{"id":6696,"date":"2015-05-18T20:00:56","date_gmt":"2015-05-18T20:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=6696"},"modified":"2015-10-10T23:31:32","modified_gmt":"2015-10-10T23:31:32","slug":"grins-grimaces-and-emoticons-straoiseanna-and-straoiseoga-in-irish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/grins-grimaces-and-emoticons-straoiseanna-and-straoiseoga-in-irish\/","title":{"rendered":"Grins, Grimaces, and Emoticons: Straoiseanna and Straoiseoga in Irish"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\"Seanstraoiseoga,<\/a>

Seanstraoiseoga, sula raibh na focail “straoiseog” agus “emoticon” ann, iad ingearach in ionad a bheith cothrom\u00e1nach. C\u00e1 bhfuarthas na straoiseoga seo? An t-irisleabhar Puck, 30 M\u00e1rta 1881. \u00a0C\u00e9n Ghaeilge at\u00e1 ar na moth\u00fach\u00e1in seo? \u00a0L\u00e9igh leat chun an freagra a fh\u00e1il. \u00a0
(http:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Emoticons_Puck_1881.png, public domain)<\/p><\/div>\n

I was tickled pink (is there an emoji for that?) when I found out that the Irish language had its own word for “emoticon.”\u00a0 The word “straoiseog<\/strong>” [STREESH-ohg] isn’t based on either of the two words that make up “emoticon.”\u00a0 A classic portmanteau word, “emoticon” in English is quite transparently based on “emotion” (moth\u00fach\u00e1n<\/strong>) and “icon” (\u00edoc\u00f3n<\/strong>).\u00a0 Clearly “moth\u00fach\u00e1n<\/strong>” and “\u00edoc\u00f3n<\/strong>” were not combined to create the word “straoiseog<\/strong>.”<\/p>\n

The word “straoiseog<\/strong>” is based on … <significant pause while you recall various Irish words for facial expressions, like, hmm, “c\u00e1r<\/strong>,” which means “grin” or “grimace,” or “pus<\/strong>,” which means “a sulky expression” or “an animal’s snout;” “pus<\/strong>,” by the way, isn’t pronounced like the English word “pus,” as in weeping wounds–it rhymes with “wuss,” with the “u” sound of “put,” not “putt.”> … Anyway, what else did you come up with for Irish words for facial expressions?<\/p>\n

Well, the title of this blog post sort of gave it away.\u00a0 “Straois<\/strong>” [streesh] in Irish means “grin” or “grimace.”\u00a0 Similar to “c\u00e1r<\/strong>,” except that “c\u00e1r<\/strong>” can also mean the teeth themselves, although the more typical words for teeth are “fiacla<\/strong>” (most common) and “d\u00e9ada<\/strong>” (moderately common).\u00a0 With “grin” or “grimace,” it suggests a mouth with the teeth showing.\u00a0\u00a0 Perhaps a threatening grin or an extreme grimace of pain.\u00a0 Sometime in the future, we can look more at words for smiling, frowning, laughing, grinning, etc., but for now, I’ll just note that the typical Irish word for “smile” is “meangadh<\/strong> g\u00e1ire<\/strong>,” a phrase, actually, not a single word.\u00a0 “Meangadh g\u00e1ire<\/strong>” translates literally to something like “faint laugh” or even “wily laughing expression.”\u00a0 When we look further at related words, we see some interesting interpretations of smiling.\u00a0 For example, “meangaire<\/strong>” means a smiling or deceitful person.<\/p>\n

The root word behind all of these is “meang<\/strong>,” meaning “wile” or “deceit.” \u00a0\u00a0“Hmmm,” a d\u00fairt s\u00ed l\u00e9i f\u00e9in agus roic ina h\u00e9adan<\/strong>.\u00a0 It’s true that, today, the positive value of a smile is a culturally constructed notion, not always understood in the same way from language to language and nation to nation.\u00a0 An extreme example is the cartoon figure, “Guy Smiley,” from Sesame Street.\u00a0\u00a0 Within American society, he might be recognized as the epitome of extreme smiling.\u00a0 I’m curious as to how he is interpreted in international versions of Sesame Street.\u00a0 I do remember that “Guy Smiley” in English was one of the few words I could pick out in episode one of “Fun Fun Elmo,” a Mandarin Language Learning Program (https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=QerlKVfczG4).\u00a0 It made me wonder if they kept his name in English because he was a character, and characters’ name often are not translated, or whether Mandarin didn’t lend itself to the concept of such an aggressively smiling guy.\u00a0 Cainteoir\u00ed S\u00ednise ar bith anseo<\/strong>?\u00a0 Anyway, back to “straois<\/strong>.”<\/p>\n

