Posts tagged with "Oíche Shamhna"

Ag Comhaireamh Puimcíní (Counting Pumpkins in Irish) agus Beagán “Smashing” Freisin

Posted by róislín No Comments
Oct 31 2011

(le Róislín)

What better íocón cultúrtha for both Mí Dheireadh Fómhair (agus Oíche Shamhna) and Mí na Samhna (November) than puimcíní?  I Meiriceá, ar a laghad, ar ndóigh.

Puimcíní snoite d’Oíche Shamhna – aghaidheanna scanrúla agus dradgháirí bagracha orthu!

An tOllphuimcín [un TOL-FwIM-keen] (ó na scéalta faoi Charlie Brown agus Snoopy)

Pióga puimcín á n-ithe ar feadh an tséasúir, ach go mór mór ar Lá Altaithe

Caife le blas puimcíní, noitmig, agus cainéal, dá gcreidfeá é!

Ravioli puimcín, fiú – agus é fíorbhlasta!

But for today we’ll practice counting them, which will involve our old friends, séimhiú (lenition) agus urú (eclipsis).  Remember, the noun stays singular almost all the time when counting things in Irish, so we’re still working off “puimcín” (singular), not “puimcíní” (plural, with the “-í” ending).  Here goes:

puimcín amháin [PwIM-keen uh-WAW-in], one pumpkin

dhá phuimcín [… FWIM-keen], two pumpkins (note: the “p” changes to “ph,” pronounced like an “f,” all quite standard for lenition)

trí phuimcín

ceithre phuimcín

cúig phuimcín

sé phuimcín [shay …]

Once we hit seven, the rules change and we switch to urú (eclipsis), with the “p” changing to “bp.”  Just the “b” of “bp” is pronounced, not the “p.”

seacht bpuimcín [shakht BwIM-keen]

ocht bpuimcín [okht …]

naoi bpuimcín [nee …]

deich bpuimcín [djeh, with just a breathy “ch” at the end of "deich," because it’s “slender”, not the “broad” (full-throated/guttural) “ch” of words like “seacht,” “ocht,” or German “Buch”

Counting in the teens?

aon phuimcín déag, 11 pumpkins

dhá phuimcín déag, 12 pumpkins

seacht bpuimcín déag, 17 pumpkins

But after multiples of ten, no change to the initial letter:

fiche puimcín, tríocha puimcín, daichead puimcín, céad puimcín, míle puimcín, srl.

Now as for “smashing,” which of course I can’t resist, there are several possible verbs:

bloghadh, shattering, to shatter, breaking into bits, to break into bits,

mionú, to mince, shatter, comminute (!), break into bits, or the “-ing” act thereof, or,

smiotadh, smashing, to smash, striking, to strike, hitting, to hit, but also to chip, to chop, to pare, etc. the latter choices suggesting something quite different re: pumpkins

But I’ll go with a different phrase for “smashing pumpkins,” namely “smidiríní a dhéanamh as puimcíní” (to smash pumpkins) since it  combines a word widely-known in English as well, one of the relatively few that come straight from Irish – smithereens.

Here are some possible phrases:

Ag déanamh smidiríní as puimcíní, smashing pumpkins

Tá mé ag déanamh smidiríní as puimcíní, I am smashing pumpkins.

Tá smidiríní á ndéanamh as puimcíní, Pumpkins are being smashed, lit. Smithereens are being made of pumpkins.

Déantar smidiríní as puimcíní, Pumpkins are smashed, lit. Smithereens are made of pumpkins, implying a habitual or consistent activity

And of course, that could continue, with the aimsir chaite, aimsir fháistineach, srl.  Ach sin blag éigin eile!

If you’re wondering if this blog is supposed to be a tribute to the band, The Smashing Pumpkins, well, um, erm, whatever, they’ve got a catchy title for sure.  But apparently they do want listeners to understand the word as the adjective form found in UK English, “smashing,” as in something being “wizard” or “keen,” to harken back to Enid Blyton days.  Of course, there’s always the possibility, in the tradition of “An Ubhthoradh A D’ith Siceagó,” that the pumpkins themselves are doing the smashing, on a roll, one might say.  If that’s the case, then I’d simply say, “Fainic!”

