{"id":782,"date":"2011-04-15T18:16:51","date_gmt":"2011-04-15T18:16:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=782"},"modified":"2016-10-04T18:16:54","modified_gmt":"2016-10-04T18:16:54","slug":"an-dara-diochlaonadh-firinscneach-lambs-of-butter-mountains-of-butter-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/an-dara-diochlaonadh-firinscneach-lambs-of-butter-mountains-of-butter-3\/","title":{"rendered":"An Dara D\u00edochlaonadh, Firinscneach: Lambs of Butter, Mountains of Butter"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

Second-declension nouns — mostly feminine, right?\u00a0 Right!\u00a0 Mar shampla: sp\u00fan\u00f3g, br\u00f3g, ubh, feirm.\u00a0 Tuiseal ginideach, uatha? Sodh\u00e9anta: sp\u00fan\u00f3ige, br\u00f3ige, uibhe, feirme, etc.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I mentioned in an earlier blog that at least two 2nd<\/sup>-declension nouns are masculine, \u201cim\u201d <\/strong>and \u201csliabh.\u201d\u00a0 <\/strong>Let\u2019s start with \u201cim\u201d <\/strong>(butter), if for no other reason than that it has an Easter tie-in, albeit perhaps one that\u2019s more Eastern European than Irish.\u00a0 Also, if we do \u201cim\u201d <\/strong>first, and master its genitive case (ime), <\/strong>then we can launch right into the phrase \u201csliabh ime\u201d <\/strong>(mountain of butter). \u00a0Who would ever be talking about a “mountain of butter,” you might ask. \u00a0Well, the English version of this phrase, \u201cmountain of butter,\u201d brought up over 6,000 hits in a recent search when paired with \u201ceu\u201d (for European Union).\u00a0 But that\u2019s not all!\u00a0 Broadening the search, we get thousands more hits, many to do with \u201cSalm 68 (67),\u201d <\/strong>but specifically in<\/strong> An B\u00edobla Douay-Rheims<\/strong> or sna B\u00edobla\u00ed Ceartchreidmheacha<\/strong>, not An B\u00edobla Naofa (Caitliceach, leagan Gaeilge)<\/strong>, or, for that matter, i mB\u00edobla R\u00ed S\u00e9amas.\u00a0 <\/strong>A healthy 37 hits also showed up for the search in Irish, \u201csliabh ime,\u201d <\/strong>mostly EU references; none appeared to lead back to the Psalm itself.\u00a0 Fiosrach?\u00a0 Cad \u00ed an tagairt bh\u00edobalta?\u00a0 <\/strong>Read on, but, basics first (parsing butter lambs and butter mountains), and then the special phrases.\u00a0 Starting with \u201cim\u201d <\/strong>(butter):\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

an t-im: <\/strong>the butter.\u00a0 Remember, it\u2019s masculine, even though it\u2019s in the second declension, so it follows the patterns for masculine nouns in prefixing a “t-” before initial vowels, <\/strong>like an t-\u00fall <\/strong>(the apple), an t-uisce <\/strong>(the water), and an t-uisce beatha <\/strong>(the whiskey).<\/p>\n

ime: <\/strong>of butter, pronounced, as typically in Irish, with a short \u201ce\u201d or schwa at the end [IM-uh], not at all like English \u201ctime\u201d or \u201clime.\u201d\u00a0 Irish may have a lot of silent letters but it has no pattern like the English \u201csilent e\u201d phenomenon.\u00a0 A final \u201ce\u201d is always pronounced, even if it\u2019s just slightly.<\/p>\n

Some practical examples of \u201cim\u201d sa tuiseal ginideach <\/strong>could be \u201cblas an ime\u201d <\/strong>(the taste of the butter) and \u201cpraghas an ime\u201d <\/strong>(the price of the butter).\u00a0 <\/strong>A few more specialized examples follow:<\/p>\n

uan ime: <\/strong>a lamb of butter, i.e. a lamb made of butter in a three-dimensional mold.\u00a0 \u00a0Familiarity with the Easter tradition may be necessary to clarify that a food item is meant, not some sort of fantasy character in a cartoon.\u00a0 The heartland of this tradition seems to be Eastern Europe, where butter lambs are popular at this time of year.\u00a0 In Polish, they\u2019re known as Baranek Wielkanocny; <\/em>I can\u2019t say the Irish term is particularly widespread but it could be useful to describe a b\u00e9ile C\u00e1sca<\/strong> (Easter meal).\u00a0 The butter lambs are for sale in some American supermarkets, and perhaps more broadly.<\/p>\n

cam an ime, <\/strong>literally, the cresset of butter.\u00a0 Now there\u2019s an off-the-beaten track translation for you!\u00a0 \u201cCam\u201d <\/strong>also means melting pot in Irish.\u00a0 To cut to the chase, \u201dcam an ime<\/strong>\u201d means \u201cbuttercup.\u201d<\/p>\n

imeanna: <\/strong>the word is not real widely used in the plural, unless perhaps one is involved in stocking differing types of butters in a store, but it can mean \u201cquantities of butter\u201d or \u201ccasks of butter,\u201d to hark back to older methods of storage.\u00a0 Today, I suppose butter would be shipped i mbosca\u00ed cairtchl\u00e1r rocach.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

