September/Meán Fómhair

4 Meán Fómhair

Starting fresh…..School is starting. It is getting cooler (hopefully). September always makes me think of new beginnings. Like many of you I have been trying to learn my language, Irish, for many years, too many to say without feeling shame at my lack of progress.

So it has come to this, I have started a blog.

Tá sé tagtha chun seo, tá blag tosaithe agam.

Is cosúil gurb é náire íon an bealach is fearr chun mé a spreagadh chun Ghaeilge a fhoghlaim í ndáiríre. Mar sin beidh mé anseo, ag foghlaim agus ag déanamh mo bhotúin go léir go poiblí. Tar liom ar an turas náireach seo.

Más í an Ghaeilge do theanga, gabhaim mo leithscéal ó chroí. Más í an Ghaeilge an teanga atá tú ag iarraidh a fhoghlaim, is féidir leat a bhraitheann ar a laghad go bhfuil tú níos fearr ná mise

6 Meán Fómhair

Okay, feeling good. Figured out this whole blog thing-got some stuff up. Not a lot of Irish, but not nothing.

Tá sé an lá deas. Rinne mé blág. D’fhoilsigh mé roinnt rudaí. Ní mórán Gaeilge, ach ní tada.

13 Meán Fómhair

Lacking motivation…….

Ní maith…… Táim ag léamh Manchán Magan. Nascfaidh mé leis nair a bheidh mé ag foghlaim conas é sin a dhéanamh.

14 Meán Fómhair

Bheul, tá sé seo “frustrating”, de réir dealraimh, ag scríobh blag tá sé deacair. Ní aon fhios agam faoi ríomhaire.

19 Meán Fómhiar

Is fauth liom ‘auto-correct’!!!!!!!! An bhfuil bealach ann gan é a úsáid????

20 Meán Fómhair

Goals for today

-listen to a podcast, read an O’Brien book, write a post

XX Meán Fómhair

O’Brien books! These are lovely early reader books that sadly still seem difficult for me. Ugh. Baby steps

21 Meán Fómhair

Starting a book! Who wants to read with me?

The ideal read would be a trashy romance or a “movie” book like Dan Brown. Something fast and interesting. In a minority language these are not really options. It is more read what you can find. What we can find are kid books. The bonus here is that at the lower levels these are generally, in whatever their original language, written to captivate and encourage kids to continue reading. They will use simple works and repeat similar sentence structures. They also have to have a good story–they are competing with playing outside, video games and all the other joys of childhood.

We will be starting our “book club” with “The boy in the dress” by David Walliams. The very serious reasons that this book was chosen are, 1) an English exists in my house 2) it is available in Irish :).

The format will be much like the excellent format that they have over at Clubleabhar. If you are better at Irish than me then you should head directly over to them. Make yourself a logon and jump in. They even have a podcast as Gaeilge discussing each monthly selection. If you are still a beginner then stick with me (we will make it eventually).

22 Meán Fómahir

How to read in a language that you don’t know….

yes, it will be painful. If you actually enjoy reading (do people not?), it will be especially awful. This is finally what gave me empathy for those that don’t enjoy reading. It is a pain to only half understand something and stop and look up words basically every sentence. Fortunately AI exists (did I really say that?). I did–if you are vaguely my age you may remember struggling through languages at school. “reading” assignments were literally painful. I distinctly remember sitting on my floor giving the evil eye to the enormous dictionary and wishing that there was a calculator-thing that I could just type the word into and get the answer. “if I could only have that it would be sooo easy” I clearly remember this. Can you believe it? It actually happened! For once we really do have warp drive:). Online dictionaries are our magical Jetson life made true. In non-minority languages you can even read on an electronic device and just tap the word for even more instant magic. Sometimes technology actually works.

For Irish is it a bit trickier, but still so doable. Some people like to write all over their books–writing the English word directly into the book. Sadly my handwriting is not neat enough for that–and I find that when I go back to read then my eyes just jump straight to the English. I also have the public school kid fear of writing in the book–it still just feels wrong even if it is mine. What I have managed to do is underline the word. This also helps with my inherent laziness. Even though the magic of online dictionaries exists it still breaks the flow of reading to stop and look something up once a sentence. I underline the word and move on. Once a chapter I go back, write down all my underlines and look them up. This also forces me to go back through the chapter again. I might even get really motivated and make a Quizlet of my missed words. At the moment though, the most I am hoping for is for the list of unknown words to get shorter with each chapter.

23 Meán Fómhair

Caibidil a haon. So far it is very Roald Dahl–or maybe that is the lovely Quentin Blake illustrations–that man is a genius! And the best (for a language learner) starting sentence ever. “Bhí Dennis difriúil”. I’ve got it! I can do this. Whoops, sentence 2–tenses…..ugh. Wait, don’t go yet-really this will help. Remember in language class when you learned past tense, future tense, subjunctive tense–what? we have that? what is that in English? Exactly, you didn’t learn you native language like that. You just learned. Could I tell you the past participle of “go”? No. Can I speak and read English? Yes. This will help you recognize the root verbs and learn the tenses that I am sure you have done some “Christian Brothers” exercises on, but in a more natural setting. Keep going, just underline the word and try to get the gist of the sentence. If you get totally stuck you can stop and look up something but try to get through an entire page just plowing through.

