Posts tagged with "Gaelic"

Súil Siar: Clásail Choibhneasta

Posted by róislín 2 Comments
May 20 2010

It’s been a while since we dealt with the clásail choibhneasta (relative clauses), so I thought I’d do a seisiún súil siar before we wrap up with the remaining irregular verbs. 

So here are some selections from the previous blogs.  The verb slot has been left blank, to fill in, and freagraí are thíos (below).  The basic (declarative) form of the verb is given in parentheses; some will require lenition, some eclipsis, and some will have no change.  Remember the basic set-up:

a)     Direct relative clauses are used when the subject of the main clause is also the subject of the relative clause, as in English: This is the man who drove the car.  They’re also used when the subject of the main clause is the object of the relative clause: This is the car that the man drove.  I haven’t emphasized this second usage (direct object), since there’s been so much else to work on.  Later?

b)     Indirect relative clauses are used when the subject of the main clause owns or possesses (however abstractly) the subject of the relative clause, as in: This is the X-file whose paperwork is missing.  Indirect relative clauses are also used when the subject of the main clause is the object of a preposition in the relative clause, as in English: This is the man to whom I gave the money (or, as we might say, This is the man I gave the money to).  Again, I haven’t emphasized this second type of indirect usage given the vastness of this topic – ábhar sraith eile (subject for another series?) 

An cuimhin leat iad seo?  Remember these?

1)     to say: Seo í an óinseach a _____a cara rudaí amaideacha (dúirt)

2)     to give birth: Seo í an bhó a _____. (rug)

3)     to eat: Seo é an páiste a _____ a dheirfiúr súile an choinín seacláide (itheann)

4)     to make: Sin í an bhean a _____ soc don lao (rinne)

5)     to go: Seo Paddy Reilly, an fear a ____ go Baile Shéamais Dhuibh.  (chuaigh)

6)     to come: Seo Róisín Nic Giollaráin, an bhean a _____ a stócach ar ais go Baile Shéamais Dhuibh.  (tiocfaidh)

7)     to get: Seo í an bhean a _____ a hiníon móideim nua (gheobhaidh, remember this one is highly irregular)

8)     to see: Sin é an fear a _____ an bhó (feiceann)

9)     to be: Sin é an fear a _____ a mhac tinn. (bhí, also highly irregular)  

If all this seems confusing, well, it is.  Relative clauses are actually challenging in any language I’ve studied, and they’re not a piece of cake in English either (“to whom” or “not to whom,” at least in these non-grammar-oriented days, etc.).  But what makes Irish more challenging (I think) is that the word that equates to “who,” “which,” “whose,” or “that” for relative clauses is the simple one-letter word “a,” which also has about a half a dozen other meanings.  “Who,” “which,” “whose,” and “that” aren’t differentiated on the surface in Irish; what happens is that the “a” causes different mutations according to whether the sentence is direct relative or indirect relative.  Words beginning with non-mutatable consonants show no change, of course, which actually makes it all even a bit more casta.   

Gluais (in éadan meirgeachta, since it’s been a few weeks or months): amaideach, foolish; Baile Shéamais Dhuibh, Ballyjamesduff; casta, complicated; coinín seacláide, chocolate bunny; iníon, daughter; gheobhaidh [YOH-ee] and bhfaighidh [wee OR wai, depending on dialect], will get; lao [lee], calf; Nic Giollaráin, Kilrain; óinseach, fool (female, as opposed to “amadán,” male or generic fool); soc, muzzle; stócach, boyfriend

Nóta: two words that are easy to confuse are “súil” ([soo-il] eye) and “siúl” ([shoo-ul] to walk).  Note that “súil siar” and “siúl siar” have completely different meanings.  “Súil siar” literally means “an eye back/westward” and is understood to mean a “look-back” or review (more like “revision” in Irish or UK English).  “Siúl siar” means “to walk westward” and could mean “to walk back.” 

Freagraí (ind. = indirect; dir. = direct): 1) ndúirt (ind.), 2) rug (dir.), 3) n-itheann (ind.), 4) rinne (dir.), 5) chuaigh (dir.), 6) dtiocfaidh (ind.), 7) bhfaighidh (ind.), 8] fheiceann (dir.), 9) raibh (ind.)

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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An Cháisc (Easter) is a Cognate of … Pascha and Pesach

Posted by róislín 3 Comments
Apr 12 2009

It may seem straightforward enough that Pascha (Latin for Easter) and Pesach (Passover) are linguistically related to each other.  Several of the other Celtic words for Easter are also clearly connected, Y Pasg (Welsh), Pask (Cornish, Breton), as are the English adjective, Paschal, and the Romance words, Pâques, Pascua, and Pasqua.  Their connection to “An Cháisc” may seem like a stretch, though!

