{"id":8525,"date":"2016-10-24T04:15:45","date_gmt":"2016-10-24T04:15:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=8525"},"modified":"2016-11-06T21:10:58","modified_gmt":"2016-11-06T21:10:58","slug":"if-the-other-grandmother-is-grandma-what-irish-term-can-you-use","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/if-the-other-grandmother-is-grandma-what-irish-term-can-you-use\/","title":{"rendered":"If the other grandmother is “Grandma,” what Irish term can you use?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

Inspired by a recent comment from reader Rita C., who noted that Irish has “so many choices for Irish grandmother names,” I thought this would be a good time to review some of the terms.\u00a0\u00a0 This blogpost will deal with grandmothers, and we’ll probably have a companion piece for the grandfathers.\u00a0 Go raibh maith agat as scr\u00edobh isteach, a Rita!<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"N\u00ed<\/a>

N\u00ed h\u00ed seo mo Mham\u00f3. An \u00ed do Mham\u00f3sa \u00ed? And she’s not my meemaw or my abuela or my oma or my nonna, either!\u00a0(source: archive.org, author unknown (1860) per hubpages.com\/education\/red_riding_hood)<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

To me, one of the most interesting things about the “grandmother” and “grandfather” terms is that they are completely different from the Irish words for “grandchild,” “granddaughter,” and “grandson.” \u00a0There is no “grand-” element that’s held in common among all these words.\u00a0 For “grandmother” in the somewhat formal sense, there are three choices that we can add to “m\u00e1thair<\/strong>” (mother) to create “grandmother”: sean<\/strong>– (as a prefix), m\u00f3r<\/strong>, and cr\u00edonna<\/strong>.\u00a0 Then there are two additional choices which are more familiar and more likely to be used by children: mam\u00f3<\/strong> and m\u00f3ra\u00ed<\/strong>.\u00a0 Neither of these two words is literally “grand-” anything.<\/p>\n

So how do all of these words work in actual speech? \u00a0Here we’ll look at the actual combinations and then at the words in direct address, if you’re actually talking to “grandmother” or “grandma.”<\/p>\n

1) seanmh\u00e1thair<\/strong>, grandmother, lit. old mother<\/p>\n

“A Sheanmh\u00e1thair<\/strong>!” in direct address<\/p>\n

2) m\u00e1thair chr\u00edonna<\/strong>, grandmother, lit. wise mother<\/p>\n

“A Mh\u00e1thair chr\u00edonna<\/strong>!” in direct address<\/p>\n

3) m\u00e1thair mh\u00f3r<\/strong>, grandmother, lit. great or large mother.\u00a0 “M\u00f3r<\/strong>” can also be translated as “grand,” but it’s not “grand” as in the typical sense of “fine” or “elegant.”\u00a0 Those would be “bre\u00e1<\/strong>” (fine) or “gal\u00e1nta<\/strong>” (elegant, stylish, genteel)<\/p>\n

“A Mh\u00e1thair mh\u00f3r<\/strong>!” in direct address<\/p>\n

The remaining two terms are more like saying “grandma,” or “granny,” or “nan,” or “nana.”<\/p>\n

4) mam\u00f3<\/strong> [say: mahm-OH], based on “mam<\/strong>” (mom, mum, mother), a parallel term to “daideo<\/strong>” for “granddad.”<\/p>\n

“A Mham\u00f3<\/strong>!” [uh wahm-OH] in direct address<\/p>\n

This is the term used in the charming children’s book, Bran agus a Mham\u00f3<\/strong><\/em>, the Irish translation of Spot Loves his Grandma<\/em>, by Eric Hill.\u00a0 “Bran” is a classic dog’s name in Irish and so replaces “Spot” for the puppy.<\/p>\n

Another spelling for is word is “Maimeo<\/strong>,” with “A Mhaimeo<\/strong>” for direct address.<\/p>\n

5) m\u00f3ra\u00ed<\/strong> [say: MORR-ee, with the “R” flapped (lightly trilled) as we also find in “N\u00f3ra<\/strong>” or “clocha m\u00f3ra<\/strong>.”<\/p>\n

“A Mh\u00f3ra\u00ed<\/strong>!” [uh WOR-ee] in direct address<\/p>\n

If children are being raised Irish-speaking, the direct address forms would be natural.\u00a0 If the children are being raised English-speaking, words like “Mam\u00f3<\/strong>” and “M\u00f3ra\u00ed<\/strong>” could be treated as names, and not have the “M” to “Mh” change.\u00a0 So we might hear:<\/p>\n

“Seo bronntanas duit, a Mham\u00f3<\/strong>!”<\/p>\n

or its English equivalent:<\/p>\n

“Here’s a present for you, Mam\u00f3!”<\/p>\n

And similarly, for “M\u00f3ra\u00ed”<\/p>\n

“Nollaig shona, a Mh\u00f3ra\u00ed<\/strong>!”<\/p>\n

and its English equivalent:<\/p>\n

“Merry Christmas, M\u00f3ra\u00ed!” or “Happy Christmas, M\u00f3ra\u00ed”<\/p>\n

And getting back to “grandchild,” “granddaughter,” and “grandson,” the key word is “gar<\/strong>,” which means “near.”\u00a0 It also means “approximate,” although that sounds rather technical for talking about children.<\/p>\n

Hope this was useful.\u00a0 Over the years, I’ve gotten lots of requests for how to say “grandmother” or “grandma” in Irish, often for Irish-American families in the United States.\u00a0 This is especially true when one grandmother has already appropriated “Grandma,” as such.\u00a0 The parents want a word which reflects their Irish heritage and yet is fairly easy to say. \u00a0 SGF — R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/strong><\/p>\n

PS: To read about the fate of one of folklore’s most famous grandmothers, you might like to try “Cl\u00f3ic\u00edn Dearg<\/strong>” [Little Red Riding-hood] (Cincinnati: Another Language Press, 2001, ISBN 0922852553, which typically retails for about $2.99.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn) Inspired by a recent comment from reader Rita C., who noted that Irish has “so many choices for Irish grandmother names,” I thought this would be a good time to review some of the terms.\u00a0\u00a0 This blogpost will deal with grandmothers, and we’ll probably have a companion piece for the grandfathers.\u00a0 Go raibh…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":8527,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3898],"tags":[460884,229548,474604,4923,390786,365319,359168,359164,359166,5425,5426,359167,5434,454048,474601,6023,6024,474597,390673,474600,6138,474602,474603,474599,474598,306001],"class_list":["post-8525","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-irish-language","tag-abuela","tag-bran","tag-cloicin","tag-dearg","tag-eric-hill","tag-flapped-r","tag-gar","tag-grandchild","tag-granddaughter","tag-grandma","tag-grandmother","tag-grandson","tag-granny","tag-little-red-riding-hood","tag-mamosa","tag-mathair-chrionna","tag-mathair-mhor","tag-meemaw","tag-mhamo","tag-mhamosa","tag-morai","tag-nan","tag-nana","tag-nonna","tag-oma","tag-spot"],"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