{"id":804,"date":"2011-04-24T04:59:13","date_gmt":"2011-04-24T04:59:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=804"},"modified":"2016-08-17T19:36:52","modified_gmt":"2016-08-17T19:36:52","slug":"diochlaontai-aris","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/diochlaontai-aris\/","title":{"rendered":"D\u00edochlaonta\u00ed Ar\u00eds!"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

Two words that pertain to Easter conveniently fit our next category of nouns, an tr\u00ed\u00fa d\u00edochlaonadh<\/strong> (the third declension).\u00a0 One is the word \u201cC\u00e1isc<\/strong>\u201d itself, and the other is \u201cuaineoil<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

As you may recall, before we took our \u201cSos P\u00f3nair\u00ed Gl\u00f3tha\u00ed<\/strong>\u201d and \u201cSos C\u00e1sca<\/strong>,\u201d we had gotten through the first two declensions of Irish nouns.\u00a0 Depending on how you count them, there are either four or five such categories.\u00a0 If it sounds strange to say \u201ceither four or<\/em> five,\u201d it\u2019s because the fifth declension, has been relegated to a sort of non-status by some scholars.\u00a0 It was, admittedly, a bit of a grab-bag anyway, with a wide variety of patterns and endings.\u00a0 So, some sources that are otherwise very thorough regarding these issues lump 5th-declension nouns into the \u201cirregular\u201d category (not part of the declension system).\u00a0 But for further details, we\u2019ll have to go \u201ctrasna an droichid sin<\/strong>,\u201d when we get to it, since we\u2019re only up to d\u00edochlaonadh a tr\u00ed<\/strong> so far.\u00a0 Some approaches to teaching Irish these days don\u2019t even mention declensions at all, but, as I\u2019ve said before, I like to organize words according the patterns they present, at least as much as possible.<\/p>\n

Unlike the first declension, which is all masculine, and the second declension, which is almost all feminine, the third declension contains both masculine and feminine nouns.\u00a0 One huge chunk of 3rd-declension words includes all the occupational terms that end in \u201c-eoir\u201d or \u201c-\u00f3ir\u201d (m. sh.<\/strong> aisteoir<\/strong>, ban-aisteoir<\/strong>, bainisteoir<\/strong>, \u00a0fiacl\u00f3ir, <\/strong>and grianghrafad\u00f3ir)<\/strong>.\u00a0 These endings are also used for lots of appliances, gadgets, and items, especially mechanical ones, like \u201ccuisneoir<\/strong>\u201d and \u201cuairead\u00f3ir<\/strong>,\u201d as well as one of my favorites, \u201cpriosl\u00f3ir<\/strong>\u201d (which we\u2019ll distinguish from a \u201cbeibe<\/strong>\u201d later).\u00a0 All of these are masculine, even the one that means \u201cactress.\u201d\u00a0 But \u201cactress\u201d being masculine isn\u2019t really a surprise when you realize that the Irish words for \u201cgoddess\u201d and \u201cprincess\u201d are also grammatically masculine.\u00a0 Remember what those are i nGaeilge<\/strong> by any chance?\u00a0 If not, freagra\u00ed th\u00edos<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll start our discussion with a few 3rd<\/sup>-declension feminine nouns and wait for an ch\u00e9ad bhlag <\/strong>eile for the 3rd<\/sup>-declension masculine ones.\u00a0 In addition to \u201cC\u00e1isc,<\/strong>\u201d \u201cuaineoil<\/strong>,\u201d and some other \u201cfeoil<\/strong>-related\u201d words, we\u2019ll also look at examples like \u201cGaeltacht<\/strong>\u201d and \u201cbeannacht<\/strong>,\u201d where the \u201c-acht\u201d ending is a fairly reliable indicator of grammatical gender.\u00a0 Not always, of course, since \u201cacht<\/strong>\u201d itself, as a completely separate word, is 3rd<\/sup>-declension masculine, and some others follow suit, like \u201ccomhlacht<\/strong>\u201d and \u201cleacht<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

