A Conamara beach in Winter

In a follow-up to the difference between Irish vs Gaelic video, Eoin and Caron chat more about what people call Gaeilge, or the Irish language. You’ll catch some useful Irish phrases for conversation during it, too.

Caron Osberg is an Irish study-group leader in Des Moines, Iowa, please visit her site. She shares with us an experiment she did recently to see what people would call the language.

Episode notes with Irish sayings and Phrases:

• Previous video with Eoin discussing Irish vs Gaelic.
• Learn Manx (Celtic language of the Isle of Mann, situated between Ireland and Britain): http://learnmanx.com/
• Past blog post: Practice makes perfect, learning Irish hard
• TG4 TV streaming by RTÉ
• Raidió na Gaeltachta - how to listen online
• Pick up 5 free Irish language lessons on Irish for Beginners by Bitesize Irish Gaelic. Learn how to introduce yourself, and listen to some of the audio.
• Apologies for the lag and echoing

Useful Irish Sayings and Phrases from the video

Learning how to greet people in another language also offers real insight into how the people who speak that language think as well as a glimpse into their history and culture.

Hello! in Irish Gaelic

The most basic way to greet people in any language is by using its equivalent of “hello.”  And this is where we get our first look at how Irish history and culture have influenced the language.

The formal way to say “hello” in Irish, is literally to say “God to you“:

• To one person: Dia dhuit JEE-uh Gwitch
• To multiple people: Dia dhaoibh JEE-uh YEE-iv

The correct response to being greeted in this way is, literally, God and Mary to you”:

• To one person: Dia is Muire dhuit JEE-uh iss MWIR-uh Gwitch
• To multiple people: Dia is Muire dhaoibh JEE-uh iss MWIR-uh DEE-iv

The Catholic identity is so deeply ingrained in Gaelic history and culture that even non-religious people, or people of other faiths, use these greetings as a matter of course.

It’s a little like saying “Goodbye” in English (which was originally “God be with you”) or “Adios” (“to God”) in Spanish…people just use it, religious or not, without worrying about what it actually means.

How are you?

The Irish don’t stand much on formality, however, and a much more common way to greet someone is to ask how he or she is. There are several ways to do this, but among the more common are:

In Munster (the southern part of Ireland):

• To one person: Conas ‘tá tú? KUN-uss TAW too?
• To multiple people: Conas ‘tá sibh? KUN-uss TAW shiv?

This literally means “how are you?”

In Connacht (the western part of Ireland):

• To one person: Cén chaoi a bhfuil tú? Kayn hee uh WILL too?
• To multiple people: Cén chaoi a bhfuil sibh? Kayn hee uh WILL shiv?

This literally means “what is the way/manner that you are?”

In Ulster (the northern part of Ireland):

• To one person: Cad é mar atá tú? Kuh-JAY mar uh-TAW too?
• To multiple people: Cad é mar atá sibh? Kuh-JAY mar uh-TAW shiv?

This literally means “what/how is it like being you?”

Regardless of which greeting is used (and all three are understood all over Ireland), In the cities, or with someone you just know casually, this can be answered simply with:

• go maith, go raibh maith agat guh mah, GUR-ev mah uh-GUT

Literally “I’m well, thank you”.

But be prepared! The Irish are generally both less hurried and more sociable than Americans, and if this is a friend who’s greeted you, he or she may well expect a chat rather than just “fine, thanks.”

In other words, when they say How are you? they often really want to know!

Wassup?

As you might expect, there’s also a short and sweet way of greeting a friend:

• Aon scéal? Ayn shkayl?

This literally means “any news?”

If you have news to share, than you would, by all means, share it, but probably more often you’d be likely to answer:

• Diabhal an scéal! JOW-ul un shkayl!

This literally means “devil the news!” (there’s a religious figure working its way in there again!). “Devil” is often used to mean “no/nothing at all,” in both Irish and Hiberno-English.

Good morning!

The classic Irish way to say “good morning” is:

• To one person: Dia dhuit ar maidin: JEE-uh Gwitch air MA-jin
• To multiple people: Dia dhaoibh ar maidin: JEE-uh DEE-iv air MA-jin

This literally means “God to you this morning.”

