Posts tagged with "Albain"

Logainmneacha Ceilteacha agus Náisiúntachtaí a Sé: Celtic Place Names and Nationalities 6 – Cornwall and the Cornish

Posted by róislín No Comments
May 22 2009

We’ve recently discussed the place names Albain, Éire, An Bhreatain Bheag, Oileán Mhanann, and An Bhriotáin.  Today we’ll turn to Cornwall.  Below you’ll find some examples of how to use the place name and how to indicate that a person or thing is Cornish.  Cornwall is called “Corn na Breataine” (horn of Britain) or sometimes “An Corn” in Irish. 

 

Cornach, a Cornishman or person.  Like the terms “Éireannach,” “Albanach,” “Breatnach,” “Manannach,” and “Briotánach,” it can be made feminine, “Cornach mná,” but, as I’ve previously mentioned, this form is rarely used.  The feminine form basically means “a woman Cornishman.” 

 

an Cornach, the Cornishman.  Cornach is also the adjective form.

 

 Some phrases with the place name “Corn na Breataine” include:

 

i gCorn na Breataine: in Cornwall

 

go Corn na Breataine: to Cornwall

 

muintir Chorn na Breataine: the residents of Cornwall

 

 In an interesting twist, the mineral cornwallite is “cornuaillít” in Irish, adapting the “-wall” suffix into Irish spelling. 

  

In a further interesting twist, the two main plant names that in English are designated as pertaining to Cornwall, Cornish heath and Cornish moneywort, lose the Cornish element in their Irish names, which are, respectively, “fraoch gallda” (lit. foreign heather – remember, the perspective is Irish here) and “pingin Dhuibhneach” (lit. penny from Corca Dhuibhne, a region in Co. Kerry).  I’ll let the Cornaigh and the Duibhnigh hash out the plant’s true origins among themselves – our concern here is terminology!

  

“Cornish hen,” the term I thought would be a “shoo-in” to exemplify Cornishness in popular culture and the lenition of feminine singular adjectives in Irish grammar, turns out to be a “shoo-out.”  The situation’s not straightforward at all.  One might think we’d simply use “cearc” (hen) plus “Chornach” (the feminine form of the adjective).  Mícheart (incorrect)!  First of all, this cearc goes by at least four other names (Cornish game hen, poussin, Rock Cornish hen, and Rock Cornish), thickening the plot considerably.  Secondly, it may refer to a specially bred chicken, slaughtered young and designed for one serving.  It isn’t a game bird and can be male or female, so isn’t always a “hen.”  Furthermore, the French word “poussin,” sometimes equated with “Cornish hen,” has two meanings in English, being the “Cornish game hen” in U.S. English and referring to an even smaller and younger bird in U.K. English.  So aside, from noting that the “Rock” element refers to Plymouth Rock, highlighting Cornish Rock’s American origin, I will respectfully bail out of this attempt to Gaelicize Cornish hens.  One might think that the Cornish hen was an indigenous breed, small in size to adapt to the rugged terrain in which it lived, like Kerry and Dexter cattle or Shetland ponies, ach ní mar sin atá sé (that’s not how it is).  Fascinating in their own right, those animals will be featured i mblag éigin eile. 

 

So what’s left to exemplify the adjective “Cornach” in context?  Our last place name feature added the tasty element of crêpes, the Breton specialty.  Although I don’t know of any North American bialanna (restaurants) specializing in Cornwall’s famous culinary creation, the Cornish pasty, we can at least offer the Irish name for it, pastae Cornach.  These pastries were stuffed with meat, potatoes and other vegetables.  They have a folded-over crust and were thus distinguished from pióga feola (meat pies).  Their shape supposedly made it safe for miners to eat their lunch, since they couldn’t always clean the coal dust, which might contain arsenic, off their hands.  According to tradition, the miners discarded the corner of the pastry, which they had touched with their fingers, saying it was for the “knockers.”  

 

 Yes, those are the same supernatural beings who loosely provided the inspiration for Stephen King’s The Tommyknockers.  They would warn miners of possible disasters, at least, one presumes, if you kept them well fed with pasty crusts.  One of these days, I’ll have to check King’s novel, to see if he feeds them properly!