24 Meán Fómhair

Did you do at least the first page? Yeah! And who cares that it is only half a page. You did it! Now we go back and really figure out what it says. I had 3 words.

an-leamh = very boring. This one emphasizes the importance of the fada. I initially read it as “very-reading”–what?? léamh = read, leamh = uninteresting

áirithe = certainty, surety

gairbhéal = gravel

These two together in the same sentence are what remind you that languages express concepts, not words. Word-by-word translation doesn’t really make sense. “Bhí tarmac os comhair tithe áirithe vagus gairbhéal os comhair tithe eile” does not mean ” was driveway in front of houses sure and gravel in front of houses other”. It essentially means that some houses had smooth “sure” driveways and others had gravel driveways. The original sentence in English is” One had a gravel drive, another had crazy paving.” What is really being described is the slight difference in economic circumstances–some of the houses were ever-so-slightly nicer than the others, but basically they were all the same. The next few sentences make this even more clear. You can get this gist initially without translating. Going back and understanding the meanings of “áirithe” and “gairbhéal” just adds depth.

Don’t worry, it will get easier. I did not read Caibidil a haon all in one sitting. Initially it was page by make myself do another page. ugh!

Focail as Caibidil a haon:

https://quizlet.com/835490331/caibidil-a-haon-ghuna-flash-cards/?i=bhsad&x=1qqt

cé gureven though, although
áirithecertain, sure
os comhairin front of
a léirighthat showed
cé chomhhow
ba chrá croíit was a pain, heartbreaking
coscprohibited
i dtine chnámhin a bone fire??? I think this is the concept of “bonfire”
d’éirighgot up
d’éalaighescaped
mínsmooth
uirthi féinon herself
cóncone
éiginnteachtuncertainty
é ag iarraidh intinn a mháthair a léamhwanting to read his mother’s mind
ab ansa leiswas his favorite
tugadh deisopportunity was given
i gceannasin charge
mífholláinunhealthy
ar chláir gháirsiúlaprogram obscence/filthy
nóscustom
nós suí ar éadanhabit of sitting on one’s face
faoin tráth seoby this time
faraor, is amhlaighunfortunately it is
ionannequal
murab ionann agusif not equal ??
d’aontaighagreed
a luato mention
is measa ar fadworst of all
cosc arban on
cráitetormented
airím uaimi miss you
sin an méidthat’s the point
go dtiocfadhto come? would come?
ag tuile agus ag tráby flood & ebb
Caibidil a haon

So wow, that looks like a lot of words–or maybe, you think that is far to few. Your list will be different. And yes, I realize that I have “cosc” basically on there twice. With ClubLeabhar they tend to only define a word the first time that it is used. For me, even though I read the chapter in more than one sitting, if I still didn’t remember that “cosc” meant prohibition, I figure it should still go on the list–hopefully it will not keep appearing in further chapters.

Did I make a quizlet/Anki*? Not yet, hopefully that is coming.

*Anki–oh, anki. You are a lovely tool. Spaced repition is the real deal in the science of learning. Sadly I am using all of my motivation to try and learn Irish–I am out of bandwidth to learn you too. There are lovely youtube videos explaining how to use it XXXXX. There is even a cheater iphone app that you can input like quizlet. XXXXXX Any of you true computer literate folks should use anki–and then use Forvo to input the sounds of the words as well—and then make a deck for the rest of us –ha ha–and then come over to my house and put it on my phone for me :).

XX Meán Fómhair

I suck today—didn’t even listen to Irish news

XX Meán Fómhar

Caibidil a Dó

https://quizlet.com/835492707/caibidil-a-do-ghuna-flash-cards/?i=bhsad&x=1jqt

ceadaitheapproved
a luaitheas soon
maidir le coscin relation to prohibition
i bhfeidhmin force
boisepalm
d’airighfelt
i ngreim intiin her grip
i mbaclainnin barriers
ba mhómost
a cholainnhis body
fonn ort a meáchan a chailleadhdesire weight to lose
ar mhaithe le faoiseamh a fháilfor the purpose of getting relief
tuiscintunderstanding
dar leis siúdaccording to those
era
ná gurbh eiseannor was he
imearthaplaying
tharover
a thugadhwas given
síob dóride (was given) to him
le sruthdownstream
dúrstupid
go géarsharply
go gearrshortly
go gairidshortly
go himpíochpersuasively
ag casachtachcoughing
ag sraothartachsneezing
sraothseries
go n-iompódhthat would turn
thathailhappened
amhail is goas if
bolgamstomach
údar náiredisgraceful
ag teastáil go gearurgently needed
fág seoleave this
bíodh foighnehave patience
go stadachsteadily
a shroichwhich arrived
ní hamháinnot only
ar fónamhserving
imearthaplaying
náirithehumiliated
báiregoal keeper
ciasúrscissors
de thimpisteby accident
impím ort fanachti beg you to stay
go dtarlóidhthat will happen
mo náire thú(my) shame on you
ar mhuin na muiceon the pig’s back
tríd chuigethrough to him
Caibidil a dó

