Béarlachas
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Present-day
Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
has numerous loanwords from English. The native term for these is ''béarlachas'' (), from , the Irish word for the English language. It is a result of bilingualism within a society where there is a dominant, superstrate language (in this case, English) and a minority
substrate language In linguistics, a stratum (Latin for "layer") or strate is a language that influences or is influenced by another through contact. A substratum or substrate is a language that has lower power or prestige than another, while a superstratum or sup ...
with few or no monolingual speakers and a perceived "lesser" status (in this case, Irish).


Types

Anglicisms exists in many forms, from the direct translation of English phrases to the common form of creating verbal nouns from English words by adding the suffix ''-áil'' (this is also used to form verbs from native roots, such as ''trasnáil'', "cross over", from ''trasna'' "across", ''tuigeáil'' (
Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms ( Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Del ...
,
Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...
) "understanding" ( Munster ''tuiscint''), from ''tuig'' "understand", and so on). ''Táim ag runáil go dtí an siopa'' ("I'm running towards the shop") is an anglicism, as "runáil" is a verb created from the English word "run" with the Irish suffix ''-áil'' attached; the traditional Irish for this would be ''Táim ag rith go dtí an siopa''. Calquing also occurs: an English phrase is literally translated into Irish, even though an equivalent Irish phrase already exists. An example of this is "Moilligh síos" ("slow down" – ''moill'' "delay" + ''síos'' "downwards", calqued from English), instead of the more traditional ''Maolaigh ar do luas'' ("reduce your velocity"), or simply ''Maolaigh!'' ("Slow down!").


Old borrowings

Many words that are commonly thought by "purists" to be anglicisms have been a part of the Irish language for a long time, and have become "nativised". At the same time, certain words that are sometimes assumed to be from English are actually from Norse or Norman French, and as such are not true anglicisms. For example: * ''liosta'': "list" ( nrf, liste) * ''aidhm'': "aim" (Norman French ; where ''cuspóir'' is considered by some to be the 'native' Irish word) * ''halla'': "hall" (Norse ; the Irish word is ''áras''). * ''véarsa'', ''béarsa'' he ''b''- form considered to be uneducated dialect "verse" (Norman French ; the Irish word is ''rann'') * ''cathaoir'': "chair" (both words derive from Latin ) * ''sciorta'': "skirt" (both words are from Norse ''skyrta'') * ''cóta'': "coat" (both words are from Anglo-Norman ''
cotte The cotte (or cote) was a medieval outer garment, a long sleeved shift, or tunic, usually girded, and worn by men and women. In medieval texts, it was used to translate '' tunica'' or ''chiton''. Synonyms included tunic or gown. It was worn over ...
'') *''forc'': "fork" (both from Latin ''furca'') *''pláta'': "
plate Plate may refer to: Cooking * Plate (dishware), a broad, mainly flat vessel commonly used to serve food * Plates, tableware, dishes or dishware used for setting a table, serving food and dining * Plate, the content of such a plate (for example: ...
" (both from Old French ''plate'', from
Medieval Latin Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. In this region it served as the primary written language, though local languages were also written to varying degrees. Latin functione ...
''plata'') *''grúpa'': "group" (both from French ''groupe'') *''seans'': "chance" (both from Old French ''chance'') *''coinneal'': "
candle A candle is an ignitable wick embedded in wax, or another flammable solid substance such as tallow, that provides light, and in some cases, a fragrance. A candle can also provide heat or a method of keeping time. A person who makes candle ...
" (both ultimately from Latin ''candēla'') *''páipéar'': "
paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distrib ...
" (Old Irish ''páipér''; both words derive from Old French ''paper, papier'') *''leathar'': "
leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hog ...
" (Old Irish ''lethar'', Old English ''leþer''; both words derive from the
Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo- ...
root *''létrom'') *''loch'': "
lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...
", "
lough ''Loch'' () is the Scottish Gaelic, Scots and Irish word for a lake or sea inlet. It is cognate with the Manx lough, Cornish logh, and one of the Welsh words for lake, llwch. In English English and Hiberno-English, the anglicised spel ...
" (Old Irish ''loch'', Old English ''lagu''; both words derive from the
Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo- ...
root *''lókus'', "pond, pool") Other words are 'early anglicisms', having entered the language in the 18th and 19th centuries: * ''praghas'': "price" (also possibly from Norman French , ) * ''dabht'': "doubt" (the Irish words are: ''amhras'', ''gó'') The word ''péint'' may have been borrowed directly from English " paint" or from Old French ''peint''. The verb ''pinntél'' ("to paint") appears in some
Old Irish Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic ( sga, Goídelc, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ga, Sean-Ghaeilge; gd, Seann-Ghàidhlig; gv, Shenn Yernish or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive writt ...
works. Other words are actually Celtic roots that have entered English: *''carr'': " car" (Old Irish ''carr'', "wagon", from
Proto-Celtic Proto-Celtic, or Common Celtic, is the ancestral proto-language of all known Celtic languages, and a descendant of Proto-Indo-European. It is not attested in writing but has been partly reconstructed through the comparative method. Proto-Celti ...
''karros'') *''cros'': "cross" (the Irish word is from Latin ''crux''; the English form with -''s'' at the end may be a borrowing directly from
Old Irish Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic ( sga, Goídelc, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ga, Sean-Ghaeilge; gd, Seann-Ghàidhlig; gv, Shenn Yernish or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive writt ...
) *''clog'': "
clock A clock or a timepiece is a device used to measure and indicate time. The clock is one of the oldest human inventions, meeting the need to measure intervals of time shorter than the natural units such as the day, the lunar month and t ...
" (Old Irish ''cloc'', Latin ''clocca'', possibly of Celtic derivation) *''peata'': " pet (animal)" (entered English from Scottish Gaelic, from Middle Irish ''pet'' 't'''a''; possibly from French ''petit'', "small," or Brittonic *''petti''-, "thing, piece") * ''iarann'': "
iron Iron () is a chemical element with Symbol (chemistry), symbol Fe (from la, Wikt:ferrum, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 element, group 8 of the periodic table. It is, Abundanc ...
" (both words ultimately derive from Proto-Celtic *''īsarnom'', "iron")


