Everything Comes to A Close...

Kinda sounds like a the title of a sitcom finale, doesn't it? With our final presentations coming up for this project next week, this'll probably be my last post. As always, my progress the last two weeks was slow and rocky, but sure. I find it amazing just how different this was from how I thought it would be at the start. While I'm not speaking Irish like a natural born Irishman, I now know more than I did at the start, so that's definite improvement. Since this is the last post, I guess I can't leave without teaching you a swear word (Sorry, Mrs. Finco!), so this week's lesson is Pog ma thoin (Poag mah hone), which means "Kiss my arse!" (Another good Irish word at the end there!) Thanks for everything, and as always, slainte!

I Promise I Won't Try Poetry Again...

I'm can still feel your eyes rolling thinking about that. About to enter a week off (except from chemistry), I'm feeling pretty good. A classmate asked me about some of the phrases I've been learning, and I was surprised that I actually managed to get quite a few right away. SO, despite all of what even I've thought to the contrary, I am actually learning stuff. This week's lesson is, appropriate for next Thursday, the phrase for "Thank you", "Go raibh maith agat" (gura mie ugut) Slainte!

Gather Round, Ye Lads and Lasses!

Set ye for a while, and harken to me rocky tale about my Emerald Ire. Since I can hear you groaning after that, I guess I should probably avoid poetry. With nothing outlandish to report, I decided this week will be my comment response post. I am sad that I can't go full immersion on this one, though that would be great. Might be a little difficult to do other work, but I could probably make it work. Pronunciation has been getting a little better since I've started noticing some trends, but it's pretty difficult to understand why they do that. I thank you all for enjoying the wit I put in everything, but it'd probably more difficult to pull that off in Gaelic. I'd have to start off speaking like a toddler before I can get to witty parts. I haven't had the chance to talk to Dr. Patrick, though I may get the chance to soon, but I have checked out the TG Lurgan YouTube page. To anyone who wants to hear this language fluently, stop reading right now and check it out. These teens are excellent at translating songs, and can hopefully bring back Gaelic into a spoken language again. This week's lesson is "Tá sé go deacair" (tah shay guh dyakker), which means "It is hard work", a common theme for all of us. Slainte!

Holy Stress, Batman!

As with most things during senior year, this week has been a lot of juggling projects, studying, and social life, but I think I'm through the worst of it now! I appreciate all the comments, and will respond to them more fully at a later date. I've done some unconscious work on my Gaelic this week, thinking some of the more uncivilized words I've learned numerous times this week. However, to try to break the blunt impression my teacher has of me, this week's lesson won't be those words, but instead Buíochas le Dia (bweeahhkus lay deeyah), which, though difficultly, means "Thank God!" or "Thanks to God!". Slainte!

Always on the move!

As they work to improve the school wi-fi, the've managed to block Blogger for wahetever reason, so I'm typing this on my phone right now. I'll try to avoid any errors, but this might be a week to cut me some slack. I appreciate the comments you're required to post, and will answer any questions probably next week, when they stop coming in. Slow and steady is the name of the game as usual, so I'm making about the same progress I have been. I've got some key phrases down, but I'm far from learning a full language. In light of my medium of choice right now, this week's lesson is teilefón (tay-ley-fon), which means "telephone". Slainté!

Late, Early, Can't Make Up My Mind!

So, this week our class time came early, so here  I am, posting off schedule again. I'm finding that I can remember a few phrases off the top of my head no problem, which is certainly an improvement. The bad news, unfortunately, is that these phrases aren't generally those you want to use in polite company. I really need to stay out of the "Curses" section of the handout I'm using, no matter how fun it is. The lesson this week is probably what you're thinking about this post (not my running), "Tá sé go tapaidh" (tah shay huh tahpee), "He is fast". Thanks for the views, it always surprises me to see how many people are actually reading this. Slainte!

Friday Again?

It feels like it keeps sneaking up on me. I'm back, and posting on schedule, so I'm sure you're happy for me. Not too much has changed since my last (and late) post, though I did have a little more time to work this week since my Lit teacher skipped on our homework last night so we could work on this. The language lesson this week, that I had time to learn last night, is "Cén t-am é?" (cane tom ay?) which means "What time is it?", so I'm sure I can practice this a couple times a week. Slainte! 