Ó! Ó!  Tá puimcín mór ag rolladh chugam agus níl sé ina smidiríní!  B’fhéidir is é an tOllphuimcín féin é.  B’fhéidir go ndéanfar smidiríní díom, nó b’fhéidir go ndéanfar pancóg díom.  Tá orm imeacht a fhad is atá mé fós tríthoiseach!  SGF, Róislín

P.S. Ceist do na Ceanadaigh ar an liosta – an bhfuil pióg phuimcín chomh tábhachtach sa mbiachlár do Lá Altaithe i gCeanada (i Mí Dheireadh Fómhair) agus atá sé i Meiriceá?  “Sine qua non” anseo atá ann!  Fáilte roimh fhreagraí!

Gluais: a fhad is, as long as; á n-ithe, being eaten; aghaidheanna [AI-uh-nuh], faces; bagrach, threatening; biachlár, menu; cainéal, cinnamon; chugam, towards me; chuig, to; dradgháire, grin; oll-, great, large, as in “ollscoil” and “ollmhargadh,” sula, before; tábhachtach, important; tríthoiseach, three-dimensional; ubhthoradh [UV-HOR-uh], eggplant


 

Foirmeacha Iolra le “-aithe” agus le “-aí” (Plural Forms)

Posted by róislín No Comments
Oct 24 2011

(le Róislín)

In the last few blogs, we’ve used words like “zombaí” (plural: zombaithe) and “moncaí” (pl. moncaithe), as well as “stocamhoncaí” and “stocamhoncaithe,” for “sock monkey(s).”  It may just be my memory, but I don’t remember stocamhoncaithe zombaí ever being so popular before this year’s Oíche Shamhna (Halloween 2011)

In Irish, it would be highly unlikely for any word to end in “-ie,” so a word like “zombie” (ón gCriól Háítíoch “zonbi”) will get a new ending to fit the Irish spelling system, in this case, “-aí” (pronounced “ee”).  For nouns that end in “-aí” in the singular, like “zombaí,” the plural is usually “-aithe” [ih-huh], with the “t” always silent, which we also see in “moncaithe” [MON-kih-huh] and “stocamhoncaithe” [STOKK-uh-WON-kih-huh, where, btw, the “mh” is pronounced like a “w”]..

Keep in mind that the letter “y” is fairly rare in Irish, in general, so borrowed words with a “y,” like “monkey” will also typically get their spelling changed as they are adapted into Irish.  The “-aí“ endings of “zombaí” and “moncaí” fit an existing and widely-populated category of Irish nouns (4th-declension, by the way), including the examples below.  In all these cases, the plural is formed by shortening the “í” and adding “-the” (so “-aí” changes to “-aithe).

rúnaí, rúnaithe, secretary(-ies)

garraí, garraithe, field(s), garden(s)

rásaí, rásaithe, racer(s)

reathaí, reathaithe, another word for “racer(s),” more literally, a runner, mar shampla i gcruicéad

Agus “Míp-míp!,” seo ceann eile:

reathaí an bhóthair (pl. reathaithe an bhóthair), road runner (an t-éan a thugtar “chaparral bird” air i mBéarla freisin)

A number of occupational terms end in “-aí” in the singular, such as tógálaí (builder), tiománaí (driver), and lúthchleasaí (athlete [LOO-HLASS-ee]), and their plurals follow the same pattern: tógálaithe, tiománaithe, lúthchleasaithe [LOO-HLASS-ih-huh].

Here’s the big caveat though.  In the words above, “-aí” is a singular ending.  For words, like the following, “-aí” is actually the plural ending,” formed by adding “-í” to a final “a.”

gúna, gúnaí, dress(es)

hata, hataí, hat(s)

frása, frásaí, phrase(s)

Occasionally “-aí” occurs as the ending of in one-syllable words.  In these cases, the “-aí” isn’t actually a suffix as such (the word’s too short to have a suffix), and there are various plural forms:

faí, pl. faithe, note, cry, or, in grammar, “voice” (as in “faí ghníomhach” and “faí chéasta”)

laí, pl. laíonna, pole, shaft, door-post

These aren’t the only possible uses of the suffix “-aí”.  It can also show up on verbs (go mbeannaí Dia dhuit, hello, lit. may God bless you) and it can show possession in nouns in phrases like “solas na gealaí” (the light of the moon), but sin ábhar blag eile. 

