Posts from August 2009

Cad iad na sloinnte eile i gcraobh ghinealaigh Uí Chinnéide?  What are the other surnames in the Kennedy family tree?  The English equivalents are given at the end of the blog.  Agus cárbh as na teaghlaigh?  Seo cuid acu, ar a laghad (here are some of them, at least). 

 

Mac Gearailt:  Ba é “Mac Gearailt” an sloinne a bhí ar sheanathair Éadbhaird, John Francis, ar thaobh a mháthar, Rose.  Tomás Mac Gearailt a bhí ar shinseanathair Éadbhaird agus b’as an mBrú, Contae Luimnigh é. 

 

Ó Murchú: an sloinne a bhí ar Philib, sinsinseanathair Éadbhaird agus athair a shinseanmháthar, Bríd, as Ráth na gCosarán, Contae Loch Garman. 

 

Ó hÍcí: an sloinne a bhí ar Shéamas, sinseanathair Éadbhaird agus athair a sheanmáthar, Mary Augusta.  B’as Contae Chorcaí é.   

 

Ó hAnnáin: an sloinne a bhí ar Mhícheál, sinseanathair Éadbhaird, ar thaobh a mháthar.  B’as Contae Luimnigh é. 

 

Mac an Choiligh nó Mac Colgan: an sloinne a bhí ar Philib, athair Rose Anna (sinseanmháthair Éadbhaird), as Contae an Chabháin.  As with many Irish surnames, one needs to know the family history to be certain which Irish original pertains, since the same English could be used for several different Irish surnames.    

 

No doubt there are many more géaga (branches) in this craobh ghinealaigh, so once again, this is just barr an chnoic oighir. 

 

So, how did you do figuring out leaganacha (versions) Béarla na n-ainmneacha seo?   

 

Mac = son = fils = fitz, so that gives us the “Honey Fitz” side of the family.

 

Logainmneacha: An Brú, Contae Luimnigh = Bruff, Co. Limerick; Ráth na gCosarán = Gusserane, with the “Ráth” (fort) element having disappeared. 

 

Ó Murchú [say: oh MUR-uh-khoo] Murphy; Ó hÍcí, Hickey; Ó hAnnáin, Hannon; and Mac an Choiligh [mahk un KHIL-ee], Cox, lit. “son of the rooster,” OR Mac Colgan [mahk KOL-ug-un], which can be Cox or, in a different lineage, and perhaps more typically, is Culligan or Quilligan or a variation of that.  The “Colgan” element most likely means “son of Colga,” a personal name based on “colg” (sword, blade, bristle, anger)

 

And just to review the “grands” and the “greats,” which we had worked our way several months ago:

 

seanathair [SHAN-AH-hirzh] grandfather, sinseanathair, great-grandfather, and sinsinseanathair.  Likewise, seanmháthair [SHAN-WAW-hirzh], sinseanmháthair, sinsinseanmháthair.  The prefix “sin” is always pronounced like English “shin” (the one you “bark”). 

 

You might have noticed that the letter “i” can disappear at the end of any of these words, or of “athair” and “máthair” themselves.  Examples would be the phrases “sloinne an athar,” “in ainm an Athar,” and “ar thaobh a mháthar.”  The loss of the “i” for “athair,” “máthair” and their compounds signals possession.  These phrases mean “the surname of the father,” “in the name of the Father,” and “on the side of the mother.

 

Nótaí

1) craobh [kreev or krayv] typically means “branch” but is used in the phrase  “family tree.”  Within the craobh, you have géaga.

 

2) The question “Cá as iad?” is more common in everyday conversations since it is in the present tense (Where are they from?).  Cárbh as iad?” is the past tense form of the same question (Where were they from?) and is perfectly straightforward for this context.  And, of course, some speakers would say “Cá as dóibh?” for the present but the change to the “where” element () would still apply for the past “Cárbh as dóibh?”

