, recognizes; beinns\u00edn luachra, <\/strong>little bench of rushes; cuisle, <\/strong>pulse; d\u00edlis, <\/strong>loyal, dear (related to \u201cA dh\u00edlis<\/strong>!\u201d, which means \u201cMy dear!\u201d or \u201cMy treasure!\u201d); staic\u00edn eorna<\/strong>, little stack of barley<\/strong><\/p>\n

Other phrases using the \u201cMo ghr\u00e1 th\u00fa!\u201d word order<\/strong>: Mo cheol th\u00fa!, <\/strong>Bravo! Good yourself!, lit. you are my music; Mo ghairm th\u00fa!, <\/strong>Bravo!, lit. you are my acclaim, i.e. you are acclaimed by me; <\/strong><\/p>\n

Webliography<\/strong> (other Transparent.com Irish blogs dealing with the voiced velar fricative):<\/p>\n

Treoir don Treoir: A Guide to the Guide (for Pronunciation), Cuid a 2<\/a> (27 I\u00fail 2010; this blog entry is completely dedicated to the voiced velar fricative sound)<\/strong><\/p>\n

An Ghaeilge sa Leabhar _Galway Bay_: \u201cGuilp\u00edn,\u201d \u201cGr\u00e1\u201d agus Go Leor Eile<\/a> (2 M\u00ed na Samhna 2009; discusses a few terms of endearment, such as \u201cA ghr\u00e1!<\/strong>\u201d and \u201cA ghr\u00e1 mo chro\u00ed!<\/strong>\u201d)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn) Many languages, perhaps most, have numerous ways to say \u201cI love you!\u201d and Irish is no exception.\u00a0 But, compared to other languages, Irish may be somewhat unusual in not really using the verb \u201cto love,\u201d as such, as much as it uses noun phrases.\u00a0 Examples would include calling the object of your affection…<\/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":[31977,31863,32609,31645,29203,29780,32889,28834,5466,474,30737,30420,28577,8513,28205,11,3022,1195,8043,32314,31132,30603,29421,31473,28716,30166,30985,27933],"class_list":["post-652","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-irish-language","tag-aithnionn-ciarog-ciarog-eile","tag-beetle","tag-beinnsin-luachra","tag-beloved","tag-cuisle","tag-cuisle-mo-chroi","tag-de-lovely","tag-graigh","tag-guttural","tag-i-love-you","tag-is-tu-mo-chiarog","tag-love-light-of-the-star-of-knowledge","tag-mo-cheol-thu","tag-mo-ghairm-thu","tag-mo-ghra-thu","tag-pronunciation","tag-proverb","tag-proverbs","tag-sayings","tag-staicin-eorna","tag-sweetheart","tag-synge","tag-tadhg-mac-dhonnagain","tag-traditional-irish-songs","tag-valentine","tag-voiced-velar-fricative","tag-you-are-my-beetle","tag-you-are-my-love"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652","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=652"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":658,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652\/revisions\/658"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}