{"id":72,"date":"2009-09-04T00:06:07","date_gmt":"2009-09-04T04:06:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=72"},"modified":"2009-09-04T00:06:07","modified_gmt":"2009-09-04T04:06:07","slug":"o-cheann-ceann-an-fhocail-%e2%80%9cceann%e2%80%9d-the-word-%e2%80%9cheadend%e2%80%9d-from-end-to-end","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/o-cheann-ceann-an-fhocail-%e2%80%9cceann%e2%80%9d-the-word-%e2%80%9cheadend%e2%80%9d-from-end-to-end\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00d3 Cheann Ceann an Fhocail \u201cCeann\u201d: The Word \u201cHead\/End\u201d from End to End"},"content":{"rendered":"

Before completely leaving that intriguing compound in the surname \u00d3 Cinn\u00e9ide (ceann\u00a0 <\/span>\u00e9ide)<\/strong>, how about looking further at the word \u201cceann<\/strong>\u201d itself?\u00a0 <\/span>It has lots of extended meanings besides \u201chead\u201d and \u201cend\u201d and is used in a few colorful expressions.\u00a0 <\/span>Seo c\u00fapla ceann<\/strong>:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The preceding phrase was one example of the extended meanings of the word \u201cceann<\/strong>.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>It can also mean \u201cone\u201d in regard to a topic or item under consideration.\u00a0 <\/span>Unlike English, \u201cc\u00fapla<\/strong>\u201d (couple) is followed by the singular form of the noun, so \u201cc\u00fapla ceann<\/strong>.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re actually counting things in Irish, you can use the word \u201cceann<\/strong>\u201d after the number, but look out for its \u201cspecial\u201d form, \u201ccinn<\/strong>,\u201d and for s\u00e9imhi\u00fa<\/strong> (lenition) and ur\u00fa<\/strong> (eclipsis), and for when to skip the s\u00e9imhi\u00fa <\/strong>but keep the ur\u00fa.\u00a0 <\/span><\/strong>Please do note that I said \u201cthings\u201d for this section; counting daoine<\/strong> (people), as you may recall, is a capall<\/strong> of a fairly different color.\u00a0 <\/span>Seo sampla\u00ed<\/strong>:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

C\u00e9 mh\u00e9ad bosca at\u00e1 ar an mbord?\u00a0 <\/span>Dh\u00e1 cheann <\/span><\/strong>(2) <\/strong>OR dh\u00e1 bhosca<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

C\u00e9 mh\u00e9ad cuileog at\u00e1 i do chuid anraith?\u00a0 <\/span>Tr\u00ed cinn<\/span><\/strong> (3) OR tr\u00ed chuileog<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

C\u00e9 mh\u00e9ad dath at\u00e1 ar thanagair sheachtdathach? Seacht gcinn <\/span><\/strong>(7) <\/strong>OR seacht ndath<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, that last question is a bit like asking, \u201cC\u00e9n dath at\u00e1 ar chapall b\u00e1n George Washington?\u201d,<\/strong> but it\u2019s useful enough for practicing ur\u00fa<\/strong>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

So, what did you notice about the presence or absence of s\u00e9imhi\u00fa<\/strong> and ur\u00fa<\/strong>?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

a) s\u00e9imhi\u00fa<\/span><\/strong> after dh\u00e1<\/strong>, as expected, on the generic word \u201cceann<\/strong>\u201d and on \u201cbosca<\/strong>\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

b) s\u00e9imhi\u00fa<\/span><\/strong> after tr\u00ed <\/strong>(and ceithre, c\u00faig, s\u00e9<\/strong>) on the actual noun \u201ccuileog<\/strong>\u201d BUT NOT on \u201ccinn<\/strong>,\u201d the special form of ceann<\/strong> used for counting from three and up (ceithre cinn, ceithre chuileog<\/strong>, c\u00faig cinn<\/strong>, c\u00faig chuileog<\/strong>, s\u00e9 cinn<\/strong>, s\u00e9 chuileog).\u00a0 <\/strong>This special form for counting looks like the plural (also\u00a0cinn<\/strong>) but is technically different.\u00a0No lenition with\u00a0this “cinn<\/strong>.”\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

c) ur\u00fa<\/span><\/strong> after the numbers 7 to 10 on both the generic \u201ccinn<\/strong>\u201d AND the specific \u201cdath<\/strong>\u201d (ocht gcinn, ocht ndath, naoi gcinn, naoi ndath, deich gcinn, deich ndath<\/strong>)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In case you\u2019re wondering, why so much emphasis on repeating nouns after numbers anyway?\u00a0 <\/span>English can just give the shortest possible answer, like \u201ctwo\u201d or \u201cseven,\u201d so why can\u2019t Irish?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>There\u2019s no absolute explanation for this, afaik, but a strong tendency not to simply use the number on its own.\u00a0 <\/span>One good thing about adding the ceann\/cinn<\/strong> style of answers to your repertoire is you can simply internalize the initial change for that one word, rather than bouncing from answers like \u201cseacht ndath<\/strong>\u201d to \u201cnaoi bhfadhb<\/strong>\u201d (nine problems) to \u201cdeich ndeichni\u00far den Phaidr\u00edn<\/strong>\u201d (ten decades of the Rosary). \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

With the end of this blog looming on the l\u00e9asl\u00edne <\/strong>(horizon), I\u2019ll close with a couple livelier examples:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In direct address, if you dare, several ways to say, \u201cYou blockhead\u201d: A cheann cip\u00edn!<\/strong> or \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

A cheann m\u00e1ill\u00e9id! <\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

N\u00f3ta\u00ed: X an fhocail<\/span><\/strong> [X un OK-il] the X of the word, as in \u201cciall an fhocail<\/strong>\u201d (the meaning of the word); seacht gcinn<\/strong> [shakht geen, shakt gin, and that\u2019s with a hard \u201cg,\u201d not like \u201cgin and tonic\u201d]; ndath<\/strong> [nah, note silent \u201cd\u201d]; naoi bhfadhb<\/strong> [nee waib].\u00a0 <\/span>That last word is hard to explain in any transcription system other than the official International Phonetics Alphabet, which has characters and symbols of its own.\u00a0 <\/span>It comes close to rhyming with English \u201cbribe\u201d or \u201cscribe\u201d and the closest equivalent I can think of, soundwise, is the somewhat derogatory German word \u201cWeib,\u201d which English learners of German may leap to equate with \u201cwife\u201d but which, as I understand it is more like calling a woman \u201ca broad.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

And since we just happened to be speaking about the tanagair sheachtdathach<\/strong>, you might like to listen to one here: <\/span>http:\/\/www.xeno-canto.org\/browse.php?query=Seven-colored%20Tanager<\/span><\/a>\u00a0 <\/span>B\u00edog <\/strong>(chirp) agus sl\u00e1n<\/strong>!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Before completely leaving that intriguing compound in the surname \u00d3 Cinn\u00e9ide (ceann\u00a0 \u00e9ide), how about looking further at the word \u201cceann\u201d itself?\u00a0 It has lots of extended meanings besides \u201chead\u201d and \u201cend\u201d and is used in a few colorful expressions.\u00a0 Seo c\u00fapla ceann: \u00a0 The preceding phrase was one example of the extended meanings of…<\/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":[],"class_list":["post-72","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-irish-language"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72","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=72"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}