Swear words in Irish?

OTK

Does Irish have expletives as in English? Are there any 'rude words'?

Grudaire

It's a language of course there are.... I don't know many though:
wanker/masterbater= féin truailleathóir
dick/penis = dob
boobs/breasts = cíocha

Thats the vocab I have come to use...

Jesus Wept

pog mo hoin!!!

Thomas_S_Hunterson

cac = shít

dranoel

Spend some time watching Ros na Rún and you'll pick up some of the less severe ones.

mar shampla 'bitseach'

OTK

féin truaillitheoir means "self polluter". it's not quite 'wanker'

What does bitseach mean? bitch? How do you say whore? Culchies are forever describing each other as hooers in english so what's the Irish equivalent?

How do you tell someone to fúck off?

Are there expletives? Germans use scheiss and french used putain or "de merde". You know, what spongebob calls 'sentence enhancers'

Thomas_S_Hunterson

OTK wrote:

Germans use scheiss

Not really a swearwork, they use itmore akin to how we use "damn" or "oh fiddlesticks";)

Grudaire

OTK wrote:

féin truaillitheoir means "self polluter". it's not quite 'wanker'

That may seem true, but it is a catholic language, and as such that sort of thing is frowned upon. I don't make stuff up, so check a dictionary before questioning my Irish you féintruaillitheoir amadach.

Hoin, or ass is spelt thóin

expletives only occur when people are insulted when they hear them.... unfortunatly with the Irish language nobody really understands it, especially in such depth, as was demonstrated in No Béarla, he said some disgracefull things in that song in Galway, but noone understood....

Selphie

Cliste wrote:

expletives only occur when people are insulted when they hear them.... unfortunatly with the Irish language nobody really understands it, especially in such depth, as was demonstrated in No Béarla, he said some disgracefull things in that song in Galway, but noone understood....

That was hilarious... "ar nós na madraí, ar nós na madraí!!!"

GaryOR

Chuala mé "Gabh suas ort fhéin" le haghaidh Go fook yourself

uch

OTK wrote:

How do you tell someone to fúck off?

Feis Ort- Fúck Off

Striapach - Whore


Féach anseo http://w3.lincolnu.edu/~focal/scripts/mallacht.htm

Beidh craic agaibh sa suíomh seo

bluesman07

caca tarbh= bull ****

Elfish

moglaí = bollox

Mickdel

ciach ort = damn you
ag fein truaillaithe = w*nking
tuilli = b*st*rd
báltaí = p*ssy
bod = d*ck
téigh transa ort féin = go f*ck yourself
feis ort = f*ck off
cac = sh*t
bitseach = b*tch
striapach = wh*re
cíoch = t*t

Krusader

Diúl mo bhod - suck my d*ck
Imigh leat! - piss off (away with you)

Nuggles

Cliste wrote: »

That may seem true, but it is a catholic language, and as such that sort of thing is frowned upon. I don't make stuff up, so check a dictionary before questioning my Irish you féintruaillitheoir amadach.

Trust me, no regular speaker of the Irish language uses that phrase. It's like saying the word masturbator is a swear word.

Cliste wrote: »

expletives only occur when people are insulted when they hear them.... unfortunatly with the Irish language nobody really understands it, especially in such depth, as was demonstrated in No Béarla, he said some disgracefull things in that song in Galway, but noone understood....

What balls. Irish is my first language and I couldn't understand half off what the idiot was saying. He had crap Irish himself. Massive hypocrite going around saying no one could speak it while he himself was butchering the language.

Ceilteach

Nuggles wrote: »

Trust me, no regular speaker of the Irish language uses that phrase. It's like saying the word masturbator is a swear word.



What balls. Irish is my first language and I couldn't understand half off what the idiot was saying. He had crap Irish himself. Massive hypocrite going around saying no one could speak it while he himself was butchering the language.

Agree 100%, unfortunately there's a big mistake being made by the Irish public in general. Some people who get credit for "making Irish sexy" are nothing but self-publicists who hijack a language that they barely have, pass themselves off as "gaeilgeoirí" (does anyone else find this condescending, i hate i when people refer to me as a "Gaeilgeoir", it's almost like I'm suffering an untreatable condition), and then proceed to try to break into the English speaking media world.