False cognates

The word ''ród'' ("road, route"), most commonly seen in ''iarnród'' (iron road, i.e.
railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
) is actually derived from Old Irish ''rót'' (from ''ro-sét'', "great path", or ''rōut'', "distance, length") and is not a borrowing of English ''road'', although it may have been influenced by the Old English root ''rād'' ("riding"). ''Oighean'', the Irish word for " oven", is not derived from the English; it comes from
Middle Irish Middle Irish, sometimes called Middle Gaelic ( ga, An Mheán-Ghaeilge, gd, Meadhan-Ghàidhlig), is the Goidelic language which was spoken in Ireland, most of Scotland and the Isle of Man from AD; it is therefore a contemporary of late Old Engl ...
''aigen'' ("cooking-vessel, pan"), from Celtic root *''aginâ'' ("vessel"). English ''oven'' is from Old English ''ofn'', from Proto-Germanic *''uhnaz''. ''Dé'' (a term used before names of days of the week, as in ''Dé hAoine'', "
Friday Friday is the day of the week between Thursday and Saturday. In countries that adopt the traditional "Sunday-first" convention, it is the sixth day of the week. In countries adopting the ISO-defined "Monday-first" convention, it is the fifth d ...
"), is a
false cognate False cognates are pairs of words that seem to be cognates because of similar sounds and meaning, but have different etymologies; they can be within the same language or from different languages, even within the same family. For example, the Engl ...
: it derives from
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''dies'', which is from
Proto-Italic The Proto-Italic language is the ancestor of the Italic languages, most notably Latin and its descendants, the Romance languages. It is not directly attested in writing, but has been reconstructed to some degree through the comparative method. P ...
*''djēm'', PIE *''dyḗws'' ("heaven"), while English "day" is from
Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...
''dæġ'', from
Proto-Germanic Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages. Proto-Germanic eventually developed from pre-Proto-Germanic into three Germanic bran ...
*''dagaz''. ''Domhan'' ("world") is derived from a Celtic root *''dubnos'', meaning "deep"; it is not related to English ''domain'', which is ultimately from
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''domus'', "house".


