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