It’s interesting that both “c\u00e1r<\/strong>” and “straois<\/strong>” mean both “grin” and “grimace.”\u00a0 “Straois<\/strong>” also gives us a word for a person, “straoiseach\u00e1n<\/strong>,” (grinner, grimacer), and a verb for the action, “straois\u00edl<\/strong>” ([STREE-sheel], grinning, grimacing).\u00a0 \u00a0Another related word is “draid<\/strong>,” which also means “grin” or “grimace,” again, with emphasis on the teeth showing.\u00a0 A “dradaire<\/strong>” is a “grinner” or a “grimacer,” or a “philanderer”, and it has several other interesting meanings as well.\u00a0 It certainly seems that, traditionally, a grin was something to be wary of.\u00a0 Today, of course, we have the Hollywood smile, ach sin \u00e1bhar blagiontr\u00e1la eile<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

I don’t see “straoiseog<\/strong>,” as such, in any of the older dictionaries, so my hunch is that the “-eog” ending got tacked on to create the word for “emoticon.” \u00a0 The word could have existed earlier, but I don’t remember seeing it until relatively recently. \u00a0C\u00faig bliana \u00f3 shin, b’fh\u00e9idir<\/strong>.\u00a0 If anyone knows of some older, more traditional usage, or pre-emoticon usage, it would be great if you could write in with any further background you have on the word.<\/p>\n

Before wrapping up, let’s look at the forms for each of these words, “straois<\/strong>” and “straoiseog<\/strong>“:<\/p>\n

an straois<\/strong>, the grin, the grimace<\/p>\n

na straoise<\/strong>, of the grin, of the grimace<\/p>\n

na straoiseanna<\/strong> [STREESH-uh-nuh], the grins, the grimaces<\/p>\n

na straoiseanna<\/strong> (same as above), of the grins, of the grimaces.\u00a0 Context for that?\u00a0 Your call!\u00a0 I’m just trying to be thorough here.<\/p>\n

And for “emoticon”:<\/p>\n

an straoiseog<\/strong>, the emoticon<\/p>\n

na straoiseoige<\/strong>, of the emoticon<\/p>\n

na straoiseoga<\/strong>, the emoticons<\/p>\n

na straoiseog<\/strong>, of the emoticons<\/p>\n

Bhuel,<\/strong> what can I say other than : – ) or should that be:<\/p>\n

s( ^ \u203f ^)s<\/p>\n

R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/strong><\/p>\n

Na moth\u00fach\u00e1in sa phicti\u00far<\/strong>: Since each of the emotions shown in the vintage “emoticons” above has at least 2 words for it in Irish, let’s make a quiz out of it.\u00a0 Can you match the English word (joy, melancholy–and let’s add melancholia for good measure, indifference, astonishment) with two or more of the following?<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. l\u00fach\u00e1ir<\/strong><\/li>\n
  2. meon dubhach<\/strong><\/li>\n
  3. neamhshuim<\/strong><\/li>\n
  4. lionn dubh<\/strong><\/li>\n
  5. d\u00falionn<\/strong><\/li>\n
  6. iontas<\/strong><\/li>\n
  7. \u00e1thas<\/strong><\/li>\n
  8. galar dubhach<\/strong><\/li>\n
  9. alltacht<\/strong><\/li>\n
  10. fuarch\u00fais<\/strong><\/li>\n
  11. galar d\u00fachro\u00edoch<\/strong><\/li>\n
  12. cuma<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Na freagra\u00ed:<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. joy: \u00e1thas, l\u00fach\u00e1ir<\/strong><\/li>\n
    2. melancholy: meon dubhach<\/strong>; melancholy, melancholia: lionn dubh, d\u00falionn, galar dubhach, galar d\u00fachro\u00edoch<\/strong><\/li>\n
    3. indifference: neamhshuim, fuarch\u00fais, cuma<\/strong><\/li>\n
    4. astonishment: iontas, alltacht<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Of course, there could be more.\u00a0 “Br\u00f3n<\/strong>” is usually translated as “sadness” or “sorrow,” but could fit the 1881 face shown above.\u00a0 Focail eile<\/strong>?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

      (le R\u00f3isl\u00edn) I was tickled pink (is there an emoji for that?) when I found out that the Irish language had its own word for “emoticon.”\u00a0 The word “straoiseog” [STREESH-ohg] isn’t based on either of the two words that make up “emoticon.”\u00a0 A classic portmanteau word, “emoticon” in English is quite transparently based on “emotion”…<\/p>\n

      Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":6699,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3898],"tags":[390535,384216,381817,390534,390529,359503,390533,390530,390531,384215,384372,379457,5772,390528,111639,384373,384214,390527,384371,390532,384213,359502],"class_list":["post-6696","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-irish-language","tag-alltacht","tag-astonishment","tag-athas","tag-cuma","tag-dulionn","tag-emoticon","tag-fuarchuis","tag-galar-dubhach","tag-galar-duchroioch","tag-indifference","tag-iocon","tag-iontas","tag-joy","tag-lionn-dubh","tag-luchair","tag-melancholia","tag-melancholy","tag-meon-dubhach","tag-mothuchan","tag-neamhshuim","tag-straois","tag-straoiseog"],"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