Monday Night Irish Class, March 3, 2008

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Irish Class, March 3, 2008

Irish Class, March 3, 2008

The first part of class was a translation exercise, with a twist: We were given 12
simple sentences in Scottish Gaelic, and asked to produce the Irish
equivalent, and the English translation:

1
S.G. Tha mi ann an Amaireaga.
Irish Tá mé i Meiriceá.
English I am in America.
Notes
  1. S.G. will often have a /g/ where
    Irish has /c/.
  2. S.G. seems to put in an ann that is absent in
    Irish.
2
S.G. A bheil e a’dol ann am bàta?
Irish An bhfuil sé ag dul i mbád?
English Is he going in a boat?
Notes
  1. S.G. puts in an ann that is absent in
    Irish.
  2. Irish uses the s- form of pronouns after verbs: S.G. e, Irish sé
3
S.G. Bha mi ag obair an-dè.
Irish Bhí mé ag obair inné.
English I was working yesterday.
4
S.G. Cha robh iad ag éisdeachd.
Irish Ní raibh siad ag éistacht.
English They were not listening.
Note
  1. S.G. uses cha for the negative, as
    do some northern Irish dialects.
  2. Irish uses the s- form of pronouns after verbs: S.G. iad, Irish siad
5
S.G. An robh an t-ollamh ag òl?
Irish An raibh an t-ollamh ag ól?
English Was the professor drinking?
[This brings back memories of growing up in an academic family. Bhí an t-ollamh ag ól.]
6
S.G. Bidh mi a’tighinn a-màireach.
Irish Beidh mé ag teacht amárach.
English I will be coming tomorrow.
7
S.G. Tha taigh aig Mórag.
Irish Tá teach ag Mórag.
English Morag has a house.
8
S.G. Bha an leabhar aig Eòghan.
Irish Bhí an leabhar ag Eóin.
English Owen has a book.
9
S.G. Tha aithne aig Seumas air Màiri.
Irish Tá aithne ag Seamus ar Máire.
English James was acquainted with Mary.
Note direction of acquaintance.
10
S.G. Tha acras orm.
Irish Tá ocras orm.
English I am hungry.
11
S.G. Bha iongantas orra.
Irish Bhí iontas orthu.
English They were surprised.
12
S.G. An do dhùin thu an uinneag?
Irish An dhún tú an fhuinneog?
English Did you close the window?
Note Scottish Gaelic still uses the “do” before the verb in the past tense. A vestige of this remains in the past tense in Irish, when d’ is placed before past tense vowels starting with vowels, e.g. D’ol mé bainne.

Other vocabulary
bíseach improvement (m1)
níos fearr better
Síos go hIfreann leat! Down to hell with you!

During the rest of class we finished reading scene two of Gaeileoirí and started scene three.

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