{"id":6893,"date":"2015-06-30T20:04:39","date_gmt":"2015-06-30T20:04:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=6893"},"modified":"2015-07-21T20:50:37","modified_gmt":"2015-07-21T20:50:37","slug":"speaking-of-spangles-irish-and-the-american-national-anthem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/speaking-of-spangles-irish-and-the-american-national-anthem\/","title":{"rendered":"Speaking of Spangles, Irish, and the American National Anthem"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn)<\/strong><\/p>\n

For several years now, I’ve been posting the Irish-language version of “The Star-Spangled Banner” around the American July 4th celebration.\u00a0 Last year’s July 4th blog post included all four verses in Irish, with pronunciation and vocabulary notes.\u00a0 It was, needless to say, “an-fhada” mar bhlagmh\u00edr.\u00a0 (Nasc th\u00edos).<\/strong><\/p>\n

This year, I thought I’d look at one word which is iconic in the English original of the song, and noticeably absent from the Irish version: “spangled.”<\/p>\n

The Irish words “spaglainn<\/strong>” (spangle) and “spaglainneach<\/strong>” (spangled) are straightforward enough, at least at first glance.\u00a0 It just doesn’t seem like there are that many applications for them, at least in Irish, and they’re not used in translating the name of the “Star-Spangled Banner.”\u00a0 And, BTW, do you remember what the title “Star-Spangled Banner” really is in Irish?\u00a0 Freagra th\u00edos!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here are the basic forms of the words for “spangle” and “spangled”:<\/p>\n

an spaglainn<\/strong>, the spangle<\/p>\n

na spaglainne<\/strong>, of the spangle (dath na spaglainne<\/strong>\u00a0 — that is, if we ever refer to the color of just one spangle!)<\/p>\n

na spaglainn\u00ed<\/strong>, the spangles<\/p>\n

na spaglainn\u00ed,<\/strong> of the spangles (same as above).\u00a0 An example would be “dathanna na spaglainn\u00ed<\/strong>” (the colors of the spangles)<\/p>\n

For the adjective, if we actually wanted to say something was “spangled,” we could have phrases like:<\/p>\n

an bhratach spaglainneach<\/strong>, the spangled flag<\/p>\n

na bratacha spaglainneacha<\/strong>, the spangled flags<\/p>\n

Or we could say that some fabric was “breactha le spaglainn\u00ed<\/strong>” (speckled with spangles) .<\/p>\n

But does anyone actually use these Irish words very much?\u00a0 Remember, for the American national anthem, “spangled” doesn’t appear in the Irish translation.\u00a0 What does the Irish text say instead?\u00a0 Hint: it’s a little more like saying “brightly starred” than saying “star-spangled” as such (the brightly starred flag).\u00a0 As a reminder, the answer is in the “freagra<\/strong>” below.<\/p>\n

So how can<\/em> we use “spaglainn<\/strong>” and “spaglainneach<\/strong>” in other contexts?\u00a0 Good question!<\/p>\n

Neither word shows up much in Google searches, except for dictionary entries.\u00a0 There’s one interesting line in a Scottish Gaelic text: “Agus is mairg a theireadh Domhnull-nam-Prat rium mur teid agam air a’ char a thoirt as an taillear spaglainneach so<\/em>” (nasc th\u00edos<\/strong>).\u00a0 Is this really “spangled”– is it saying that the tailor is a bit gaudy or showy?\u00a0 Or simply that the material his clothes are made of is sort of showy?<\/p>\n

Is there a negative connotation to fabrics being spangled?\u00a0 Hmm, a little further pursuit down the Faclair G\u00e0idhlig<\/em> line reveals that in Scottish Gaelic, “spaglainneach<\/em>” can mean ” conceited” and that “sp\u00e0glainn<\/em>” means “conceit” or “ostentation.”\u00a0 Definitely food for thought, since the Scottish Gaelic for “spangle” is slightly different, “spangan<\/em>” or “spang<\/em>.”\u00a0 Hmmmm, is Scottish Gaelic “spaglainneach<\/em>” even related to “spang<\/em>“?\u00a0\u00a0 And to bring this issue full circle, sort of, in Irish, the word “spang<\/em>” means “a fit” or “a paroxysm” OR “a whim” or “notion.”\u00a0 So if your clothes are spangled, does it mean that you have “notions”?\u00a0 Or is there no connection?<\/p>\n

