Irish language in Ireland. Modern Irish alphabet

Irish language (Gaeilge, Irish-Gaelic listen)) - the language of the Irish, one of the Celtic languages; along with Scottish and Manx, it belongs to the Goidelic subgroup of this group.

According to official figures from the Irish government (), there are 1,570,894 people who speak Irish in the Republic of Ireland. Of these, 339,541 use Irish in everyday communication, 155,039 use it once a week, 585,300 less often, 459,657 almost never, and 31,357 did not answer the question about frequency of language use. However, many Irish language activists and professional linguists question this data. Many estimate the number of native speakers who use the language in everyday communication at only 65,000. The number of people who speak Irish to some degree is estimated at 167,487 in Northern Ireland and 25,870 in the United States.

Story

It is unknown when Ireland was settled by Goidelic tribes. The first monuments of the Irish language (not counting proper names from ancient authors) date back to the century AD. e. - these are inscriptions made in a special Ogham script, apparently borrowed from continental Europe.

After the Christianization of Ireland by St. Patrick, borrowings from Latin penetrate into the Irish language (mainly through the British languages), and Latin writing based on minuscule (the so-called insular style) begins to be used. Not too many monuments have come down directly from the Old Irish period; these are mainly glosses to Latin texts, including those made by Irish monks in monasteries on the continent (in Würzburg, Milan, St. Gallen). Most Old Irish texts survive in manuscripts dating from the Middle Irish period, which begins in the 11th century and is characterized in particular by the significant influence of Scandinavian languages. Thus, the declension system is significantly simplified, the verbal system is restructured, and indicated pronouns are lost. Around this time, the Scots language split from Irish.

During the New Irish period, the area of ​​distribution of the Irish language was reduced, but the system of bardic schools maintained the existence of an all-Irish standard. After the English conquest of Ireland, borrowings from English and Norman-French penetrated into the Irish language.

After the declaration of Irish independence, it was introduced compulsory education language in all schools, Irish newspapers began to be published, and television and radio broadcasting appeared in Irish. However, the number of people whose first language is Irish is steadily declining. They now mainly live in the Gaeltachts, rural areas in the west of the island. Recently, there has been a significant increase in interest in the Irish language, including in cities, which, however, does not in any way affect the reduction of monoglot Irish who speak only Irish-Gaelic. Most of them are preserved in the Gaeltacht on the Dingle Peninsula.

There are the following periods in the history of the Irish language:

• Proto-Irish (Primitive Irish) (before c.)
• Ogham Irish (language of inscriptions, -VII centuries)
• Archaic Irish (post-Ogham period, mostly VII) (not generally accepted; often included in the next period)
• Middle Irish (-XII centuries)
• New Irish (from the 13th century to the present day; in this period the Early New Irish period is also distinguished, approximately XIII-XVI centuries)

Since the 18th century we can quite confidently talk about the division of the Irish language into four main dialects: southern (Munster), western (Connacht), northern (Ulster) and eastern (Leinster, extinct in the century). Mutual understanding between some dialects is difficult. There is an official standard ( An Caighdeán Oifigiúil), based primarily on the Connacht dialect, although dialect literature also exists.

Linguistic characteristics

Among distinctive features Irish language - its characteristic spelling, mutations of initial consonants, VSO word order, the existence of two copular verbs, the presence of conjugated prepositions. The Old Irish language is also characterized by an extremely complex verbal system, built on the opposition of “absolute” and “conjunct” inflection (series of endings chosen depending on the position of the verb in the sentence), as well as prototonic and deuterotonic forms (historically they differed in the place of stress, but to In the Old Irish period, this led to the fact that the forms of the same verb could vary greatly).

Writing

The Irish language uses letters from the Latin alphabet Cló Romhanach (« latin font"). Previously, a custom font was used Cló Gaelach("Gaelic script"), dating back to the Insular style. Until the mid-20th century, books in Irish were published using Cló Gaelach; today it is used for decorative purposes.

Even more ancient is the so-called. Ogham writing. This script, also called Ogham, was in use from the 4th to the 6th centuries. exact date its origin is unknown. Ogham letters were sticks and dots (consonants and vowels, respectively) drawn on a straight line. Ogham inscriptions are preserved mainly on stone.

