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This is the first in a series of threads designed to help you improve your Irish by practicing with others. To give us a common core of words and phrases, we will refer you to online lessons, occasionally supplemented with our own phrase lists. Later we'll be starting new threads for people who have mastered this level.
Other threads in this series:
Level 2: http://www.irishgaelictranslator.com/tr ... 26753.html
Level 3: http://www.irishgaelictranslator.com/tr ... 27524.html
Level 4: http://www.irishgaelictranslator.com/tr ... 44002.html
Pronunciation: http://www.irishgaelictranslator.com/tr ... 45728.html
Spelling (caol le caol agus leathan le leathan): http://www.irishgaelictranslator.com/tr ... 986#482986
Comparisons: http://www.irishgaelictranslator.com/tr ... 933#403933
The definite article, noun gender: http://www.irishgaelictranslator.com/tr ... 727#400727
Guessing a noun's declension and gender: http://www.irishgaelictranslator.com/tr ... 92137.html
Past tense: http://www.irishgaelictranslator.com/tr ... 39331.html
Present tense: http://www.irishgaelictranslator.com/tr ... 003#483003
Caolú agus Leathnú: http://www.irishgaelictranslator.com/tr ... p?p=393136
Forming the genitive singular: http://www.irishgaelictranslator.com/tr ... p?p=393724
Weak vs Strong Plurals: http://www.irishgaelictranslator.com/tr ... 104#397104
Using the Genitive Case: http://www.irishgaelictranslator.com/tr ... 94008.html
Most of the conversation in this thread will come from:
- http://www.erinsweb.com/gaelic1.html lessons 1, 2, and 3
- The "cheat sheet" below
TIP: Feel free to mix English and Irish. That's a great way to get your feet wet.
TIP: On this thread, We will try to stick to phrases and sentence structures presented in the material mentioned above. But since this is free-form conversation, we will naturally use words that aren't in the lessons. When we do that, we will try to remember to define new words when we first use them.
TIP: You don't have to read all of the lessons before you start. You can go at your own pace, reading part of a lesson, then coming to this thread to practice.
TIP: If you don't understand something said on this thread, it's probably in one of the lessons, or explained in an earlier post on this thread.
TIP: Feel free to ask questions about grammar, etc.
TIP: If you're using a different book, you can still participate. You probably know most of what you need to know. Just briefly skim the material mentioned above, and make note of any unfamiliar words or phrases.
Cheat Sheet
Here is a "cheat sheet" of phrases that we often use in simple conversation.
NOTE: You probably realise by now that beginings of words change (lenition or eclipsis) in Irish in certain situations, as do endings. I haven't explained those rules here; you can learn them from lessons mentioned above.
How are you?
There are three ways to say "How are you?", depending on your dialect. Just pick the one you're most comfortable with, and use it.
Conas atá tú? (Munster)
Cén chaoi a bhfuil tú? (Connaught)
Cad é mar atá tú? (Ulster)
I have given approximate phonetic pronunciations for the phrases below. Pronunciation varies from one dialect to another. If you learned a different way of pronouncing these words, don't worry. I pronounce many of these words differently myself, but I've tried to give you the most typical pronunciation.
Tá mé go maith. = I am well. TAW MAY GUH MAH
_____ is ainm dom. = _____ is my name. _____ ISS an-yim DUM
Is mise _name_. = I am _name_. ISS MISH-uh...
Cad is ainm duit? = What is your name? KOD ISS AN-yim DITCH
Tá _____ agam. = I have _____. TAW _____ ug-UHM
An bhfuil _____ agat? = Do you have _____? WILL _____ ug-UHT?
Tá __X__ ag __Y__. = __Y__ has __X__. TAW ___ EGG ___
Tá mé i mo chónaí i _____. = I live in _____. TAW MAY ih MUH HOH-nee
Cá bhfuil tú i do chónaí? = Where do you live? KAW WILL TOO ih DUH HOH-nee
Rugadh agus togadh mé i _____. = I was born and reared in _____. RUG-oo GUSS TOH-goo MAY ih...
Is as _____ ó dhúchas mé. = I'm originally from _____. ISS AHSS _____ OH GHOO-khus MAY
Is maith liom _____. = I like _____. ISS MAH LUM...
An maith leat _____? = Do you like _____? UN MAH LAT...
Is brea liom _____. = I really like _____. ISS BRAW LUM...
Is fuath liom _____. = I hate _____. ISS FOO-uh LUM...
Is maith le __X__ __Y__ = __X__ likes __Y__. ISS MAH LUH/LAY...
Ba mhaith liom _____. = I would like _____. BUH WAH LUM ...
Ar mhaith leat _____? = Would you like _____? ER WAH LAT ...?
an _____ seo = this _____
an _____ sin = that _____
ceart go leor = fine KyART GUH LyOHR
anois = now uh-NISH
Fáilte! = Welcome! FALL-chuh
Tá a fhios agam = I know TAHSS uh-GUM
go raibh maith agat = thank you GUH-ruh MAH GUT
(Often abbreviated grma on the Internet)
Describing someone or something
Tá sé __adjective__ = He/it is _____
Tá sí __adjective__ = She/it is _____
Tá __name__ __adjective__ = Name is _____
Here are some words you can use to fill in the blank above:
ard tall ARD
gairid short GAR-ij
mór big MOHR
beag small ByUG
sean old SHAN
nua new NOO
óg young OHG
fada long FAH-duh
fuar cold FOO-ur
te hot CHEH
fliuch wet FLUKH
tirim dry CHIR-im
dorcha dark DOHR-khuh
geal bright GYAL
bán white BAHN
dubh black DUHV
dearg red JAR-ug
gorm blue GOHR-um
buí yellow BWEE
beo alive ByOH
bog soft BUG
crua hard KROO-uh
glan clean GLAHN
salach dirty SAH-lukh
milis sweet MILL-ish
anseo here un-SHUH
ansin there un-SHIN