You will also hear:

• Maidin mhaith MA-jin vah

This is literally “good morning,” but is considered by some to be “Béarlachas” BAYR-luh-khuss — in other words: Anglicized.

One thing you won’t hear, though, in English or Irish, is “top of the morning.” That’s “stage Irish,” straight from Broadway and Hollywood, and not something actual Irish people say.

Want to take a free Irish language lesson with audio? Take our free Irish for Beginners mini-series.

Was this post helpful to you?

Before you read this, did you have a different idea as to how Irish people might greet one another, in English or in Irish Gaelic?  Post your thoughts below!

Far away from my computer, in the Conamara Gaeltacht.

What if you could keep learning Irish when you’re not online?

When you want to put your head down and learn Irish, you should come to Bitesize Irish Gaelic and take our online Irish course with interactive audio lessons.

The limitation is, you need to be in front of your computer, iPhone, iPad, or Android device to be using Bitesize Irish Gaelic lessons.

In many ways, this is a good thing. Learning language is hard, and it’s hard to keep going. For active learning, you should be concentrating as much as possible oo the lesson in front of you. Click on a phrase to listen to it as many times as you like until you’re comfortable with it.

(Update: Pre-orders are no longer available, as of Monday April 23rd 2012.)

But what happens when you can’t learn at your computer?

It’s not always possible to use online lessons to learn Irish, right?

What if you really want to keep learning Ireland’s native language, but you’re on the move?

What if you’re driving?

What if you’re working out in the gym?

We’re trying something new: Learn Irish with audio lessons

Following all your great feedback, I took the Bitesize Irish Gaelic lesson “Greetings and Introductions 1”.

I recorded an audio–only version of the lesson.

This is a taster of what may come, so be sure to read on.

Listen to “Greetings and Introductions 1” audio lesson right now

Option 1: Stream online

Option 2: Save the MP3 file

Right click on this link, and save the target to your computer.

Alternatively, just click directly on the URL, and “File, Save As” the MP3 file when it opens in your browser.

Option 3: QR Code

Do you have a smart-phone? Scan this QR Code to get the MP3 URL to your phone:

Scan with your smartphone's barcode reader to get a link to the MP3.

How do I get more of these Irish audio lessons?

I’m giving you the chance to pre-order five more Irish audio lessons below.

Update: Pre-orders have now closed!

You’ll be among the first to receive these. And we’re only taking pre-orders for a limited time.

What audio lessons will I get if I pre-order?

The audio lessons will be Bitesize Irish Gaelic read out aloud, ready for you to download as MP3 to put on your phone, iPod, or MP3 player.

The lessons will include:

• What’s your name?
• Parting company
• Your first conversation
• Count from 1 to 10
• Irish language alphabet

If enough people like this audio course, we’ll consider offering a more comprehensive course later on.

How do I pre-order the five Irish audio lessons?

Click on the payment button below. After checkout, be sure to click on the email confirmation link you’ll receive.

When will I get the pre-ordered audio lessons?

You will receive your five MP3 files within the next four weeks of this blog post.

In what format will I receive the lessons?

They will be available as MP3 files. Such files can be imported to iTunes, for example, or copied directly to your MP3 player.

How will I get the audio lessons when they are available?

I’ll send you an email notification. I’ll tell you where to download the audio lesson MP3 files when they’re up.

Pre-order your five next audio lessons right here

Update: pre-orders are now closed, and not available.

For a grand total of just $7 (paid at checkout), you’ll be the first to access this new audio course of five more lessons as soon as they become available.

Of course, you’ll be covered by our usual a 30-day full refund guarantee.

[Signup button removed]

This is open to everyone, regardless of whether or not you’re currently a member of Bitesize Irish Gaelic online interactive lessons.

Is this type of thing for you? I’d love to hear your thoughts below.

There are several ways to form the genitive in Irish, depending on such factors as the gender, number, and declension of the noun.  That’s really beyond the scope of a single blog post.  If you’re learning Irish, your teacher, book, or program should help with that.

If you’re a Bitesize Irish Gaelic member, you can access these lessons on the genitive, complete with audio, via the following links:

• Lesson: Possession – Part 5: The Genitive Case
• Lesson: Nouns: The Genitive Case – Part 1
• Lesson: Nouns: The Genitive Case – Part 2

What this post will discuss, rather, is some of the ways the genitive is used in the Irish language, and why it’s so important to get a handle on it.

