{"id":812,"date":"2011-04-27T19:16:24","date_gmt":"2011-04-27T19:16:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=812"},"modified":"2016-08-17T20:19:51","modified_gmt":"2016-08-17T20:19:51","slug":"m3-i-an-tearma-gramadai-ni-motarbhealach-ata-i-gceist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/m3-i-an-tearma-gramadai-ni-motarbhealach-ata-i-gceist\/","title":{"rendered":"M3, .i. An T\u00e9arma Gramada\u00ed (N\u00ed M\u00f3tarbhealach At\u00e1 i gCeist)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

The abbreviation \u201cM3\u201d may suggest many things to many people: m\u00f3tarbhealaigh<\/strong> (to traffic planners), sol\u00e1thar airgid<\/strong> (to financial analysts), tomhas scri\u00fa sa ch\u00f3ras m\u00e9adrach<\/strong> (to carpenters), an teanga r\u00edomhchl\u00e1r\u00fach\u00e1in<\/strong> \u00a0Modula-3 (to computer programmers), and an r\u00e9altbhraisle chruinneogach sa r\u00e9altbhu\u00edon \u201cna Madra\u00ed Fiaigh,\u201d .i. Canes Venatici<\/strong> (to astronomers), to name just a few.\u00a0 But to an and\u00faileach gramada\u00ed (mise mar shampla),<\/strong> it means only one thing \u2013 an tr\u00ed\u00fa d\u00edochlaonadh, firinscneach<\/strong> (3rd<\/sup>-declension, masculine), regarding grammatical gender.\u00a0 Likewise, “f3” usually stands for “3rd-declension, feminine.”\u00a0 That is, unless you\u2019re using an Irish-to-Irish dictionary, in which case the abbreviations are all in Irish and \u201cf3\u201d would stand for \u201cfirinscneach, tr\u00ed\u00fa d\u00edochlaonadh.\u201d\u00a0 Ach \u201cf3\u201d mar \u201cfhirinscneach\u201d agus f3 mar \u201cbhaininscneach,\u201d sin \u00e1bhar blag eile!<\/strong><\/p>\n

I could have started using the abbreviations earlier in this series, but with so many other points to cover, it wasn\u2019t as critical for 1st<\/sup>– and 2nd<\/sup>-declension nouns, which are more predictable in terms of gender.\u00a0 As you may recall, sampla\u00ed tipici\u00fala<\/strong> for the first declension would be fear<\/strong> (fir<\/strong>, etc.), ni\u00fat<\/strong> (ni\u00fait<\/strong>, etc.) and cise\u00e1n<\/strong> (cise\u00e1in<\/strong>, etc.), all masculine in gender.\u00a0 The second declension is almost entirely feminine, with the two prominent exceptions I described a couple of blogs ago.\u00a0 Sampla\u00ed tipici\u00fala<\/strong> for the second declension, feminine, would be ubh<\/strong> (uibhe<\/strong>, etc.) and cos<\/strong> (coise<\/strong>, etc.).\u00a0 As for the 2nd<\/sup>-declension masculine ones, anyone remember the two examples I provided?\u00a0 Leid<\/strong>: think \u201ct\u00f3sta<\/strong>\u201d and \u201cgCuillinn<\/strong> aka Gullion\u201d (not \u201cslumgullion,\u201d just \u201cGullion,\u201d which of course is capitalized here since it\u2019s a part of a place name.).\u00a0 Freagra\u00ed th\u00edos (1)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The full set of abbreviations is: m1, f2, m2 (rare), m3, f3, m4, f4, m5, f5, and then the irregulars.\u00a0 Since the abbreviation usually follows the noun it describes in a dictionary entry, it is, in fact, usually lower-case.\u00a0 But using it as the title of this blog required capitalizing it, triggering all the other associations.\u00a0 But I still have one more reason to indulge in all those other M3 terms, which will either be at the end of today\u2019s blog or coming up.\u00a0 Ach ar dt\u00fas, an ghramadach!<\/strong><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve already dealt with some of the \u201cf3\u201d nouns (C\u00e1isc, uaineoil, feoil, Gaeltacht, srl<\/strong>.), so now we\u2019ll look at some \u201cm3\u201d ones.\u00a0 These include lots of occupational terms, so let\u2019s start there.<\/p>\n

