The English we speak in Leitrim
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- Опубликовано: 25 сен 2020
- 'The English we speak in Leitrim' is part of Leitrim heritage-themed videos commissioned by the Heritage Office of Leitrim County Council. Seán O Súilleabháin gives his insight into the usage and influence of the Irish language in the Letrim region.
Connecting Through Heritage is an initiative of the Leitrim County Council Heritage Office and is part-funded by the Heritage Council.
Thank you Sean for all your work promoting leitrim’s rich heritage. In North Leitrim a child is called a ‘Cub’.
Descendant here (Williamson / McClure, c.1810-1820, Manorhamilton area to Bethel, Maine, US). Only a few minutes in and I've learned how Leitrim is pronounced, that my ancestors 200 years ago might have barely heard English much less spoken it when they came over, and how they might have sounded. What a gift! 🙏🏻💚🤍🧡
Absolutely fascinating, I'm living in Spain 20 odd yrs, and I'm from Carrick-on-Shannon (over the bridge). One of the things i am really disappointed with is that i have no Irish, i speak fluent Spanish and learned it in 2-3 yrs, while I spent so many years at school and never learned any level of Irish. i get the odd word here and there. I have been watching videos on the etymology of words from Appalachia in the US and some other language videos on the origin of words, but this was great, to hear the accent I grew up with and finally understand that it was nothing to be ashamed of, that it came out of a rich cultural history and not (as we were led to believe) ignorance of the culchies. I have to find a copy of that book, if anyone can help I would be very grateful. I do know the reason/origin for some of the words said, but that's for another day.
This shows how important it can be to be aware of your culture and document the detail for future generations.
This all sounds very familiar to me. My grandparents were from Drumkeeran Co. Leitrim on Lough Allen. They have passed for some 20 years + now… I just went last year to stay at their old home on the Lough. It’s beautiful with lovely kind people.
That was fascinating and so informative. So many of those words are common in Northern Ireland especially in County Antrim. I have always known a 4 prong fork as a grape. A fork is a 2 prong long handled device for lifting bales. So many of the words are Ulster dialect Irish or Ulster Scots. Great how they have melded with English but combined with so many Irish sentence structures. Thank you.
This is interesting to know and what I've been wondering. Since Letrim is on the border with Ulster dialect area, it it more influenced by Ulster dialect than other Connacht places?
My father, born in 1907, was raised in Newtowngore. I was very close to his brother, my uncle and spent much time with him when I visited Ireland. He was a fierce man (a way of using that word that I learned from him).
Now I have no idea if he was the only person who did this, but he never used phrases like good day or how are you etc. He always said "God be with you" when greeting a person. I used to chalk it up to him being very religious and that it was simply a custom of country Irish of his generation. To my surprise, when I took an Irish course, one of the first phrases I learned was "Dia dhuit", I would say loosely translated as "God be with you".
Speaking of Irish, another word that he and others in his part of Leitrim used was the word (and I spell phonetically as I remember hearing it) "dare-uh-bean" which he told me meant something like "little lad". None of my Irish teachers, one from Monaghan and the other from Cork, had ever heard the word. And I've searched high and low for it in dictionaries with no success. Folks from Leitrim across the generations knew the word, but no one outside of Leitrim.
Another uncle always used the word "childer" for children, and "pratees" for potatoes, of course from pratai.
I'm not clear whether this next thing was widespread in Leitrim (or Ireland), but my family was usually referred to by the trade we were associated with and not our surname. I wasn't Robert Maguire. I was Robert the Tailor. My uncle did tell me once that we Maguires in that part of Leitrim did this because there were so many different branches. Cooper Maguires, Woodford Maguires, Sultan Maguires, etc.
Going a little outside of Leitrim, my mother from northeast Mayo told me once that they used the word "ceile" to mean "to go visiting", but not necessarily to have a kitchen dance. Just to visit. Oh, and my mother also used the word "galoot"...a lot...usually referring to me and my brother!
That and "amadan". Ah, the memories!
Thank you very much for this. It was very interesting.
This is an amazing lesson for me. My family is from Drumkeerin but my mom came to the US when she was only 16 (In 1930) I am learning so much about the way she spoke from this. Thank you.
Toppen aul video now, horrid well made
I enjoyed this very much. A now gone dear friend Sister Benigna Carroll from near Drumshanbo used some of the words as you described. Thanks for bringing back a fond memory of our dear friend, who lived her life and vocation out in far away Oregon.
My mother’s family came from Mohill (and proud of it). They’ve all passed and I’ve never been to Leitrim but I hope to get there one day.
Fantastic Sean! Thank you so much for this and I know it's not related, but thank you for the years you managed us playing hurling in Ballinamore. You gave up so much of your time to us and made me and many more fall in love with playing the sport
Great information as always Sean. I grew up with hearing most of those words spoken in north leitrim.