First, a couple of terms

It’s impossible to discuss grammar without using a few specialized terms. Here are a few that I’ll be using in this post:

Noun: A word that refers to a person, a place, or a thing.  “Dog,” “teapot,” “man,” and “Dublin” are all nouns.

Adjective: A word that describes a noun or pronoun. “Ugly,” “funny,” “cold”, and “pretty” are all adjectives.

Case: A special form a noun or adjective can take that indicates its relationship to the other words around it.

How the genitive is used in Irish

The genitive case is used a lot in Irish. Three of the most common uses are:

• To show possession
• In a place where “of” would be used in English
• To turn a noun into an adjective.

Using the genitive to show possession

In English, if we want to say that something belongs to someone, we use an apostrophe followed by  the letter “s”:

Seán‘s house

The man‘s hat

If we’re talking about multiple owners, we use put the apostrophe after the letter “s”:

The Murphys’ boat

In Irish what we do instead is put the word that represents the owner(s) into the genitive case and put it AFTER the word for the thing that is owned: For example:

Seán = Seán and teach = house, but teach Sheáin = Seán’s house

Hata = hat and an fear = the man, but hata an fhir = the man’s hat

Ó Murchú = Murphy and bád = boat, but bád Uí Mhurchú = the Murphys’ boat

“Sheáin,” “an fhir,” and “Uí Mhurchú” are the genitive forms of “Seán,” “an fear,” and “Ó Murchú.”

In place of “of”

The genitive case is often used in Irish where we would use the word “of” in English. One of the easiest ways to show how this works is through Irish surnames.

You probably already know that the “Mac” (sometimes Anglicized to “Mc”) in an Irish surname means “son.” You may not know that the “Ó” (usually Anglicized to “O’”) means “grandson/descendent.”

All native Gaelic surnames originally meant “son/descendent of [a man's given name, nickname, or occupation].” Instead of using a word for “of,” however, Irish puts the name, nickname, or occupation in the genitive case. For example:

Mac = Son.  Aodh = A man’s name.  Mac Aoidh = Son of Aodh: The Irish form of “McKay” or “McKee.”

Ó = Grandson/descendent.  Gabha = Blacksmith.  Ó Gabhann = Grandson/descendent of a Blacksmith: The Irish form of “Gowen” or “Going.”

When a noun becomes an adjective

We use nouns as adjectives (that is, as words that describe another noun) all the time in English. For example:

Butter knife

Fire extinguisher 

In the above examples, “butter” and ”fire” are nouns acting as adjectives, because they describe what kind of “knife” or “extinguisher” we’re talking about.

In Irish, though, we can’t just put one noun in front of another as we do in English. What we do instead is take the first noun, put it in the genitive case, and then move it after the word it describes, which is where adjectives are placed in Irish:

Scian = knife.  Im = butter.  Scian ime = butter knife.

Múchtóir = extinguisher.  Dóiteán = fire.  Múchtóir dóiteáin = fire extinguisher.

“Ime” and “dóiteáin” are the genitive forms of “i,” and “dóiteán.”

Did you find this post helpful?

Did this post help you understand the importance of the genitive case in Irish grammar? Let us know by posting a comment below.

Inch Strand in Co. Chiarraí/Co. Kerry in Ireland. On this peninsula, the Irish language is spoken daily, in places. Copyright 2012 eTeanga.

Can you teach me to speak Celtic?

When people become aware of my interest in all things Irish, the question soon arises:

“Do you speak Celtic? Can you teach me to speak it?”

I’d be happy to, if it weren’t for one small problem: There’s no such language as “Celtic.”

It’s a family thing

It’s not that the word “Celtic” doesn’t exist in regards to language…it most certainly does! It doesn’t refer to a single language, however, but rather to a family of related languages.

Perhaps you’ve heard languages such as French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian referred to as “Romance Languages” because they are descended from the language of the Romans.

In the same vein, we refer to the languages of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, Brittany, and the Isle of Man as “Celtic Languages” because they came from the language of the Celts.

