{"id":6563,"date":"2015-04-08T14:17:16","date_gmt":"2015-04-08T14:17:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=6563"},"modified":"2015-07-25T12:47:33","modified_gmt":"2015-07-25T12:47:33","slug":"o-bb7b-go-goa-irish-abbreviations-giorruchain-and-textese-teacsais","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/o-bb7b-go-goa-irish-abbreviations-giorruchain-and-textese-teacsais\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00d3 BB7B go GOA: Irish abbreviations (giorr\u00fach\u00e1in) and textese (t\u00e9acsais)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

As lives get more and more abbreviationized and acronymized in the English-speaking world, we may as well look at what’s happening in the Irish-speaking realm.<\/p>\n

Let’s start with the oldest one I know of — BB7<\/sub>B<\/strong>.\u00a0 Its age is a reminder that using abbreviations, acronyms, and other space-saving approaches in writing isn’t a new idea — they certainly predate\u00a0t\u00e9acsais<\/strong>.\u00a0 For example, if I recall correctly, the “tilde” above the “n” in Spanish (\u00f1) came from writing a small “n” above the “n” in the main line of the text in medieval manuscripts (for words that originally had two n’s).\u00a0 Saved sp\u00e1s<\/strong>.\u00a0 Veilleam<\/strong> was an-daor<\/strong>, or probably more accurately, time-consuming and laborious to make!\u00a0 BTW, “tilde<\/strong>” is the same in Irish and in English, but I do like the sound of the Irish plural, tild\u00ed —<\/strong>\u00a09L is agam kn fa.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0I don’t know why I like the sound so much but maybe because “Tildy” was a popular leasainm<\/strong> for “Matilda.”\u00a0 Maybe that’s resonating in my head, combined with “bilby,” “Heidi,” and “Migildi Magildi.”\u00a0 Ar aon chaoi<\/strong> …<\/p>\n

Oh, and we’ll get to the Irish for “btw” later in this blog.<\/p>\n

In the phrase “BB7<\/sub>B<\/strong>,” the character that looks like the number seven (7), is actually an old symbol for “and,” much like an t-amparsan<\/strong> (the ampersand: &).\u00a0 The character should be written subscript, i.e. straddling the base line of the text, but it doesn’t always come out that way in print.\u00a0 So we may see it looking like “BB7B<\/strong>.”<\/p>\n

Hmm, I just noticed that eochair an amparsain<\/strong> and an eochair 7<\/strong> are the same on my eochairchl\u00e1r<\/strong>.\u00a0 I wonder if that was coincidence, way back in the early days of qwerty design.\u00a0 Ceist do bhlag \u00e9igin eile, \u00e1fach<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

So much for how to write it.\u00a0 What does it mean?\u00a0 “Beir bua agus beannacht<\/strong>.”\u00a0 Literally, “Take victory and a blessing.”\u00a0 It’s a nice way to close a letter, although it does sound a little formal and hortatory to me these days, as opposed to, say, SGF<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

And here are a few more:<\/p>\n

9L<\/strong> for n\u00edl<\/strong>, sounds like “naoi<\/strong>” (9) and the letter “l.”\u00a0 It’s not as if using “9L<\/strong>” for “n\u00edl<\/strong>” really saves that much space — it saves one character.\u00a0 But saving sp\u00e1s<\/strong> doesn’t always seem to be the main goal in these abbreviations.\u00a0 Sometimes it’s just fun, like the rebuses \u00a0(na r\u00e9abais<\/strong>) of old.<\/p>\n

kn<\/strong> for c\u00e9n<\/strong>, sounds like “kay-en.” “C\u00e9n<\/strong>” means “which” and is sometimes translated as “what,” as in “C\u00e9n leabhar?<\/strong>” or “C\u00e9n t-ainm at\u00e1 ort?<\/strong>” \u00a0The actual letter \u00a0“k” is almost non-existent in actual Irish words but it’s reasonably useful here, since most Irish speakers also know English. \u00a0Sampla:<\/strong>\u00a09L is agam kn fa<\/strong> = N\u00edl a fhios agam c\u00e9n f\u00e1th.<\/strong><\/p>\n

kj<\/strong> for “goid\u00e9<\/strong>” or “cad \u00e9<\/strong>,” reflecting the northern (Donegal and Northern Ireland) phrase for “what.” \u00a0This form contrasts with the standard word, which is simply “Cad<\/strong> …?” and the Connacht one (“C\u00e9ard <\/strong>…?”). \u00a0In the northern pronunciation, the “d” of “cad \u00e9<\/strong>” is pronounced slender, a lot like an English “j,” so “cad \u00e9<\/strong>” sounds like “kuh-jay.”\u00a0 The alternate spelling, “goid\u00e9<\/strong>,” which is (maybe by now I should say\u00a0“was”) traditional in the North, shows this clearly, since the “d” is written slender.\u00a0 Remember your slender d’s, as in “Diarmaid<\/strong>” and “Dia<\/strong>,” in contrast to broad d’s as in “D\u00f3nal<\/strong>” and “donn<\/strong>.”\u00a0 Sampla: kj mar ta 2? (Goid\u00e9 mar at\u00e1 t\u00fa?)<\/strong><\/p>\n