Mar achoimre, seo na féidearthachtaí do “-aí” (cuid acu, ar a laghad)

1)      –aí (uatha, mar “rúnaí”)

2)      –aí (iolra, mar “gúnaí,” foirm iolra an fhocail “gúna”)

3)      –aí (i bhfocail aonsiolla, mar “laí”)

4)      –aí (i mbriathar, modh foshuiteach, mar “go mbeannaí” )

5)      –aí (tuiseal ginideach, baininscneach, uatha, mar “gealaí” sa bhfrása “solas na gealaí”)

Tá súil agam go raibh sé seo úsáideach.  SGF, Róislín

Gluais: beannaigh, bless; céasta, passive; cruicéad, cricket; gealach, moon; gníomhach, active; iolra [IL-ruh], plural; stoca, sock; uatha [OO-uh-huh], singular

Nóta faoin bhfrása onamataipéach sin thuas “Míp-míp!” (litrithe i nGaeilge): i mBéarla, ar ndóigh, sin “Meep-meep!,” leagan Reathaí an Bhóthair d’fhuaim bonnán cairr sna cartúin Merrie Melodies agus Looney Tunes ag Warner Brothers.  Ag breathnú thart ar an Idirlíon, feicim go ndeir an t-éan rudaí éagsúla i dteangacha eile, mar shampla, “Bip-bip” (Spáinnis, Fraincis), “Beep-beep!” (Iodáilis, Rómáinis, litriú Béarla, dála an scéil), “Miep-miep!” (Ollainis), agus mar ghreann sa chartún Béarla, “beepus-beepus!” mar bhréag-Laidin.  I suíomh Seicise, feicim a lán leaganacha: mik-mik, mig-mig, mip-mip, mic-mic, chomh maith le Beep-beep!  Má tá leaganacha éagsúla don fhuaim sna teangacha sin, is dócha go mba chóir go mbeadh litriú Gaeilge air, mar níl “-ee-“ i nGaeilge. Sa dóigh chéanna, tá “jeep” litrithe mar “jíp” i nGaeilge, ní nach ionadh!

Gluais don nóta: bonnán, horn (of car); éagsúil, various; fuaim, sound; go mba chóir, it would be right that (there should); go mbeadh, there would be; greann, humor; leagan, version; litriú, spelling; litrithe, spelled; ní nach ionadh, not surprisingly

Cultacha Samhna don Bhliain 2011

Posted by róislín No Comments
Oct 18 2011

(le Róislín)

As some of you may recall, last year we did a little vocabulary match-up with Halloween costumes.  Let’s try it again for 2011.

Each costume name has two words or phrases in Irish, one in Colún A and the other in Colún B.  One thing to remember is that word order in Irish is frequently the reverse of the English, so Colún A may not come first in English!

Nóta eile: Chuir mé comharthaí athfhriotail (“ …”) thart fá dhá théarma anseo mar ní dóigh liom gur gnáthchomhfhocail iad. 

Colún A:                                   Colún B

1) “Coslampa”                        a) gairdín

2) feairín                                 b) Gryffindor

3) róba                                    c) Uigingeach (Lochlannach)

4) laoch                                   d) zombaí

5) “stocamhoncaí”               e) Scéal Nollag

“Stocamhoncaí,” an ea?  ‘Sea, tá a leithéid sin de chulaith ann, agus cineálacha eile stocamhoncaithe freisin.  Tagann an “gnáthstocamhoncaí” i méideanna do naíonáin go daoine fásta agus tá leagan  “sassy” de ann freisin, do mhná fásta, le gúna agus loirgneáin theolaí!

“Coslampa”?  Sin focal nach gcloisfidh tú go minic ach is cuid de phopíocónagrafaíocht Mheiriceánach anois é, ó 1983 nuair a tháinig an scannán faoi “Ralphie Parker” amach.  Cé hé an “Ralphie Parker” sin?  Leagan ficseanach d’údar an bhunscéil, Jean Shepherd, faoina óige.

Céard fútsa, maidir le cultacha Samhna? Cén chulaith is fearr leat, nó cén chulaith ab fhearr leat nuair a bhí tú óg?  Nó an ea nach ndeachaigh tú amach agus culaith Shamhna ort?  Ní dhéantar é in áiteanna.

