Winter is a real force to deal with in any country. For some reason, the Irish are themselves a force of nature.
Ireland is wet, a given. But winter wet? Oh, yes.
Summer? Is it dry? Is it hot? Is it raining?
Ireland is an island that is surrounded by ocean, wind, and rain.Morning could be gray, midday is sunshine, and evening is a pouring rain. Or, it could be all rain, or maybe just clouds. Or it could be rain that lasts for days...
If you want to know some Gaelic, there are many sites to access. It is a hard language to learn, let me tell you that.
When in doubt just say, "sin Éire duitse (that's Irish for you).
This issue has gone too far. I refused to be politically correct since before Clinton was president. In
this PC (politically correct) generation and country, more words and
more will emerge. Anything that even hints as a criticism of anyone,
race, sexual preference...you name it and it is not PC.
Recently the word "person" is under attack by students at a Washington (?) State University (maybe). The second syllable "son" is objectable: it is gender offensive. Now "son" should be "perx" or "perxn"? Did
you know that calling a person/perxn "crazy" is offensive. It should
be "albeist slur" which refers to a person who is mentally deficient.
Did
you know that at a recent SyFy convention, the organizers could not
create a food choice for space aliens? They chose to serve Mexican food
because this had never been served at previous conventions. It was
offensive because it could be construed as a reference to Mexican
immigrants or "aliens". "Homosexual"
is offensive and should be "same gender loving"..."elderly" is "people
of advanced age"..."healthy" is "non-disabled individuals"... A commemoration of the Holocaust was cancelled because "it was too Euro-centric." The above were found on Listverse.com.
How many more words will be under attack by spoiled and self-serving students? Can you think of some?
Parents: If you are paying for your student to attend a school of this nature, jerk the money rug from beneath them. Community colleges are excellent; two years of required classes there will save money. And, insist on a part-time job to help pay for gas and car insurance.
There. I feel much better.
This is a repost from 2018 or maybe 2015. I could replace the "date published" with today's date, or even one where my gr-kids graduated from college. What was written back then can be copied and paste to a new post. Basically, what was new back then is now old. New words are the same as the old words, just upgraded (!), made accurate.
March isn't near yet, but St. Patrick's Day should always be celebrated at any time of the year. Soda bread, Guinness, must be available at all times.
Ireland is more than liquids to imbibe. What has been an integral cornerstone in that country is its language, Gaelic (Gaeilgh). No matter what England could do or take away from the Irish, Gaelic was theirs and theirs alone.
In history, Ireland is darn bloody. From the north, the Vikings brutally conquered and generally settled into the country, especially on the Eastern coast and in the North. Bloody, darn bloody. Oliver Cromwell was a master of creating rivers of Irish Catholic blood.
The English, in their desire to "civilize" conquered the country back in the 1169 A.D.,staying there until 1949, when some counties voted to remain with England and the other counties voted for independence. Northern Ireland is part of the Britain, but the Republic of Ireland is governed by elections.
The people of Ireland are incredible, spending time and swapping stories with tourists. The Irish are well educated, and speak two languages. Irish Gaelic is not an easy language to just pick up on the fly. From the first class (children of ages 4+) to adulthood, students are learning in English and Gaelic.
Irish writers are renowned for their use of words woven together so tightly. The Gaelic united them in a way that is difficult to describe. It's unique and it's beautiful.
Early on, England recognized how it was not just Catholic or Protestant, it was how Gaelic which was the glue for the people. It was pretty savage on the part of the English---Children were beaten by teachers if they spoke in Gaelic. The effort to get rid of the language failed.
God bless the Irish. Dia beannaigh an Ghaeilge
This 4 year old above is from Northern Ireland and the accents there are heavy. Not as difficult to understand as Scottish, but read the subtitles. You will enjoy how devoted he is to getting his work done. I'm a busy mon.