My great, great grandpa immigrated here to the US from Leitrim...Manorhamilton I believe. Interesting to hear how he may have spoken. Thank you 😊
Growing up around Manor, he would have been a "young buck" and probably greeted people by saying "Well".
@@davidf2703 I thought that was a Longford only form of greeting! good to know
What an interesting talk! Although I was raised in south armagh many of these words are familiar to me especially hearing older folk talking when I was a child....I had no idea they were spoken in other parts of the country ad well!
This is wonderful. Some many memories of home.
I've been in America for 30 years, I still use those words.. a great one around Sligo was. Your a right haverel.
I'm from Fermanagh originally and not an Irish speaker. A lot of the phrases are familiar to me. Some I still use.
Utterly fascinating examination of the way we speak.
Fantastic! Great research and well delivered! Wonderful to hear all those old familiar words again! Thank You!
Thank you for a very interesting talk. I grew up in County Cavan and we used nearly all the words and phrases that you talked about. I was interested that you mentioned the grape, that was also very familiar to me too. My father used to talk about carrying somthing under his oxter. I thought it was a word from around our area in Cavan but I loofrom West Australia.ked it up to find it was a real word. Thanks again Sean, from West Australia.
As the cheapest county to live in Ireland (with beautiful scenery) in a country that is becoming more and more unaffordable for young people like myself, you can expect to see me there someday. Hopefully.
Very interesting , so many words that I had not heard in years
Thanks Sean, I really enjoyed this. Its a shame the book is out of print. Having said that the book just wouldn't have been the same as this wonderful video and hearing the words for real. Definitely recognise most of these word and terms. I especially enjoyed your examples of the way we use the Irish format of speaking, very interesting!
This is only gold, more please
Very enjoyable Sean. I grew up using all those words in Drumreilly. Peter Tiernan, Sligo.
.I often wondered about the way we speak. Thanks Sean fascinating.
A "gasson" sounds like the French "garcon" which also means boy.
Grape = 4 prong fork, Brae = Hill, reek = smoke,shuck = drain ,ditch = Stone wall, gover = go over ,gunder = go under , gout = go out ,weather = castrated male lamb , Ballintrillick co sligo
A really enlightening lesson. Well researched and presented.
Great video and history lesson indeed. (Newfoundland Canada.)
Great video.
Brilliant.
I came across this by accident and I'm very glad I did! Reminds me of growing up in Roscommon where all those words were common and I've not heard used in conversation since I left many years ago!! Thank you Sean. What about the word 'gansey'.
Gansey is a general word for a pulliver/jersey throughout Ireland from Irish geansaí
@@jamsodonnelljamsodonnell7342 as in Guernsey. A wool pattern traditional to that island, like Jersey and Aran.
@@fromireland8663 Grma never wouldve thought of that!
About the pronunciation of 'ea' in English versus Irish: TEA in English pronounced TEE; in Irish pronounced TAY. English poet John Keats (Keets); Irish poet W.B. Yeats (Yaytes).
Very interesting.
Very interesting . Thank you
A really enjoyable video - living in France - but home is never far.
Wow, this is so interesting! Question for anyone about dialects: Letrim is in Connacht area, but since it borders Ulster area, is Leitrim Gaeilge more influenced by Ulster dialect than other Connacht places? Thank you in advance!
Lovely Laytrim
In Manorhamilton Hospital, a man called me a "Fine hape of a woman" 🤣
That's a great accolade 😂 A kinsman of mine said something very similar to my wife ( not from the NW ) She was taken aback and not terribly impressed. I muttered a few words of mitigation to smooth things out .
My family are from Leitrim. I want to go!
Brilliant Seán, Thanks very much. Although I have a copy of your book and if you do not intend to have it reprinted would you consider making it available on line? You guessed I'm only a bit of a walk from Ballinamore and often used to travel there by train or cycle along the tracks! Go raibh maith agat.
Thanks for that. Mr mother would come out with them especially when annoyed;
you're a thrathneen, ludaramán. Wondering what class of Irish was spoken in Leitrim previously Connacht or Ulster.
I really enjoyed the Seán as did my father-in-law. I can't seem to find your book on line, is it available (we are living in the US)?
Quite a lot of these pronunciations are used in County Fermanagh as well.
Go raibh milé maith agat Seán!
Old English was gone long before the English came to Ireland. Ireland was introduced to Early Modern English, Elizabethan. Over the long years of English invasion and occupation, many types of English would have been heard. Not standardized.
The Anglo-Irish General Wellington needed translators for Irish (and Welsh, Highland Scots) troops in the Napoleonic wars. Even Chaucerian or Middle English was centuries faded away, meanwhile England itself developed a bewildering array of accents. Language and accent are always evolving. Slowly or swiftly.