Unlike the Romans, however, the Celts were never a single, united, people.  Their societies were tribal, so from the very beginning their languages differed somewhat from one another.

Also unlike the Romans the Celtic tribes didn’t have a single, uniting, city or country.  As they moved about, their languages began to diverge, until they became functionally different languages.

In addition, the common ancestor of the Celtic languages (which linguists call “Proto-Celtic“) has been lost. We know it must have existed, but we can only guess as to what it may have looked like.

One family, two branches

To make things even more complicated, there are two distinct branches of the Celtic Family Tree:

• Goidelic (Gaelic): This branch includes Irish (Gaeilge), Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig), and Manx (Gaelg).

• Brythonic (British): This branch includes Welsh (Cymraeg), Cornish (Kernewek), and Breton (Brezhoneg).

Are they really that different?

Sometimes it can be hard to believe that closely related languages can be all that different from one another.  It’s true the Celtic languages share a lot of common characteristics, including:

• A verb-subject-object (VSO) sentence structure.
• The lack of an infinitive verb form.
• Two forms of the verb “to be.”
• Two grammatical genders.

To give you an idea as to just how different they are from one another, here’s how you might ask someone if he or she spoke each of the Celtic languages in that language:

“Do you speak…”

• Irish (click above to listen): An bhfuil Gaeilge agat? “Do you speak Irish?”

• Scottish Gaelic: A bheil Gàidhlig agad? “Do you speak Gaelic?”

• Manx: Vel Gaelg ayd? “Do you speak Manx?”

• Welsh: Dych chi’n siarad Cymraeg? “Do you speak Welsh?”

• Cornish: A wodhesta kewsel Kernewek? “Do you speak Cornish?”

• Breton: C’hwi a gaoja Brezhoneg? “Do you speak Breton?”

By the way, if you’re a Bitesize Irish Gaelic member, check out out the full members’ lesson, Lesson: Do you speak Irish?.

So I guess I can’t learn to speak “Celtic” then, right?

Well…that’s right. You can’t learn to speak a language named ”Celtic.” It doesn’t exist. You can, however, learn to speak a Celtic language!

Pick your country!

Irish (usually just called “Irish;” sometimes “Irish Gaelic”), Scottish Gaelic (usually just called “Gaelic”), Breton, and Welsh are still spoken as the day-to-day languages of thousands of people.

There are newspapers, radio and TV stations (often available on-line), schools, and learning materials devoted to these languages, and it’s fairly easy for a learner to find self-teaching resources.

Manx and Cornish can be more difficult. Linguists consider them “dead languages,” because no native speakers of those languages, (i.e., people who learned them as their first language) still exist.

That said, there are strong revival movements for both languages, and native speakers existed recently enough that we still know what the languages sound like, so don’t let that stop you!

You may not be able to learn to speak “Celtic,” but you can learn to speak a language of the Celts!

Was this post helpful to you?

I hope this post helped. Before you read it, what did you think “Celtic” referred to? Just leave a reply below.

The number of Irish (Gaelic) words you actually need to learn is actually quite small. I’m not saying that learning to speak Irish is as simple as memorizing a list of Irish words, far from it! But if you can become familiar with a small list of core words, you’ll be laying a foundation for your language learning.

Here are the most common Irish words in Bitesize Irish Gaelic audio recordings

The most common words recorded with pronunciation for Bitesize Irish Gaelic online lessons.

How many of those words do you recognize?  Please leave a reply below. Were you surprised by the words that showed up here from our on-line Irish lessons?

Even if you’re just starting to learn Irish words and their pronunciation, it’s useful to see what the most common words are.

Here are certainly some important ones: Tá, go, maith, mé, sé, Ní, nach, tú le, bhfuil, liom, anseo… These words usually don’t make sense on their own. They belong to phrases and expressions. If you have taken our free Irish for Beginners mini-series, you’ll have encountered many of these words in your first conversation lessons.

But what if I don’t know these words?

We all start somewhere! If you’re completely new here, read our resource How to learn Irish?.

If you’re a Bitesize Irish Gaelic member, go to your 100+ lessons and continue listening to the several thousand of audio recordings. (If you’re not a member, you can sign up if you like).

