Saturday, March 26, 2011

Speaking Irish

The Dingle Peninsula is one of the strongest Irish speaking areas in the country.  Bill is now a fluid reader of signs in Gaelic.  He now recognizes An Daingean as Dingle Town.  Good thing too.  Once our GPS mis directed us and Bill got us back on track with his reading ability.

When entering shops, pubs, or other service locations it is common to hear Gaelic spoken.  In the short time we are here we will never learn enough to understand or converse.  We have learned some examples of Irish non-gaelic speech however.

Rain for example can be called patches of drizzle, a bit more cloud, damp, patches of fog, or even an odd spot of drizzle.  I'm sure there are plenty more that we haven't heard.

The word Lovely is used extensively to comment on whatever is said.  "We just arrived from Shannon."  answer "Lovely"  "Could I look at that scarf on the top shelf?" " Lovely:  It does make me feel good hearing that all day so I will try to incorporate it into my speech at home.

When greeting a friend, we have noticed that people do not say "How are you?"  Instead they say, "How have you been keepin'?"

The Irish can also turn any statement into a question with one word--THEN.  examples:

Bill says"I will have a pint of Guinness, please."  Tony, our usual bartender, You'll have a pint of Guinness, then?"

Lois  "We are going to Dublin on Monday."

Ann  "You be going to Dublin on Monday then?"

The cadence and brogue make the speaking flow and almost seems like singing.  We are really enjoying our conversations in Irish.  Lovely.

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