Well that list seems even longer….. To be fair, the chapter was longer. An hear is the beauty of reading a kid book. Did you think that you would learn the word for “fart”? The fabulous sentence “Tá boladh bréan ó bhromanna mo dhearthár” is just not in a lot of grammar exercises. Or how about the sentence with “the snot exploded”? It certainly helps me remember both “snot” and “exploded”

XX

Tá mo pháistí tinn. Beidh mé tinn freisin. Ach, anois tá fhios agam na focail “ag casachtach” agus “ag sraothartach”.

XX

Ní a lán obair le mo Gheailge. Inniu leigh mé beagan Manchán Magan. Is é an údar go léamh mé nuair taestíonn inspiration do mo Ghaeilge a dhéanamh.

XX Déireadh Fómhar

Tá sé “déireadh” fómhar ach anseo tá sé te fós. Ach cúpla doleog ag titim. Tá an aimsir meabhar aige.

XX

Caibidil a trí

Bhí an olá shúil ag at ina cheann feargwere both eyes swelling in his head with anger
ag gclúdach leisthe cover with it
rósanna fuaite airroses sewn on it
B’éigeanhad to, it was necessary
cé guralthough, even though
suáilleachbeautiful
go díreachdirectly
Bhí an olá shúil ag at ina cheann feargwere both eyes swelling in his head with anger
náireshame
go hiondúilnormally
tríd an scipéadthrough the script
tharraing D anáil dhomhain isteachdrew D a breath deep in
ag teastáiltraveling
ar ndóighof course
a chlúdachto cover
éiríonn leis thú a mhealladhrises only to seduce you, he manages to seduce you
ar fad thall ansinall over there
anonnover-to the other side
ag drogallachreluctantly
cuideoidh mise leatI will help you
go díocasacheagerly
a réimsehis field
caoineacháinmourning
iontas airsurprise (on) him
deoir a shileadhto shed a tear
a bhí cumtha aigewhich he had
a chlaonadh chun aontú leisinclined to agree with him
in ann bogadhable to move
ag síneadhsigning
go muiníneachconfiding
tá mé ag ceapadh go bhfágfaidh mé éI’m thinking I’ll leave it
ag teastáil uaidhhe needs
as do mheabhairout of your mind
maith go leorvery good
bíodh ceann agathave one
an lug ar an lagthe weak on the weak
teastóidhwill need
go múintepolitely
B’fhadait was long
bhrostaighhurry up, hurried up
a shroichwhich arrived
luighlie down
ar a éadanon his face
fógraíadvertisements
ar an gcéad céadon the first
faoi na híomhánnaabout the images
d’ailtyour articles
an-chosúilvery similar
a raibh cuma beagán cantalach orthuwho seemed a little irritable
de chumhráinof perfume
sáitestuck
a raibh siad gearrthawhich they had cut
an ghalántachtthe elegance
an áilleachtthe beauty
an fhoirfeachtthe perfection
i bhfolachhidden
d’fhógair go soineantaannounced vaguely
fad a bhí siad ag imirtwhile they were playing
ag lonrúshinning
mar a bheadh ór ann ó íochtar na leapaas if there were gold from under the bed
go grinnwittily
fáithimi get
greimbite
deisopportunity
nach raibh aon leon cainteach ann arbh é Íosa é i ndáirírethat there was no talking lion that was really Jesus
na turaisthe trips
cé go ndúirtthough said
bhí an oiread sin feirgethere was the amount (so much) anger
cumhachtapower
ar aon nósanyway
B’in an uairit was the time
ar an gcúdachan the cover
faicnothing
bhí an chumait seemed
greim a choinneáilgrip to keep (hold on)
é náiritheit is embarrassing
níl sé ceartit is not right
ar an gceád dul síosfirstly
gáirsiúlaobscene
díomádisappointment
ar aon nósanyway
ar iasachtfishing
tógadhtake, taken, raised
sa chás seoin this case
ná fíneáil dá mbeifeá mall á tabhairt ar aisor a fine if you were slow in returning it
go hiondúilnormally
amú arísnormally
an lá áirithethe particular day
bhí cuma mhíshuaimhneachlooked/appeared uneasy
nuair atá fios maith acu gur ag seafóid chainte atá siadwhen they know very well that they are talking nonsense
de do leithéidseof your land??
amhailsuch as
eachtrannacha foreigner
faoina anáilunder his breath
go tromchosachheavily
go bunto the bottom
dúirt mé leat gan do bhéal a oscailt faoiI told you not to open your mouth about it
go dianhard
Caibidil a trí

https://quizlet.com/837978030/caibidil-a-tri-ghuna-flash-cards/?i=bhsad&x=1qqt

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