Q&A Le Siobhán Agus Aisling – Thursday October 22nd 2020

Watch back October’s Live Q&A with Aisling and Siobhán above!

• The Irish Language and Dyslexia Irish is a phonetic language, particularly compared to English and French. It also has less spelling exceptions than English has.
  • Listen to Irish as soon as you start learning, even when you don’t understand a thing. This will get you ear acquainted with the languages unique sounds.
  • It is important that you pronounce each new word you learn. Use pronunciation databases, such as the ones on Teanglann, Focloir.ie and Forvo. Also, use Abair.ie.
  • Find someone who is proficient in Irish to help you pronounce words, if possible.
  • Practice everyday vocabulary very regularly. Such vocabularly is available in Bitesize Cúrsaí or in a textbook that includes a CD. Importantly for all learners, sound recordings are included in the Bitesize courses.
  • Read stories that have voice recordings: Access 135 children’s stories with text and sound here.
  • Take part in Bitesize Beo and Ciorcail Chomhrá.
  • Get an understanding of how Irish spelling with Crack Irish Pronunciation, which is part of Bitesize Cúrsaí.

• Ansin vs Ann
  • Ansin is “there” in a more definite sense, either a location that can be pointed to, or referred to precisely.
  • Ann is the prepositional pronoun “in it”, but is sometimes used to mean “there” but in a more general sense, for example, to exist: ‘Tá an focal sin ann sa Ghaelainn’ (That word exists in Irish) or ‘Chuaigh mé ann’ (I went there).

• Nár vs Nach
  • Simply put, nár is the past tense of nach.
  • Nár: When asking a negative question in the past tense, you use nár followed by the verb with a séimhiú or lenition on the first letter if applicable, eg. Nár ghlan tú é? (Didn’t you clean it?).
  • Nach: It is used with various tenses, including the present, future and conditional. It causes the verb to begin with the urú or eclipsis. For example, Nach nglanann tú é go rialta? (Don’t you clean it regularly?)
  • Nár and nach can also be used be used when making a statement, such as ‘An fear nár ghlan a bhróga’ (The man who didn’t clean his shoes), and ‘An fear nach nglanann a bhróga’, (The man who doesn’t clean his shoes).

• Peig Sayers: Read about her here.
  • Purchase her autobiography at these links:
    • Peig (as Gaeilge)
    • Peig (English language version)
  • Motherfoclóir podcast: 148 | Inglorious Blaskets: Peig Vs The Peig Myth

• Sentence structure
  • VSO (Verb, Subject, Object) structure is the foundation of sentence structure in Irish.

• Irish “pen pals”
  • Bitesize Pobal (“Community”) is our private daily-practice community online. We provide you with daily prompts to use the Irish language as part of your everyday life. Connect with others on a similar journey, and find a real sense of belonging. If you attend Irish classes, this is a good way to connect with people outside of your classes.

• How to say “in” in Irish
  • i = in a (before a consonant)
    • Tá mé i mbosca. = I’m in a box.
    • Tá mé i Meiriceá. = I’m in America.
  • in = in a (before a vowel)
    • Tá mé in uisce = I’m is in water.
    • Tá mé in ospidéal. = I’m in a hospital.
  • sa = in the (before a consonant)
    • Tá mé sa teach. = I’m in the house.
    • Tá mé sa bhosca. = I’m in the box.
  • san = in the (before a vowel)
    • Tá mé san uisce. = I am in the water.
  • sna = in the (plural)
    • sna scoileanna = in the schools
    • i scoileanna = in schools