 

And if you are in North America and want to sample pastaetha Cornacha (that’s the plural), you can find them at special events such as the Pasty Fest in Calumet, Michigan, and special church suppers in Cornish-settled parts of Pennsylvania, such as Bangor and Pen Argyl. 

 

 This finishes the series of Celtic place names and identities, at least for the modern period.  One of these days we’ll practice saying, “I am an ancient Gaul,” but for the immediate future, it will probably be more practical to work on phrases such as “Gael-Mheiriceánach” (Irish-American) or Gael-Cheanadach (Irish-Canadian) and to introduce such basics as “American” and “Canadian” in their unlenited forms.  Stay tuned!  – Bhur mblagálaí, Róislín

Logainmneacha Ceilteacha agus Náisiúntachtaí a Ceathair: Celtic Place Names and Nationalities 4 – The Isle of Man (Mann) and the Manx

Posted by róislín No Comments
May 6 2009

We’ve recently discussed the place names Albain (Scotland), Éire (Ireland), and An Bhreatain Bheag (Wales).  Today we’ll turn to the Isle of Man (IOM), an island which is not part of Britain nor of the United Kingdom, but which has been a British crown possession since 1828.  Under the auspices of the British Home Office, it is self-governing for internal affairs.  Below you’ll find some examples of how to use the place name and how to indicate that a person, thing, or, we can’t resist for this lesson, a cat, is Manx.  I’m sure you’ve seen or heard about the famous Manx cats which are gan ruball (tailless).   

 

The island can either be referred to using the word “island,” as in the Irish “Oileán Mhanann” and the Manx “Ellan Vannin,” or just by saying “Manainn,” which has the  possessive forms, “Manann” and “Mhanann.”  Likewise, in English, the island can be called simply, Man, sometimes spelled “Mann.” 

 

Manannach, a Manxman or Manx person.  Like the terms for Irish, Scottish, and Welsh, it can be made feminine, “Manannach mná,” but, as I’ve previously mentioned, this form is rarely used.  The feminine form basically means “a woman Manxman.” 

 

an Manannach, the Manxman.  Since “Manannach” starts with a consonant, there are no special rules to remember for prefixing letters when you add the definite article, as we had with “an tAlbanach” and “an tÉireannach.” 

 

Manannach is also the adjective form but sometimes just the place name itself is used as an attributive noun, eg. “slinn Mhanann” (Manx slate, the island’s bedrock).

 

The cat Manannach (Manx cat) is famous for being tailless.  In the Manx language, they are called Kayt Manninagh or Stubbin.  There are two folk explanations for the cat being tailless.  One is that Noah shut the door on the cat’s tail in his rush to get all the animals into the Ark.  The other is that they are the offspring of a cat and a rabbit.  In reality, the explanation is genetic. 

 

Then there is the Manx Rumpy chicken, for which I cannot find and decline to attempt a translation into Irish.  Ironically, it’s not actually a breed found on the IOM but it is named because of its similarity to the Manx cat in terms of taillessness.  Well, maybe I should attempt a translation.  It’ll teach some interesting vocabulary anyway.  Generally speaking, there’s no equivalent in Irish to the “-less” suffix in English, so Irish will use a two-word phrase, like “gan ainm” (nameless, lit. without name) or “gan dochar” (harmless, lit. without harm).  Sometimes a negating prefix “neamh-“ is also used, as in “neamhurchóideach” (harmless) or “neamhrialta” (irregular).  For “rumpless,“ we could start with “prompa” (rump) and say “neamhphrompach,” calling the bird “Sicín Manannach Neamhphrompach,” which does seem a bit verbose and, admittedly, doesn’t have the folksy appeal of “Manx Rumpy.”  I could be tempted to use an existing Irish word, proimpín, meaning “a bird’s posterior” or “a small rump,” but given the unfamiliarity of the actual bird, I’m not sure that using “proimpín” would convey the bird’s true rumplessness.  We could improvise with “Neamhphrompa Manannach,” and trust that word order will distinguish this from a rumpless Manxman.  On the other hand, since this breed of chicken is named after the Manx cat, and is not necessarily Manx itself, perhaps we should remove the reference to Mann altogether.  Bhur mbarúlacha (your opinions)?  