As with the other recent capsúlbheathaisnéisí for McCourt, Jackson, and Thomas-Ellis, I will not attempt here to cover the wide realm of activities for the late Seanadóir Edward Moore Kennedy, but simply to touch on the Irish connection highlights.  The world has already expressed its comhbhrón, with statements pouring in since the Senator’s death was announced shortly before meán oíche last night (as I write this).  Among the sentiments expressed so far, which I have gaelicized here, are: “mothúchán mór bróin” (Máire Mhic Giolla Íosa, Uachtarán na hÉireann), “cara mór d’Éirinn” (An Taoiseach Brian Ó Comhain), “cara mór liom agus d’oileán Éireann go léir agus dona mhuintir” (Daniel Rooney, Ambasadóir Meiriceánach), “an seanadóir is mó inár linne” (Barack Obama, Uachtarán na Stát Aontaithe), and “déanfar mairgneach air, ní amháin i Meiriceá ach i ngach ilchríoch” (Gordon Brown, Príomh-Áire na Ríochta Aontaithe).

 

The Kennedy family’s Irish connections are well-known, but it might be suimiúil to see just how deeply entrenched they are.

 

Probably the best known link is to the Kennedy Family Homestead, which is located i mBaile Uí Dhonnagáin, which is near Ros Mhic Thriúin, i gContae Loch Garman.  If you’ve ever followed the history of President John F. Kennedy’s visit to the area (i mí an Mheithimh, 1963), you’ve probably seen all those names in their anglicized versions.  And note that the differences are not usually so extreme (for example, we have Galway for Gaillimh and Ballymore for An Baile Mór), but for the three place names above, there are quite a few changes.  Do you recognize them? 

 

Baile Uí Dhonnagáin is Dunganstown. Urú (B -> mB) is added after the preposition “i  Other points are that “baile” is a separate word, as usual, not as a suffix like (-town), that replaces “Ó” for the possession form of “Ó Donnagáin,” and finally, that the “Ó / Uí” is dropped anyway in English.

 

And where is Baile Uí Dhonnagáin?  Near Ros Mhic Thriúin.  This place name has even more points of difference from the English than Dunganstown, since the two versions of the place name really say two different things.  Ros Mhic Thriúin means “the wood of the son of Treon.”  The English is “New Ross,” presumably to distinguish it from other rosanna, such as Ros Beag (Rossbeg) and Ros Treabhair (Rostrevor).  Ros” can also mean promontory, isthmus, point, bluff, or burial ground, so don’t be surprised if the other place names aren’t consistently “woods.”  Mhic” replaces “mac” to show possession and likewise, Thriúin is for Treon.  

 

Finally, while most Irish county names are pretty clear-cut and recognizable (like Dún na nGall / Donegal), Loch Garman bears no resemblance to its English counterpart, Wexford.  The name “Wexford” is from the Viking period and isn’t an anglicized spelling of the Irish version.  A similar linguistic leap occurs with Port Láirge (Waterford).    

 

The Dunganstown farm was the homestead of Pádraig Ó Cinnéide (ca. 1823 – 1858), sinseanathair Éadbhaird and the site is now open to the public (www.kennedyhomestead.com).

 

So now we’re out of space to discuss Ted Kennedy’s other Irish forebears, including Hickeys, Murphys, Fitzgeralds, Hannons, and Barrons, and this topic will continue for another blag nó dhó.       

 

Fuaimniú: Éadbhard [AYD-ward]; [ee]; comhbhrón [koh-vrohn]; mhic [vik]  

Ah, well, this is still only barr an chnoic oighir.  But, cén dochar? 

 

I’ve picked some representative figures here to illustrate someone saying they speak a given language. 

 

Is mise Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  Labhraím Gearmáinis.

 

Is muide Asterix agus Obelix.  Labhraímid Gaillis agus Laidin.

 

Is mise Vincent Van Gogh.  Labhraím Ollainis.

 

Is mise Franz Kafka.  Labhraím Gearmáinis agus Seicis.

 

Is mise Oivid.  Labhraím Laidin agus scríobhaim filíocht i Laidin.

 

Is mise Hóiméar.  Labhraím Gréigis agus scríobhaim filíocht i nGréigis.