Spelling

Main article: Irish spelling

Five short vowels ( a, e, i, o, u) correspond to five long ( á, é, í, ó, ú ):

13 consonants are used ( b, c, d, f, g, h, l, m, n, p, r, s, t); the remaining letters are used in borrowed and foreign words (j, k, q, v, w, x, y, z) (eg. jip"jeep"; Jab"Job"; x-ghathú"X-ray")

The basic principle of Irish orthography is caol le caol agus leathan le leathan, that is, “narrow with narrow, wide with wide” (narrow in the Irish tradition are the front vowels i, í, e, é, wide - back vowels (more precisely, non-front) a, b, o, ó, u, ú). According to this principle, soft (palatalized) consonants should be surrounded in writing by narrow vowels, and non-palatalized consonants should be surrounded, respectively, by wide ones. As a result, many vowel letters do not indicate the vowel sound, but the softness or hardness of the adjacent consonant (for example, in the combination ea the first vowel is almost never pronounced, but only indicates the softness of the previous consonant: peadar . This often leads to ambiguity: for example, for anois“now” the readings [əniʃ] and [ənoʃ] are theoretically possible, although only the first is correct.

The introduction of Caighdeán Oifigiúil eliminated some historical spellings (eg bia instead of biadh"food"), bringing the spelling closer to real pronunciation. At the same time, many phonetic phenomena inherent in dialects are not reflected in spelling (for example, diphthongization of vowels before doubled sonants, characteristic of Munster, or the Ulster transition of the combination type in with nasalization of the subsequent vowel).

Phonology

Main article: Irish phonology

Vowels

The following monophthongs are found in modern literary language:

• í - in rí "king"
• i [ɪ] - in mil "honey"
• é - gé "goose"
• e [ɛ] - te "hot"
• á [ɑ:] - lá "day"
• a [æ,a] - cat “cat”
• ó - ceol "music"
• o [ɔ,ʊ] - loch "lake"
• ú - cú "dog"
• u [ʊ] - muc "pig"

In unstressed syllables, many vowels turn into [ə] - anocht[əNʊxt] "tonight", inniu[ə"Nʲu:] “today”, cúigear["ku:ɪgər] "five".

T= hard consonant, M= soft consonant. Example: m aoi n= "m s n b", m í n= "m And n b"; m io n= "m And n".

Or, eo= "yo", ao= "s", iu= "yu", ea= "I", iX= "Huh".

Consonants

Non-palatalized consonants are often pronounced with strong velarization. Voiceless consonants are aspirated in many dialects.

In Ulster dialects the soft correspondences /t/ and /d/ are realized as and . The soft correlate for /s/ in all dialects is a sound like [ʃ].

The signs N, L traditionally designate the so-called “strong” sonants: the phonetic implementation of this opposition is unstable. In some dialects strongs are pronounced as long, in others they cause diphthongization of the preceding vowel.

Morphology

Noun

* Except dall"blind", donn"brown"

** Except lách"friendly"

Some adjectives have special forms, e.g. gearr“short”, genus p.zh. R. units h. giorra or te"hot", plural h. teo.

A short vowel in the second syllable of a two-syllable adjective can very rarely be long) before the vowel ending: uasal"noble", plural h. uaisle, tirim"dry", plural h. tiorma.

In the Irish language, only the comparative degree of an adjective is expressed morphologically, the superlative is expressed analytically (see). Usually the form of the comparative degree coincides with the form of the genitive singular female: ban"white", báine"whiter" gearr"short", giorra"Briefly speaking". At the same time, Irish has quite a lot of irregular comparative forms, for example beag"small", lú"less", furasta"easily", fusa“easier”, etc.

Verb

The different uses of analytic and synthetic forms of the verb are easily recognized in the following paradigms.

