#Cois Fharraige

[an-spideog]

@sleepvines Good question, it can be pretty hard to find things especially when they're scattered about.

First I'll give general advice and then I'll mention some stuff for Cois Fharraige specifically.

Top Down Search

If you know the geographic region of your dialect, it's good to try and look for things labeled with the larger geographic region it's in and then narrow down, since often things aren't labelled specifically with "Cois Fharraige" (at least not in marketing) so you might have to look for "Connacht", then "Galway" then "Conamara" then "Cois Fharraige"*.

(e.g.) on teanglann.ie the pronunciation tab is just labeled "Connacht" but some of their speakers are from Cois Fharraige.

Adjacent Search

This is less necessary for Cois Fharraige specifically, but remember to be aware that geographically neighbouring dialects tend to be similar, so if you can't find a lot of resources about one dialect, a good starting point can be the closest one you can find. E.g. in Kerry, the Corca Dhuibhne dialect is a lot stronger than the Uíbh Ráthach dialect, and as such there's a lot more information about it, if you were looking to learn Uíbh Ráthach specifically, I would recommend starting with Corca Dhuibhne as a basis, and then shifting.

A Lot of Resources are in Irish

If you want information on specific dialects in Irish, often the information is only accessible in Irish. Books like An Teanga Bheo are in Irish, a lot of dialect studies like Gaeilge Chorca Dhuibhne are in Irish, so using whatever you can get your hands on to get started, and then transitioning/focusing once you're a bit more advanced is very reasonable.

Don't Shy away from Academic Sources

For specific dialect info, often the best info is in dialect studies, these tend to be called things like "The Irish of West Muskerry, The Irish of Iorras Aithneach, Gaeilge Chorca Dhuibhne".

Recommendations for Cois Fharraige specifically

The textbook Learning Irish by Mícheál Ó Siadhail focuses on this dialect specifically so that's a really good place to start.

If you're looking for something more descriptive, An Teanga Bheo - Gaeilge Chonamara by Séamas Ó Murchú is quite good and mentions distinctions between subdialects in Conamara including Cois Fharraige*. But as mentioned it's in Irish. There is a translated version online here though.

If you want something really in depth, that's when you want to look for the dialect studies, Gaeilge Chois Fhairrge - An Deilbhíocht by Tomás De Bhaldraithe is in Irish and gives a very in depth look at the dialect, and The Irish of Cois Fhairrge - A Phonetic Study also by De Bhaldraithe but in English talks about the pronunciation in the dialect. Note that Cois Fhairrge is spelt in a prereform way here, which also makes them harder to find!

Anyone feel free to add on if they know other resources for Cois Fharraige Irish.

*Cois Fharraige may or may not be a part of Conamara, depending on who you ask.

[swordscleric]

The Rain Road as Gaeilge

I am by no means a translator, but I do speak Irish fluently and have played trad for years (although I've lapsed due to college and work), so when the fireside chat mentioned having the Rain Road in Irish I had to throw my own spin on it. I may also record a version of it in Irish but we'll see. Shoutout to @franavu for also inspiring me with their Dutch translation!

An Bóthar Báistí

[First Verse/Céad Véarsa]

Áit go mbíonn na tonnta ag lapadaíl Ag an gcoill cois fharraige Airímis casadh an taoide Le grá chomh daingean le crainn

[Chorus/Cór]

Leag do drúcht-sa ar croí na coille I dtost na dtoinn nach madhmann a thuilleadh Fáisc mé le d’ucht, roimh m’imeachta Ar bhóthar báistí, slí na mara

[Bridge/Droichead]

An gcuirfear fuacht sa talamh? An bhfágfar muid gan samhradh? An gcuirfidh stoirm muid, ó bhealach Scartha ón gcladach, ‘gus ón gcoill

[Chorus/Cór]

Is mise an drúcht ar croí na coille ’gus tost na dtoinn nach madhmann a thuilleadh Fáisc mé le d’ucht, a ghrá, sula bhfágaim go deo Ar bhóthar báistí, slí na mara

Ar bhóthar báistí, slí na mara

[robynshellhole]

Why does my Irish accent (accent while speaking Irish, to clarify) sound like a rambling middle-aged man from Cois Fharraige, specifically while half-drunk rambling in the pub?