By now you\u2019ve seen a number of forms of \u201cC\u00e1isc<\/strong>,\u201d but let\u2019s look at it from the perspective of declensions:<\/p>\n

The basic word really is \u201cC\u00e1isc<\/strong>,\u201c but we rarely see it this way, since it is usually either s\u00e9imhithe<\/strong> or ginideach<\/strong>.\u00a0 One reason it is so frequently lenited is that, like some other names of holidays, it has the definite article.\u00a0 And it\u2019s feminine, so the initial \u201cc\u201d changes to \u201cch.\u201d<\/p>\n

an Ch\u00e1isc<\/strong>, (the) Easter, compare Welsh, \u201cY Pasg<\/em>,\u201d (the) Easter.\u00a0 Also Irish \u201cAn Nollaig<\/strong>,\u201d (the) Christmas<\/p>\n

To form an tuiseal ginideach<\/strong>, add a final \u201c-a\u201d ending, which requires dropping the \u201c-i\u2019,\u201d to create vowel harmony:, giving us \u201cC\u00e1sca<\/strong>,\u201d which itself is sometimes lenited (Ch\u00e1sca<\/strong>)<\/p>\n

C\u00e1sca<\/strong>, of Easter: clog C\u00e1sca<\/strong> (one of the those flying Easter bells from France that deliver canda\u00ed C\u00e1sca)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ch\u00e1sca<\/strong>, of Easter, lenited after a feminine singular noun: ubh Ch\u00e1sca<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ch\u00e1sca<\/strong>, of Easter, lenited after a plural noun ending in a slender consonant, cloig Ch\u00e1sca<\/strong><\/p>\n

The plural endings for 3rd<\/sup>-declension nouns are usually the same for the subject and possessive forms (unlike many 1st<\/sup> and 2nd<\/sup>-declension ones), so<\/p>\n

C\u00e1isceanna<\/strong>, Easters: C\u00e1isceanna m\u2019\u00f3ige<\/strong>, the Easters of my youth (the structure of this phrase makes it definite, hence \u201cthe Easters of,\u201d even without the definite article)<\/p>\n

na C\u00e1isceanna<\/strong>, the Easters: N\u00edor aontaigh na C\u00e1isceanna Victeoiriacha le C\u00e1isceanna Chathair Alastair<\/strong> (N.B.: this refers to Victorius of Aquitaine, a 5th<\/sup>-century cleric, not an Bhanr\u00edon Victoria)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

na gC\u00e1isceanna<\/strong>, of the Easters: coin\u00edn\u00ed seacl\u00e1ide C\u00e1sca st\u00e1laithe na gC\u00e1isceanna thart<\/strong>, the stale chocolate Easter Rabbits of Easters past<\/p>\n

Another example, uaineoil<\/strong> (lamb, the meat, partly based on uan, <\/strong>lamb, the animal), goes through similar changes:<\/p>\n

an uaineoil, <\/strong>the lamb: An bhfuil an uaineoil blasta?<\/strong><\/p>\n

na huaineola, <\/strong>of the lamb: blas na huaineola<\/strong><\/p>\n

This word is rarely used in the plural, although \u201cfeoil<\/strong>,\u201d the other element of the compound, can be plural:<\/p>\n

an fheoil, <\/strong>the meat<\/p>\n

na feola, <\/strong>of the meat<\/p>\n

na feolta, <\/strong>the meats<\/p>\n

na bhfeolta, <\/strong>of the meats<\/p>\n

Any thoughts as to why the \u201cfh-\u201c was dropped from the standard spelling of \u201cuaineoil<\/strong>?\u201d\u00a0 As you might have realized, it\u2019s silent (for \u201can fheoil<\/strong>\u201d say \u201cun yohl\u201d) and so isn\u2019t in the modern spelling.<\/p>\n