An ceann ab fhearr liomsa, ceann a chuir mé féin le chéile as rudaí sa teach agus péint spraeála liath ná “mactíre i gcraiceann na gcaorach.”  Fiosrach?  Níos mó eolais an chéad uair eile.  SGF, ó Róislín

Gluais: amhras, doubt; comhfhocal, compound word; cos, leg (also means “foot” but not here); fásta, grown; feairín, gnome; gnáth-, ordinary; leagan, version; Lochlannach, Scandinavian, sometimes “Viking;” loirgneán teolaí, leg warmer (pl. loirgneáin theolaí, with the adjective lenited because of the plural ending of “loirgneáin,” created by inserting the letter “i”); dála an scéil, focal eile orthu: lóipíní); moncaí, monkey (pl: moncaithe); Uigingeach, Viking (related to the surname “Ó hUiginn” / Higgins)

Freagraí: 1e) Coslampa Scéal Nollag, 2a) feairín gairdín, 3b) róba Gryffindor, 4c) laoch Uigingeach (Lochlannach), 5d) stocamhoncaí zombaí

Nóta: má tá aon amhras agat faoi stocamhoncaithe mar chultacha Samhna: http://www.buycostumes.com/Zombie-Sock-Monkey-Child-Costume/800412/ProductDetail.aspx

 

Ag Tarraingt ar Oíche Shamhna (Halloween’s Coming!)

Posted by róislín No Comments
Oct 15 2011

(le Róislín)

Halloween is, of course, a very Celtic topic, and you may be familiar with some of the basics of its role sa bhféilire Ceilteach.  So in today’s blog, we’ll mostly focus on the phrase itself, its pronunciation and basic meaning.

The word order of the Irish phrase is a reversal of the English.  That’s assuming, of course, that we think of the word “Halloween” in its original sense (Hallow + e’en, with the “e’en” standing for “evening”).  Curious, isn’t it, how we rarely use the apostrophe for “Halloween” anymore, even though the same syncopation process, dropping the “v,” occurs occasionally in “whenever” (“Whene’er you make a promise,” as Girl Scouts will recall).  To the best of my knowledge, that apostrophe remains  (Wheneer?).  Hmm, I wonder if the ubiquitous “whatever” that we hear so much of nowadays will ever get apostrophized (“I was, like, whate’er”?)

Anyway, “Hallowe’en” (to fully punctuate the word), is essentially “hallowed evening,” whereas “Oíche Shamhna” is “eve of Samhain,” with the “eve” part first.  This is typical Irish word order, since the word “Samhain” is being used to modify “oíche,” similar to an adjective.

“Oíche” [EE-hyuh] is the general word for “night” in Irish, and when used before holiday names, it can also mean “eve,” i.e. the night before, as in “Oíche Nollag” (Christmas Eve, as opposed to “Oíche Lá Nollag,” the night of Christmas Day).  Irish does have a word that is cognate to “night,” “nicht,” “nuit,” “nox/noctis,” et al., which is the “-nocht” part of “anocht” (tonight), but this “-nocht” cognate is limited to set phrases in Irish, and there are only a few of them, at that.  “Oíche” is a feminine noun, as you might recognize from the widely used phrase, “Oíche mhaith” [EE-hyuh wah], where the adjective “maith” becomes “mhaith” to match the feminine noun.  To be thorough in the pronunciation notes, I should add that in the North, instead of the “wah” sound for “mhaith,” it’s more like the English word “why,” but very breathy, like “why” with a puff of breath.

byb (or are we not minimizing “by the by” to “textese” yet? — BYB mostly shows up as “Bihar Yoga Bharati” online).   Anyway, by the by (maith dom an t-athluaiteachas), that “hyuh” sound I indicated uses the “y” to indicate the specific  ”h” sound of “human” or “humid,” not the actual “hy-” sound of “hybrid” or “hydrogen” and not the “h” sound of “hoover.”

“Shamhna” [HOW-nuh] comes from Samhain [SOW-in] (1 November), which was the Celtic New Year.  “Shamhna” means “of Samhain” and is lenited here after “oíche.”  In certain other situations, the form “Samhna” (unlenited) is used, for example, in “cultacha Samhna” (Halloween costumes).  And, as I know I’ve explained pre-this-blog, the “sow” of the pronunciation guide for “Samhain” is like English “sow” (the pig), at least in American English.  That’s “sow” as typically rhyming with “now” or “Frau.”  Not as in “sow” (to sow seeds, etc.).