Finally, if the pronunciation of these written Irish words seems alien to you, it’s that you don’t have the pronunciation rules yet. If you know the rules, you can even figure out the pronunciation of Irish words you have never before seen. See our Pronunciation Cheat Sheets to help you on this (but make sure you’re serious about learning before investing in them).

What new Irish word have you learned this week? Leave a reply below with that, or any questions you have.

Let's walk up Cruach Phádraig - Croagh Patrick, Co. Mayo, Ireland.

When we embark on the journey of learning a new language, we soon find ourselves going through four distinct stages.  Understanding that these stages will happen and that they are normal can go a long way to helping us enjoy the ride.

Stage 1: The Honeymoon

Eoin's happy and excited to start on the journey up the mountain.

This is the exciting, first, stage of learning just about anything.  You’re going to learn a new language!  You sign up for lessons (live or on-line), buy books, DVDs, and instructional programs, and resolve to study diligently every day.

Anticipation is what makes this phase particularly fun.  Those shiny new books are enticing and encouraging.  The first few lessons are easy. You can do this! You dream of the day (just around the corner, surely!) when you’ll be able to converse with confidence.

Stage 2: Reality Trip

Reality trip: "Wait, we have to walk up this mountain?"

After a few weeks  (six weeks on average, though it can vary from person to person) you suddenly realize: This is hard work. And you begin to wonder if this whole language-learning thing was such a good idea.

Perhaps the lessons have gotten more complicated. Perhaps you’ve found that it isn’t as easy to sit down for that regular practice you resolved to do when you started, or that other things suddenly seem more important or attractive than studying or attending classes.

Suddenly the shine is off the apple, and you’re not so sure you want to do this anymore. It’s more work than you’d expected, and you’re busy with other things.  And — let’s face it — some aspects of language learning can be (gasp!) boring!

Sadly, this is the stage at which many people give up.

It’s a little like a road trip

If you’ve ever planned a family road trip, you know this phenomenon well.  Poring over maps and brochures, planning routes, anticipating what you’ll do at each stop, buying clothes for the trip…all of that is great fun.

Then, when you’re several hours into driving – the kids are bored, your partner is hungry, you realize it’s going to take longer to reach the hotel than you’d thought, and you think you may have missed your turn-off  — suddenly that road trip doesn’t seem so fun after all.

Of course, if you’ve ever done this kind of trip, you also know it will get better.  If you just keep going, things will start to be fun and interesting again. You’ll get your second wind, food and routes will get sorted, and you will reach your destination eventually.

The secret is to keep going

Knowing that this is a natural part of the learning process makes it a little easier to keep going.  And, if you can do that, I promise, it will get to be fun again.

Just as a driver may stop at a roadside attraction to recharge, you may decide to focus on  a less stressful aspect of the language for a while. Read children’s books, sing songs, watch subtitled soap operas. Then, when you’re ready, hit the road again.

Stage 3: Riding the roller coaster

Once you’ve got past the “reality trip” phase, you will likely find that your language journey more closely resembles a roller coaster than a road trip.  There will be plenty of ups and downs and unexpected twists, but for the most part the ride will be worth it!

Wow, the journey was worth it for this view of Co. Mayo.

The highs will be great! You’ll never forget the first time you were able to follow a news broadcast, or read an article without picking up a dictionary. The first time you really carry on a conversation will make your confidence soar!

The sandwiches at the top taste good, but it's still a bit cold, and we're a bit tired.

The lows are part of the ride too, though, and sometimes they can be jarring.  The important thing to remember is that we all go through them.  When you find yourself using the wrong word or forgetting something you once knew, you’ll have lots of company!

The sudden twists are the best part! As you continue your studies, you’ll find yourself meeting new people and learning things that you never thought you’d care about: history, songs, stories, poetry, folklore…even jokes!

Stage #4: Realizing it’s a life-long journey

Our friends, Colman and Lena, realize this is a life-long journey

One thing you will never hear a real language learner say is “”Now I know everything I need to know about this language.” No matter how fluent you get…no matter how perfect your grammar…there’s always something yet to be discovered.

The ups and downs will still be there as well, but it will come to seem less like a roller coaster and more like a road through hills and valleys.  And because language is, by it’s very nature, a social activity, you’ll have lots of friends on that road with you!

The most important thing is to keep going and enjoy the trip.