Verb 1st class(single-syllable root) with palatalized (softened) final sound: bris- “to break”

Verb 2 classes(polysyllabic root) with non-palatalized (unsoftened) final sound: Ceannaigh- "buy"

Prepositions

Among characteristic features Irish language (as well as other Celtic languages) - special forms of prepositions, so-called conjugated prepositions ( forainmneacha réamhfhoclacha). For example, the preposition ag, being connected with the personal pronoun 1l. unit, looks like agam"I have" (but not agam me- the pronoun itself cannot be used here, unlike, say, the Welsh language). If this preposition is used together with a verb bí(“to be”), it indicates belonging, possession of an object (similar to the Russian “I have ...";

Possession constructions are constructed in a similar way in other Celtic languages.

Syntax

Irish word order is VSO (Verb-Subject-Object), so for example “he hit me” would be like this in Irish:

• Bhuail["to hit" is in the past tense] se[He] me[me]

Initial consonant mutations

There are two types of initial consonant mutations in Irish:

• Lenizia (seimhiú) - transition from plosive consonants to fricatives. In the old orthography it is shown by a dot (Irish: sí buailte), which is placed above the modified consonant (it is still used in stylized inscriptions using the "Irish script"); in modern spelling it is shown by adding -h-:
  • caith!“give it up!” - c h aith me“I threw” (here lenition indicates the past tense)
  • margadh"market", - Tadhg an m h argaidh““man from the street”, ordinary person” (here lenition indicates the genitive case of a masculine noun)
  • Sean"Sean, John" - a S h eáin!"Oh John, Hey John!" (here lenition indicates the vocative case; it is “triggered” due to the particle a)

When does lenition come into effect:

• The article an lenifies a feminine singular noun: bean -> an b h ean "woman"
• the article an lenifies a masculine singular noun in the genitive case: gairm an c h oilligh "crow of the rooster"
• the particle a in the vocative case lenifies the following noun/name: “a P hádraig"
• many prepositions lenize the nouns they control, usually do, de, faoi, ó, etc.: do S h eán "Shonu", ó m h aidin "in the morning"
• the possessive pronoun mo “my”, do “your”, and “his” lenize the noun: mo m háthair "my mother", do c h arr "your car"
• numerals 1-2 and 3-6 when accompanied by a singular noun: trí c h arr "three cars", "ceithre m hí” four months
• often in a genetic construction the second noun is lenified: bó b h ainne "milk cow" (more precisely, see grammar)
• initial consonant in compound words: Sean-G h aeilge "Old Irish"
• an adjective is lenified if it is dependent on a noun in the feminine singular and masculine in the genitive case: bean m h aith " good woman" (cf. fear maith " good man"), anf h ir m h aith "good man"
• certain forms of the linking verb (copula) lenize the noun or predicate adjective: ba m h aith liom “I would like” (lit. “it would be good with me”)
• the initial consonants of verbs in the forms of the imperfect, conditional and simple past are lenized, as well as verbs in subordinate sentences with nominative and accusative relations: m h olainn "I (usually) praised", m h olfainn "I would praise", m h olas “I praised”, an fear a m h olfadh "a man who would praise"
• the negative particle ní and other verbal particles and conjunctions ending in -r (from ro), as well as the conjunction má “if” lenize the verb that follows them: ní m h olaim “I don’t praise”, níor m h olas “did not praise”, ar m h olas? “Did I praise?”, má m h olaim "if I praise"
• nb. Lening may be blocked in some cases! (see grammar)

• Nasalization(in Irish, urú"eclipse, eclipse")

When does nasalization take effect:

• most prepositions followed by the definite article cause nasalization of the noun, for example: ar an mb ord “on (this) table”
• the article na nasalizes the initial consonant of a noun plural in the genitive case: na mbád "boats"
• the preposition i “in” eclipses: i bPáras "in Paris"
• plural possessive pronouns: ár “our”, bhur “your” and a “their”, as in: ár nd ualgas "our obligations", bhur dt ir "your country"
• numerals from 7 to 10 cause nasalization: seacht mb ua "seven victories"
• conjunctions, verb particles go "what", dá "if", muna "not yet", interrogative particle an?, and particle a eclipse: dá dtéitheá "if you should have gone", an mb eidh? “will it be?”, an té a bhf uil dhá chóta aige "the one with two coats"
• in some established expressions: ar dtús "at the beginning"

