Posts from April 2009

Karros, Carrus, and Today’s “Carr”

Posted by róislín No Comments
Apr 27 2009

  You might have noticed “carr” as a recent Word of the Day at www.transparent.com.  It could be easy to assume that this is a recent borrowing from English, dating to the era of, well, motor-cars.  Ach a mhalairt, mo chara!  (but the opposite, my friend). 

 

  The word “carr” was in use in Irish long before motor-cars hit the scene.  It originally meant what we would call a “cart” today, and could also mean a “dray” (now specifically a “drae” in Irish) or a “wagon” (which is now usually “féan” or “vaigín, the latter being “wagon,” Gaelicized.  OK, UK – “waggon” in your spelling!). 

 

  “Carr” is rarely used in Irish anymore for an actual cart; that is usually “cairrín” (as in cairrín gailf) or “cairt.”  It is sometimes used for a cart, though, in archeological references.  “Carr” also remains in some terminology for various non-motor vehicles, such as the “carr sleamhnáin” (a slide-car traditionally used in agriculture, which actually had no wheels, and more recently, a sledge or sled) and the “carr cliathánach” (jaunting- or side-car), famous around Killarney and in the film The Quiet Man.

 

  A “shopping-cart” in Irish, however, doesn’t use the word “cart,” but rather “trolley,” as in “tralaí siopadóireachta.”  “Trolley” is typically used for hand-pushed carts in both Irish and UK English.  What Americans typically call a “trolley” (“Clang! Clang! Clang! Went the Trolley,” etc.) would likely be a “trolley bus” (bus tralaí) or a “tram,” the latter being exactly the same (tram) in Irish. “Clang! Clang! Clang! Went the Tram” somehow just doesn’t cut it though – good thing that story was set in St. Louis! 

 

  All of these “carr”-related words are connected to Gaulish “karros,” which the Romans “borrowed” as “carrus,” and so have a venerable history. 

 

  There are a couple of terms for “car” in Irish that do not stem from the “karros” root:

 

  Gluaisteán: car, very literally, a moving-thing, from “gluais” (movement).  Although I used to hear and see this word more when I first got involved in Irish, its use seems to be on the decline.

 

  Mótar: as a word for “car,” also declining in use; it remains strong as the basic word for a motor.

 

  As for slang terms for “car” in Irish, there doesn’t seem to be an abundance, probably due to their relative scarcity in early 20th-century Ireland compared to America.  For any fans out there of Nancy Drew and her 1930s “roadster,” don’t be misled by the fact that the word “roadster” does show up in English-Irish dictionaries.  The definitions offered for “roadster” don’t mean any type of car at all.  Some Irish equivalents for “roadster” are “long ar ród” (a ship in a roadstead, a roadstead being a body of water!) and “bád róid” (a roadstead boat).  The other is “ródaí,” a person who roves the roads.  “Ródaí” has recently been adapted to mean a traveling broadcasting vehicle, so is a sort of “roadster,” but not in the original sense. 

 

  And for even earlier American slang, “flivver” or “jalopy,” sorry, folks, you’re on your own for that one!  Slang rarely correlates from language to language.  – Bhur mblagálaí – Róislín

Logainmneacha Ceilteacha agus Náisiúntachtaí a Dó: Celtic Place Names and Nationalities – Ireland and the Irish

Posted by róislín No Comments
Apr 24 2009

  We recently discussed the place name “Albain” (Scotland) and now will turn to ”Éire” (Ireland)..  Here are some examples of the nationality, the place name, and related phrases:   

 

  Éireannach, an Irishman or person.  This can be made feminine, “Éireannach mná,” but, the same as my experience with “Albanach mná,” most people don’t seem to bother.  The feminine form basically means “a woman Irishman.”

 

  an tÉireannach, the Irishman.  Remember the lower-case “t” from “an tAlbanach”?  Same thing applies here.  There is no dash as there would be for a lower-case generic noun like “an t-éirí “(the take-off, or literally, rising).  Note how the use of the dash is governed by capitalization, not by what the word means, since the dash disappears in the phrase “an tÉirí Amach (the Rising, as in the 1916 Easter Rising).  The full name for this event is, of course, Éirí Amach na Cásca (the Rising of “the” Easter), where both the definite article and the prefixed “t” have disappeared.  Why?  Irish only uses one definite article per phrase, so “na” covers both “Éirí Amach” and “Cásca.” 