 

Is mise Matsuo Basho.  Scríobhaim filíocht i Seapáinis i bhfoirm haiku.   

 

Is mise Adi Kavi Valmiki.  Labhraím Sanscrait.  Scríobh mé an Ramayana. 

 

Is mise Harry Potter.  Labhraím Béarla agus *Snathairtheanga.  Níl ann ach b’fhéidir seisear eile a bhfuil nó a raibh Snathairtheanga acu; ba de shliocht Salazar Slytherin an chuid is mó acu.

 

Fuaimniú agus Ciall: cathú [KAH-hoo] temptation; dochloíte [duh-KHLEE-tcheh] invincible, here “irresistible”; cnoc oighir [knok AI-irzh] iceberg; filíocht [FIL-ee-ukht] poetry; i bhfoirm X [ih WIRzh-im] in (the) form of X; de shliocht [djeh hlikht, note silent “s”] of the lineage / ancestry of, descended from

 

Snathairtheanga [SNAH-hirzh-HANG-guh], a tri-partite “comhfhocal,” consisting of “nathair” (snake) + teanga (tongue) + an initial “s” for the “siosarnach” (hissing).  Since lucht leanúna Harry Potter i nGaeilge are still waiting for the actual translation of Book 2 of the series to be done, I have coined this word in the interim.  J. K. Rowling’s term for “snake-speech,” parseltongue, doesn’t actually appear in Book 1, Harry Potter agus an Órchloch, so, so far there is no precedent.  At any rate, it seems to fit the bill, at least as well as Jean-François Menard’s “Choixpeau” (Sorting Hat) did for the French.  Who knows?  If Máire Nic Mhaoláin, who translated Book 1 into Irish, ever does Book 2, maybe she’ll go ahead and use this word!  Comparable compounds already in use for the same hissing language are “Fourchelang” (Fraincis), Serpentese (Iodáilis), Parselzunge (Gearmáinis) and Sisselspraak or Sisseltong (Ollainis). 

 

Nóta gramadaí: “cúpla” is followed by the singular in Irish: cúpla teanga, cúpla duine, cúpla cailín, cúpla blaigeard, srl.

Nóta (8/19/09 7:09 ET) I just replaced the middle section of this text since the parts originally in columns didn’t turn out as I expected.  I hope this layout is more soléite

Since there are between cúig mhíle agus sé mhíle teanga in the world, we could keep this thread going ar feadh i bhfad (for a long time).  But let’s just pick a few more well-known ones, and maybe a few less commonly taught.  Of course, if anyone wants to write in and suggest a few more, ceart go leor by me.  I’m not sure if the teangacha eachtardhomhanda, like Tliongáinis or the far less well documented Amtorais (ón phlainéad Amtor / Véineas) have ever been included in the 5 to 6K count, but with a lamháil earráide of míle, I guess it doesn’t really matter that much. 

Here are more ceisteanna samplacha and some additional frásaí for the freagraí:

An bhfuil Fraincis agat?                                      

Tá, ach tá mo chuid Fraincise meirgeach.

An bhfuil Catalóinis agat?                                  

Tá, beagán.

An labhraíonn tú Sínis?                                       

Ní labhraím, ar an drochuair.

An labhraíonn Yu Ming Sínis sa scannán Yu Ming Is Ainm Dom?                   

(www.atomfilms.com/film/name_yu_ming.jsp)    

Labhraíonn sé Sínis sa tSín ach labhraíonn sé Gaeilge in Éirinn.  Síleann cúpla duine go bhfuil sé ag labhairt Sínise nuair atá sé ag labhairt Gaeilge! 

An bhfuil Gaeilge na hAlban agat?                   

Tá.

Cén teangacha a labhraítear sa scannán Ag Damhsa le Faolchúnna?                          

Labhraítear Sioux agus Pawnee, agus ar ndóigh, Béarla.

An labhraíonn tú Astacais?                                

Ní labhraím. 

An bhfuil Volaifis agat?                                       

Níl, ach tá sí ag cuid mhór ceoltóirí ón tSeineagáil, mar shampla Youssou N’Dour agus Thione Seck, gan a bheith ag trácht ar trí mhilliún, cúig chéad míle cainteoir eile.

