{"id":7543,"date":"2016-01-11T00:16:29","date_gmt":"2016-01-11T00:16:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=7543"},"modified":"2018-12-28T04:35:43","modified_gmt":"2018-12-28T04:35:43","slug":"how-many-ways-can-we-say-bliain-year-in-irish-including-athbhliain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/how-many-ways-can-we-say-bliain-year-in-irish-including-athbhliain\/","title":{"rendered":"How many ways can we say ‘bliain’ (year) in Irish, including ‘athbhliain’?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\"ar\u00fa<\/a>

ar\u00fa anuraidh (sa bhliain 2014), an bhliain seo caite (sa bhliain 2015), agus i mbliana (sa bhliain 2016) (http:\/\/www.publicdomainpictures.net\/view-image.php?image=81027&picture=new-year-clip-art&large=1)<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

As we settle into the new year (an bhliain nua, an\u00a0bhliain \u00far, an athbhliain, srl.<\/strong>), let’s think of how many ways we can say and use the word ‘year’ in Irish.<\/p>\n

Most recently, you’ve probably seen the phrase “Athbhliain faoi sh\u00e9an is faoi mhaise<\/strong>” (A happy and prosperous New Year).<\/p>\n

But let’s look into the word ‘year’ (the “bliain<\/strong>” part of “athbhliain<\/strong>“) in a little more depth.\u00a0 First, we’ll look at the basics (singular, plural, etc.), then we’ll use the phrase to indicate ages (three years old, one hundred years old, etc.), and then we’ll look at a few compound words (solasbhliain<\/strong>, etc.) and phrases.\u00a0 And what was that about “athbhliain<\/strong>” anyway and didn’t I see it somewhere before in this blog series? \u00a0Yes, it’s been discussed several times in this blog series (naisc th\u00edos<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

The basic forms are:<\/p>\n

bliain<\/strong>, a year (bliain mhaith<\/strong>, a good year)<\/p>\n

an bhliain<\/strong> [un VLEE-in], the year<\/p>\n

bliana<\/strong>, of a year, as in “searrach bliana<\/strong>” (yearling foal), also used in giving ages with certain numbers (c\u00faig bliana d’aois<\/strong>, five years old)<\/p>\n

na bliana<\/strong>, of the year, as in the book title, \u00d3 Cheann Ceann na Bliana<\/em><\/strong>, the Irish version of one of Eric Hill’s Spot the Puppy<\/em> books<\/p>\n

bhliain<\/strong> [VLEE-in], used a) specifically after the number two (dh\u00e1 bhliain<\/strong>), b) to say “eleven years” (aon bhliain d\u00e9ag<\/strong>), c) in certain phrases, like “sa bhliain<\/strong>,” and d) also used when we make compound words like “solasbhliain<\/strong>” and “idirbhliain<\/strong>” (discussed further below)<\/p>\n

mbliana<\/strong> [MLEE-uh-nuh], used in giving ages with the numbers 7, 8, 9, 10,17, 18, 19, 27, 28, 29, etc. (seacht mbliana, seacht mbliana d\u00e9ag, seacht mbliana is fiche, srl.<\/strong>) and also in the phrase “i mbliana<\/strong>.”<\/p>\n

mbliain<\/strong> [MLEE-un], used in certain phrases, like “i mBliain na bhFrancach<\/strong>” (in the Year of the French, i.e. 1798).\u00a0 And, no, although it could, if capitalized in a title, be translated as the “in the Year of the Rats,” it’s not generally understood that way!<\/p>\n

And no worries that “Bliain na bhFrancach<\/strong>” could be mistaken for the Chinese zodiac year, Bliain an Fhrancaigh<\/strong>, because the latter is singular, so it just means, “The Year of the Rat,” or depending on context, “The Year of the Frenchman<\/em>” (singular). \u00a0Either way, if you wanted to say, “in<\/em> the Year of the Rat” (for a Chinese New Year) or “in<\/em> the Year of the Frenchman” (for whatever context you can dream up), it would be “i mBliain an Fhrancaigh<\/strong>.”\u00a0 Bottom line to all of that confusion: “Francach<\/strong>” (upper-case) means “Frenchman,” and “francach<\/strong>” (lower-case) means “rat.”\u00a0 But if your phrase with “rat” needs to be capitalized, as in a title or recognizing the Chinese usage as a proper noun, readers won’t be able to tell the difference.\u00a0 In other words:<\/p>\n