 

The modern Celtic languages are divided into two categories, however, and understanding the split makes the connection between Pascha and An Cháisc more transparent.  Welsh, Breton, and Cornish belong to the P-Celtic category.  With that category, many words will be related, if not identical, with a consistent “p” or “b” sound.  Two representative examples are “mab” for “son” in all three P-Celtic languages, and the word for “head,” in Welsh “pen,” and in Breton and Cornish, “penn.”     

 

Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx belong to the Q-Celtic category.  These languages typically have a “k” sound where the P-Celtic languages have a “p” or “b” sound.  For example, the word for “son” in all the Q-Celtic languages is “mac” and “head” is “ceann” in Irish and Scottish Gaelic, “kione” in Manx.   

 

Knowing that Irish is a Q-Celtic language and that most early Irish terminology connected to Christianity is derived from Latin, we can almost predict that the Irish for “Pascha” will begin with a “k” sound, not “p” or “b.”  Hence, Cáisc.

 

From “Cáisc” to “An Cháisc” is a fairly standard change in Irish.  “Cáisc” is a feminine noun, and the initial letter (here “C”) of feminine singular nouns is often changed after the definite article “an” (the).  Usually the letter “h” is inserted and the pronunciation changes.  The “ch” of “Cháisc” is pronounced like the “ch” of German “Buch” or Scottish “Loch.” 

 

Why the definite article?  It’s tradition!  In Irish, one also says, “An Nollaig” (“The” Christmas) and “An Inid” (“The” Shrovetide). 

 

The Scottish Gaelic and Manx terms (Càisg, Caisht) behave very similarly, becoming A’ Chàisg and Y Chaisht. 

 

One last change will enable us to wish each other Easter greetings.  To say “of Easter,” we go back to the original initial “C” but we change the ending:  Beannachtaí na Cásca ort (the blessings of Easter on you).

 

On a more lighthearted note, we can also talk about “Coinín na Cásca” (Easter Rabbit, the “Rabbit of Easter”) and “Uibheacha Cásca daite” (dyed Easter Eggs).

 

Bhur mblagálaí — Róislín

Mór? Críonna? or Sean? — Grandparents By Any Other Name!

Posted by róislín 8 Comments
Apr 9 2009

  I frequently get asked about the Irish word for “grandmother” or “grandma,” so children in Irish-American families can start using it as a pet name.  Sometimes the basic term “Grandma” has already been taken by one side of the family, so the other side may look for a different name, like “Nana” in English.  Most of the people who ask for this are the actual grandmothers, not the grandfathers, but in this blog, I’ll be an equal opportunity terminologist and assume that the male and female terms are of equal interest.  A Sheanaithreacha (grandfathers!) please take note!

   Let’s start with the formalities, “grandmother” and “grandfather.”  Most children don’t actually use these in talking with the actual grandparent but they’re useful in narrative and in general discussion.  There are three pairs of terms, each building on the words “máthair” (mother) and “athair” (father).  :

   seanmháthair, seanathair: based on the prefix “sean-“ (old)

   máthair chríonna, athair críonna: based on the adjective “críonna” (wise, prudent, aged).  Please note: despite the endearing bit of misinformation currently circulating on the Internet (sites will remain nameless), these terms do NOT mean “mother of my heart” and “father of my heart.”  Those phrases would be based on “croí” (heart), not “críonna” (wise).   

   máthair mhór, athair mór: based on the adjective “mór” (big, great).  I’ve mostly heard this term in Donegal. 

   For the more familiar terms, there are “Mamó” and “Móraí” for “grandma,” and “Daideo” for “grandpa.” 

   Using these words is one way that Irish words can be come part of a child’s life, and perhaps stimulate further study of the language later.   Needless to say, the terms can now grace mugaí (mugs), t-léinte (t-shirts), or léinte aclaíochta (sweatshirts, lit. “exercise shirts”). Or, for that matter, any other merchandise that allows you to send in customized text for printing. 

   One curious feature of all of these terms is that none of them are used to create the words “grandchild,” “grandson,” or “grand-daughter.”  So how do you do it?  Bhuel, ag bogarnach ar an aill sin (Well, hanging on that cliff), slán go dtí an chéad bhlag eile (goodbye until the next blog).   

 Bhur mblagálaí – Róislín

 
 

 

 

 

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