an t-aisteoir<\/strong>, the actor.\u00a0 Remember the \u201ct-\u201c is added since the noun is masculine, singular, and begins with a vowel.\u00a0 That \u201ct-\u201c prefix isn\u2019t really a declension feature, but more a \u201cdefinite-article\u201d feature, if we have to label them.<\/p>\n

an aisteora: “ti\u00fad” an aisteora<\/strong>, the actor\u2019s \u201ctude,\u201d (OK, beag\u00e1n<\/strong> trendy, ach c\u00e9n dochar, is teanga bheo \u00ed<\/strong>).\u00a0 Typical of 3rd<\/sup>-declension nouns, we add a final \u201c-a\u201d for the tuiseal ginideach<\/strong>.\u00a0 This requires dropping the \u201ci\u201d before the \u201cr,\u201d for the sake of vowel harmony, so \u201caisteoir<\/strong>\u201d becomes \u201caisteora<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

aisteoir\u00ed<\/strong>, actors.\u00a0 Go minic b\u00edonn aisteoir\u00ed ag obair mar fhreastalaithe freisin<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

na haisteoir\u00ed<\/strong>, the actors.\u00a0 T\u00e1 na haisteoir\u00ed sa seomra sosa (<\/strong>aka seomra sc\u00edthe <\/strong>aka seomra glas, <\/strong>even though I would have thought the last \u201caka\u201d should be \u201cseomra uaine,\u201d ach sc\u00e9al na ndathanna \u201cglas\u201d agus \u201cuaine,\u201d sin sc\u00e9al eile!)<\/strong><\/p>\n

na n-aisteoir\u00ed<\/strong>, of the actors.\u00a0 Seo cultacha na n-aisteoir\u00ed.<\/strong><\/p>\n

An example with the \u201c-\u00f3ir\u201d ending: fiacl\u00f3ir<\/strong><\/p>\n

an fiacl\u00f3ir<\/strong>, the dentist: T\u00e1 an fiacl\u00f3ir san oifig.<\/strong><\/p>\n

an fhiacl\u00f3ra<\/strong>, of the dentist: druilire m\u00f3r scanr\u00fail an fhiacl\u00f3ra<\/strong><\/p>\n

na fiacl\u00f3ir\u00ed<\/strong>, the dentists: T\u00e1 na fiacl\u00f3ir\u00ed sna hoifig\u00ed seo.<\/strong><\/p>\n

na bhfiacl\u00f3ir\u00ed<\/strong>, of the dentists: druilir\u00ed m\u00f3ra scanr\u00fala na bhfiacl\u00f3ir\u00ed<\/strong><\/p>\n

Other m3 occupational terms include:<\/p>\n

ban-aisteoir, an ban-aisteoir, an bhan-aisteora, na ban-aisteoir\u00ed, na mban-aisteoir\u00ed<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

bainisteoir, an bainisteoir, an bhainisteora, na bainisteoir\u00ed, na mbainisteoir\u00ed<\/strong><\/p>\n