 

  Likewise, we say, “an tÉireannachas” (the Irishness, Irish characteristics) but “Éireannachas na nGael-Mheiriceánach” (the Irishness of the Irish-Americans), with no “t.”  Of course, with another angle, we could say “Gaelachas na nGael-Mheiriceánach” but the difference between “Gaelachas” and “Éireannachas” will have to be ábhar blag eile (the subject of another blog). 

 

  The forms of the place name are:

 

  Éire: used as the subject or direct object of a sentence

 

  Éirinn: used after most prepositions, be ready for prefixes! 

 

  Éireann  or hÉireann: the possessive or genitive case form, for phrases like Banc na hÉireann (The Bank of Ireland). 

 

Seo samplaí (guess what that means!):

                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

  Is Éireannach é an t-amhránaí Daniel O’Donnell.  The singer Daniel O’Donnell is an Irishman.  . 

 

  Tá mé ag dul go hÉirinn ar mo laethe saoire.  I’m going to Ireland on my holidays.

Same prefixing of “h” after the preposition “go” as we saw with “go hAlbain.” .

 

  Cá bhfuil Baile Átha Cliath? Tá Baile Átha Cliath in Éirinn, ach tá naoi “nDublin” i Meiriceá freisin.  Where is Dublin?  Dublin is in Ireland, but there are nine Dublins in America also.  The phrase “in Éirinn” used to be written “i nÉirinn,” (and sometimes still is), showing more clearly that the “n” of “in” is an addition to the basic form “i.”  As for the nine American Dublins, I think I’ll coin an acrainm (acronym) for all these future topics: Á.B.E (ábhar blag eile).  Of course, I’ll check the acronyms lists online to make sure that isn’t already in use, but it seems unlikely.  And if so, I’ll just add to its úsáid (usage).

 

  Gaeilge na hÉireann (the Irish or Gaelic of Ireland).  This phrase would most likely be used to contrast with “Gaeilge na hAlban.”  Normally, when speaking Irish, just to say “Gaeilge” is enough, without qualifying it.  Here “Éire” has been changed to the possessive form, “na hÉireann.” The ending is now “-eann.”  As with “na hAlban,” a lower-case “h” is prefixed, again, because, this word starts with a vowel and is possessive.  The word “na” here means “of the.” 

 

  As with the Scottish example, you might wonder, “Where did the ‘the’ come from?”  Same explanation as for “na hAlban.”  “The” isn’t used in the basic form of the country’s name, Éire, but is added for the possessive.  Remember “muintir na hAlban” and “muintir na hÉireann”?  More on the other Celtic place names and nationalities i mblag eile sa tsraith seo.. – Bhur mblagálaí, Róislín

Terms for Grandchildren “as Gaeilge” (in Irish): Garmhac, Gariníon and Other Compounds with “Gar”

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Apr 21 2009

  Unlike English, where the prefix “grand-“ is used with “mother,” “father,” “parent,” “son,” “daughter,” and “child,” in Irish, there is a major shift in the qualifier used for “grandchildren.”  As you may recall from the previous blog on grandparents, there are three widely used options: seanathair / seanmháthair, athair mór / máthair mhór, and athair críonna / máthair chríonna.  These are based on the words for “old,” “big, great,” and “wise,” respectively. 

 

  That doesn’t mean that a speaker is literally thinking “old mother” or “wise father” when they use these words.  These are compound words and the combined meaning overrides the meanings of the individual parts.  Comparably, in English, we have words and phrases like “Goodbye,” which really means “God be with you,” and “on tenterhooks,” which really means “to be stretched on a tenter.”  As we use these phrases in daily life, we don’t dwell on their component parts.  In fact, do we really analyze why, in English, our parents’ parents are “grand” but our parents’ aunts and uncles, to us, are generally “great” (great-aunt, great-uncle), with some regional variation in English, of course, allowing for “grand-aunt” and “grand-uncle”?