I know that I am literally rambling to myself, but I shouldn't sound like a middle-aged, maybe slightly older, man?

[sionnachin]

It's tranquil here

[psychiclilac]

I wanted to get back into learning Irish but I forgot how boring learning vocab on memrise is and how bland duolingo can be...

Duolingo could be cool but feels like translation exercises 24/7 AND only teaches the “bland” official form of the languages instead of being able to choose the dialect

Learning from books sounds like the best solution then

[toinghaeilge]

Amáireach

I was reading that the dialectal amáireach is used instead of the standard amárach in Conamara/Cois Fharraige Irish. To include an example from my introductory post to Connacht dialects:

Beidh siad ag baint na bprátaí amárach. Beidh siad ag baint na bhfátaí amáireach [Conamara/Cois Fharraige Irish]

Note dialectal fátaí for "potatoes", and amáireach.

The spelling amáireach is also used in the Muskerry (Central Cork) and Ulster dialects.

[unpoliglottanellamedia]

Cois Abhann na Séad

Cois abhann na séad ar uair bhig an lae,’s mé ag imeacht fé dhéin mo shláinte.

Mar a mbídís caora is cnó buí ar ghéagaibh ‘s mil bheach ‘ina shload ar bhánta.

Do labhradar na héin, do lasadar na spéartha, bhí an fharraige, ‘na caor-luisne lán suas.

Do mhúscail an ghrain, a bhí le sealad mór fé chiach, agus d’éirigh an t-iasc ‘na lán rith.

----------

Ansúd ar dtúis ar imeallaibh ciúise coille cumhra do tharla

An fhinne-bhean fhionn gur bhinne liom a tiúin, ná an fhidil, an fhliúit, ná an chláirseach

Ba bhreá deas a siúl, a mala caol cumtha, a leaca bhí mar chúr na trá

Ba ghile í ar a píb ná an eala ar a linn, is do líon mo chroí le grá dhí.

----------

Nuair a dhearcas í ansúd mar a bhí, an ainnir ba chaoine ‘s ba bhreátha

Bhí scáil na gcaor ‘na leacain réidh agus fátha bhí ‘na gáire.

Dob é an chom slím, do lagaigh mé im chroí, le taithneamh dá cló ‘s dá gáire.

Ó bhaitheas go bonn bhí a ciabh leí go trom is a cúl buí go casta fáinneach.

[thefloorisbalaclava]

🎶😘

😘

Omg of course I got a Celtic Woman song that is entirely in Gaelic lol

'Sí do mhaimeo í, 'sí do mhaimeo í'Sí do mhaimeo í, cailleach an airgid'Sí do mhaimeo í, ó Bhaile Inis Mhóir í'S chuirfeadh sí cóistí ar bhóithre Cois Fharraige

-Celtic Woman ‘'Sí do mhaimeo í’

Translation:She is your granny, she is your grannyShe's your granny, the hag with the moneyShe is your granny, from the town of NishmoreAnd she would put coaches on the roads of Cois Farraige

[toingaeilge]

At the Drop of a Letter

The word nuacht, meaning news, has its equivalent in Scottish Gaelic as naidheachd. In Cois Fharraige, we often hear it as though nuaíocht — this is much closer to Gaelic naidheachd and Ulster nuaidheacht (also nuaidheachd).

This is due to Irish speakers in the past dropping gh and dh sounds in many words. These sounds remain evident in Scottish Gaelic as well as in certain Irish dialects, particularly the further north you look. 

To understand why these words were dropped in the spelling reform, see fáil: its traditional spelling faghbháil (also fagháil) would’ve been pronounced the same as fáil in certain (though not all) dialects. As such, when creating the written standard, “superfluous” (though not really) letters were dropped. 

In a similar vein, words such as rua and trua can sometimes be heard pronounced as though ruaí and truaí in Galway, historically being spelt ruadh and truagh (also truaighe).