Nuggles

See I only call the students that come to the Gaeltacht to learn Irish Gaeilgóirí. Think the name gaeilgóir is attached to them in Conamara. Don't mind being called one by other people, they more often than not see it as meaning an native speaker.

As for the people making Irish sexy, most of the girls on TG4 are native speakers, speak the language well. And are sexy. Nothing wrong with them being in the public eye and promoting the language while promoting themselves.

pog it

hey what is the irish for curses as in swear words?
Focail ghréasta? Something like that?

pog it

Ceilteach wrote: »

Agree 100%, unfortunately there's a big mistake being made by the Irish public in general. Some people who get credit for "making Irish sexy" are nothing but self-publicists who hijack a language that they barely have, pass themselves off as "gaeilgeoirí" (does anyone else find this condescending, i hate i when people refer to me as a "Gaeilgeoir", it's almost like I'm suffering an untreatable condition), and then proceed to try to break into the English speaking media world.

Agree with you here. Aoibheann Ní Shúilleabháin is somebody who really benefits from Irish- she was paid to campaign for Seachtain na Gaeilge and made an appearance on the Tubridy show last year as part of it and she has been on one TG4 show as a guest but she really doesn't give anything back to Irish from what I can see and her Irish isn't even great..I know they are trying to make Irish into a sexy image etc. but to be honest the people who go to the effort of learning Irish want a bit more substance to the people who are the face of these campaigns.

The TG4 presenters are in a different league to Aoibheann and they are native speakers with beautiful Irish and they do their job on a daily basis. It is these women that should be chosen when it comes to high exposure campaigns. They are doing so much good for the language and any learners who watch TG4 can actually learn a lot by listening to them. Aoibheann contributes very very little.

Nuggles

She's not obliged to to be honest.

Ceilteach

Nuggles wrote: »

See I only call the students that come to the Gaeltacht to learn Irish Gaeilgóirí. Think the name gaeilgóir is attached to them in Conamara. Don't mind being called one by other people, they more often than not see it as meaning an native speaker.

As for the people making Irish sexy, most of the girls on TG4 are native speakers, speak the language well. And are sexy. Nothing wrong with them being in the public eye and promoting the language while promoting themselves.

Níl fadhb ar bith agam le cailíní TG4! Is fir den chuid is mó iad a chuireann as domsa. Ní luafaidh me ainm ar bith ach déarfainn go mbeidh a fhios gach éinne cé hiad

pops

The better insults are always religious though 'Mallacht Dé ort' would be an example.

Nuggles

I like to add the dílis to it, as in Mallacht Dílis Dé ort féin agus do Mhama

Nuggles

Nuggles wrote: »

I like to add the dílis to it, as in Mallacht Dílis Dé ort féin agus do Mhama

Google translate = "Mallacht faithful Dé yourself and your Mhama" just out of curiousity what is the english equivilant.

le do thoil!

An gal gréine

Ná raibh tú beo ar iar-thrá.

Nuggles

Deleted User wrote: »

Google translate = "Mallacht faithful Dé yourself and your Mhama" just out of curiousity what is the english equivilant.

le do thoil!

Well, I'd use it like **** you and your mother. Or curse you and your mother.

gravitylovesme

Apologies for my spelling, but some one told me once
"bás na bisinni ort" it's supposed to mean "may you die like a drowned kitten"

i like kittens:(

youngblood

pog it wrote: »

The TG4 presenters are in a different league to Aoibheann and they are native speakers with beautiful Irish and they do their job on a daily basis. It is these women that should be chosen when it comes to high exposure campaigns. They are doing so much good for the language and any learners who watch TG4 can actually learn a lot by listening to them. Aoibheann contributes very very little.

Have to correct you there, Aoibheann's first language is Irish and comes from a totally Irish speakin home, her dad is a fairly well known Irish writer esp for younger children.