WB Yeats is one of my favorite poets. Just threw this poem in, the words mean much to me
My father-in-law was a child in Ireland during the Depression. He was surrounded by first cousins, uncles, aunts...As an adult, the only Gaelic words he remembered were swear words. He used this word below a lot.
The Irish words for “idiot” are eedjit, amadάn, and amaid. Amάdan means “fool” and amaid means “foolish
woman”. Obviously, these are more formal Irish. But, eedjit?
Eedjit is the everydayIrish word for idiot. Chances are it was
changed to “eedjit” by the Irish to refer to the English word “idiot. Here are some thoughts from another site:
Eedjit:
Eedjit is one
English man, so…… Sure and, Eedjits
is more than one Englishman…. Dinna ye know: Eedjit is bein’ one sandwich short of a picnic…. Eedjits was stolen from the Scottish
language, Eejits. And I bloody well know… Hard tae swallie, bein’
an eedjit is official, dey up and
put it in de Scottish dictionary…
By the time I was thirteen, I had seen every Disney Zorro television program, appreciating Guy Williams and his handsome dark eyes. Then I saw the actual movie starring Tyrone Power, who could fence an evil villain to a fare-thee-well. And, I watched a movie with Ricardo Montalban, swimming across a river with Esther Williams. By the time I arrived at high school, I was primed and ready to learn the exotic language, Spanish.
Guy Williams
Ricardo Montalban
Our teacher was a first-year teacher who moved to our rural area only days before school began. Before ‘Map Quest’, this young lady had gotten lost trying to locate the rural highways that would guide her to our high school. Miss B. turned out to be an excellent teacher.
The first thing she did with our freshman class was to have us make a circle, and then read from our text books. The first thing we learned: que tal, which roughly means how’re ya doin’? We made the circle, each of us inquiring after each others’ well-being. Then, the rest followed.
Hola. Que tal?
Estoy bien. Y tu’?
No estoy bien. You tengo catarro.
Que lastima! Lo siento.
Gracias.
After we had all confirmed that we were all sick with a cold, our next lessons were much more exciting. It turned out that these Spanish people led pretty exciting and enriching lives. They went to the cinema (al cine’) to see movies (las peliculas). They went to dances (los bailes) and concerts (concertos). They even went to the beach (la playa). Our Spanish alter-egos lived amazing lives, full of song, dance, and splashing in the ocean.
Tyrone Power
What about our English-speaking real-time egos? The male half of the class were mainly sons of farmers. They returned to the farm (la chacra) where they milked cows (vacas), drove tractors (tractor)), and got very dirty (succio) with either pig or cow (excremento’). The female half of the class were in the kitchen (la cocina) with the moms, peeling apples and potatoes (manzanas and papas), washing clothes (lavanda las ropas), and learning that it would be more fun if they were Spanish, living la vida loca.
Yes, sirree. Learning Spanish was probably the best class I ever had in high school. My motivation level was high, really high. As I went to university, traveled to Spain, and ultimately ended up teaching English to many non-English speaking students, I discovered that learning a second language is one of the richest experiences one can have.
And, now I have discovered Antonio Banderas ---delicioso y muy guapo.
Okay--he's a vampire, here, but HEY!
What more can I say?
My apologies to any Spanish speakers reading this. I don’t have a clue how to use Word to accent or make correct punctuation. I truly admire the Spanish language, and its contribution to the world. Many thanks (Muchas Gracias) to the A-Z team! Check out the link below to find other blogs: http://tossingitout.blogspot.com
Di’a Dhuit. Pronounced “Desh do-it” (as best I can remember), this is Irish Gaelic/Gaeilge for hello. We lived in Ireland for several years, with our children in Irish schools. Our oldest daughter, Erin, was ten years old when school began. That exempted her from having to gain some fluency in Gaelic. Our younger children, John (6 yrs.) and Mary (4 yrs.), started into school with the expectation that they would be learning Gaelic.
