{"id":9902,"date":"2017-11-30T06:16:48","date_gmt":"2017-11-30T06:16:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=9902"},"modified":"2017-12-10T07:17:19","modified_gmt":"2017-12-10T07:17:19","slug":"an-lorg-sa-sneachta-the-track-in-the-snow-snow-angels-and-more-in-irish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/an-lorg-sa-sneachta-the-track-in-the-snow-snow-angels-and-more-in-irish\/","title":{"rendered":"An Lorg sa Sneachta (The Track in the Snow): Snow Angels and More in Irish"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\"\"<\/a>

Photo: By U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters (pheasant snow angel) [CC BY 2.0 (http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/2.0) or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons; https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/6\/6a\/Pheasant_snow_angel_%2823101508599%29.jpg<\/a>; A snow angel left by a pheasant (Phasianidae) in Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge (Montana). Photo by Paula Gouse, USFWS; T\u00e9acs Gaeilge le R\u00f3isl\u00edn, 2017<\/em><\/p><\/div>This may be the time of year when adults (daoine f\u00e1sta<\/strong>) and children (p\u00e1ist\u00ed<\/strong>) alike enjoy making snow angels (aingil shneachta<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

I haven’t found the term “aingeal sneachta<\/strong>” in an Irish dictionary so far, but it seems to be quite a straightforward combination.\u00a0 And I did find one (just one!) hit for the plural form (aingil shneachta<\/strong>) in a charming collection of student essays on the theme of “Tubaiste ar Scoil<\/strong>,” written by students in Rang a S\u00e9 at Scoil Raifteir\u00ed in November, 2015 (M\u00ed na Samhna, 2015<\/strong>), for which the nasc<\/strong> is th\u00edos<\/strong>.\u00a0 One of the students finished her essay by stating “… thosaigh siad ag d\u00e9anamh fir shneachta agus aingil shneachta<\/strong>.”<\/p>\n

“Fir shneachta<\/strong>,” of course, are three-dimensional (tr\u00edthoiseach<\/strong>) while “aingil shneachta<\/strong>” are two-dimensional (d\u00e9thoiseach<\/strong>).\u00a0 But both words are good examples of the “lenition-of- adjectives-or-attributive-nouns-following-masculine-plural-nouns-with-slender-endings rule,” that is the rule that has us say “b\u00e1id bheaga<\/strong>,” instead of using “beaga<\/strong>.”<\/p>\n

Fir shneachta<\/strong> and aingil shneachta<\/strong> may be all well and good, but what made the snow print in the photograph above?\u00a0 Seo an freagra: pias\u00fan a rinne \u00e9<\/strong>.\u00a0 Yes, it’s a snow angel (sort of) made by a pheasant, which has left the marks of its feathers in the snow.\u00a0 Cool, nach bhfuil<\/strong>?\u00a0 And how to say “a pheasant’s snow angel” in Irish?\u00a0 “Aingeal sneachta pias\u00fain<\/strong>,” just inserting an “i” before the final “n” of “pias\u00fan<\/strong>.”\u00a0 And I can almost guarantee that that will not be in any focl\u00f3ir\u00ed<\/strong> (dictionaries).<\/p>\n

Maybe we should do all the forms of “aingeal sneachta<\/strong>” here, while we’re at it.\u00a0 “Fir shneachta<\/strong>” has been treated pretty thoroughly before in a previous blogpost (nasc th\u00edos<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

an t-aingeal sneachta<\/strong>, the snow angel<\/p>\n

an aingil shneachta<\/strong>, of the snow angel (m\u00e9id an aingil shneachta, the size of the snow angel)<\/p>\n

na haingil shneachta<\/strong>, the snow angels<\/p>\n

na n-aingeal sneachta<\/strong>, of the snow angels (cruthanna na n-aingeal sneachta, the shapes of the snow angels)<\/p>\n