Bliain na bhFrancach<\/strong>, the Year of the French (1798), the stock phrase for this episode in Irish history, and in English, the name of a highly regarded novel by Thomas Flanagan; this is a plural construction and could also be translated as “the Year of the Frenchmen.” \u00a0This could also mean “The Year of the Rats” if the phrase were capitalized for some reason.<\/p>\n

Bliain an Fhrancaigh<\/strong>, the Year of the Rat (as in the Chinese zodiac system). \u00a0This could also mean “The Year of the Frenchman” (singular), if you had some reason to use such a phrase.<\/p>\n

Bottom line:<\/p>\n

Francach<\/strong>, a Frenchman; an Fhrancaigh<\/strong>, of the Frenchman; na bhFrancach<\/strong>, of the Frenchmen<\/p>\n

francach<\/strong>, a rat; an fhrancaigh<\/strong>, of the rat; na bhfrancach<\/strong>, of the rats — usually lower case, except, as I’ve noted if, it’s capitalized as in a title or in the Chinese zodiac phrase<\/p>\n

Anyway … back to the so-called “basics”<\/p>\n

mbliain<\/strong> is also an alternate form for “bhliain<\/strong>,” found in phrases like “sa mbliain<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

And now for the plural forms:<\/p>\n

blianta<\/strong>, years<\/p>\n

na blianta<\/strong>, the years<\/p>\n

blianta<\/strong>, of years (I can’t really think of too many examples of this usage)<\/p>\n

na mblianta<\/strong> [nuh MLEE-un-tuh], of the years<\/p>\n

So that’s just the basics!<\/p>\n

And now for some more practice with ages:<\/p>\n

one year old: bliain d’aois<\/strong> (usually no number is used, though one could say “bliain amh\u00e1in d’aois<\/strong>” for clarity or contrast)<\/p>\n

two years old: dh\u00e1 bhliain d’aois<\/strong><\/p>\n

three years old: tr\u00ed bliana d’aois<\/strong> (although not all dialects use this special “bliana<\/strong>” form)<\/p>\n

seven years old: seacht mbliana d’aois<\/strong><\/p>\n

eleven years old: aon bhliain d\u00e9ag d’aois<\/strong>, lit. “one-year-teen” of age<\/p>\n

twenty years old: fiche bliain<\/strong>, and the good news is the multiples of ten don’t undergo all those consonant changes: tr\u00edocha bliain, ceathracha bliain<\/strong> OR daichead bliain, caoga bliain, seasca bliain, srl.<\/strong><\/p>\n

one hundred years old: c\u00e9ad bliain d’aois<\/strong><\/p>\n

And the higher numbers would include:<\/p>\n

m\u00edle bliain, deich m\u00edle bliain, c\u00e9ad m\u00edle bliain, milli\u00fan bliain, srl.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Of course, we could also count in “scores” (dh\u00e1 sc\u00f3r, tr\u00ed sc\u00f3r, srl.<\/strong>) but a full account of that system will have to wait for blag \u00e9igin eile, sa todhcha\u00ed.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now for a few other expressions with the word “bliain<\/strong>“:<\/p>\n

bliain go leith<\/strong>, a year and a half<\/p>\n

bliain bhisigh<\/strong>, leap year<\/p>\n

an bhliain seo chugainn<\/strong>, next year, lit. the\/this year toward us<\/p>\n

an bhliain seo caite<\/strong>, last year, lit. the\/this year spent\/used up. \u00a0Remember, there is also a completely different way to say ‘last year,’ which\u00a0is “anuraidh<\/strong>,” with the “-aidh” pronounced either like “uh” or like “ee” [un-UR-uh OR un-UR-ee]. \u00a0“Anuraidh<\/strong>” preceded by the word\u00a0“ar\u00fa<\/strong>”\u00a0is also used to say that something happened the year before last (Tharla s\u00e9 sin ar\u00fa anuraidh<\/strong>), which from the perspective of January, 2016, would mean that something happened in 2014. \u00a0A third option for “last year” is “an bhliain seo chuaigh thart<\/strong>,” lit. the\/this year gone past.<\/p>\n