Did you find this post helpful?

Have you ever come to a point in learning a language where you wanted to give up or where you thought you were alone in struggling with learning? Did this post help? Let us know your thoughts below.

Bitesize Irish Gaelic is Great for Families

I’ve been using Bitesize Irish Gaelic, myself, for nearly a year. I received access through my local Irish language class. While I was really enjoying learning Irish, no one else in my family attended class with me, so I had no one to practice with. Recently I decided to begin utilizing the Bitesize Irish online classes, this time with my daughters, ages 5 & 7.

Though it takes a bit longer to get through a class when learning with young children, we are all enjoying learning a new language and can’t wait to use our new Irish phrases on upcoming trips!

My daughters wanted to share what they have learned so far in a short video:

While we haven’t progressed through the classes as quickly as I had hoped, we find them easy for families to use. The lessons are easy to follow and the ability to hear a native Irish speaker pronounce the words is so helpful! I highly recommend Bitesize Irish to anyone, of any age, who wants to learn conversational Irish.

Jody Halsted calls central Iowa home, but dreams constantly of travel in Ireland. A freelance travel writer, specializing in family travel, Jody publishes the website Ireland with Kids where she shares tales and tips for family travel in the Emerald Isle.

Reader challenge: Tell us what *you* have learned

Perhaps you’re already signed up to Bitesize Irish Gaelic, or you’re taking our free mini-series by email Irish for Beginners. In that free email series, you’ll find lots of the Irish phrases that Jody’s family have been learning.

Either way, here’s your challenge:

• Record a video (by webcam or otherwise) of you introducing yourself, and try practicing what Irish you have been learning with Bitesize Irish Gaelic (or elsewhere).
• Share it with us (send us an email with a YouTube link, or even an attachment), and we’ll be happy to share it out.

This really is a challenge: speaking Irish is about expressing yourself. And most of all, you don’t have to be perfect.

And there’s a new way to be a member to learn Irish. Read on!

Our Irish language lessons have 2,000+ audio recordings and 110+ lessons (at time of writing — the range is gradually growing).

Do you think you can’t crack the Irish language?

Our members including Kelly and Marlene have enjoyed learning Irish with Bitesize Irish Gaelic. By breaking up learning into bite-sized lesson, you can learn Ireland’s native language.

Learn Irish with three months free

Up until now, you could only avail of our lessons with monthly membership to access our online lessons.

That doesn’t suit everyone, and you might want be happy to stick around for longer than a month or two (don’t be fooled, learning a language is hard work).

So if you want to invest in learning Irish, but also want to save three months free, check out our signup page.

When you go to sign up, choose the option to pay yearly, and you’ll get those three months free.

If you have any questions on this new membership option, feel free to reply below.

Imagine spending your Sunday - Dé Domhnaigh - in the Kerry Gaeltacht...

Let’s jump right into this Irish language lesson with audio.

You’ll learn the days of the week in Irish. The words are complicated, so bookmark this page, and come back again to try them again.

Days of the Week Irish lesson

Monday

Dé Luain. Pronounce it like /Jay Loo-on/

Tuesday

Dé Máirt. The Irish pronunciation is like: /Jay Mawrch/

Wednesday

Dé Céadaoin /Jay Cay-deen/

Thursday

Déardaoin /Jare-deen/

Friday

Dé hAoine /Jay hee-on-a/

Saturday

Dé Sathairn /Jay Sa-hern/

Sunday

Dé Domhnaigh /Jay Dow-nig/

What’s with Dé for each word?

Dé is a form of the Irish word Dia. You might have seen the Irish language phrase “Dia dhuit” before (“Hello”). This shows a religion again creeping into Irish daily life, this time in the days of the week. If anyone has a full explanation of why Dé appears here, please share with us below.

Irish learning tip

Each morning, test yourself on the name for that day. So if today is Wednesday, say “Dé Céadaoin” to yourself. Of course you won’t remember that instantly, but keep trying. Bookmark this page, and come page to it to practice with the audio some more.

If you’re a member of Bitesize Irish Gaelic, go to Lesson: Days of the week where you will learn different forms of the word, including how to say “Today is …”.

Hope you enjoyed this Irish language lesson with audio – please reply below with any questions.