Yikes!

Coming in rather late with this one, I know. Unfortunately, I was at a college tour on Friday, so I missed school, when I usually post, and forgot about it until today. Things are going well, and I think trying to speak with an accent while I'm practicing helps. I was a little under the weather today, so today's lesson is Níl mé go maith (Neel may goh mah) which means "I am not well", though I am feeling better. Slan!

The Most Terrifying Thing in the South...

And it's not Pepsi! Before I get to the title, I'll update the three people reading this on how I'm doing. Like many things in the Irish culture (why do I belittle my own people?), I feel like I'm progressing slowly but surely. Finding time in my hectic schedule to study this is a little difficult at times, but I feel like I do make progress when I do. So, back to the title. For those of ya'll in the Metro area (so everyone reading this), you know that after all the rain today, tomorrow will be our first taste of real fall weather, with highs in the low 60s and lows in the 40s. So, in light of this horrifying cold weather, this week's lesson is Tá sé fuar amuigh (tah shay foo-ar amwee) which means "It is cold outside". Stay warm, and slainte!

An Irish Spring of Knowledge...

Lame joke, I know. This week I've received some more materials to use on studying this difficult language. My mother, who just happens to be studying the language too, had some books and CDs delivered this week, with an open invitation to use some. Hopefully this will help with my pronunciation, and teach me some rules of thumb on how to pronounce some words. (Still don't know how duit sounds like "gwitch", but hopefully I'll learn.) This week's lesson is perhaps the most important Irish word, Erin (phonetic). Erin is the Gaelic term for "Ireland", so hopefully this will be any easy one to remember. Slainte! 

Presentation #1

Well, I've presented everything I've been rambling about to ya'll to my teacher, and it's shaping up to be a good project. My plan has already changed a good bit, and I'm excited to see where it goes next. I have approval from my amazing teacher to continue with this crazy scheme of mine, so let's keep it rolling. Since the lesson last week was a little negative, let's brighten up a bit this week, with a full sentence at that. For all the lovers, dreamers, and me, this week is (NOT "Rainbow Connection") "Tá sí go hálainn." (tah shee guh hall-in) which translates to "She is beautiful". Can't tell you how fun it'll be thinking this all week. Slainte!

This is Embarrassing...

As the title this week suggests, I'm a little embarrassed by my work this week. I didn't really have time to do anything to study or brush up on my Irish at all. So, I really don't have anything to say about how it's been going, or a word lesson that I studied. I guess this really lights a fire under me to blow ya'll away next week. A word lesson for this week (that I may or may not be looking up while I'm typing) is hifreann (HIF-reh-un) which means ¨hell¨. So, if I don't have a much more interesting story next week, you can always leave the comment, ¨Go hifreann leat¨  to tell me just how you feel. Thanks for your patience, and slainte!

Plans always change....

As I continue my search into the Irish language, I've realized something: Irish is one of the hardest languages to learn. It's not a Romantic or Germanic language, but it's own sort of Celtic category. So, with this difficulty in mind, I've decided to alter my end goal. Instead of doing a full five minute presentation in Gaelic, I've decided to talk about the learning process instead, and go over a few key phrases, and the major differences between English and Irish. This week's lesson is "____ is anim dom" (phonetic) which means "____ is my name." For example, mine would be "Allen is anim dom". Slainte!

One down...

So, at the end of my first week trying to learn Gaelic, I've received a lot of help on where to start. Perhaps the most helpful was an invite to join Duolingo, a language learning website and app. Luckily for me, they have a lesson on Irish Gaelic in beta right now, and I've already learned a lot from it. For this week's lesson, I'll go with the traditional greeting, dia duit (Di-ya gwitch) literally means "Good Day!". Until next time, slan and slainte!

Dia Duit!

Dia duit, everyone! For Mrs. Finco's Senior AP Brit Lit class, we're doing a 20% time project, and I decided to try to learn Irish Gaelic! I'll be posting updates for my amazing teacher, just so she knows I'm not completely slacking off, and a few language lessons here and there. First lesson is: The first Gaelic term I learned! Slainte (slawn- CHA) is the Gaelic term for "Cheers!", as in giving someone a toast. Hopefully I'll be toasted at the end of my hard work! Until next time, slan!