And a few more related words:<\/p>\n

bliant\u00fail<\/strong>, annual (adjective), yearly<\/p>\n

bliainiris<\/strong>, annual (a yearbook)<\/p>\n

bliant\u00f3g<\/strong>, an annual plant<\/p>\n

And some compounds:<\/p>\n

idirbhliain<\/strong>, a transition year (TY), lit. “a between-year”<\/p>\n

r\u00e9amhbhliain<\/strong>, reception year, lit. “pre-year,” i.e. the year before primary school<\/p>\n

solasbhliain<\/strong>, a light-year<\/p>\n

And now back to our “Happy New Year” phrase.\u00a0 The word “athbhliain<\/strong>” is a combination of “ath-<\/strong>” (re-, second, return, later, after) + “bliain<\/strong>,” which gets lenited, becoming “-bhliain<\/strong>” [VLEE-in] in the compound word.\u00a0 While “athbhliain<\/strong>” is usually translated as “new year,” it more literally means something like “returning year” or “coming year.”\u00a0 And ironically, “ath-<\/strong>” as a prefix can also mean “old” or “ex-” as in “athbhall<\/strong>” [ah-wahl], a discarded item of clothing OR a former member of an organization or, as in “athl\u00e9ine<\/strong>,” a “cast-off shirt.”\u00a0 To which I can really just add, “Go figure!”<\/p>\n

At any rate, however exactly you parse it, “Athbhliain faoi sh\u00e9an agus faoi mhaise dhuit<\/strong>” agus m\u00e1 t\u00e1 dea-r\u00fan Athbhliana d\u00e9anta agat, go maire t\u00fa \u00e9!\u00a0 \u00a0SGF — R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/strong><\/p>\n

Naisc: Previous blogs dealing with “New Year”<\/strong><\/p>\n

a) https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/samhain-november-1st-and-la-caille-january-1st-two-new-years\/ (Samhain (November 1st) and L\u00e1 Caille (January 1st): Two New Years!<\/a>\u00a0 Posted on 27. Oct, 2010 by\u00a0r\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0Irish Language<\/a><\/p>\n

b)\u00a0https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/happy-vs-merry-and-all-that-sona-meidhreach-srl\/\u00a0 Happy vs. Merry and All That! (Sona, Meidhreach, srl.)<\/a>Posted on 12. Dec, 2010 by\u00a0r\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0Irish Language<\/a><\/p>\n

c) https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/new-years-celtic-style-1-mi-na-samhna-in-ionad-1-eanair\/\u00a0 New Year\u2019s \u2013 Celtic Style (1 M\u00ed na Samhna in ionad 1 Ean\u00e1ir)<\/a> Posted on 31. Oct, 2012 by\u00a0r\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0Irish Language<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn) As we settle into the new year (an bhliain nua, an\u00a0bhliain \u00far, an athbhliain, srl.), let’s think of how many ways we can say and use the word ‘year’ in Irish. Most recently, you’ve probably seen the phrase “Athbhliain faoi sh\u00e9an is faoi mhaise” (A happy and prosperous New Year). But let’s look…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":7544,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3898],"tags":[96555,3093,513764,4240,513765,513762,207254,307112,307111,307113,307115,8894,390786,5137,255521,513761,513766,5240,513763,5483,390783,513760,390782,307114,307116,1166,390788,3349,307069,390784,229698,3404,390785,390787,7626,13438],"class_list":["post-7543","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-irish-language","tag-96555","tag-age","tag-athbhall","tag-athbhliain","tag-athleine","tag-bhfrancach","tag-bhisigh","tag-bhliain","tag-bliain","tag-bliana","tag-blianta","tag-chinese","tag-eric-hill","tag-faoi-mhaise","tag-faoi-shean","tag-fhrancaigh","tag-flanagan","tag-francach","tag-go-leith","tag-happy","tag-idirbhliain","tag-lightyear","tag-mbliain","tag-mbliana","tag-mblianta","tag-new-year","tag-o-cheann-ceann-na-bliana","tag-plural","tag-rat","tag-reamhbhliain","tag-searrach","tag-singular","tag-solasbhliain","tag-spot-the-puppy","tag-year","tag-zodiac"],"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