Modern concepts

Words used for foreign inventions, imports, and so on, where a native Irish word does not exist, are often a
macaronic Macaronic language uses a mixture of languages, particularly bilingual puns or situations in which the languages are otherwise used in the same context (rather than simply discrete segments of a text being in different languages). Hybrid words ...
import as well. These are strictly speaking not anglicisms, but examples of loans from foreign languages. In some cases an Irish word has been developed, and in others it has not. This has been a characteristic of word development in the language for as long as written records exist, and is not limited to anglicisms. In some cases the original Irish word is no longer known, or has a different meaning within the same semantic field: Modern forms: * ''fón'', ''guthán'' "phone" * ''carr'', ''gluaisteán'' "car" * ''badhsuiceal'', ''rothar'' "bicycle" Older forms: * ''iarla'' (Norse ), ''
tiarna A tiarna (Irish), or tighearna ( Scottish), both from the Old Irish tigerna, is a lord in the Gaelic world and languages. An Ard Tiarna is a "high lord", approximately equal in rank to a count or earl, although many of such higher rank still happe ...
'' (Irish) "lord, earl" * ''póg'' (Old Welsh , Latin "(kiss of) peace") "kiss" * ''bád'' (Old Norse), ''currach'' (Irish) "boat" * ''garsún'' (Munster), ''gasúr'' (Connacht, Ulster), from French "small boy", ''buachaill'' (Irish) "teenager, youth"


Variation

In some cases, the foreign loan has an official pronunciation in Irish, and a colloquial one based on English; the colloquial form is an anglicism, while the official form is a
Gaelicisation Gaelicisation, or Gaelicization, is the act or process of making something Gaelic, or gaining characteristics of the ''Gaels'', a sub-branch of celticisation. The Gaels are an ethno-linguistic group, traditionally viewed as having spread from Ire ...
of the foreign word: * ''ceint'' ( or ) "cent" * ''bus'' ( or ) "bus" * ''stádas'' ( or , also ) "status" The most striking forms of anglicisms, however, are the names of the letters of the alphabet—the vast majority of which are normally said in the English way, except for —as well as the use of words such as ''bhuel'' ("well"), ''dheas'' ("yes"), ''no'' ("no"), ''jost'' ("just"), ''dhiúnó'' ("you know" – for ''tá's agat'') and ''álraight'' ("all right" – for ''go maith''). Such words are used with their English syntax in Irish: * * Well, I'll just wait here, you know, till you come back. * * Are you all right there, lad? - No, I'm not all right at all. Letters that are not traditionally used in
Irish orthography Irish orthography is very etymological which allows the same written form to represent all dialects of Irish and remain regular. For example, ("head") may be read in Mayo and Ulster, in Galway, or in Munster. A spelling reform in the mid- ...
occur (such as , as well as at the beginning of words), though in older English loans the foreign sounds have been
gaelicised Gaelicisation, or Gaelicization, is the act or process of making something Gaelic, or gaining characteristics of the ''Gaels'', a sub-branch of celticisation. The Gaels are an ethno-linguistic group, traditionally viewed as having spread from Ire ...
: * : Job (beside from French, from Latin) * , : Zoo (where already exists) * w > bh / v: , "strolling, walking" Most words that begin with in the language are also foreign loans, as did not exist in prehistoric or early Old Irish (such as "kiss" (Old Welsh , Latin "peace"), (Latin "sin").


Republican use

During
The Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an " ...
, between the 1970s and the 1990s, many physical force Irish republican prisoners in Long Kesh (later the
Maze Prison Her Majesty's Prison Maze (previously Long Kesh Detention Centre, and known colloquially as The Maze or H-Blocks) was a prison in Northern Ireland that was used to house alleged paramilitary prisoners during the Troubles from August 1971 to Sep ...
) often spoke in Irish, for cultural reasons and to keep secrets from warders. This was dubbed the "Jailtacht", a
portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsGaeltacht ( , , ) are the districts of Ireland, individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home. The ''Gaeltacht'' districts were first officially reco ...
", the name for an Irish-speaking region. It is thought by some that the Republican slogan ("Our day will come") is a form of anglicism, more idiomatic equivalents being ''Beidh ár lá linn'' ("Our day will be with us") or ''Beidh ár lá againn'' ("We will have our day"). However, the verb ''teacht'', meaning "come", is often used in a variety of phrases to express the "coming" of days, such as ''tháinig an lá go raibh orm an t-oileán d’fhágaint'' ("the day came when I had to leave the island)".


Similar phenomenon in Scottish Gaelic

The same concept also exists within
Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well ...
, in which language it is referred to as . Some examples include: * ''stòraidh'', "story" (instead of ''sgeulachd'') * ''gèam'', "game" (instead of ''cluiche'') * ''tidsear'', "teacher" (instead of the older ''mùin(t)ear'') * ''nurs'', "nurse" (instead of ''banaltram'')


References

{{Irish linguistics Macaronic forms of English Language contact