 

There is a precedent for geographic references not being used as terms get translated from language to language.  Consider, for example, the Manx shearwater (a type of sea-bird).  The Irish phrase for it, cánóg dhubh, doesn’t refer to Mann at all, but simply means “a black shearwater”).  Another case of the missing geographic reference is in the Irish for “Jerusalem artichoke.”  Anyone care to guess?  Hint: it has nothing to do with Jerusalem itself; that much is a misunderstanding of “girasole” (turning to the sun). 

 

Some phrases with the place name Manainn or Oileán Mhanann include:

 

i Manainn or in Oileán Mhanann: in the Isle of Man  

 

ar Mhanainn or ar Oileán Mhanann: on the Isle of Man

 

go Manainn  or go hOileán Mhanann:  to the Isle of Man

 

–  Bhur mblagálaí, Róislín

Logainmneacha Ceilteacha agus Náisiúntachtaí a Trí: Celtic Place Names and Nationalities – Wales and the Welsh

Posted by róislín 4 Comments
May 3 2009

We’ve recently discussed the place names Albain (Scotland) and Éire (Ireland).  Now we’ll turn to ”An Bhreatain Bheag” (Wales).  Since “Breatain” is a feminine noun, the adjective that modifies it, “beag” (little) becomes “bheag.”  And since this country name includes the definite article “an” (the), it also causes “Breatain” to change to “Bhreatain,” pronounced with an initial “v” sound.  Here are some examples how to use the place name and how to indicate that someone is Welsh. 

 

Breatnach, a Welshman or Welsh person.  Like the terms for Irish and Scottish, it can be made feminine, “Breatnach mná,” but, as I’ve previously mentioned, most people don’t seem to bother.  The feminine form basically means “a woman Welshman.”  The Welsh themselves, though, quite regularly use the masculine and feminine forms in their own language (Breatnais, Welsh): Cymro (a Welshman) and Cymraes (a Welshwoman). 

 

an Breatnach, the Welshman.  Since “Breatnach” starts with a consonant, there are no special rules to remember for prefixing letters when you add the definite article. 

 

Breatnach is also the adjective form, as in “capaillín Breatnach” (Welsh pony).  A Welsh corgi, though, doesn’t need to be labeled “Welsh” when you’re speaking Irish; it’s just “corchú” (corgi, which literally means “dwarf dog” in Welsh).  Of course, the Welsh don’t need to label their iconic dog as being Welsh either – again, “corgi” alone suffices.   

 

In theory, there should be evidence for the existence of “Breatnachas” as a word to mean “Welshness,” but a quick online search reveals no cyberfootprint for it.  But with this blog, I guess I’ve started one!

 

Some phrases with the place name include:

 

An Bhreatain Bheag: used as the subject or direct object of a sentence

 

sa Bhreatain Bheag: in Wales

 

go dtí an Bhreatain Bheag:  to Wales

 

na Breataine Bige, of Wales, as in caisleáin na Breataine Bige (the castles of Wales)

 

Seo samplaí leis an bhfocal “Breatnach” nó leis an bhfrása “An Bhreatain Bheag”:

 

Is Breatnach í an t-amhránaí Charlotte Church.  The singer Charlotte Church is a Welsh person.    

 

Tá mé ag dul go dtí an Bhreatain Bheag ar mo laethe saoire.  I’m going to Wales on my holidays.   

 

Cá bhfuil Caerdydd (Cardiff)?  Tá Caerdydd sa Bhreatain Bheag.  Where is Cardiff? 

Cardiff is in Wales.

 

“Breatnach” or its anglicized form “Branagh” also shows up fairly often as a surname in Ireland.  One famous namesake is Belfast-born Kenneth Branagh.  Sometimes the surname is actually translated to “Welsh” or “Walsh.“

 

Anyone care to say their nationality in Irish?  After we finish the sraith Cheilteach (Celtic series), we’ll try some others from around the world.  You might be able to figure these out: Is Meiriceánach mé.  Is Ceanadach mé.  Is Francach mé.  Is Síneach mé.  Agus tusa (and you)? –  Bhur mblagálaí, Róislín

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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