{"id":9146,"date":"2017-04-16T05:23:51","date_gmt":"2017-04-16T05:23:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=9146"},"modified":"2020-03-05T10:57:33","modified_gmt":"2020-03-05T10:57:33","slug":"an-irish-vocabulary-guide-for-gwyneth-wynns-mici-ar-an-bportach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/an-irish-vocabulary-guide-for-gwyneth-wynns-mici-ar-an-bportach\/","title":{"rendered":"An Irish Vocabulary Guide for Gwyneth Wynn’s ‘Mic\u00ed ar an bPortach’"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

One of my favorite Irish children’s books is Mic\u00ed ar an bPortach<\/em> by Gwyneth Wynn (An G\u00fam, 1998, ISBN 1-85791-226-8).\u00a0 Since some of you might also enjoy reading it, I thought I supply a little glossary to go with the story.\u00a0 While most of the vocabulary is pretty basic, there are some words which are not so everyday, at least not in many of our lives in the year 2017.\u00a0 \u00a0Most of these have to do specifically with “an portach<\/strong>” and “an mh\u00f3in<\/strong>,” but some are more general.<\/p>\n

The book is not “roinnte ina leathanaigh<\/strong>” (paginated), but I’m supplying uimhreacha leathanaigh<\/strong>, so it will be easier to find the words<\/p>\n

leathanach 1: triomach maith<\/strong>, good dry weather, clearly related to “tirim<\/strong>,” “triom\u00fa<\/strong>,” etc.\u00a0 “Triomach<\/strong>” also can mean “drought,” as in “frithsheasmhach in aghaidh triomaigh<\/strong>” (drought-resistant) or “An L\u00e1 Domhanda um Ghaineamhl\u00fa agus um Thriomach a Chomhrac<\/strong>” (World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought).\u00a0 But I think “dry weather” is the better choice here, since drought itself is relatively rare in Ireland, September 2014 notwithstanding.\u00a0 M\u00ed Mhe\u00e1n F\u00f3mhair 2014<\/strong>?\u00a0 F\u00e9ach an t-alt<\/strong> “Ireland’s ‘absolute drought’ breaks records for September” san<\/strong> Irish Times<\/em> (nasc th\u00edos<\/strong>)<\/p>\n

leathanach 3: sle\u00e1n<\/strong>, turf-spade or slane; sp\u00e1d<\/strong>, spade; ag scrathadh<\/strong>, stripping the ground of sward (the grassy top surface)<\/p>\n

leathanach 5: scraite,<\/strong> (having been) stripped of sward<\/p>\n

leathanach 7: ag scaradh<\/strong>, separating or spreading, regarding turf or hay, or in general.\u00a0 This page also has a beautiful example of a noun-adjective combination in direct address: “A Mhic\u00ed bhoicht!<\/strong>”\u00a0 As you can see, the adjective “bocht<\/strong>” is lenited (b becoming bh) and the ending is slenderized (-ocht becomes -oicht).\u00a0 So the “ch” is no longer guttural, but simply breathy.<\/p>\n

leathanach 9: ag gr\u00f3igeadh<\/strong>, “footing” in regard to turf; also, huddling, stacking.<\/p>\n

leathanach 11: cruach bhre\u00e1 mh\u00f3na<\/strong>, a fine stack of turf (with hundreds of sods)<\/p>\n

leathanach 13: gr\u00f3ige\u00e1n<\/strong>, a small stack of turf, typically five or six sods, propped up against each other, almost vertically, so they dry.\u00a0 This page also has “teach\u00edn<\/strong>,” which means “little house,” as does “tig\u00edn,<\/strong>” which we have discussed in other entries in this blog.<\/p>\n

leathanach 15:<\/strong> another nice phrase in the vocative, “A ghaidhr\u00edn uasail!<\/strong>” The word “gaidhr\u00edn<\/strong>” is a diminutive of “gadhar<\/strong>,” so the phrase means “O noble little dog!” \u00a0\u00a0Did I mention that Mic\u00ed is a dog?\u00a0 Bhuel, ‘sea, is madra \u00e9<\/strong>.\u00a0 And both he and Teid\u00ed, an pr\u00edomhcharachtar eile<\/strong>, are quite antrapamorfach<\/strong>, speaking perfect Irish, sitting up to eat ceapair\u00ed<\/strong>, and in the case of Teid\u00ed, resting his slippered feet on a c\u00fais\u00edn gl\u00fan<\/strong>, after a long day’s work.<\/p>\n

leathanach 17: go mbainfeadh seisean an gr\u00f3ige\u00e1n an\u00edos<\/strong>, that he would take the stack down.\u00a0 “Bain<\/strong>,” as you may know, means many things in Irish including the following: extract, dig out, reap, harvest, and, in specific contexts, mine, strike, mow, win, get to\/reach, take, shorten\/reduce, concern, involve, appease and pacify.<\/p>\n

leathanach 19: corr-n\u00e9al<\/strong>, an occasional nap<\/p>\n

leathanach 21: ag creathadh leis an bhfuacht<\/strong>, shaking with the cold<\/p>\n

leathanach 23: gr\u00f3igthe,<\/strong> (having been) stacked<\/p>\n

Sin \u00e9!<\/strong><\/p>\n

I was always intrigued that a woman with such a Welsh name as Gwyneth Wynn wrote a book in Irish.\u00a0 An bhfuil Breatnais aici<\/strong>?\u00a0 N\u00edl a fhios agam<\/strong>.\u00a0 But I do see in the “tiomn\u00fa<\/strong>” that she is the daughter-in-law of C\u00f3il\u00edn Tom \u00d3 Gaora, and she mentions Scoil N\u00e1isi\u00fanta an Ghoirt Mh\u00f3ir, presumably the school near Ros Muc.\u00a0 Wynn has certainly captured the feel of the traditional work of digging, spreading, “footing,” and transporting turf. \u00a0Anyone here know anything more about her?<\/p>\n

BTW, an interesting aspect of this book is that there is apparently no English version, which means there’s all the more incentive to keep working on one’s Irish! \u00a0Ar aghaidh leat! \u00a0SGF — R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nasc:<\/strong> \u00a0Ireland\u2019s \u2018absolute drought\u2019 breaks records for September \/ Driest day since 1933 recorded in Donegal, Thu, Oct 2, 2014, 15:59\u00a0Updated:\u00a0Thu, Oct 2, 2014, 16:22, http:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/news\/environment\/ireland-s-absolute-drought-breaks-records-for-september-1.1949563<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn) One of my favorite Irish children’s books is Mic\u00ed ar an bPortach by Gwyneth Wynn (An G\u00fam, 1998, ISBN 1-85791-226-8).\u00a0 Since some of you might also enjoy reading it, I thought I supply a little glossary to go with the story.\u00a0 While most of the vocabulary is pretty basic, there are some words…<\/p>\n

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