Aoibheann teaches primary school student teachers durin the summer as well as a whole plethora of gaeilge stuff

pog it

That doesn't match what her Irish sounds like. Her Irish on that one programme I heard her on was not natural sounding at all- it was very much learned school-Irish with very little colloquial blas so that leads me to make the educated guess that her parents are not native Irish speakers.

I don't want to speak ill of her standard of Irish but I don't get how she is held up to be a Gaeilgeoir role model.. I watch and listen to so much Irish and she isn't ever on anything. Just turns up at a photoshoot :rolleyes:

Of course that is marketing for ya and thank God I don't need that kind of advertisement to inspire me to learn Irish! As we know it's part of the making Irish sexy image that we have been reduced to here to encourage really young people to look favourably on it and for an overall positive perception of Irish. I get why she has been chosen to front these things but my point is that she should be doing more out of good will and genuine love for the language if she is accepting contracts that pay her to promote Irish.

Otherwise give the opportunity to TG4 presenters who are doing more than she is for Irish.

Cathaoirleach

I lived in the Gaeltacht many years ago and I found that the older people would use far more creative and insulting swear sentances.

I heard one guy say 'His roof will burn with the cattle'

Another was: 'sink to the devil' and, I think.. 'devil on his bed/grave/resting place' - can't quite remember.

Anyone else heard these phrases before?

There was also a lot of 'diabhal (devil)' and 'cailleach (witch)' used in sentances from what I remember.

I think that was the way people in Gaelic Ireland 'sweared'. It's far more colourful and personal.

HughF

Sin mar a phreabtar an cíoch = thats the way the diddy bounces

byhookorbycrook

"Having eaten it,may you not be able to pass it!" have a look at "500 mallacht ort" http://www.coisceim.ie/breandanacgearailt.html

Raic

pog it wrote: »

That doesn't match what her Irish sounds like. Her Irish on that one programme I heard her on was not natural sounding at all- it was very much learned school-Irish with very little colloquial blas so that leads me to make the educated guess that her parents are not native Irish speakers.

I don't want to speak ill of her standard of Irish but I don't get how she is held up to be a Gaeilgeoir role model.. I watch and listen to so much Irish and she isn't ever on anything. Just turns up at a photoshoot :rolleyes:

I completely agree with you... I don't think she (or anyone else who can't pronounce Irish correctly) should be held up as a role model. Most non-native speakers don't seem to realise that you can't just pronounce Irish with English sounds. It's incredible how many Irish "speakers" don't realise that the Irish rs are completely different to the English r, for example. It's upsetting to think that that's the direction in which Irish seems to be heading.

Enkidu

Greadadh trí lár do scairt! = Scorching through your entrails!
was one used in Munster.

I think most Irish curses were/are curse sentences, as Cathaoirleach said.

Just as a matter of interest there was an Old Irish word for masturbating which literally meant "having a hand party", but I forget the grammar of constructing the phrase. I swear I'm not making it up. I'll post it when I find it.

mr chips

"Mionna móra" is the phrase I use to express "swear words". Can't remember where I got it from, it's pretty common IMO.

My way of saying "f*ck off" would be "feisigh leat", but you would also get the more traditional "scrios Dé ort" which would be said with equal venom.

I'd known the term "féintruailliú" since way back in school days, but these days if I want to call someone a w*nker I say "buailteoir", as in "buailteoir feola" - beater of meat!! Similarly, shaggin is "bualadh craicinn" - skin slapping!

mr chips

Enkidu wrote: »

Greadadh trí lár do scairt! = Scorching through your entrails!
was one used in Munster.

I think most Irish curses were/are curse sentences, as Cathaoirleach said.

Just as a matter of interest there was an Old Irish word for masturbating which literally meant "having a hand party", but I forget the grammar of constructing the phrase. I swear I'm not making it up. I'll post it when I find it.

Was it "cóisir láimhe"?

Asry

Enkidu wrote: »

"having a hand party",

I'm in work and started roaring laughing at that! I couldn't help myself! That's brilliant!

Raic wrote: »

It's incredible how many Irish "speakers" don't realise that the Irish rs are completely different to the English r, for example. It's upsetting to think that that's the direction in which Irish seems to be heading.