Anthroponymy

Phrases

At the meeting:

• Dia dhuit! [Dia gyt!] = Hello! (approximate translation (pp.) The Lord is with you!)
• Dia's muire dhuit! [Dias Myri ғyt!] = (in response to a greeting) [and you] Hello! (pp. Lord and Mary be with you!)
• Dia dhuit ar maidin! [Dia gyt er madin!] ~ Good morning! (pp. The Lord is with you this morning)
• Cén chaoi a bhfuil tú? [Ken hy e uyl tu?] = How are you doing?
• Cén chaoi a bhfuil tú féin? [Ken hy a uyl tu hen?] = How are you doing? (in response to the previous question)
• Tá mé go maith/dona [Tá mé go maith/dona] = Good/bad
• An bhfuil aon scéal agat? [E uyl en schkel agut?] ~ Well, what's new? (pp. Do you have news to tell?)
• Tada = Nothing or Diabhail-scéal = Nothing (pp. Damn story)
• Conas tánn tú? = (in Munster) How are you?
• Goidé mar atá tú? = (in Ulster) How are you?

Parting:

• Slán agat = Goodbye, stay happy (says the one leaving) (pp. Be healthy)
• Slán leat = Goodbye (says the remaining one)
• Slán anois! = Bye!
• Slán go foill! = Bye!
• Oíche mhaith = Good night!
• Go n-éirí do bhóthar leat! = Have a nice trip!

Blessings:

• Go ngnothaí Dia dhuit = God bless you
• Bail ó Dhia ort = God bless you
• Nár lagaí Dia do lámh! = God help you! (pp. May the Lord not weaken your hand!)

First conversation:

• Cen t-ainm atá ort? = What's your name?
• Cad is ainm duit? = What's your name?
• Cé as thú? = Where are you from?
• Cerb as duit? = (in Ulster) Where are you from?
• Cad as duit? = (in Munster) Where are you from?
• Cá bhfuil tú i do chónaí? = Where do you live?
• Cen aois thú? = How old are you?

Thanks:

• Go raibh maith agat! = Thank you!
• Go raibh míle maith agat! = A thousand thanks!
• Sonas ort! = Thank you! (pp. Happiness to you!)

Praise:

• Fáinne óir ort! = Thank you! Bravo! (pp. Golden ring you!)
• Maith thú! = Well done!
• Mo cheol thu! = Well done! (pp. You play my music!)
• Mo sheacht mbeannacht ort! = Well done! Well done! (pp. My seven blessings to you!)

Wishes:

• Go maire tú! = Long life!
• Go dté tú an céad! = Long life! (pp. Live to be a hundred!)
• Rath Dé ort! = God bless you! (pp. God's gifts to you!)
• Go gcuire Dia an t-ádh ort! = May God send you good luck!
• Beannacht Dé leat! = God's blessings! (pp. Speed ​​of God to you!)

Curses:

• Damnú ort! = Damn you!
• Loscadh is dó ort! = Damn you! (pp. Burn and burn you!)
• Múchadh is bá ort! = May you suffocate and drown!
• Marbhfháisc ort! = May you die! (pp. Shroud on you!)
• Go dtachta an diabhal thú! = May the devil strangle you!
• D'anam don diabhal! = To hell with your soul!

Curses:

• Go hifreann leat! = Go to hell!
• Téigh i dtigh diabhail! = Go to hell! (pp. Go home to the devil!)
• Go mbeire an diabhal leis thú! = Damn you! (pp. May the devil take you with him!)
• Do chorp don diabhal! = Damn you! (pp. Damn your body!)
• Imigh sa diabhal! = Go to hell!
• Focáil leat! = Fuck off!
• Dún do bheal! = Shut up!

