{"id":8911,"date":"2017-02-11T11:38:36","date_gmt":"2017-02-11T11:38:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=8911"},"modified":"2017-02-28T15:19:17","modified_gmt":"2017-02-28T15:19:17","slug":"ce-mhead-sneachta-asking-how-much-snow-in-irish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/ce-mhead-sneachta-asking-how-much-snow-in-irish\/","title":{"rendered":"C\u00e9 Mh\u00e9ad Sneachta? Asking “How Much Snow” in Irish"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Bean ag breathn\u00fa ar shneachta — an bhfuil s\u00ed ag amharc tr\u00ed cheamara n\u00f3 tr\u00ed dh\u00e9sh\u00failigh?\u00a0(grafaic: http:\/\/publicdomainarchive.com\/public-domain-images-winter-snow-red-jacket\/)<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

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

Depending on where you live, this may be the time of year for talking about how much snow (sneachta<\/strong>) has fallen in your area.\u00a0 Or how much is on the ground.\u00a0 Or how much will fall, according to the weather forecast (de r\u00e9ir r\u00e9amhaisn\u00e9is na haimsire<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

So we’ll try a few sentences and questions related to snowfall.\u00a0 We’ll do a few with the word “orlach<\/strong>” (inch) in the answer, for the benefit of Irish speakers in the US, and a few with the word “ceintim\u00e9adar<\/strong>” (centimeter), for people elsewhere.<\/p>\n

There are, of course, two remaining countries that also use inches and feet for measuring, besides the US, but I don’t think there’s much need to talk about snow in those two locations.\u00a0 An bhfuil a fhios agat c\u00e9n t\u00edortha iad?\u00a0 Freagra\u00ed th\u00edos.<\/strong><\/p>\n

First we’ll do a few examples and then a few questions with a blank for you to fill in the answer.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. C\u00e9 mh\u00e9ad sneachta a thit ar\u00e9ir?<\/strong> How much snow fell last night? Dh\u00e1 orlach<\/strong>.\u00a0 Two inches.<\/li>\n
  2. C\u00e9 mh\u00e9ad sneachta a thit ar maidin<\/strong>? How much snow fell this morning? Ceithre cheintim\u00e9adar<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
  3. C\u00e9 mh\u00e9ad sneachta a thiteoidh anocht<\/strong>? How much snow will fall tonight? Ocht n-orla\u00ed<\/strong>.\u00a0 Eight inches.<\/li>\n
  4. C\u00e9 mh\u00e9ad sneachta a thiteoidh am\u00e1rach<\/strong>? How much snow will fall tomorrow? Deich gceintim\u00e9adar<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    You may have noticed that an additional change happens to the word “orlach<\/strong>” when we say “ocht n-orla\u00ed<\/strong>.”\u00a0 First, we have the added “n-,” which we would have for anything we’re counting eight of (ocht n-or\u00e1iste, ocht n-\u00fall<\/strong>).\u00a0 Same thing also applies to 7 (seacht n-\u00fall<\/strong>), 9 (naoi n-\u00fall<\/strong>), and 10 (deich n-\u00fall<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

    But there’s an additional point to keep in mind.\u00a0 The word “orlach<\/strong>” is one of the traditional “unit of measurement” words that use a special form for counting.\u00a0 While most nouns in Irish stay singular after a number (like “tr\u00ed mhadra, ceithre chat<\/strong>, three dogs, four cats, lit. “three dog,” “four cat”), some of the special units of measurements use a plural form (seacht seachtain\u00ed<\/strong>) and some use a genitive singular form (tr\u00ed bliana, seacht n-uaire<\/strong>).\u00a0 \u00a0The form “tr\u00ed cinn<\/strong>” (for counting units, not just heads) could be interpreted either way, since “cinn<\/strong>” can be either genitive singular, as in “tinneas cinn<\/strong>” (ache of head, i.e. headache) or plural “na cinn sin<\/strong>” (those ones).\u00a0\u00a0 For a bit more on the plural, see the note below.\u00a0 Not all of these “traditional” unit-of-measurement forms are much in active use now.\u00a0 For example, “scilling<\/strong>” would basically just be used in a historical context, or pre-1971 literature, that is for situations before “deach\u00fal\u00fa<\/strong>” (decimalization).\u00a0 Currently “pingin<\/strong>,” another traditional unit of measurement word, would be needed in Northern Ireland (tr\u00ed pingine<\/strong>, according to these guidelines, but some people also say, “tr\u00ed phingin<\/strong>“); in the Republic of Ireland, “euro<\/strong>” and “ceint<\/strong>” are used, not “punt<\/strong>” and “pingin<\/strong>.”<\/p>\n