I never knew that, and I feel bad that you used the quotation marks around speaker implying that I don't count. I'm doing my best with what I have! Which is 12 years of dreadful teaching, and now a book designed for people who've already learned in school which is actually teaching me more than I learned in school!

Anyway, rant over, apologies about that , but languages evolve. English didn't get to where it is now by not being flexible.

Also, this is a brilliant thread. I'm so sick of having schoolbook phrases and want just more relaxed Irish.

An gal gréine

Enkidu wrote: »

Greadadh trí lár do scairt! = Scorching through your entrails!
was one used in Munster.

I think most Irish curses were/are curse sentences, as Cathaoirleach said.

Just as a matter of interest there was an Old Irish word for masturbating which literally meant "having a hand party", but I forget the grammar of constructing the phrase. I swear I'm not making it up. I'll post it when I find it.

Feis láimhe...if I remember correctly!

Raic

Asry wrote: »

I never knew that, and I feel bad that you used the quotation marks around speaker implying that I don't count. I'm doing my best with what I have! Which is 12 years of dreadful teaching, and now a book designed for people who've already learned in school which is actually teaching me more than I learned in school!

Please excuse me for being rude here but I feel very strongly about this issue so I'm afraid I have to hurt people's feelings now and again to make a point. I don't want to derail the thread but I think this issue is important enough to deserve some airtime. Imagine going to France and pronouncing French using only sounds that exist in English... it'd be an appalling bastardisation of the language! As far as I'm concerned, Irish spoken with weak phonological approximations using only sounds present in English isn't true Irish at all, so I urge you to learn how all the letters in Irish are actually supposed to be pronounced (even ones like "t" which are not the same as English).

The broad/slender system is there for a reason, it has existed for hundreds of years and without it Irish wouldn't have the flow it does; poetry and song wouldn't work as beautifully as they do. Without the system there would be no distinction between certain words and different grammatical cases... the fact that certain sounds are completely disregarded by learners (whether intentionally or not) is a final dagger in the heart of the language... it's becoming a pidgin. If you listen to a good native speaker it's impossible not to notice that they sound completely different to most (not all) people who have learned Irish.

http://www.forvo.com/word/abair/#ga <--- Here is an example of a slender r. If you watch TG4 you'll notice the presenters pronouncing "ceathair" with this sound.
http://www.forvo.com/word/conamara/ <--- Here is a broad r, it is tapped, unlike in English. A double broad r can be rolled.

Now, I commend you for wanting to learn Irish after "12 years of dreadful teaching". It's the fault of this dismal teaching, not yours, that you didn't know about these sounds... but if you want to speak pure and natural Irish then you need to use them. Judging by your post I'm sure you'll be more than willing.

I don't know your dialectical preferences but if you want to speak good native Irish in the Conamara dialect then I suggest you get "Learning Irish" by Micheál Ó Siadhail with the audio CDs and if you want to speak in the Munster dialect (which is what I speak) then I suggest you get "Teach Yourself Irish" by Myles Dillon. Be careful with the latter, it is not the same as the modern "Teach Yourself Irish" in shops which is standardised. Luckily you can download (legally) the TYI book with mp3 audio here -> http://bit.ly/oBDM4p Be sure to replace the TeachYourselfIrish.pdf file in the Teach_Yourself_Irish.zip with the other TeachYourselfIrish.pdf at that link as it's more up to date (corrections of typos, and so on). If you listen carefully to the audio you'll definitely catch on to the sounds and your Irish will become more beautiful than ever before.

Feel free to PM me for more information (that goes to anyone reading this).

Asry wrote: »

Anyway, rant over, apologies about that , but languages evolve. English didn't get to where it is now by not being flexible.