As for the concept of the \u201cbutter mountain,\u201d there are two main references, the European Union issue, which has to do with food surplus,\u00a0 and the biblical description found i Salm 68 (67).\u00a0 <\/strong>The EU references I found in my search are mostly in English, as one might expect, but I did find a thread that discussed the issue in Irish, \u201csliabh ime,\u201d <\/strong>together with \u201cloch f\u00edona\u201d <\/strong>and \u201csruth na meala,\u201d <\/strong>neatly providing more examples of the genitive case.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

As for the biblical reference, you may find it as puzzling as I initially did.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t find any discussion of it in Irish, so it\u2019s not as though this is a hot Easter topic \u201cas Gaeilge<\/strong>.\u201d\u00a0 But it\u2019s interesting to ponder nonetheless, and gives us more practice with an tuiseal ginideach.\u00a0 <\/strong>And it will segue us into discussing the word \u201csliabh.\u201d\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Apparently the Douay-Rheims and the Orthodox Bibles refer to the mountain of God being a butter or fat mountain, and continue on, describing it as \u201ca curdled mountain.\u201d\u00a0 Quirkily, in the Irish-language Bible, An B\u00edobla Naofa, <\/strong>the adjectives used are \u201cbeannach\u201d <\/strong>and \u201cmaorga,\u201d <\/strong>completely different from butter or curds, so it\u2019s not as though this \u201cbutter mountain\u201d idea will resonate strongly, unless you\u2019re really familiar with the Douay-Rheims or Orthodox texts.\u00a0 But having heard the concept, I find it unforgettable! \u00a0Butter, of course, would have been a luxury in ancient times, and that was the case in much of rural Ireland, at least through the 19th<\/sup> century.\u00a0 Most farm wives there made butter to sell, an important part of their income, so relatively little was consumed at home.\u00a0 An B\u00edobla Naofa <\/strong>here is similar to all the other bibles I checked for this passage, and far be it from me to attempt to explain the whys and wherefores of biblical translation.\u00a0 But, suffice it to say, \u201cmountain of butter\u201d in Irish would be \u201csliabh ime,\u201d <\/strong>same as in discussing the European Union situation.\u00a0 As for the continuation (in case I\u2019ve got you hooked), the \u201ccurdled mountain\u201d would literally be \u201csliabh gruthaithe,\u201d <\/strong>from the verb \u201cgruth\u00fa\u201d <\/strong>(to curdle).\u00a0 I think \u201ccurdled mountain\u201d really mean \u201ca mountain of curds.\u201d\u00a0 Sounds more appetizing, anyway.\u00a0 Any takers for translating that?\u00a0 Freagra 1 th\u00edos.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Anyway, that\u2019s butter in its various incarnations.\u00a0 Let\u2019s briefly look at our other 2nd<\/sup>-declension masculine noun, \u201csliabh,\u201d <\/strong>and then we’ll say \u201csin sin\u201d <\/strong>for this topic for now.<\/p>\n

an sliabh, <\/strong>the mountain<\/p>\n

sl\u00e9ibhe, <\/strong>of a mountain, sampla: b\u00f3thar sl\u00e9ibhe<\/strong>, a mountain road<\/p>\n

an tsl\u00e9ibhe <\/strong>[un TLAY-vuh], of the mountain; sampla: droim an tsl\u00e9ibhe<\/strong>, the ridge of the mountain<\/p>\n

sl\u00e9ibhte, <\/strong>mountains; na Sl\u00e9ibhte Creagacha<\/strong>, the Rocky Mountains<\/p>\n

