Irish Gaelic?

I did see that haha - it sounded like a right ordeal Aran!

1 Like

You have such a choice of languages to swear in - luckily I don’t do Twitter. Swear Something in Manx seems appropriate for Irish Sea crossing problems…

4 Likes

I feel Irish Ferries could benefit from sponsoring Welsh - Irish and other Celtic connections… I remember it was Brittany Ferries who sponsored musical events and recordings bringing Breton musicians together with the Chieftains decades ago. Sadly, I have not been a great traveller but if I were one of those or ever become one I think I’d be impressed by a language aware travel business/company.

1 Like

… if the wrath of Aran ever passes from them… :smiling_imp:

4 Likes

Speaking from a point of ignorance, I must say that after learning Welsh some of the mutated(?) Irish letters now make sense. I’m thinking of the bh in Siobhan. OK, you are going to say “It’s not a mutation” or something :slight_smile:

3 Likes

I’m thinking of lobbying Brittany Ferries to come and take over the Dublin-Caergybi route… :smiley:

2 Likes

Yeah, keep it in the Brythonic family. :sunglasses:

3 Likes

Just while you mentioned the subject, the part of Irish mutation I struggle with but find interesting (and which is different to Welsh and Scottish Gaelic) is “eclipsis” where the modified letter is placed before the original, which stays there.
For example: Welsh goes cath -> gath, but in Irish you get naoi gcat for nine cats (the original ‘c’ stays there and the ‘g’ goes on the front).
When a word begins with a capital letter and is mutated in this way, you can then end up with a lower first letter of the word and a capital second letter of the word, e.g. i nGaillimh (in Galway).

6 Likes

gCuriouser and gcuriouser… :slight_smile:

4 Likes

Ah! Thanks for this! I’d seen the lower-case initial followed by upper-case letter before and wondered how that came about. You’ve made it all clear for me now.

2 Likes

Irish I am trying to reactivate in my head right now (challenged by a beginners course online Irish 102)
Irish: Is /Tá - Welsh : Mae - English : …is, there is…
Irish: Ní/Níl - Welsh : Does - English : (there) isn’t
Irish An/An bhfuil - Welsh - Oes/Ydy English : Is (there)…?
Irish Nach/Nach bhfuil - Welsh ? English : Isn’t (there)…?

That last line looks wrong for me in the Irish and the Welsh. And the single word affirmative or negative responses are not clear in my ceann/pen wedi cawlio either…

1 Like

As for adding question words into this lot… I have got a lot to get straight in my flipping from Irish to Welsh when I get to Llanrannog and want to avoid speaking Saesneg as much as poss…

Any ideas for getting these things straight in my mind/head/pronunciation apparatus/synapses?

1 Like

I guess just go with the flow when you get there. You will probably just snap over to the language after acclimatising.

1 Like

Reassurance much appreciated, thanks, John.

I’m late to this, but I’d like to say I’d also be interested in a Gaeilge or a Gàidhlig course after I finish the Welsh. I did the Duolingo Irish course a couple of times through, but it doesn’t really prepare you for listening/speaking.

2 Likes

I went Missing In Action a bit there, sorry for late reply. Yes, JD, I am edging back towards balancing my Irish and Welsh listening, learning, etc.

I found exactly the same that although Duolingo gave me some exciting access to adult words which I could start to pick out as isolated examples in news broadcasts, my ear never became attuned to either varied accents (because I was not properly familiar with the patterns, constructions and common phrases, nor could I learn from reading because Duolingo is just a starter, and as for speaking - Duolingo out of sight, Irish words out of mind!

Welcome back. Did you know that Now You’re Talking also had Irish episodes? I stumbled across them again yesterday, actually.

3 Likes

Yep! Done ‘em all, and although I got further through them with Irish than with Gàidhlig (Speaking Our Language - similar style or same stable?) or Cymraeg NYT - I am only talking Welsh because of SSiW!

Having said that, most courses bring something, but I wish there were a post SSi director’s cut version of them, in some places!

However, as a keen student of costume and scene-setting artefact (in another life I’d do great dramas and films) all three courses are a great time warp experience. Trouble is, I get accustomed to the prices quoted, and fail to look critically at what I am wearing before leaving the house, and then I feel the shame of the programmes’ deepest impact - time travel & nostalgia!

1 Like

Sadly I am talking, but not in Irish… The accents there are good - suit my Ulster adoptive origins, but the same author moved on to Gaeilge Gan Stró which is good but bores me to tears. and being 2Rs prioritising or 4-aspects equal, is putting the cart before the horse, which is what SSi avoids/remedies. I found a single lesson of Manx did more to help my Irish, so now I am trying to link any revision of SSi Welsh with activating or seeking out gaps in my Irish, reactivating my French, German and even BSL if I can achieve that.

1 Like

Oh…they can keep their Derry Air because the Air na Aran is more blue :laughing:

1 Like