Clíodhna Campbell
BHUEL a chairde, tá Mí Dheireadh Fómhair linn agus le sin, oícheanta agus maidine níos dorcha.
October has arrived and with that, darker nights and mornings.
Mar atá ráite agam cheanna féin, tagann ‘Halloween’ féin ón fhéile ‘Samhain’ a bhí ag na Phágánacha in Eirinn. Sin an chúis is fearr ómós a thabhairt do trí mhéan na Gaeilge.
As I have mentioned before, the festival of Halloween itself originated in pagan Ireland in the form of Samhain. That’s the best reason to pay homage to it through Irish.
Seo achoimre ghasta ar an méid a d’amharc muid ar don Samhain an bhliain seo chuaigh thart.
Here’s a quick recap of what we covered last year for Halloween.
Oíche Shamhna—Ee-ha how-na—Halloween night
Samhain*—Sow-en—The festival of Halloween
Beannachtaí na Samhna—Ban-ocht-ee nah sow-na—Happy Halloween
Bob nó bia—Bob no bee-a—Trick or treat
*Samhain is also the word for November.
Some of the Samhain staples in our house would be:
Toirtín úil—Tor-cheen ew-ll—Apple tart
Toirtín subh mhilis—Tor-cheen sue vil-ish—Jam tart
Úll taifí—Ew-ll taff-ee—Toffee/Candy apple
Gallchnónna—Gal-hrow-anna (the ‘a’ in gal is pronounced like ‘a’ in ‘a ghost’)—Walnuts
Piseanna talún—Pish-anna tal-oon—Peanuts
Cnónna—Crow-anna—Nuts
Púca—Poo-ka—Ghost
Cailleach—Kai-ll-ach—Witch
Scanrúil—Scan-rule—Scary
Ar ndóigh, an Fhómhar atá ann fosta, agus le sin, tagann roinnt athraithe.
Of course, it is also Autumn, and with that come many changes.
Éiríonn sé níos fuaire—Eery-on shay niece foor-ah—It gets colder
Éiríonn sé níos dorcha—Eery-on shay niece dor-ha—It gets darker
Bíonn sé fliuch níos minice—Be-on shay fluck/fluh niece min-ick-eh—It is wet often
Titeann na duilleoga de na crainn—Titch-inn nah dill-yoga de nah krinn—Leaves fall from the trees
Sa gnáthchaint, deireann daoine ‘sé’ faoi choinne ‘it’ mar sin de má tá tú ag iarraidh cur leis an méid atá ráite thuas thiocfadh leat a rá:
Éiríonn an aimsir níos fuaire—Eery-on ann I’m-sher niece foor-ah—The weather gets colder
Éiríonn na hoícheanta níos dorcha—Eery-on nah he-han-tah niece dor-ha—The nights get darker
Éiríonn na maidine níos dorcha—Eery-on nah madge-in-ye niece dor-ha—The mornings get darker
Bíonn an aimsir fliuch níos minice ná i rith an tsamhraidh—Be-on ann I’m-sher fluck/fluh niece min-ick-eh nah ih reeh ann tow-roo—The weather is wet more often than during the summer
Tháinig mé ar frása alainn le cur síos a dhéanamh ar Samhradh a bá mhaith liom roinnt libh—i mbolg na bliana.
I came across a lovely phrase to describe summer, that I want to share with you—i mbolg na bliana—which literally translates to ‘in the belly of the year.’
Sílim féin go bhfuil sé sin dóigh foirfe cur síos a dhéanamh ar an tsamhraidh; ar lár an bhliain.
I think that just perfectly describes summer for me; the centre of the year.
Feicimid dóigh eile le bolg a rá san fhéile ‘Imbolc,’ anois tá Lá Fhéile Bríde againn ina ionad—am a léiríonn fás sa talamh agus in ainmhithe—tá nadúr tuilte. Titeann seo ag tús an t-Earrach, ar ndóigh, nuair atá an domhan thart orainn faoi bhláth.
A variation of ‘bolg’ also appears in the festival of ‘Imbolc,’ replaced by Lá Fhéile Bríde/ St Bridget’s Day—representing a time of growth in the earth and animals—nature is impregnated. This falls at the beginning of Spring, of course, when the world around us is in bloom.
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
PIC: JOSH WORONIECKI