Cheers!
Davéed
I'm sure a fair amount of old English words survived through to Early Modern times, particularly in Scotland and the Borders, where the planters of Ulster came from.
Pretty common words in West Fermanagh. 👌
leitrim english very much also influenced by the form of english in ulster.
leitrim was also planted during the same era as the ulster plantation. the leitrim towns of manorhamilton + jamestown are very much “ulster plantation” styled towns.
remember too, the orange order + presbyterian churchs are widely present in leitrim.
A small girl in Fermanagh is called a "cuttie".
My mother God rest her was from mohill, she loved a cup of tay.
People from Newry, County Down, were rudely referred to as ‘Newry Nucks’, the same sound as the Leitrim ‘nuck’ ’ or ‘knuck’ mentioned. A ‘git’ means the same as ‘get’ in the sense of ‘begotten’ so although used as an insult is actually neutral unless combined with E.g. ‘hoor’s get’ I.E. ‘whore’s get’. A ‘Tartar’ of a woman probably refers to the allegedly savage people of that country.
You could include Sligo in that accent..
Do they say “a mhic” - avick in Leitrim when referring to a young lad or gasson directly
They did in North Longford.
In North Leitrim a male child is called a cub. In the case of animals we would establish the sex of the offspring by asking, 'Is it a he or a she'.
And in West Fermanagh the female child is a cuttie (or maybe cutty). How many of a family has he? Two cubs and a cuttie.
That is very interesting, I wonder if Ulster Scotts has had an influence on the way english is spoken. Door (dur) and floor (fluur) sounds Scottish. There was a comment by a person stating the accent on these words in Donegal.
I just found this in the Ulster Scotts dictionary, Dure, sb. a door
& floor n flure, (loc.) flare
Yes, but Leitrim is just beside Ulster, so no surprise really.
Also, Ulster Scots may also have words and pronunciations and language structures derived from Scots Gaelic as many were bilingual.
We in the Scottish borders would pronounce it mair likk flair ,or I have heard it in the hielans as lar or urlar (new floor) or dorus
@@grahamfleming8139 urlar is gaelic for floor. Doras is gaelic for door.
It is fluur and dur in the Ulster Scots spoken in Donegal also.
@@fromireland8663 gle mhath, nuar bha mi og,a measg na Sean daoine,furich mi aan Siorach Ros,chuala mi deoch an dorus(a wee dram afor ye gan oot da door)
The cross ower between Scotland and Ireland probably 6000 years,for neolithic stonework is a langtime.
Languages went wi us.
Mo sean athair(ma ferm granfaither) bho Tir Connail.
I can mind the mixture on yin occasion,' sure if tha cuddy hadn't went doon, it wud hae gotten up the brae'
I thought he was splkken Irish the Donegal variety I was 4 year auld,sitting in his bothy eatin sweeties.
Tae me it innocently was
great stuff but tae a lot of Ireland ,black days. (The last 400 years).
Tae here the lingo fra liathdrum,Irish or gaelic,ullans or lallans,beurla or English great work ,yir werk.gled oo fund it(glad we found it).
Happy innocent days.ann nane o this Catholic or Protestant crap that
Hae puzzened da bluid atween da fowk.
Irish culture is important for me as ma ain. Lang may yir lum reek,aw da best,tioraidh mar sin leibh an drasta!p.s a didny ken,liatrim sae bonnie kintrae.
Tha uabhasach breagha ann liathdrum.
Go hiontach. I still speak somewhat like this even tho I’ve been stateside for quite a while - get a few funny looks when I come out with the Leitrim “spake”. Some of the phrases may be more prevalent towards the south of the county than the north. And the floor/door pronunciations very much used in mid Donegal.
Gle mhath bho Alba, I remember the auld yins in Wester Ross, used to say
Glan a mach a seo, clean out of here.
Interesting whit wirds ya have in that part of the world.
Auld yins in the Scottish borders use the wirds slaver or haver,and I have heard fowk use galoot here.
Ceilidh in ghaidhlig means a meeting or get together.
Brog is a shoe here too.
Grape for a fork too.
Keep up the Ullans and Irish gan.
I was reared in North Longford where there was a strong Ulster/Scots influence. An Englishman told me he could understand one of us one to one ...but if a few of us were talking he hadn't a clue what we were saying!
@@tomgreene1843 in leitrim they yaise tha wird grape for a fork ,ullan wirds it seems hae spread ower Ulster and into other provinces of Ireland
Yuck .. ( really Yucky : not pleasant, like poo on your hands )
Quite a common word in South West Britain..
I also heard it used quite a bit in Co Sligo .
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Leitrim