Notes

Literature

• Grammar of the new English language: O'Donovan, A Grammar of the Irish language, Dublin, 1845; O'Grownev, Revised simple lessons in Irish, N.-Y., 1902; Ó Siadhail, Learning Ireland, Dublin, 1988.
• Dictionaries: Dinneen, An Irish-English Dictionary, Dublin, 1903; Lane, English-Irish Dictionary, London, 1904; Tomás De Bhaldraithe, English-Irish Dictionary, Baile Átha Cliath, 1959; Collins Irish Dictionary, Glasgow, 2006², ISBN 978-0-06-089106-0; Foclóir Póca, Baile Átha Cliath, 1986; Irish-English English-Irish Dictionary, New Lanark, 2001, Irish Literary Encyclopedia

Let's first try to navigate the location Irish language on the world language tree. So, the thickest and most thorough branch is the Indo-European language family. Many thinner branches branch off from it, including the Celtic group. One of the branches on the Celtic side has completely dried up - this is the continental group of Celtic languages, which consisted of the now dead Celtiberian, Lepontian, Gaulish and Galatian languages. But the other two branches more or less bloom to this day. We are talking about the Goidelic group, which, in addition to the Irish Gaelic language, also includes Scottish Gaelic and the Isle of Man language, about which I will say a few words in particular. The last natural speaker of this language left our world in 1974, but by that time there were already people who had learned the language. And thank God! And there is also a British group, it consists of the languages ​​Welsh, Breton, the dead Cumbrian language and Cornish, which, like the Isle of Man language, linguists are now trying to revive.

As you can see, the entire Celtic branch is not very fruitful. Irish language ranks first in this group - in terms of the number of inhabitants of the earth who know him. About 1.5 million people speak it, but only about 400 thousand use Irish in everyday communication. Nevertheless, Irish Gaelic, along with English, is the official language of Ireland.

History of the Irish language It is customary to divide it into several periods. The chronological framework of the Old Irish language is from the 7th to the 10th centuries. It was on it that the majestic national epic was composed. Old Irish is one of the oldest literary languages ​​in Europe and is second only to Ancient Greek and Latin.

Middle Irish - from the 10th to the 13th centuries - is literary Old Irish, adapted to everyday speech.

The Early Modern Irish language (also called “classical”) was formed from the 13th to the 17th centuries. This literary norm was quite artificial and therefore far from living conversational norms.

For two centuries, the British authorities did everything possible to ensure that the Irish language ceased to exist. Many educated native speakers were destroyed. Introduced strict prohibitions for use Irish language not only in learning, but also in everyday communication. After the suppression of the uprising of 1798, the Irish emigrated en masse from the country, and the great famine of 1845 and the death of 750 thousand indigenous people completed the systematic destruction of the language. According to the 1851 census, only a quarter of the inhabitants of the Emerald Isle spoke various dialects of Irish. The unified linguistic field was destroyed.

But the patriotic Irish managed to defend their native language... In 1893 the Gaelic League was formed. It was led by Douglas Hyde, the future President of the Irish State. He was one of those who revived the native language, creating a basis for its study, and those who defended the country’s freedom in the first half of the 20th century took the baton from him. In 1949, Ireland was declared an independent republic and the government, led by Eamon De Valera, began making every effort to restore the Irish language. It became state-owned and began to be studied in schools.

In the late 60s, the Irish authorities carried out a spelling reform and adopted a standard Irish language , which was called kaidon. This is the official language. Newspapers, magazines and books are published on Kaidon. At kaidon, the Irish communicate with guests of the country who speak Irish, as well as with each other, unless, of course, they prefer English. Meanwhile, unofficial Irish is a motley group of diverse dialects, which are usually divided into three groups: northern - Ulster, western - Connacht and southern - Munster. And it is on the dialect basis that wonderful works have been created - the treasures of Irish literature. This is the situation. Natural speakers of Irish live in the provinces and speak dialects, and everyone else understands that they are speaking a standardized literary caydon.

Person who studied modern Irish , opens the door to the world of amazing legends and tales, fairy tales and myths. Then, if desired, everyone can delve deeper into the study of dialects and... - as it seems to me - remain forever fascinated by the wealth of oral and written speech that opens up before them. What Aladdin's caves are there! - Every national language - Russian, Serbian, etc. Irish language - promises a meeting with priceless treasures.

"The paths wind
Here and there
Up the hill
Passing
Through the heather
Spreading
Sunny
Silence..."