An bhfuil Íogbóis agat?                                       

Níl, ach tá sí ag idir trí mhilliún déag agus ocht milliún déag cainteoir, Chinua Achebe (údar Things Fall Apart) ina measc.

An labhraíonn C-3PO Amtorais?           

Is dócha.  Sílim go bhfuil gach teanga ag C-3PO, níos mó ná sé mhilliún modh cumarsáide, pé scéal é.  

Fuaimniú & ciall: i bhfad [ih wahd]; eachtardhomhanda *[AKH-tur-γOH-un-duh]; lamháil [LAWV-aw-il] margin; meirgeach [MERzh-ig-yukh] rusty, and yes, that idiom is used i nGaeilge as well; ar an drochuair, unfortunately; labhraíonn [LOW-ree-un], labhairt [LOW-irtch]; labhraítear [LOW-ree-tcher] are spoken; gan a bheith ag trácht ar, not to mention; C-3PO, an uimhir 3 mar “uh trzhee” i nGaeilge, instead of the normal “three” as in English “threepio”; cumarsáid, communication. 

*By the way, the gamma symbol γ is used here to represent a sound for which there is no equivalent letter in the Roman alphabet.  It’s the “voiced” counterpart of the broad Irish “ch” sound, as in “teach” or “chomh,” which is “voiceless.”  The latter sound may be more familiar, from a European perspective, since it’s also in German, Welsh, and some Scottish English, as well as other languages. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The recent discussion of language, whether Tliongáinis or Fraincis, suggests another popular topic among language learners – what languages do you know?  Any such discussion can range from the standard questions to those off “an bealach buailte” (the beaten track).  Sometimes I do think that the bealach “neamhbhuailte” will be pretty well “buailte” by the time I’m done with it though!

 

A key point regarding these questions is the traditional structure: An bhfuil Gaeilge agat?  Do you know Irish?  lit.  Is Irish at you?  This is the same basic structure used to show possession in Irish (cf. Tá carr agam, I have a car, lit. A car is at me).  Although I don’t hear it so much lately, this notion of “having” Irish also appears in English, in statements like, “I haven’t got the Irish.”  That’s what Fiona says at one point to her seanathair in the film, The Secret of Roan Inish, a film, which, by the way, has some great flashback scenes in Irish. 

 

As for the “the” in the phrase, “I haven’t got the Irish,” it was traditional to use the definite article with language names, at least with Irish itself.  I don’t hear that so much lately either.  If you do use the definite article, it will trigger lenition in many cases, as most language names are feminine (Béarla, for English, being one major exception).  For example: Fraincis, An Fhraincis; Sínis, an tSínis (that’s the s -> ts variation of lenition, Ceatsuais, An Cheatsuais, but An Béarla, srl. 

 

It is, of course, perfectly reasonable to ask, An labhraíonn tú Gaeilge?  Do you speak Irish? 

 

So, here are a few questions for starters.  Can you figure what the languages are?  In most cases, the ending that indicates a language name is –“is” or “-ais.”  If anyone wants to send in some answers, it would be interesting to see what other languages are spoken by lucht leanúna an bhlag seo. 

 

An bhfuil Gaeilge agat?                                        Tá / Níl

 

An bhfuil Spáinnis agat?                                      Tá / Níl

 

An labhraíonn tú Rúisis?                                     labhraím / ní labhraím

 

An bhfuil Béarla agat?                                          Tá / Níl

 

An bhfuil Caistílis (Spáinnis Chaistíleach) agat?       Tá / Níl

 

An labhraíonn tú Ceatsuais?                              labhraím / ní labhraím       

 

An bhfuil Svahaílis agat?                                     Tá / Níl

 

An bhfuil Laidin agat?                   B’fhéidir:       Tá Laidin agam ach ní labhraím í. 

 

And finally, since I can’t resist,

An bhfuil Tliongáinis agat?                     Tá, beagán. OR  Níl, níl Tliongáinis ar bith agam. 

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