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Ní hiondúil “hand” agus “arm” a dhealú ó chéile i nGaeilge, “lámh” a thugtar ar an dá rud. Seans go mbeadh ciall ní bá chúinge le “sciathán”, ach níl mé róchinnte faoi sin (féach Foclóir Uí Dhuinnín “sciathán” – wing; hand; arm). I gcanúint Uladh a úsáidtear an focal sin le “lámh” a chur in iúl (cosúil le “gaosán” in áit “srón”), mar sin ba cheart ceist a chur ar Lughaidh agus ar na na baill eile a bhfuil cur amach níos fearr acu ar an gcanúint.
“Agus” and “is” also spring to mind. But it would be fair to say that shortened forms are an exception in Irish, rather than the rule. Actually, I can’t think of any other language where shortened forms would be so widespread and systematic as in English … German has some, but they seem to be absent in most Romance languages, such as French, Spanish and Italian. Would be interesting to know why. Don’t know if this specific area has ever been researched in linguistics.
Tá fáilte romhat! Níl ionam ach foghlaimeoir. Is iad Labhrás agus Lughaidh na daoine is eolasaí ar an bhfóram seo.
Is iad ‘ar feadh trí lá’ agus ‘ar feadh dhá sheachtain’ (nó níos fearr fós, ‘ar feadh coicíse’) na leaganacha ceart. Ní bhaintear úsáid as an nginideach, mar gheall air go bhfuil an focal ‘lá’ á cháiliú ag focal eile, i.e. ‘trí’. Sampla eile: ‘feicfidh mé tú i gceann cúpla lá’, áit a bhfuil ‘cúpla’ ina cháilitheoir. Mura mbeadh aon cháiliú i gceist, chuirfí an tuiseal ginideach ann, m.sh. ‘i gceann lae’ nó ‘ar feadh míosa’.
I don’t know if I completely agree with you, Labhrás. Of course, you’re right in saying there’s nothing comparable to English where shortened forms are very common, but both “agam” and “am” exist in Connemara Irish, so technically you could argue that the latter is a shortened form frequently used in spoken language… Plus, it’s useful to be aware of the fact that certain words are pronounced differently from dialect to dialect, e.g. “chugam” becoming “chúm” in Munster Irish or “fá dtaobh de” in Ulster Irish. But yes, it doesn’t usually work the same way as in English.
A Aodháin, a chara, I’m not really aware of any specific online resource dedicated to contracted forms, but there’s a pretty thorough website dealing with Irish grammar in general, including contractions (e.g. ‘Prepositions’ – ag) and other features commonly found in spoken language. Hope this is of help!
http://nualeargais.ie/gnag/gram.htmNí maith liom do thrioblóid, a Fhear na mBróg! Is dóigh go mbraitheann sé ar céard ba mhaith leat a rá … Ab é an bunsmaoineamh gur fear den scoth nár tharraing aird an tsaoil mhóir air féin a bhí i do chara, ar nós ‘Jesus was a man among others’?
I would say the difference is mainly dialectal, ‘cathain’ being the Munster/Standard variant and ‘cén uair’ the Connacht one. According to the Christian Brothers’ Grammar, both are followed by a direct relative clause (Cathain/cén uair a d’imigh sé, i.e. not ‘ar imigh’).
I agree. Indeed, “Baineann sé triail as” is the first thing that springs to mind. “Déanann sé iarracht é a dhéanamh” and “Triaileann sé é a dhéanamh” are both grammatically correct, but “Tugann sé iarraidh air/faoi” or “tugann sé faoi” would sound more natural. “Chíonn sé le hé a dhéanamh” doesn’t sound correct to me. “Le” and “é” usually give “lena” when standing next to each other.
Haha, excellent stuff, Héilics! I almost thought that was an original proverb in Irish. Regarding my own suggestion, you could also say “ná hiompair an t-am atá thart ar do dhroim” (don’t carry the past on your back) or “Fág an t-am atá thart i do dhiaidh mura bhfuil sé ach do do bhac” (leave the past behind if it’s only weighing you down). I’m not completely happy with any of them, though… Perhaps someone else has a better idea?
Perhaps something like:
Ná tabhair leat an t-am atá thart ach le rud éigin a thógáil air. (Don’t carry the past with you except for building something on it) I’m slightly hesitant whether to opt for “thógáil air” (build on) or “thógáil as” (build from), but I think “on” is closer to the meaning of the Spanish original “Trae el pasado sólo si vas a construir”. Please do wait for other suggestions or corrections! There might be more idiomatic expressions or proverbs in Irish for conveying a similar idea.
I agree with Héilics about “shílfeá”. It’s a great alternative, as are other “reflection” verbs “cheapfá” and “smaoineofá”. But I’m not so sure about the “go raibh an tsrón ar dhuine” bit of the sentence. This somehow gives the impression that the nose was flying around of its own accord and ended up on that person, not that it belonged to him all along… Ach cinnte, níl ann ach tuairim.