If we were talking about English I'd completely agree (if you look in my recent post history you'll see that), however, we're talking about Irish. The difference is that English has had a native speaker continuum constantly guiding the language from point A to point B. Whilst accepting outside influences it has always been the native speakers who have been in control of the evolution of the language. Not so with Irish where it's now the learners who are guiding the language... and of course they're using (I'm generalising here) English pronunciation and idiom. I don't think this can be compared to the natural evolution of a language over time... it's entirely artificial and relies heavily on English. You don't just have the defining features of a language (lenition, eclipsis, cases and broad/slender distinction) disappear so quickly (or at all) in natural language evolution.

"When a language surrenders itself to foreign idiom, and when all its speakers become bilingual, the penalty is death." - T. F. O'Rahilly

Here (http://bit.ly/ntHXuj) is a recent letter in Gaelscéal written by a native speaker from Donegal lamenting the Irish spoken in places such as Dublin ("Gwalegguh na kathruk"). As you can see the guttural "ch" sound is replaced by a k, which is common among anglophone speakers.

This bit sums up his point:
"Guh jee an law go may dyereh leis an bpidgin dothuigthe ataw aw lowert go forelachan i mBÁC, “kanoonch” a nyennen nowaird den toosil ginnydyuk uggus deh shayvoo air-ayn, nee vayg Gwaleguh is Gaeilge air ayn graddum leh cayleh ih mo hoorimseh, roysh?"
which I've converted to actual Irish:
"Go dtí an lá go mbeidh deireadh leis an bpidgin dothuigthe atá á labhairt go forleathan i mBÁC, "canúint" a ndéanann neamhaird den tuiseal ginideach agus de séimhiú araon, ní bheidh Gwaleguh is Gaeilge ar aon ghradam le chéile i mo thuairimse, roysh (right)?"
and to English:
‎"Until the day that there is an end to the incomprehensible pidgin that is widely spoken in Dublin, a "dialect" that ignores both the genitive case and lenition, "Gwaleguh" (the pidgin Irish) and (true) Irish won't be of the same standing as each other in my opinion, right?"

---

Apologies for making this so long... perhaps the ideas expressed here deserve a thread of their own? I apologise for any feathers I may have ruffled and I wouldn't be averse to some debate on this topic if anyone disagrees with me.

Cathaoirleach

Yeah, some (most) of the Irish you hear on RnaL and RRR would make your ears bleed.

Even though I'm a Dub, I use a fairly strong Connemara accent to get across the correct pronunciation. It's the only way I can truly enjoy speaking the language. Sometimes I have to drop the accent and pronunciation altogether for people with school/Dublin Irish, because otherwise they just wouldn't have a clue what I'm saying. But hey, better them speaking Béarlachais than no Irish at all.

mr chips

Raic wrote: »

If we were talking about English I'd completely agree (if you look in my recent post history you'll see that), however, we're talking about Irish. The difference is that English has had a native speaker continuum constantly guiding the language from point A to point B. Whilst accepting outside influences it has always been the native speakers who have been in control of the evolution of the language. Not so with Irish where it's now the learners who are guiding the language... and of course they're using (I'm generalising here) English pronunciation and idiom. I don't think this can be compared to the natural evolution of a language over time... it's entirely artificial and relies heavily on English. You don't just have the defining features of a language (lenition, eclipsis, cases and broad/slender distinction) disappear so quickly (or at all) in natural language evolution.

"When a language surrenders itself to foreign idiom, and when all its speakers become bilingual, the penalty is death." - T. F. O'Rahilly

I've often thought about this particular issue Raic, without being able to pin down the source of my own misgivings when people say "it's natural for a language to evolve, just accept that it's happening to Irish as well" and you've absolutely hit the nail on the head for me - however I do think that it's the learners from outside the Gaeltacht who will be the greater Gaeilge-speaking majority before long.

Native speakers have been burdened with the "life-support" of the language for many decades and inevitably many have resented the responsibility thrust upon them. Whether as a direct consequence or a side-effect, the use of English as a first language is becoming or has become the norm in many (most?) Gaeltacht areas. The inevitable result will be the loss of idiomatic and phonetic richness in the language as the true native speaker becomes an ever rarer creature. I don't know whether this is a phenomenon which can be changed/reversed, or if it's a question by now of simply managing the decline (and I do see it as a decline, rather than a mere transition) as best as possible.