P\u00e9ire maith do dheacht\u00fa i rang f\u00f3ineola\u00edochta, an d\u00e1 fhocal sin thuas!\u00a0 T\u00e1 n\u00f3ta f\u00fathu th\u00edos.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

grianghrafad\u00f3ir: an grianghrafad\u00f3ir, an ghrianghrafad\u00f3ra, na grianghrafad\u00f3ir\u00ed, na ngrianghrafad\u00f3ir\u00ed\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Could I call this next batch a sort of \u2018non-human interface\u201d with the concept, or at least with the paradigm?\u00a0 I\u2019m not really sure about the \u201cinterface\u201d part. but I\u2019ve always liked the term.\u00a0 In a nutshell, fearais, meais\u00edn\u00ed, gi\u00fairl\u00e9id\u00ed agus a leith\u00e9id\u00ed:<\/strong><\/p>\n

cuisneoir, an cuisneoir, doras an chuisneora, na cuisneoir\u00ed, na gcuisneoir\u00ed<\/strong><\/p>\n

uairead\u00f3ir<\/strong>, an t-uairead\u00f3ir<\/strong> (t-prefix b\/c n m sg V_), an uairead\u00f3ra<\/strong>.\u00a0 That glafaireacht (b\u00e9arlagair) idir l\u00faib\u00edn\u00ed<\/strong> is a short-cut way to say \u201cadd the t-prefix because the noun is masculine, singular and begins with a vowel).\u00a0 All of which, as you may have noticed, went away sa tuiseal ginideach<\/strong> (ever think you\u2019d be grateful for an tuiseal ginideach<\/strong>?), where we resume the normal initial vowel \u201cu.\u201d\u00a0 Again, none of that t-prefix bit pertains to d\u00edochlaonadh<\/strong> as such, just to inscne, uimhir (ghramad\u00fail), agus litri\u00fa<\/strong>.\u00a0 Anyway, here\u2019s the plural, before this n\u00f3ta tr\u00e1chta<\/strong> becomes longer than the rest of the blog itself: na huairead\u00f3ir\u00ed, na n-uairead\u00f3ir\u00ed<\/strong>.\u00a0 More r\u00e9im\u00edreanna<\/strong> there, obviously (h- and n-) but they\u2019ll have to wait for blag \u00e9igin eile.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

And now, one of my favorites, \u201cpriosl\u00f3ir<\/strong>\u201d (which we\u2019ll distinguish from a \u201cbeibe<\/strong>\u201d below).\u00a0 But I promise you, I didn\u2019t start this whole series just to talk about priosl\u00f3ir\u00ed<\/strong>.\u00a0 It\u2019s just a linguistic perk.\u00a0 Suim agat<\/strong> droichead i mBruicl\u00edn a cheannach?<\/strong><\/p>\n

priosl\u00f3ir: an priosl\u00f3ir, an phriosl\u00f3ra, na priosl\u00f3ir\u00ed, na bpriosl\u00f3ir\u00ed<\/strong><\/p>\n

It means \u201ca dribbling bib.\u201d\u00a0 Not a bib that dribbles, but a bib to catch dribbles.\u00a0 That is to say, a baby\u2019s bib, or sometimes a bib as part of some industrial uniform (not that I see much evidence of the latter being discussed in Irish.\u00a0 Tagairt\u00ed ag duine ar bith<\/strong>?).<\/p>\n

The subtle distinction between priosl\u00f3ir\u00ed <\/strong>and beib\u00ed <\/strong>(or bib\u00ed<\/strong>) seems to be slowly fading.\u00a0 We can see this in two of my favorite Irish language picture books for very young children, which use \u201cbibe<\/strong>,\u201d not \u201cpriosl\u00f3ir<\/strong>.\u201d\u00a0 Of course, \u201cbibe<\/strong>\u201d is a nice familiar simple word, 4th<\/sup>-declensions even, which means no separate endings for an tuiseal ginideach<\/strong>!\u00a0 And so it\u2019s probably the more practical choice for such publications.\u00a0 The two books are still great resources though, and among my favorites: 100 Focal Tosaigh do do bhaba\u00ed<\/em><\/strong>, le<\/strong> Edwina Riddell (leagan Gaeilge leis an nG\u00fam), agus Aib\u00edtir na Gaeilge<\/em>, le Helen \u00d3 Murch\u00fa (Comhar na M\u00fainteoir\u00ed Gaeilge).\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