    Having said all that, I’d add there seems to be a wide variety of usage in this area, not just for “pingin<\/strong>.”\u00a0 The system I’ve just described is what I first learned but I’ve heard many speakers count these units of measurement as if they were regular nouns.<\/p>\n

    Here are some samples to fill in.\u00a0 The first few answers are prompted, and the exact answer is given below. \u00a0For the last few questions, the answers will vary according to your interpretation, but if you want to double-check your answers from a grammar viewpoint, please feel free to write in and ask for confirmation.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. C\u00e9 mh\u00e9ad sneachta a thit ar\u00e9ir<\/strong>? ____________ (10 inches).<\/li>\n
    2. C\u00e9 mh\u00e9ad sneachta a thiteoidh am\u00e1rach<\/strong>? _____________ (10 centimeters)<\/li>\n
    3. C\u00e9 mh\u00e9ad sneachta at\u00e1 ar an talamh i do cheantar anois<\/strong>? _______________<\/li>\n
    4. C\u00e9 mh\u00e9ad sneachta a thiteann ar bharr Shliabh Kilimanjaro in aghaidh na bliana? _____________ (do bhar\u00fail? freagra amh\u00e1in anseo<\/strong>: https:\/\/www.climbkilimanjaroguide.com\/kilimanjaro-facts\/)<\/li>\n
    5. M\u00e1 t\u00e1 t\u00fa i do ch\u00f3na\u00ed i bhFlorida, freagair \u00e9 seo: “C\u00e9 mh\u00e9ad sneachta a thiteann in aghaidh na bliana?” _________ (do bhar\u00fail)<\/strong><\/li>\n
    6. Agus c\u00e9ard faoi Chathair Aomori , an \u00e1it is sneacht\u00fala ar domhan — c\u00e9 mh\u00e9ad sneachta a thiteann in aghaidh na bliana ansin? _____ (Do bhar\u00fail? Freagra amh\u00e1in anseo:<\/strong> http:\/\/www.hellotravel.com\/stories\/10-snowiest-places-on-earth)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      T\u00e1 s\u00fail agam gur bhain t\u00fa sult as seo agus m\u00e1 t\u00e1 t\u00fa nua don Ghaeilge, gur fhoghlaim t\u00fa c\u00fapla rud nua.\u00a0 \u00a0SGF — R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/strong><\/p>\n

      Freagra\u00ed: \u00a0An Lib\u00e9ir<\/strong> (Liberia) agus Maenmar \/ Burma<\/strong> (Myanmar \/ Burma); 5) deich n-orla\u00ed,<\/strong> 6) deich gceintim\u00e9adar<\/strong><\/p>\n

      N\u00f3ta<\/strong>: There is another plural form as well, which you may have encountered: ceanna<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0 Among other places, it shows up in some specific terms like “ceanna dubha<\/strong>” for the plant “knapweed” and “ceanna l\u00e9as<\/strong>,” which means “gleanings.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

      (le R\u00f3isl\u00edn) Depending on where you live, this may be the time of year for talking about how much snow (sneachta) has fallen in your area.\u00a0 Or how much is on the ground.\u00a0 Or how much will fall, according to the weather forecast (de r\u00e9ir r\u00e9amhaisn\u00e9is na haimsire). So we’ll try a few sentences and…<\/p>\n

      Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":8912,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3898],"tags":[474873,474871,298587,474872,376482,6864,984],"class_list":["post-8911","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-irish-language","tag-aomori-city","tag-ceintimeadar","tag-florida","tag-kilimanjaro","tag-orlach","tag-sneachta","tag-snow"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8911","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=8911"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8911\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8925,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8911\/revisions\/8925"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8912"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8911"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8911"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}