 

  In my experience, “seanathair” and “seanmháthair” seem to be the most widely used of the Irish possibilities.  If we took the prefix “sean-,” which gives the “grand-“ element, and applied it to “páiste” (child), we would have a nearly meaningless term, “old child.”  

  

  Likewise, if you say “páiste mór,” it would be understood to mean a “big or large child,” and if you said “páiste críonna,” it would mean a “wise, prudent, or sagacious child,” perhaps an “ocsamórón,” but that’s a subject for blag eile.

 

  So clearly, none of the terms commonly used for “grandfather / grandmother,” are likely candidates to create the words “grandson” and “granddaughter” in Irish.  Instead, Irish most typically uses “gar” (near, approximate), giving us the compounds “garmhac” and “gariníon.”  Be advised, though, that in literary usage, mostly archaic now, these same terms can mean “adopted son / daughter” or “nephew / niece” (!). 

 

  Group terms like “grandchildren” and “grandparents” are more multifaceted in Irish than one might expect (as an English speaker), so will be reserved for, you guessed it, blag éigin eile. 

 

  The prefix “gar-“ is used for various other compounds as well, such as gar-amharc (close-up), garbhuaic (an approach shot i ngalf, in golf), and gariascaireacht (inshore fishing). 

 

  Back to kinship, “gar-“ is also added to “nia” (nephew) and “neacht” (niece) to give us “garnia” (grandnephew) and “garneacht” (grandniece).  In fact, it can be added to “athair” and “máthair,” but the meaning is less clear-cut.  I’ve seen “garathair” translated as “grandsire,” “grandfather,” AND “great-grandfather.”  In theory, “garmháthair” should be parallel, but in practice, I’ve seen it far less than “garathair,” which, itself, isn’t that prevalent in everyday use. 

 

  Bhuel, I guess I’ve done enough rambling i ngar agus i gcéin (near and far) sa bhlag seo, so, “Happy Grandparenting,” ó bhur mblagálaí, Róislín

The Many Meanings of “Oireachtas”

Posted by róislín 4 Comments
Apr 18 2009

  For the week of April 5 to 12, 2009, many Philadelphians probably saw more samples of the Irish language in the media than ever before in the city’s history.  Why?  This year, Philadelphia hosted the first Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne (World Irish Dance Championship) to be held outside Ireland or the U.K.  Over 6000 dancers attended, most accompanied by family members, bringing about 20,000 visitors to the city.

 

  In addition to highlighting the name of the event in Irish, the organizing body, An Coimisiún le Rincí Gaelacha (www.clrg.ie) uses numerous Irish terms, even when its members are speaking English.  Key among these are “feiseanna,” (basically “festival” but CLRG uses it for regional competitions), ADCRG (Ard Diploma Choimisiúin le Rincí Gaelacha, with “ard” meaning “high”) and TCRG (Teagascóir Choimisiúin le Rincí Gaelacha, a Coimisiún-certified teacher).    

 

  The original meaning of “oireachtas” isn’t exactly “championship,” though; that would generally be “craobh” (literally, a branch).  An “oireachtas” is a gathering (business or cultural), or a deliberative assembly.  A related word is ”oireacht,” which historically meant an assembly of freemen or members of a tribe, gathered for deliberation; it could also mean a gathering or assembly in the general sense. 

 

  “Oireachtas” isn’t generally used now for everyday meetings.  Those could be “cruinniú,” (meeting, gathering) or a “tionól” (gathering, assembly, typically a large group of people, not just the handful that could constitute a “cruinniú”).

 

  “Oireachtas” is also the name of the legislature or national parliament of Poblacht na hÉireann (the Republic of Ireland) which has two houses, Dáil,  and Seanad.  There was also a predecessor, the Oireachtas in Saorstát Éireann (the Irish Free State, 1922-37.). 

 

  Yet another use of the word is “Oireachtas na Gaeilge,” a literary and cultural festival celebrating the Irish language and held in Ireland since the 1890s.  It is similar to two other Celtic events: in Wales, the Eisteddfod, which in revival dates to 1792, and in Scotland, Am Mòd Nàiseanta Rìoghail, run by An Comunn Gàidhealach, which dates to 1891.