So what is the traditional meaning of \u201cbibe\u201d<\/strong> or \u201cbeibe\u201d?\u00a0 <\/strong>Last time you wore one was probably the last time you (ladies) wore your best \u201cbib and tucker.\u201d\u00a0 Actually, I don\u2019t think anyone would wear both a traditional \u201cbib\u201d and a \u201ctucker\u201d at the same time.\u00a0 They\u2019d overlap..\u00a0 A \u201ctucker\u201d is a \u201cchemisette\u201d (love that word!) or, in Irish, \u201c\u00e9adach br\u00e1d,\u201d <\/strong>meaning \u201cneck cloth.\u201d\u00a0 Literally (of course there\u2019s a difference in word order), it\u2019s \u201ccloth of neck,\u201d since \u201cbr\u00e1d<\/strong>\u201d is sa tuiseal ginideach<\/strong>.\u00a0 And of course, \u201cbr\u00e1id\u201d <\/strong>isn\u2019t the most basic word for \u201cneck,\u201d that would be \u201cmuine\u00e1l.\u201d\u00a0 <\/strong>The astute observers among you might be wondering, br\u00e1id, br\u00e1d, <\/strong>what\u2019s going on there?\u00a0 C\u00e9n d\u00edochlaonadh?<\/strong>\u00a0 Don\u2019t panic!\u00a0 It\u2019s a category we haven\u2019t gotten up to yet, former 5th<\/sup>-declension, now typically considered \u201cneamhrialta.\u201d\u00a0 <\/strong>A \u201cbeibe\u201d <\/strong>or \u201cbibe\u201d <\/strong>in Irish is similar to a \u201ctucker,\u201d a traditional a woman\u2019s garment, worn around the neck and shoulders for warmth or modesty.\u00a0 As with English \u201cbib,\u201d it can also be used for an apron top<\/p>\n

There\u2019s actually more \u201cbib\u201d terminology in Irish, if you\u2019re interested, so maybe that will become \u00e1bhar blag eile<\/strong>.\u00a0 If I could actually find some full-fledged histories of the topic, I could even offer you a \u201cbib-liography,\u201d but I have feeling the data will be somewhat more limited\u00a0\u00a0 Fun though!<\/p>\n

Anyway, priosl\u00f3ir<\/strong> is from \u201cpriosl\u00e1il<\/strong>\u201d (to dribble from the chin); prisl\u00edn<\/strong> is \u201cslobber\u201d itself (ah, I see the abairt\u00ed faoi R\u00f3tvaidhl\u00e9ir\u00ed<\/strong> coming up in future blog!), and priosl\u00e1lta (<\/strong>or priosl\u00e1ilte)<\/strong> is a somewhat obscure adjective meaning \u201ccovered with dribbles\u201d or \u201cdirty\u201d (as in \u201cdirty weather\u201d).\u00a0 So I guess the priosl\u00f3ir<\/strong> itself could be priosl\u00e1lta<\/strong> depending on degree of the activity of the priosl\u00e1la\u00ed<\/strong> (dribbler).<\/p>\n

Returning to our initial paragraph, the exercise in imdheal\u00fa d\u00e9bhr\u00edochta<\/strong>, and speaking of disambiguating the term M3, I can\u2019t help but notice the delightful tidbit of information offered up by \u201cPathetic Motorways\u201d at http:\/\/pathetic.org.uk\/<\/a>. \u00a0This site describes secretive, lost, former, unbuilt, and otherwise odd motorways, and non-motorways (well, road-type non-motorways; I guess anything other than a motorway could qualify as a non-motorway).\u00a0 Apparently a stretch of road totaling 0.8 mi in length (1.3 km) has its own motorway designation, M3.\u00a0 An bhfuil a fhios agat c\u00e1 bhfuil s\u00e9?\u00a0 Leid: i dTuaisceart \u00c9ireann<\/strong>, which has its own series of \u201cM\u201d designations, separate from those sa R\u00edocht Aontaithe<\/strong>.\u00a0 Freagra th\u00edos (2). <\/strong><\/p>\n

