IRISH LANGUAGE Q&A

Q&A le Siobhán – 20 February 2020

Shownotes

February’s Live Q&A with Siobhán from Bitesize Irish took place on Thursday, 20 February at 20:00 (Irish time). Watch it above!

  • Three words for zero in Irish: náid, neamhní, and nialas. Náid can be heard widely, neamhní is usually used in Ulster Irish and nialas is much less common.
  • Aríst is a form of arís, which means again, heard in the Cois Fharraige dialect. Cois Fharraige is an area in Conamara. You might recognise the following towns and villages that are within Cois Fharraige: Bearna, na Forbacha, an Spidéal, Indreabhán, An Tulach and Ros an Mhíl. Cois Fharraige means ‘by the sea’.
  • The Irish word for today, inniu, is said as /in-yuv/ is found in the Munster dialect.
  • Féin, which means self, may be pronounced as /hayn/ in any of the dialects.
  • Dia duit (Hello) is still widely used. It is seen as many as being formal nowadays. Many skip it and use “How are you?” as a greeting. This is also found in Hiberno-English.
  • Terms of respect: A dhuine uasail (Sir) and A bhean chóir (Madam) are sometimes used in writing but can sometimes be heard in spoken Irish, too. A chara (friend) is more common in writing and in spoken Irish, it’s even used in government correspondence. A chomrádaí (comrade) is also used occasionally as a form of address among friends and acquaintances, similar to mate in British English.
  • There are lots of communities online and perhaps there is an Irish group near you. There might be the occasional pop-up Gaeltacht in a not too far off pub. Try out the Irish Language Forum. As a part of the Bitesize membership, Bitesize Pobal, which means community, also offers a way for learners to network with each other.
  • If you want to focus on Conamara Irish, Bitesize Irish offers a foundation and offers advice on where to find immersion courses. If you live in Conamara, get in touch locally as that way you can learn the Irish dialect that is peculiar to your specific area.
  • Find out what every word sounds like: Irish Language synthesiser Abair

P.S. What did you learn from this Q&A? Leave a comment below!

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10 thoughts on “Q&A le Siobhán – 20 February 2020”

  1. Dia Dhuit Siobhán!
    If you like please make a pronounce video of the Nicene Creed, I found it in Irish.

    Text

    Creidim in aon Dia amháin, an tAthair uilechumhachtach, a rinne neamh agus talamh agus an uile ní sofheicthe agus dofheicthe.

    Agus in aon Tiarna amháin, Íosa Críost, AonMhac Dé, an té a rugadh ón Athair sula raibh aon saol ann, Dia ó Dhia, solas ó sholas, fíorDhia ó fhíorDhia; an té a gineadh agus nach ndearnadh, agus atá d’aon substaint leis an Athair; is tríd a rinneadh an uile ní. Ar ár son-na an cine daonna, agus ar son ár slánaithe, thuirling sé ó neamh.Ionchollaíodh le cumhacht an Spioraid Naoimh é i mbroinn na Maighdine Muire agus ghlac sé nádúr daonna. Céasadh ar an gcrois é freisin ar ár son; d’fhulaing sé páis faoi Phontius Píoláit agus adhlacadh é. D’aiséirigh an treas lá de réir na scrioptúr; chuaigh suas ar neamh; tá ina a shuí ar dheis an Athar. Tiocfaigh sé an athuair faoi ghlóir le breighiúnas a thabhairt ar bheo agus ar mhairbh, agus ní bheidh deireadh lena ríocht.

    Creidim sa Spiorad Naomh, Tiarna agus bronntóir na beatha, an té a ghluaiseann ón Athair. Tugtar dó adhradh agus glóir mar aon leis an Athair agus leis an Mac: ba é a labhair trí na fáithe.

    Creidim san aon Eaglais naofa, chaitliceach, aspalda. Admhaím an t-aon bhaisteadh amháin chun maithiúnas na bpeacaí. Agus táim ag súil le haiséirí na marbh agus le beatha an tsaoil atá le teacht. Amen.

  2. I love your presentation of the Lord’s Prayer in Irish Gaelic and I would also like to learn the Beattitudes. Rod v.

    1. I can understand some written Scottish Gaelic to a certain extent. When spoken, I can only grasp the gist of it if it’s very basic, usually. A fluent Irish speaker can easily pick up proficiency in Scottish Gaelic in a very short time as both languages are very similar, the most difference being in pronunciation, I would say.

  3. Do you have an address for people to communicate with in the Irish language community

    Want to network with the secular community

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