Similarly, we have caoireoil (caoireola)<\/strong> and mairteoil (mairteola)<\/strong> and more.<\/p>\n

Finally (for today), let\u2019s look at the word \u201cGaeltacht<\/strong>.\u201d\u00a0 We add \u201c-a\u201d for the genitive and \u201c-a\u00ed\u201d for the plural forms.\u00a0 No need to worry about vowel harmony, since the \u201c\u2013tacht\u201d ending is already leathan<\/strong>, as are the endings.<\/p>\n

an Ghaeltacht,<\/strong> the Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking area)<\/p>\n

na Gaeltachta<\/strong>, of the Gaeltacht: Raidi\u00f3 na Gaeltachta<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gaeltachta\u00ed:<\/strong> note that \u201cAn Ghaeltacht<\/strong>\u201d is often used collectively, to incorporate all the Irish-speaking areas<\/p>\n

na Gaeltachta\u00ed<\/strong>, the Gaeltachta\u00ed: mapa\u00ed de na Gaeltachta\u00ed<\/strong><\/p>\n

na nGaeltachta\u00ed<\/strong>, of the Gaeltachta\u00ed: daonra na nGaeltachta\u00ed<\/strong><\/p>\n

Likewise, we have \u201cbeannacht<\/strong>\u201d (blessing):<\/p>\n

an bheannacht, na beannachta, na beannachta\u00ed, na mbeannachta\u00ed<\/strong><\/p>\n

Finally, to tie several of these words together: An itear raca uaineola sna Gaeltachta\u00ed ar Dhomhnach C\u00e1sca n\u00f3 an fearr le muintir na Gaeltachta ceibeabanna uaineola?\u00a0 <\/strong>Not that there\u2019s really a specific answer to that question, it\u2019s just a good way to practice plurals and genitives.<\/p>\n

Ceibeabanna!<\/strong>\u00a0 Hmmm, blasta!<\/strong>\u00a0 And perhaps a nice intro to 4th<\/sup>-declension nouns, when we get there, blag n\u00f3 dh\u00f3 s\u00edos an b\u00f3thar.\u00a0 \u00a0SGF \u00f3 R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/strong><\/p>\n

Freagra\u00ed: bandia<\/strong>, m., and banphrionsa<\/strong>, m.<\/p>\n

Gluais: aontaigh, <\/strong>agree; Cathair Alastair<\/strong>, Alexandria (Egypt); daonra<\/strong>, population; fearr<\/strong>, better; itear<\/strong>, is eaten; mairteoil<\/strong>, beef; \u00f3ige<\/strong>, youth<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn) Two words that pertain to Easter conveniently fit our next category of nouns, an tr\u00ed\u00fa d\u00edochlaonadh (the third declension).\u00a0 One is the word \u201cC\u00e1isc\u201d itself, and the other is \u201cuaineoil.\u201d As you may recall, before we took our \u201cSos P\u00f3nair\u00ed Gl\u00f3tha\u00ed\u201d and \u201cSos C\u00e1sca,\u201d we had gotten through the first two declensions 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":[460707,11946,306085,9037,4302,460710,4525,359273,95147,32975,365028,365029,4644,4907,7372,3167,2906,5170,1083,460709,316242,111432,2993,96706,111434],"class_list":["post-804","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-irish-language","tag-alastair","tag-alexandria","tag-bandia","tag-banphrionsa","tag-beannacht","tag-break","tag-caisc","tag-caoireoil","tag-case","tag-cathair","tag-ceibeab","tag-ceibeabanna","tag-chaisc","tag-daonra","tag-declension","tag-easter","tag-feminine","tag-feoil","tag-genitive","tag-itear","tag-jellybean","tag-mairteoil","tag-masculine","tag-third","tag-uaineoil"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/804","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=804"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/804\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8275,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/804\/revisions\/8275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}