Hoping my discussion of \u201cpriosl\u00e1il<\/strong>\u201d (dribbling) hasn\u2019t turned into sheer \u201cpriosla<\/strong>\u201d (drivel, yes, the words are related, both in Irish and in English), sgf \u00f3 R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/strong><\/p>\n

N\u00f3ta: ban-aisteoir<\/strong> [BAHN-ASH-chorzh<\/sup>], actress vs. bainisteoir [BAN-ish-chorzh<\/sup>], manager.\u00a0 The first one (ban-aisteoir<\/strong>) gets equal stress on the first two syllables since it\u2019s a compound word, with \u201cban<\/strong>\u201d as the feminizing prefix.<\/p>\n

Freagra\u00ed 1: im<\/strong> (butter), sliabh<\/strong> (mountain, as in Sliabh gCuillinn<\/strong>, which is Slieve Gullion in English)<\/p>\n

Freagra 2: T\u00e1 an M3 seo idir an M2 agus Seachbhealach Shuideanam <\/strong>(Sydenham Bypass) agus is \u00e9 an m\u00f3tarbhealach is gaire i dTuaisceart \u00c9ireann \u00e9<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Gluais: and\u00faileach<\/strong>, addict, fiend; c\u00f3ras<\/strong>, system; cruinneogach<\/strong>, globular; cuisneoir<\/strong>, refrigerator; fiaigh<\/strong>, of hunting; grianghraf<\/strong>, photograph; i gceist<\/strong>, involved, at issue, lit. in question, but not with the implication of doubt or interrogation; r\u00e9altbhraisle<\/strong>, star cluster; r\u00e9altbhu\u00edon<\/strong>, constellation; scanr\u00fail<\/strong>, scary; sol\u00e1thar<\/strong>, supply; tomhas<\/strong>, size; uairead\u00f3ir<\/strong>, watch (n)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn) The abbreviation \u201cM3\u201d may suggest many things to many people: m\u00f3tarbhealaigh (to traffic planners), sol\u00e1thar airgid (to financial analysts), tomhas scri\u00fa sa ch\u00f3ras m\u00e9adrach (to carpenters), an teanga r\u00edomhchl\u00e1r\u00fach\u00e1in \u00a0Modula-3 (to computer programmers), and an r\u00e9altbhraisle chruinneogach sa r\u00e9altbhu\u00edon \u201cna Madra\u00ed Fiaigh,\u201d .i. Canes Venatici (to astronomers), to name just a few.\u00a0 But…<\/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":[460692,4033,111082,460766,460764,460758,460757,460760,4525,460765,460767,7372,460752,460759,332142,9502,2906,5170,460763,111083,5307,275724,9501,2993,332139,460751,460748,460750,460756,460749,460754,460753,460755,460761,111434,460762,7223,7226,169],"class_list":["post-812","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-irish-language","tag-3rd","tag-aisteoir","tag-baininscneach","tag-bainisteoir","tag-ban-aisteoir","tag-beibe","tag-bib","tag-brad","tag-caisc","tag-cuisneoir","tag-deachtu","tag-declension","tag-dirty","tag-dribble","tag-dribbler","tag-f3","tag-feminine","tag-feoil","tag-fiacloir","tag-firinscneach","tag-gaeltacht","tag-grianghrafadoir","tag-m3","tag-masculine","tag-prioslail","tag-prioslailte","tag-prioslalai","tag-prioslalta","tag-priosloir","tag-prislin","tag-rotvaidhleir","tag-rotvaidhleiri","tag-slobber","tag-tucker","tag-uaineoil","tag-uaireadoir","tag-ubh","tag-uibhe","tag-weather"],"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