Q&A Le Siobhán Agus Emma – Thursday May 27Th 2021

Watch back May’s Live Q&A with Siobhán and Emma above!

• The Irish words for “uncle” and “aunt” look and sound very much like English. Is it a coincidence? Did the words change over time?
  • Uncail does seem to be borrowed from English, originated from Anglo-Norman uncle, from Old French oncle, from Latin. Has been in Irish as far back as 1705. Another way to say uncle: deartháir athar/máthar (father’s/mother’s brother). Aintín, or aint, seem to only have appeared in the early 20th century. Deirfiúr athar/máthar would be another way to say it, which means father’s/mother’s sister.
• I know “Chuaigh mé ag dul isteach sa bhaile” means ‘I went Into town’ but how do I say in Irish ‘I was in town’?  
  • Bhí mé sa bhaile mór. = I was in town.
  • Chuaigh mé isteach sa bhaile mór. = I went into town.
  • Rachaidh mé isteach sa bhaile mór. = I’ll go into town
  • Nuacht mhall – the weekly news read slowly. A transcript and a glossary is in the episode description. 
  • Vifax – Practice your Irish with clips from the daily news on TG4 (Irish language TV) on vifax.nuim.ie. There’s also a worksheet available for each clip, including a transcript of the audio on the last page of the pdf.
  • Leighleat.com– stories with both text and audio.
• What part of the country is Siobhán from/which dialect does she speak? I’ve noticed that she pronounces w for bh not v. Have I got my pronunciations confused from learning from different teachers?
  • Bh next to a broad vowel (a,o,u): Munster Irish – often a v | Elsewhere: usually a w (can depend on the particular word)
  • Bh next to a slender vowel (i,e): v sound
  • Same goes for mh!
• In English, you can add “y” to the end of nouns to make them adjectives (thirsty, sleepy…), is this done in Irish?
  • Usually -ach or -amh ending. For example, tuirseach (sleepy/tired), ocrasach/ocrach (hungry), grianmhar (sunny)
• Please can you tell me if there are any books available that teach Irish through English which include written exercises for practising grammar, vocabulary etc. 
  • Gaeilge Gan Stró Beginner | Gaeilge Gan Stró Lower Intermediate 
  • Colloquial Irish by Thomas Ó hÍde 
  • Basic Irish by Nancy Stenson 
• Are “ceapaim” and “creidim” in Irish similar to “I think” and “I believe” in English? Can “creid” be used to say “believe that”, “believe in” and “belief” in Irish?.
  • Ceapaim gur tusa an chéad duine eile. = I think you’re next.
  • Creidim gur tusa an chéad duine eile. = I believe you’re next. 
  • Creid = to believe
  • Creidim i nDia = I believe in God.
  • Creidim é. = I believe him/it. 
  • Creidim ionat. = I believe in you.
• “Ar fad” and “ar bith” have so many meanings and are used so often. What is the most useful translation of each?
  • ar fad = altogether (literally, in length)
  • ar bith = at all/any | (áit ar bith – anywhere, am ar bith – anytime)
• Do any of your tutors speak Ulster Irish, please?
  • No one in the current Bitesize team speaks Ulster Irish. Bitesize however doesn’t focus on teaching a specific dialect but gives the opportunity to learn enough to focus on one particular dialect if you wish.
  • Céim ar Aghaidh ceimaraghaidh.ie
  • Enjoy Irish! – A Course for Beginners – Eithne Ní Ghallchobhair
  • Now You’re Talking! video series. Associated exercises can be found at this website: ultach.org