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I wonder how do you say ‘I wonder’, as gaeilge?
I was told by a native speaker they don’t really say it in every day use but instead would say…..
meas tú? which means what do you think? or whats your opinion – but used here instead in a sort of rhetorical wondering way.
Feadair is the verb to know but it seems it is only used negatively and interrogatively, (feadar / ní fheadar), I have an Irish help card that has N’fheadar cá bhfuil…. which they translate to – I wonder where is….
In the dictionary its said like –
Déanaim iontas (de rud)
Tá iontas orm (faoi rud)
There is a verb machnaigh which means wonder so machnaím or machnaigh mé means i wonder but this is unheard of to the native speakers i spoke to.
I’m Irish born and spoke Hiberno English as my first language for the last 30 years, only recently decided to change this and get back my ancient mother tongue.
‘I wonder’ is something that i use in my everyday language and find wondering alot about things is a staple part of my daily English vocabulary :), but I’m at odds as to how its expressed in everyday conversation as gaeilge.
Ainm.
An example from Ó Dónaill: Ní fheadar cá bhfuil siad anois. “I wonder where they are now.” I’ve seen it contracted to n’fheadar as well.
As usual, depends on the context. Give English examples!
And yeah, n’fheadar literally is “I don’t know,” whence n’fheadar an dtiocfaidh sé, “I don’t know whether he’ll come” = “I wonder whether he’ll come,” &c.
Cf. also, e.g.:
Meas tú an dtiocfaidh sé?
“I wonder will he come” (Hiberno-English), “I wonder whether he’ll come,” or, “do you reckon he’ll come?”
Ní mé cén áit ar chuir sí na heochracha…
“I wonder where (did) she put the keys…”
Bhí mé ag déanamh iontais dhó…
That’s more like “I was wondering at him/it…” though.
I see, so like English ‘I wonder’ is a statment the same as ‘meas tú’ is as gaeilge, as a poster on another forum said about ‘I wonder’ in English:
“If it’s just a declaration of perplexity, it would take a period, but if an answer is invited, it has the sense of a question.”
So like you said its down to what context its based around, but ‘meas tú’ is the closest in the context I mean, so is the following not said by a native speaker?
Meas tú cén áit ar chuir sí na heochracha
As usual, depends on the context. Give English examples!
And yeah, n’fheadar literally is “I don’t know,” whence n’fheadar an dtiocfaidh sé, “I don’t know whether he’ll come” = “I wonder whether he’ll come,” &c.
Cf. also, e.g.:
Meas tú an dtiocfaidh sé?
“I wonder will he come” (Hiberno-English), “I wonder whether he’ll come,” or, “do you reckon he’ll come?”
Ní mé cén áit ar chuir sí na heochracha…
“I wonder where (did) she put the keys…”
Bhí mé ag déanamh iontais dhó…
That’s more like “I was wondering at him/it…” though.
No, you could indeed say “meas tú cén áit…” &c., although probably only if you were talking to another person, obviously!
Meas tú is actually interrogative rather than declarative (“do you reckon…”). Theoretically, it’s [an] meas tú[?], but you can’t tell since the interrogative particle isn’t pronounced here and /m/ can’t be eclipsed. Compare, for example, (an) gcluin tú, “do you hear,” &c.
Obviously, and what if I was talking to myself, how would you say it then?
No, you could indeed say “meas tú cén áit…” &c., although probably only if you were talking to another person, obviously!
Meas tú is actually interrogative rather than declarative (“do you reckon…”). Theoretically, it’s [an] meas tú[?], but you can’t tell since the interrogative particle isn’t pronounced here and /m/ can’t be eclipsed. Compare, for example, (an) gcluin tú, “do you hear,” &c.
Ní mé would be one way (leastways in Connacht). Comes from the verb (do-)ghní = déan. See, e.g., the first line out of Máirtín Ó Cadhain’s Cré na Cille:
Ní mé an ar Áit an Phuint nó na Cúig Déag atá mé curtha?
In Munster you could well use n’fheadar &c.
ah rite, thats great altogether, thanks for that.
Ní mé would be one way (leastways in Connacht). Comes from the verb (do-)ghní = déan. See, e.g., the first line out of Máirtín Ó Cadhain’s Cré na Cille:
Ní mé an ar Áit an Phuint nó na Cúig Déag atá mé curtha?
In Munster you could well use n’fheadar &c.
Hi Cúnla, I was just showing the replies to my post to someone here in reality 🙂 and they were saying your replies look like someone who learned book Irish and not that of a native, I thought the opposite, are you a native speaker?
Ní mé would be one way (leastways in Connacht). Comes from the verb (do-)ghní = déan. See, e.g., the first line out of Máirtín Ó Cadhain’s Cré na Cille:
Ní mé an ar Áit an Phuint nó na Cúig Déag atá mé curtha?
In Munster you could well use n’fheadar &c.
Nope, I’m not a native speaker. I’d say my Irish (and knowledge thereof) tended in general a fair bit more towards native (or “dialectal”) Connemara Irish than towards whatever forms of “standard” or “book” Irish might be construed to exist, though. In addition to actually talking to people, I have indeed gotten some Irish from books—but those would have been books by or on native speakers and their language!
On the other hand, I’m not really against using things I’ve learned only from books, or things from other dialects or registers or whatever, no matter which language I’m using. In fact, I do it all the time: in English, in Irish, in French… And I, like most people in most languages, would be more liable to use a more literary or archaic term or construcation when writing than I would when speaking, too.
Anyways, out of curiosity, what might I have said that would have been too bookish, do you think?
ah no worries, I don’t know what he meant by picking up on your book Irish reply, sure I’m only native born but unfortunately spoke the English all my life. Hopefully will change that now though, all I do know is that getting to speaking like a native is very difficult because most of the teachers are now teaching that Irish standard (book Irish) malarkey. But sure that’s neither here nor there, we can leave that to the next generations to sort out once we all get fluent here first, id be happy just to get talking any old Irish at the moment and good souls like yourself will hopefully help me to achieve this.
I love the saying.
Is fearr Gaeilge bhriste ná Béarla cliste
Nope, I’m not a native speaker. I’d say my Irish (and knowledge thereof) tended in general a fair bit more towards native (or “dialectal”) Connemara Irish than towards whatever forms of “standard” or “book” Irish might be construed to exist, though. In addition to actually talking to people, I have indeed gotten some Irish from books—but those would have been books by or on native speakers and their language!
On the other hand, I’m not really against using things I’ve learned only from books, or things from other dialects or registers or whatever, no matter which language I’m using. In fact, I do it all the time: in English, in Irish, in French… And I, like most people in most languages, would be more liable to use a more literary or archaic term or construcation when writing than I would when speaking, too.
Anyways, out of curiosity, what might I have said that would have been too bookish, do you think?
I suppose in some cases, you might also use “níl mé cinnte / níl a fhios agam … (an dtiocfaidh sé srl.)”.
If “I wonder…” is meant as a non-commital reply to a statement you don’t agree with, e.g. “Soon people will fly to Mars”, you might perhaps say something like “Ab ea?”, “Ab é an chaoi?”, “I ndáiríre?”?
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