Did I say \u201cSin sin<\/strong>\u201d a few lines back, indicating that we’d wrap up really quickly?\u00a0 Oooh, didn\u2019t really mean it, of course, since there are at least two more irresistible \u201cbutter\u201d words in English, but neither turns out to involve \u201cim<\/strong>\u201d in Irish.\u00a0 Ever wonder about \u201cbutterfingers\u201d?\u00a0 In Irish, it\u2019s not based on \u201cim<\/strong>\u201d but it\u2019s equally vivid, l\u00e1mha leitean (uaim dheas, nach ea?), <\/strong>literally meaning \u201cporridge-hands.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for \u201cbutterfly,\u201d nope, no connection to \u201cbutter” in Irish.\u00a0 Not that there\u2019s really a connection to \u201cbutter\u201d in English either, except in the beautiful mind of Lewis Carroll and a few other punsters throughout the ages, who wrote about \u201cbread-and-butterflies.\u201d\u00a0 So what\u2019s \u201cbutterfly\u201d in Irish, just out of curiosity, you ask?\u00a0 F\u00e9ach sa ghluais th\u00edos, faoin litir \u201cf\u201d (n\u00ed faoi \u201cp\u201d). \u00a0<\/strong>Hint: think French (papillon<\/em>), Latin (papilio<\/em>), or even the English\/French word \u201cpapillon\u201d for the dog type, based on the shape of its __________ (l\u00edon an bhearna, freagra 2 th\u00edos). <\/strong><\/p>\n

Sin \u00e9.\u00a0 Tuilleadh t\u00e9arma\u00ed C\u00e1sca ag teacht.\u00a0 SGF, \u00f3 R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/strong><\/p>\n

Freagra 1: sliabh grutha <\/strong>[SHLEE-uv GRUH-huh], from \u201cgruth.\u201d\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Freagra 2: cluasa <\/strong>(ears); T\u00e1 cluasa an fh\u00e9ileac\u00e1naigh cos\u00fail le f\u00e9ileac\u00e1n.\u00a0 Loighici\u00fail go leor, nach ea?\u00a0 An d\u00e1 chluas le ch\u00e9ile at\u00e1 i gceist.\u00a0 N\u00edl cruth f\u00e9ileac\u00e1in ar chluas amh\u00e1in ina haonar.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Gluais: beannach, <\/strong>many-peaked; f\u00e9ileac\u00e1n<\/strong>, butterfly; \u00a0f\u00e9ileac\u00e1nach<\/strong>, papillon (dog breed), f\u00e9ileac\u00e1naigh<\/strong>, of a papillon; leite<\/strong>, porridge; leitean<\/strong>, of porridge; maorga<\/strong>, majestic, rocach<\/strong>, corrugated; sin sin<\/strong>, that\u2019s a wrap, lit. that\u2019s that; sodh\u00e9anta<\/strong>, easily done; uaim<\/strong>, alliteration (this is not the prepositional form \u201cuaim<\/strong>,\u201d meaning \u201cfrom me,\u201d which is perhaps more familiar).\u00a0 Homonym time!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn) Second-declension nouns — mostly feminine, right?\u00a0 Right!\u00a0 Mar shampla: sp\u00fan\u00f3g, br\u00f3g, ubh, feirm.\u00a0 Tuiseal ginideach, uatha? Sodh\u00e9anta: sp\u00fan\u00f3ige, br\u00f3ige, uibhe, feirme, etc. I mentioned in an earlier blog that at least two 2nd-declension nouns are masculine, \u201cim\u201d and \u201csliabh.\u201d\u00a0 Let\u2019s start with \u201cim\u201d (butter), if for no other reason than that it has…<\/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":[376635,376618,376638,376641,376629,255152,376610,376620,4571,4705,376621,376617,376616,4981,3167,7389,376639,376642,1084,5373,376614,376615,5537,376626,376625,376622,376613,32995,376619,376624,376612,10256,376633,376632,376631,376628,376627,376630,376637,376640,376623,376634,7219,7223,7226,376636],"class_list":["post-782","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-irish-language","tag-baranek","tag-beannach","tag-brog","tag-broige","tag-butter","tag-buttercup","tag-butterfly","tag-cam-an-ime","tag-casca","tag-cluasa","tag-cresset","tag-curdled","tag-curds","tag-dog","tag-easter","tag-eu","tag-feirm","tag-feirme","tag-genitive-case","tag-ginideach","tag-gruthaithe","tag-gruthu","tag-honey","tag-im","tag-ime","tag-imeanna","tag-lamha","tag-leitean","tag-maorga","tag-mil","tag-papilio","tag-papillon","tag-psalm","tag-salm-67","tag-salm-68","tag-sleibhe","tag-sliabh","tag-sliabh-ime","tag-spunog","tag-spunoige","tag-sruth-na-meala","tag-t-im","tag-uaim","tag-ubh","tag-uibhe","tag-wielkanocny"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/782","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=782"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/782\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8452,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/782\/revisions\/8452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=782"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=782"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}