submitted 4 days ago by LadyButterfly@reddthat.com to c/casualuk@feddit.uk

11 comments fedilink hide all child comments

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[-] DakRalter@thelemmy.club 2 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

From what I remember of Connacht dialect, dhuit is a little like "ghwich". It's been a while since I studied Irish though.

Dh = gh when broad (surrounded by a o u) Dh = y when slender (surrounded by e i)
T becomes a bit like ch when slender (surrounded by e i)

[-] Skua@kbin.earth 2 points 2 days ago

When you say gh, is that a voiced version of the ch that Gaelic languages have? Scottish Gaelic draws an audible distinction between broad gh and broad dh sounds (the latter being less far back in the mouth) so I was probably somewhat misled by thinking of that

That said, I'm not sure how best to explain the gh to an English-speaker from England either! Getting close with the ch in loch is one thing, but then I'd probably have to explain voiced and unvoiced consonants

[-] DakRalter@thelemmy.club 2 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oIokUII7LX0&pp=micro

It's at 9.05.

To me it sounds like the Arabic gh or kinda like a stronger version of the French r or Portuguese strong r.

I really hate that the English all but killed Irish as a native language. Language is more than words, it's culture and a different perspective.

One of the things I like about Irish is the way you describe emotions. In English, you say "I'm sad" like you've made the sadness part of you. But in Irish, you say "tá brón orm," which means "sadness is over me." It gives a bit of detachment to the feeling, like yes there is sadness, but it's not part of you, it doesn't have to be permanent. I don't know if I'm making sense. I just really like that way of expressing things.

There was a really good video about an Estonian woman married to an Irish man and insisted on having their child in a gaelscól (excuse my spelling, I haven't studied Irish for almost 10 years now). She wanted her child to be a native Irish speaker, not just school Irish. I can't see Irish ever becoming the main every day language of Ireland again, and it's such a shame.

[-] Skua@kbin.earth 2 points 2 days ago

Okay, it is the farther-forward sound I was thinking of! Nice. I'm always a little wary of applying what I know about Gàidhlig to Gaeilge, I don't want to make assumptions just because there's a closer relationship between the two languages

I really hate that the English all but killed Irish as a native language. Language is more than words, it's culture and a different perspective.

I agree completely. I can't help but admire how well Wales has managed to maintain Welsh under fairly similar circumstances. Scottish Gaelic is even closer to death, but we almost entirely did that to ourselves - or, we did it to what is now a collective "us" but was then a sharper line between Gaelic Highlanders and Germanic Lowlanders.

I have no Gaelic heritage myself, coming from the parts of Scotland that were never strongly Gaelic-speaking at any point in history, that now-collective us means it's still mine to do my little bit to save

I am quite pleased that there's enoigh similarity for me to have understood "tá brón orm" before you explained the differences to English