And since “pias\u00fan<\/strong>” may be a new word for some, here are its forms:<\/p>\n

an pias\u00fan<\/strong>, the pheasant<\/p>\n

an phias\u00fain<\/strong>, of the pheasant (dathanna an phias\u00fain, the colors of the pheasant)<\/p>\n

na pias\u00fain<\/strong>, the pheasants<\/p>\n

na bpias\u00fan<\/strong>, of the pheasants (dathanna na bpias\u00fan, the colors of the pheasants)<\/p>\n

Speaking of angels (aingil<\/strong>), here are few other angel terms (t\u00e9arma\u00ed aingil<\/strong>) that might be of interest:<\/p>\n

guardian or ministering angel: aingeal coimhdeachta<\/strong><\/p>\n

recording angel: aingeal an chuntais<\/strong>, a different term from “guardian angel,” although their traditional functions are somewhat overlapping.<\/p>\n

the Angelus bell: clog an aingil<\/strong><\/p>\n

There is an interesting proverb about angels in English, “Talk of angels and you will hear the flutter of their wings,” but its equivalent in Irish is quite different: “Tagann<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>gach<\/strong> aon\u00a0<\/strong>rud<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>lena<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>iomr\u00e1<\/strong>\u00a0(<\/strong>ach<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>an<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>madra<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>rua<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>agus<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>an<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>marbh\u00e1nach<\/strong>)<\/em>,” lit. Everything comes when it is spoken of (or more specifically, “with its mentioning”), except the fox and the corpse.\u00a0 As you can see, it’s not an exact translation at all.\u00a0 Even more intriguingly, the same Irish proverb may also be translated with reference to the devil.\u00a0\u00a0 Of course, the devil as such isn’t mentioned in the Irish version, any more than angels are.<\/p>\n

As an adjective, we have the following:<\/p>\n

aingl\u00ed<\/strong>, angelic<\/p>\n

ceirib\u00edneach<\/strong>, angelic, cherubic (from ceirib\u00edn<\/strong>, cherubim, frequently linked to the seraphim, na saraif\u00edn\u00ed<\/strong>, which are the six-winged angels)<\/p>\n

The “angelfish” though, isn’t angelic in Irish.\u00a0 It’s a “br\u00e1thair<\/strong>,” (lit. brother), a word usually reserved for “brother” in the religious sense (as opposed to “dearth\u00e1ir<\/strong>,” the ordinary kinship term).\u00a0 So, what’s the “monkfish,” then?\u00a0 Rather inexplicably, it’s “l\u00e1imh\u00edneach<\/strong>.”\u00a0 But there is also the “angel shark,” which, confusingly is also known as “br\u00e1thair<\/strong>” and is called “anglait<\/strong>,” as well.<\/p>\n

Well, that seems to have taken us on an interesting tour of Irish vocabulary: aingeal, anglait, br\u00e1thair, ceirib\u00edn, clog, daoine f\u00e1sta, fear, iomr\u00e1, l\u00e1imh\u00edneach, madra rua, marbh\u00e1nach, p\u00e1ist\u00ed, pias\u00fan, saraif\u00edn<\/strong>, and, our main and seasonal theme, sneachta<\/strong>.\u00a0 I hope you found it interesting.\u00a0 SGF–R\u00f3isl\u00edn <\/strong><\/p>\n

nasc don alt le mic l\u00e9inn \u00f3 Scoil Raifteir\u00ed<\/strong>: http:\/\/www.scoilraifteiri.com\/aistetubaiste2015.html\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

nasc<\/strong>: Men and Christmas, specifically, \u2018Fir Shneachta\u2019 and \u2018Fir Shins\u00e9ir\u2019<\/a>Posted by\u00a0r\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/a>\u00a0on Dec 13, 2015 in\u00a0Irish Language<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn) This may be the time of year when adults (daoine f\u00e1sta) and children (p\u00e1ist\u00ed) alike enjoy making snow angels (aingil shneachta). I haven’t found the term “aingeal sneachta” in an Irish dictionary so far, but it seems to be quite a straightforward combination.\u00a0 And I did find one (just one!) hit for the…<\/p>\n

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