And just to round things out, in Irish, a “spangaire<\/strong>” is a “barren cow.”\u00a0 Any connection to “spaglainn<\/strong>” or even to “spang<\/strong>?”\u00a0 Is the barrenness of a cow a sort of “fit” or “notion”?<\/p>\n

Well, the “plota<\/strong>” is definitely “ag dul chun castachta<\/strong>,” and I don’t think we can totally resolve the “spag\/spang\/spaglainn<\/strong>” dilemma here.<\/p>\n

Could these possible connotations of ostentation and conceit be one reason why the word “spaglainneach<\/strong>” isn’t used in the Irish version of the song?\u00a0 Hard to say, and the original translator is long dead, so we can’t really ask him why he chose certain words and not others.\u00a0 He may have consciously avoided the word. \u00a0Or maybe it just didn’t fit the rhythm and rhyme that he wanted.<\/p>\n

And one final point regarding the word “spangled,” I mentioned in a previous blag that I was \u00a0waiting for the official Irish version of “the great spangled fritillary,” a type of butterfly.\u00a0 And I’m still waiting.\u00a0 I assume it would be something like “an t-ollfhritile\u00e1n spaglainneach<\/strong>,” but one never knows for sure what a newly translated term in Irish might turn out to be.\u00a0 More recently, I’ve noticed that there are a few other animal and insect species that are “spangled,” like some birds (golden-spangled piculet, beryl-spangled tanager, sapphire-spangled emerald, and the spangled honeyeater, continga, drongo, coquette, and kookaburra), a type of fish (spangled grunter or perch), and another type of butterfly (blue-spangled emperor or blue-spangled charaxes).\u00a0 I’ve checked “An Vicip\u00e9id<\/strong>” for all of these, and don’t find any Irish versions of their names.\u00a0 In fact, I don’t see any use of “spaglainneach<\/strong>” sa Vicip\u00e9id<\/strong>.\u00a0 Or any use of “spaglainn<\/strong>,” for that matter.<\/p>\n

Anyway, probably time wrap up this post.\u00a0 Next time, we’ll talk about some interesting words that actually are found in the Irish text of the American National Anthem.\u00a0 \u00a0Go dt\u00ed sin, SGF — R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/strong><\/p>\n

Naisc:<\/strong><\/p>\n

American national anthem, all four verses in Irish:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/amhran-naisiunta-na-stat-aontaithe-all-four-verses-of-the-star-spangled-banner-in-irish-with-a-glossary-literal-translation-and-pronunciation-guide\/<\/em>\u00a0 Posted on 06. Jul, 2014 by\u00a0r\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0Irish Language<\/a><\/p>\n

“spaglainneach” i gcomhth\u00e9acs Albanach <\/strong>(Celtic Garland):<\/strong><\/u> http:\/\/www.archive.org\/stream\/cu31924026841563\/cu31924026841563_djvu.txt <\/em><\/p>\n

Freagra: An Bhratach Gheal-r\u00e9altach<\/strong>, lit. the bright starred flag<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn) For several years now, I’ve been posting the Irish-language version of “The Star-Spangled Banner” around the American July 4th celebration.\u00a0 Last year’s July 4th blog post included all four verses in Irish, with pronunciation and vocabulary notes.\u00a0 It was, needless to say, “an-fhada” mar bhlagmh\u00edr.\u00a0 (Nasc th\u00edos). This year, I thought I’d look…<\/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":[359008,289973,332053,289972],"class_list":["post-6893","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-irish-language","tag-spaglainn","tag-spaglainneach","tag-spangle","tag-spangled"],"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