Every school day, part of the classes would be in English. For the rest of the day, Gaelic was spoken and taught. John and Mary’s homework included Gaelic vocabulary and reading, along with homework in English. As for Erin, she had to learn certain phrases having to do with being excused to go to the bathroom, get a drink. She never learned them to satisfaction, so she told me she just “held it” until recess.
Gaelic is an amazing and difficult language.
It is beautiful to hear, and the poetry it has produced (andfortunately translated into English) is full of depth, revealing the courage and spirit of its people. All students who are University-bound must pass Irish Language proficiency tests during their university years. Sections of southwestern and western Ireland, as well as the out-lying islands, are considered native Irish language areas. Parents send their children to three-week summer camps in those areas for immersion. Some parents send their students to Irish/Gaelic-only schools, scoil, paying for this connection to their history through its language.
If I haven’t lost any readers by this point, I am telling you about this complex language, because language defines who we are as a people. All over the world, the many languages and dialects spoken are reflections of the people and their history. As the native-speaker generations age and pass away, often the language goes with them. We see it here in America in the Native American populations, where the elders take the original rich language of their history with them. Some of the following generations are left with only phrases and basic words.
Language is the basis of our communications, written and oral. Having a passion for writing leads me to having a passion for language.
Go raibh mai’the agat . (‘Thank you’ as best I can remember in Gaelic.)
Storytellers come from other storytellers. How can one learn the nuances and joys of oral storytelling unless they, too, have listened to the sounds of someone telling a story?
My father and brother Robert were great storytellers. My father preferred the longer, elaborated stories, during which he would gesture and embellish. Robert was a storyteller who used simple language, significant pauses, and excellent timing. Both had the listeners right where they wanted them, which is listening and responding. My brother Don is an excellent storyteller, who laughs along with the audience, and has me almost wetting my pants. My son John can tell a story with such language that the listener is transported to the site of story and seeing what he has seen. My husband John is a great storyteller. Right now he is reading about George Washington, and in the evening, he re-tells what he has read to me. It is almost as if I were reading the book.
I am a storyteller, although my preferred medium is writing. I have told many engaging stories to my children and my students. So it is understandable when my granddaughters tell me stories. Child #1is 6 years old, and Child #2is 4.8 years old, and that fact is quite important in the learning of storytelling.
Child #1 goes in for big productions, with blatantly stolen plots (Thank you, Brothers Grimm ala’ Disney). She got an influx of character Barbie ™ dolls for Christmas: Sleeping Beauty, Beast/Prince, Belle, and Tinker Bell. Beast/Prince is the only male doll is the mix, so he is one very busy guy, playing many parts. Her stories have all the plot elements that make for a successful story, including the Big Kiss and the Happy Ever After. Oh, also, at least one of girl dolls is naked throughout the story, because the girls can’t find the dress that goes with her character.
Child #2is more free-form in her storytelling. Her last epic was while the two girls were sitting across the kitchen table, eating doughnut holes and drinking milk. Her stories all start with ‘Once upon a time…” and go on from there. However, Child #2 doesn’t have the language base and images to call upon for her story (like her sister). Sooo, her stories are often like a plate of spaghetti, with the noodles meandering all over the plate. Her characters’ names are often from items within her field of vision. The princess was named Ribbon, and the prince was named Plate.
Child #1could tell from my eyes that this was getting to be a painful experience, so she interrupted her sister and asked, “Sweetie, how long is your story?” With her hands on the table, #1 held them apart about 12 inches. The right hand was the ending of the story, and the left hand was the beginning. Child #1 showed her how to move the left hand toward the right hand as the story progressed.
Well, that made all the difference. I watched her left hand move, vaguely hearing the plot twists and new characters (Milk, Napkin, and Cereal). Slowly, the left hand came to within ¼ inch of the right hand, and stayed there. When Child #2 reached a point that seemed to her sister and me to be a good conclusion, we started clapping. Child #2 beamed with her successful storytelling.
Sometimes, storytelling has a painful learning curve.