 

  Finally, if you know anyone with the surname Geraghty, Gerrity, Gearty, or Gerty, they probably had a distant ancestor who was an “oireachtach” (advisor, assembly-man).  From “oireachtach” to “Gerty,” you might well ask!  Consider the possessive form, Mag Oireachtaigh (sometimes Mac Oireachtaigh), meaning “son of the advisor or assembly-man.”  The final “ch” has been softened to a vowel sound (-aigh, like “ee”) since we’re saying “of the advisor,” not just “advisor.”  The “ch” in the middle of the word may get softened or silenced when anglicized.  And often the full “mac” or “mag” sound (for “son”) gets shortened to just a “c” or “g” before vowels (as in “Keown” from “Mag Eoin”).  This results in names like Geraghty (with a silent “gh”) or Gerty.

 

Bhur mblagálaí – Róislín

 

 

 

 

 

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Logainmneacha Ceilteacha agus Náisiúntachtaí a hAon: Celtic Place Names and Nationalities – Scotland and the Scots

Posted by róislín No Comments
Apr 15 2009

  We recently saw “Albain” (Scotland) as one of Transparent Language’s Word of the Day features.  This is based on the word “Alba,” which is what the Scots call their country in their own Celtic language, Gàidhlig.  Why not a word that sounds something like “Scotland” (like Italian “Scòzia” or French “Ecosse” or German “Schottland”)?  Because the “Scotti” were a tribe who came over to what we call Scotland today from Ireland after the place name “Alba” had already been in use.  All the “Scot”-based names for the country are relative newcomers to the scene, even though they reflect an event that happened well over 1000 years ago. 

   Here are some examples of the placename, the nationality, and related phrases for “Albain”  

   Albanach, a Scotsman or Scottish person.  This can be made feminine, “Albanach mná,” but in my experience, most people, even women (!), don’t bother.  The feminine form basically means “a woman Scotsman.”

   an tAlbanach, the Scotsman.  Note the lower case “t,” which is really part of the definite article.  We previously covered the rule by which there is no dash – Albanach is capitalized, so there is no need to indicate that the “t” is a prefix.  Contrast this to generic nouns, like “arán” (bread) and “an t-arán” (the bread), where the dash is required. 

  Is Albanach í an t-amhránaí Susan Boyle a bhí ar an chlár, “Britain’s Got Talent.”  Tá sí ina cónaí i mBlackburn, Lothian Iartharach, Albain.  The singer Susan Boyle, who was on the program “Britain’s Got Talent,” is a Scot.  She lives in Blackburn, West Lothian, Scotland. 

 

  Tá mé ag dul go hAlbain ar mo laethe saoire.  I’m going to Scotland on my holidays.

Note that after the preposition “go” (to), an “h” is prefixed before place names beginning with vowels.

  Cá bhfuil Glaschú? Tá Glaschú in Albain.  Where is Glasgow?  Glasgow is in Scotland.  You may remember the shape-shifting preposition “i” (in), which also shows up as “in,” “sa,” “san,” and “sna,” not to mention a traditional form not so widely used these days, “ins.”  Here “i” changes to “in” because the following word starts with a vowel. 

   An bhfuil Gaeilge na hAlban agat?  Do you know (have) Scottish Gaelic?  Here “Albain” has been changed to the possessive form, “na hAlban.”  What changes do you see?  The letter “i” has been dropped to mark the possessive.  A lower-case “h” is prefixed, again, because, this word starts with a vowel, AND, we must add, it’s in the possessive form.  Also, we add “na,” which here means “of the.” 

   You might wonder, “Where did the ‘the’ come from?”  It’s not used in the basic form of the country’s name, Albain.  A somewhat idiosyncratic rule applies here.  (“Somewhat?” I can hear readers saying!).  The good news is that it applies to at least one other situation.  We have two  country names, “Albain” and “Éire,” which don’t have the definite article in the subject form.  But, in the possessive, both acquire the definite article.  “The people of Scotland” is “muintir na hAlban” and “the people of Ireland” is “muintir na hÉireann.”  More on the other changes to the word “Éire” i mblag eile sa tsraith seo (Logainmneacha Ceilteacha agus Náisiúntachtaí). Ó, and “sraith” means “series”). – Bhur mblagálaí, Róislín

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