Interested in Irish?
The BBC offers a Introduction to Irish course called
"Giota
Beag" ("a wee bit").
Online RealAudio lessons are about 5 minutes each (click on "Ceacht
1", then the "Listen
to Lesson 1" image on the right)
[May 2005] I also
recommend exploring the BBC blas website in general (esp. BBC radio ulster).
In my opinion, one of the most challenging aspects of
Irish Gaelic is trying to figure out the sounds that correspond to written Irish,
as they are different than written English. A good way to become familiar with
written Irish is to review the way Irish names
are written.
For example, the natural way to pronounce the Irish name "SINÉAD"
would be syn-eead. But most people now know
(thanks to Sinéad O'Conner)
that it's pronounced shin-ayd. In other
words, to learn Irish, you have to re-learn how to read! Here's another good
one to learn: séan is shawn.
Basic Irish Words & Phrases*
| Dia duit. | Hello. (Literally: God to you.) |
|
| Dia's
Muire duit. |
Reply to hello. (Literally: God and Mary to you.) |
|
| Is mise.. | [ehs mesha...] | I am... My name is... |
| caife | [kah-feh] | coffee |
| Is breá liom caife. | I love coffee. | |
| Slán agat. | Goodbye. (Said by person leaving.) | |
| Slán leat. | Goodbye. (Said by person staying.) | |
| Slán abhaile. | Have a safe trip home. | |
| Slán go fóill. | Goodbye for now. | |
| Nior thaitin sé liom. | [neer hatchin shay lyum] |
I didn't enjoy it. |
*Source: daltai.com
|
Created/First Posted: January 2001
Last Modified:
10-May-2006
lyberty.com