[kevin-ar-tuathal]

"Caithfidh mé é a dhéanamh"

Is cainteoir le Gaeilge Chonamara mé (Cois Fharraige, le bheith fírinneach) agus bíonn 4 ceithre shiolla á rá agam-sa nuair a deirim an abairt seo:

"Caithfidh/ mé é a/ dhéan/ -amh"

Ar nós:

"Caidh/ mé~adh/ dhéan/ -adh"

🤗✨🤗

I'm working on a new video, and I'd love to hear what people think the answer is. Unfortunately I can't tell you the subject of the video, it's top secret :)

[sionnachin]

Bhí an fharraige craosach inniu

[toinghaeilge]

At the Drop of a Letter

The word nuacht, meaning news, has its equivalent in Scottish Gaelic as naidheachd. In Cois Fharraige, we often hear it as though nuaíocht — this is much closer to Gaelic naidheachd and Ulster nuaidheacht (also nuaidheachd).

This is due to Irish speakers in the past dropping gh and dh sounds in many words. These sounds remain evident in Scottish Gaelic as well as in certain Irish dialects, particularly the further north you look. 

To understand why these words were dropped in the spelling reform, see fáil: its traditional spelling faghbháil (also fagháil) would’ve been pronounced the same as fáil in certain (though not all) dialects. As such, when creating the written standard, “superfluous” (though not really) letters were dropped. 

In a similar vein, words such as rua and trua can sometimes be heard pronounced as though ruaí and truaí in Galway, historically being spelt ruadh and truagh (also truaighe).

[toinghaeilge]

Gender Non-Conforming Nouns

I ran into this topic quite by accident, while looking for gender rules for loan words (nearly all masculine, by the way, and not worth writing at length about). 

There are certain words whose grammatical genders are pretty mixed up. This means they vary either by dialect; change genders depending on the form they are in; or based on their surroundings. 

You may find these useful:

Grammatical Gender Rules

Grammar Glossary

Dialects

The gender of a noun can differ from dialect to dialect. Take the word buicéad, for example. 

With the article an, it is:

An buicéad in Munster and Connacht (masculine) An bhucáid in Ulster (feminine)

Similarly, according to Ó Sé (1995), Ó Murchú (1998) and Ó Siadhail (1989):

Ainm is feminine in Munster, masculine everywhere else

Asal is feminine in Donegal, masculine everywhere else

Loch is feminine in Connacht, masculine everywhere else

Mí is masculine in Munster, feminine everywhere else

What Form?

Sometimes, nouns also change gender depending on the form they are in. Am is masculine, but its genitive ama in North Galway and Donegal is actually feminine (Ó hÚiginn, 1994; Ó Siadhail, 1989). 

Ó Siadhail (1989) lists some examples of gender switching between the nominative and genitive cases:

Note: The little letter pairs after each example denote different dialects.

Gd: Gaoth Dothair (Donegal, Ulster)

Cf: Cois Fharraige (Connemara, Connacht)

Ky: Kerry (West Munster)

Environment

Nouns can also be affected by their environment to change genders.Take eolas, for example. The Ó Dónaill dictionary gives the word eolas to be masculine. In Rules: Gender Nouns, I wrote that for masculine nouns a definite article beginning with a vowel is prefixed with a t: an t-uisce.

Naturally, then, with the article an, it becomes an t-eolas. 

However, when surrounded by an adjective, this happens:

Eolas mhaith

Recall from Rules: Gender Nouns, the following:

Masculine nouns: adjectives make no change (fear bocht) 

Feminine nouns: adjectives give séimhiú (beoir fhuar) 

Ó Siadhail (1989) proposes this is because eolas is affected by similar, related words such as aithne (feminine). He also lists several other words affected by their environments:

For cleachtadh, Ó Siadhail’s reason is a little bit of a reach, where he suggests that cleachtadh turns feminine as influenced by the word taithí (feminine, meaning experience). 

He also says that oftentimes, despite being masculine, the nouns are switched because the usage befits a feminine noun and vice versa.