BTW.\u00a0 So I slipped the English version in above.\u00a0 The usual phrase for “by the way” in Irish is “d\u00e1la an sc\u00e9il<\/strong>,” so the abbreviation is “DAS<\/strong>.”\u00a0 I use this sometimes, but somehow it constantly reminds me of\u00a0Ram Das, the character in A Little Princess<\/em>. \u00a0It also looks like the German word “das<\/em>,” which I find it a bit distracting.<\/p>\n

SGF<\/strong> for “Sl\u00e1n go f\u00f3ill.”<\/strong>\u00a0 This one I use a lot, as regular readers of this blog probably recognize.\u00a0 Very useful, definitely saves space, and isn’t readily mistaken for anything else, in English or other languages, although we do have Svenska Golff\u00f6rbundet<\/em>, Stochastic Green Function (yikes — I don’t know what that is in English!), Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 G\u00e9ologique de France<\/em>, and Schweizerische Gesellschaft f\u00fcr Finanzmarktforschung<\/em>, and an SGF airport code, for Springfield, Missouri. \u00a0Hmm, what about the other 33 Springfields in the US, let alone the 36 or so Springfield Townships?\u00a0 Oh, well, I don’t really need to know (9d 2 no (!).\u00a0 As for that Swiss one, I can definitely see why they can benefit from an abbreviation — 52 characters reduced to three!<\/p>\n

As for the two Springfield townlands in Ireland, in Co. Offaly and Co. Westmeath, somehow I don’t think they have aerfoirt<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

9d2no\u00a0 — that’s really an English abbreviation somehow using a bit of Irish as well (9d for “need” based on “naoi<\/strong>,” the number “9).\u00a0\u00a0 A little beyond beyond, I think, but it actually works for me.<\/p>\n

And now, one of my favorites, because it’s clever, bilingual, and visual, and the meaning is endearing:<\/p>\n

A#<\/strong> for “A thaiscidh<\/strong>” (pronounced “uh HASH-kee”).\u00a0\u00a0 It means “dear” or “darling” and comes from the Irish word “taisce<\/strong>” (treasure, or “cache” in computer usage).\u00a0 \u00a0In direct address, “taisce<\/strong>” would be spelled “a thaisce<\/strong>” [uh HASH-kuh].\u00a0 The “a<\/strong>” shows that direct address is coming up, as in “a She\u00e1in<\/strong>” or “a Dhia<\/strong>.”<\/p>\n

Speaking of “a Dhia<\/strong>,” we have:<\/p>\n

OMD<\/strong> for “\u00d3 mo Dhia<\/strong>” (Oh my God \/ OMG).\u00a0 Not that “mo<\/strong>” was used that much in the vocative in Irish, traditionally, but, this phrase has become very popular anyway.<\/p>\n

And finally,<\/p>\n

GOA<\/strong> for “g\u00e1ire os ard<\/strong>” (laughing out loud \/ LOL).\u00a0 I enjoy this one, partly because it’s always fun to spot humor, partly because it’s pronounceable, and partly (and randomly) because it reminds me of visiting Goa, India.\u00a0 Checking out acronyms on thefreedictionary website, I see that “GOA” can also, aptly, mean “Glossary of Abbreviations,” as well as, more strangely, “Gods of Arr-Kelaan.”\u00a0 Hoodathunkit?<\/p>\n

SGF agus TSAGBTSAS<\/strong>.\u00a0 I doubt that last 9-letter one will really catch on (T\u00e1 s\u00fail agam gur bhain t\u00fa sult as seo<\/strong>) … \u00a0ach, bhuel<\/strong> , I’ll try TSAGBTSAS<\/strong> here anyway and see if by any caolseans<\/strong> it catches on.\u00a0 But, no, no sign of it so far, ar an Idirl\u00edon.\u00a0 – R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/strong><\/p>\n

N\u00f3ta<\/strong>: If you’re really interested in Tildy, which was the name of one of O. Henry’s literary characters, you can find her story at: http:\/\/www.literaturecollection.com\/a\/o_henry\/48\/, “The Brief Debut of Tildy.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn) As lives get more and more abbreviationized and acronymized in the English-speaking world, we may as well look at what’s happening in the Irish-speaking realm. Let’s start with the oldest one I know of — BB7B.\u00a0 Its age is a reminder that using abbreviations, acronyms, and other space-saving approaches in writing isn’t a…<\/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":[207310,14,3083,3975,365256,255602,4302,376717,366897,229774,376712,356866,376716,376711,5667,274097,376719,13499,376722,229391,229390,376705,376708,32908,207308,156441,376709,376710,376720,376721,376723],"class_list":["post-6563","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-irish-language","tag-9l","tag-a","tag-abbreviations","tag-acronym","tag-agus","tag-bb7b","tag-beannacht","tag-beir","tag-btw","tag-bua","tag-dhia","tag-dia","tag-goa","tag-hash-key","tag-irish","tag-kj","tag-kn","tag-lol","tag-o-henry","tag-omd","tag-omg","tag-sgf","tag-taisce","tag-teacsais","tag-textese","tag-texting","tag-thaisce","tag-thaiscidh","tag-tilde","tag-tildy","tag-veilleam"],"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