Posts tagged with "t-léine"

D-Day (an 6ú lá de mhí an Mheithimh) i nGaeilge?

Posted by róislín No Comments
Jun 6 2010

Cén Ghaeilge atá ar D-Day?  Freagra: “D-Day”

Yet another example of a “lá a bhfuil cuimhne air,” or maybe I should say “lá a mbíonn cuimhne air,” to emphasize the continuity.   

Amanna fágtar téarma iasachta sa teanga iasachta, mar huerta agus kloof agus “wadi,” agus sin é an scéal le “D-Day,” as far as I can tell.  Other times, by the way, foreign words are gaelicized, as in “íoglú,” “monsún,” and “sábhanna.”

The curious thing about this, to me, is that while “D-Day” and a number of other terms in English are accepted in Irish, other languages have adapted their word for “D-Day” according to their own vocabulary.  Examples include Jour J (sa Fhrancais), T-Tag (sa Ghearmáinis), agus E Eguna (sa Bhascais). 

I’ve seen “L-Lá” and even “D-Lá” proposed, but I tend toward the simplest solution (in most cases!), so will stick with “D-Day” (as Béarla) as the dictionaries suggest.  If the phrase were to be gaelicized, one wonders whether it should, in fact, be “L-Lá” (like English and German) or “Lá-L” (like the French).  Since the “L-“ is more or less adjectival, it could follow the normal pattern for Irish adjectives (following their noun). 

Or it could be construed as a prefix.  A parallel scenario can be seen with the word for “T-shirt.”  Generally, it’s “T-léine” in Irish, but sometimes one sees or hears “léine-T.” 

One final curious factor about all of this, IMBhU, is that VE Day and VJ Day have full-fledged terms in Irish, presumably because VE and VJ have clear meanings: Lá an Bhua san Eoraip and Lá an Bhua ar an tSeapáin.  

Gluais: fágtar, is left / are left; iasacht [EE-uss-ukht], loan, foreign, from outside; IMBhU, i mo bharúil umhal [ih muh WAHR-oo-il OO-ul] (which may be a new addition to acrainmneacha don Téacsais, though it may well be that others have started using it – ní théacsálaim go minic, gan a bheith ag trácht ar a bheith ag téacsáil i nGaeilge; léine [LAYN-yeh] shirt

Bunchialla do na téarma iasachta eile: huerta (gairdín); kloof (scoilt, altán mar “ravine”); wadi (leaba shrutháin). For details and nuances, please check the original languages!

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

 
 

 

 

 

Back to the Top