Enkidu

An gal gréine wrote: »

Feis láimhe...if I remember correctly!

Yes you're right! Thanks! Apparently it has something to do with feis originally meaning "evening entertainment" which lead to it having the meanings festival/party and sex. So if anybody wants to have a "Feis Láimhe" you can be confident that you now have a firm grasp (:pac:) on this sticky (:pac:) etymological issue (:pac:).

Enkidu

Asry wrote: »

I'm in work and started roaring laughing at that! I couldn't help myself! That's brilliant!

Asry wrote: »

I never knew that, and I feel bad that you used the quotation marks around speaker implying that I don't count. I'm doing my best with what I have! Which is 12 years of dreadful teaching, and now a book designed for people who've already learned in school which is actually teaching me more than I learned in school!

No need to worry Asry, believe or not it's not too hard to learn the new sounds. The basic idea is that any consonant is pronounced one way when i,e are next to it and another way when a,o,u are next to it. I think if you download the Teach Yourself Irish that Raic linked to you'll be on the right path, it's where I started. (Of course you might prefer Connemara Irish, then definitely get Ó Siadhail.)

Maybe we should make a pronounciation guide thread, possibly?

whydoibother?

I know at school "scrúdaitheoir" gave some people hours of fun but I don't think that's exactly what you're after.

dambarude

whydoibother? wrote: »

I know at school "scrúdaitheoir" gave some people hours of fun but I don't think that's exactly what you're after.

All the years I've been using that word and that twist on it never came to me. I'll never use it with a straight face again!

whydoibother?

dambarude wrote: »

All the years I've been using that word and that twist on it never came to me. I'll never use it with a straight face again!

Our Irish teacher just embraced it and used it as often as possible. He knew it was a good way to wake some people up.

mr chips

Enkidu wrote: »

Yes you're right! Thanks! Apparently it has something to do with feis originally meaning "evening entertainment" which lead to it having the meanings festival/party and sex. So if anybody wants to have a "Feis Láimhe" you can be confident that you now have a firm grasp (:pac:) on this sticky (:pac:) etymological issue (:pac:).

Of course, I should have remembered this one!! Feisigh leat being "f*ck off" and of course, the "entertainment" you have with a woman is a bean fheis - later evolving to bainis!!

An gal gréine

mr chips wrote: »

Of course, I should have remembered this one!! Feisigh leat being "f*ck off" and of course, the "entertainment" you have with a woman is a bean fheis - later evolving to bainis!!

On some of the islands off the Donegal coast "ag bualadh boide..." was another one I remember.

Asry

um. off topic but this will probably be the last interruption, and if it isn't, I suggest an entirely new thread come up.

About the posts earlier about how people like me are butchering and bastardising the language. I actually got really pretty upset when I read that, and ashamed of myself and embarrassed as well.

I know that there are many in the country with that opinion, but really, I don't want to put on someone else's accent to speak my own language. What I mean is that I don't come from Connemara. An opinion like that is generally seen by people like me who encounter it to be elitist and snobbish, but that would generally be from Dubliners who have been entirely educated through Irish, and seen as still not good enough (like the poet Nuala Ní Chonchúir, for example).

But for me, I feel ostracised and unworthy. Or unwanted. I'm afraid to speak French to French people in case I mispronounce something and they always correct me immediately, which is rude (and another story). This is exactly the same.

My (and most Dubliners) Irish teachers were never from Dublin. We speak Irish with their accents because that's the way we were taught. Like the way my French teacher was from Provence, and that's the French I speak.

Thank you for the links though. But I don't expect to be around here again. I'd prefer to study alone than feel the way those posts made me feel.

mr chips

Honestly, try not to get too upset. I'm really not saying that to be dismissive, just that if you feel happy with the way you speak the language then go for it, be proud of it, fight your corner. Regardless of your accent, there's nothing wrong with striving to improve your pronunciation anyway - I'm still doing that 4 years after getting my diploma. But if you're not from Connemara there's no point in talking like you are. It doesn't mean that everyone should talk with a Dublin accent either though, which seems to be a lot more prevalent.