So that’s the basics, word-wise.  Some upcoming blogs may cover more Halloween topics, such as costumes, candies or sweets, decorations, typical “tricks” and supernatural figures.

Other blogs in this series have covered the Halloween season, including “Samhain (1 Mí na Samhna): The First Day of Winter, http://www.transparent.com/irish/samhain-1-mi-na-samhna-the-first-day-of-winter/, and “Cultacha Samhna Móréilimh [best-selling] na Bliana 2010, http://www.transparent.com/irish/cultacha-samhna-moreilimh-best-selling-na-bliana-2010/

Meanwhile, for another view of Halloween, you might like to read “The Japanese Knotweed of Festivals” by Sean Coughlan, from October 31, 2007, ag http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7067804.stm .   Bhur mbarúlacha?

SGF, Róislín

Gluais: barúil, opinion; féilire, calendar; maith dom, forgive me (for)

Níos Mó Meaitseála: Míonna agus Féilte

Posted by róislín 2 Comments
Sep 18 2011

(le Róislín)

How many topics the basic idea of “an féilire” can generate!  Here are the months again, once again, this time with holidays to match.  The new hitch?  I’ve deliberately left off the first letter (or sometimes the first two letters) of the months as a memory-jogger.  As usual, you’ll find na freagraí below. 

For this practice, I’ve used the “Mí +” form of the months’ names, since it provides a bit more challenge that way. 

Oh, and a caveateen – some of these holidays are major, international, well-known, etc.  Others are not, but are documented somehow online, and at least provide a little interesting vocabulary.  For a few of the well-known holiday names, I’ve also left off the first one or two initial letters.  Cén fáth?  Cleachtadh!  Séimhiú nó gan séimhiú!

1)  Mí __anáir                        a) Lá __an Vailintín              

2) Mí na  __eabhra                b) Lá na nAmadán

3) Mí an __ árta                     c) Lá Náisiúnta Taoschnónna

4) Mí __ibreáin                      d) Lá Lucht Oibre (i Meiriceá)

5) Mí na __altaine                  e) Lá __éile __ádraig

6) Mí an __ eithimh                f) Lá Caille

7) Mí __úil                              g) Lá __ealtaine

8)) Mí __únasa                        h) Oíche __amhna

9) Mí __eán Fómhair             i) Oíche __inn Bhliana

10) Mí __eireadh Fómhair  j) Samhain

11) Mí na __amhna                k) Lá __eapairí Uachtar Reoite

12) Mí na __ollag                   l) Lá Seacláide

Tá súil agam gur bhain tú sult as seo!  Agus bíodh goile agat! (Bon appetit!).  Seacláid agus Ceapairí Uachtar Reoite agus Taoschnónna – a thiarcais!  SGF, Róislín

Gluais: amadán, fool; caileann, calends (caille, of calends); ceapaire, sandwich; féile, feast-day; oibre, of work; reoite, frozen, san, saint (usually non-Irish; “naomh” usually for Irish saints); taos, dough; taoschnó [TEESS-KHNOH-nuh], doughnut

Freagraí:

1f) Mí Eanáir, Lá Caille                                                       

2a) Mí na Feabhra, Lá San Vailintín

3e) Mí an Mhárta, Lá Fhéile Pádraig (Lá ‘Éile Pádraig).  N.B. The name in a saint’s day is typically not lenited, unlike when we simply say “cóta Phádraig” for “the coat of (an ordinary fellow named) Pádraig.”

4b) Mí Aibreáin, Lá na nAmadán

5g) Mí na Bealtaine, Lá Bealtaine

6c) Mí an Mheithimh, Lá Náisiúnta Taoschnónna (National Doughnut Day)

7l) Mí Iúil, Lá Seacláide (7 Iúil 2012!)

8k) Mí Lúnasa, Lá Ceapairí Uachtar Reoite (‘Sea! Ice Cream Sandwich Day!)

9d) Mí Mheán Fómhair, Lá Lucht Oibre (i Meiriceá)

10h) Mí Dheireadh Fómhair, Oíche Shamhna

11j) Mí na Samhna, Samhain

12i) Mí na Nollag, Oíche Chinn Bhliana (agus An Nollaig í féin, ar ndóigh)

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