An insight into the sights and sounds of Irish

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Clíodhna Campbell

SA GAEILGE, tá a lán rialacha faoin dóigh a n-oibríonn an teanga. Agus an ceann is fearr, dár liomsa, ná; caol le caol, leathan le leathan. In Irish, there are lots of rules about the way the language works. The best, in my opinion, being; slender with slender, broad with broad. This refers to the sorting of vowels. Some are broad, some are slender.

In Irish—like in many languages—endings change for lots of different reasons, including to describe how or what a person is. These changes can be determined using the ‘caol le caol, leathan le leathan’ rule.

Caol
i, e
í, é

Leathan
a, o, u
á, ó, ú

If the last vowel in the beginning of a word—in the first syllable—is i, e, í or é then the ending you need will begin with one of the same letters. Likewise, if the last vowel in the beginning of a word is a, o, u, á, ó or ú, then ending will begin with a broad vowel. Some options for endings (suffixes) would be; eoir and óir. These endings denote agency —making the words into agent nouns.

Caint
Kine-tch
Talk

Cainteoir
Kine-tch-oar
Talker

Ceol
K-yo-l
Music

Ceoltóir
K-yo-l-tore
Musician

Siopa
Shopa
Shop

Siopadóir
Shopa-door
Shopkeeper

Bainistíocht
Ban-ish-chee-ocht
Management

Bainisteoir
Ban-ish-chore
Manager

Cló
Clow
Print

Clódóir
Clow-dore
Printer

Feirm
Fair-im
Farm

Feirmeoir
Fair-im-yore
Farmer

Focal
Fawk-l
Word

Foclóir
Fawk-lore
Dictionary

Other reasons why endings would change are to create abstract nouns— meaning; idea, quality or state rather than concrete objects. Those options include: íocht and aíocht.

Barraíocht
Barry-ocht
Too much

Tacaíocht
Tac-y-ocht
Support

Difríocht
Diff-ree-ocht
Difference (to make a…)

Tromaíocht
Trum-y-ocht
Bullying

Cáilíocht
Kyle-yee-ocht
Qualification

Abstract Noun
1) Barraíocht
2) Tacaíocht
3) Difríocht
4) Tromaíocht
5) Cáilíocht

First Syllable
1) Barr
2) Tac
3) Difr
4) Trom
5) Cáil

Last vowel
1) a
2) a
3) i
4) o
5) i

Slender or broad
1) Broad
2) Broad
3) Slender
4) Broad
5) Slender

Ending
1) aíocht
2) aíocht
3) íocht
4) aíocht
5) íocht

Bain sult as an riail is fearr agus is simplí sa Ghaeilge. Enjoy the best and simplest rule in the Irish language. Béir bua, Clíodhna.

Clíodhna Campbell is a teacher, language enthusiast and mother. If you would like to get in touch with her with any linguistic queries, e-mail: cliodhnamorgan@live.co.uk or follow her on Twitter: @cccliodhna