I am a bit confused by the uses of Nollag and Nollaig. First: are they the same word or is the different spelling due to different meanings; ie Christmas and December?

In one of the Anseo is Ansiúd lessons courtsey of Aonghus, we are told:


"Tá an Nollaig ag teacht," and in the same piece we find "déanfaidh Mamaí cáca Nollag" and "cuirfidh Daidí crann Nollag sa seomra suite."

If the different spelling is due to changes in case (nominative & genitive) why would the month be in the genitive?

P.S. Please excuse the mess I made titling thius thread. I don't know how I did it; much less how to fix it.

(Message edited by pádraig on January 21, 2006)

(Message edited by pádraig on January 21, 2006)

(Message edited by pádraig on January 21, 2006)

quote:

If the different spelling is due to changes in case (nominative & genitive)

Sin agat é go díreach glan. Leag tú do mhéar air.

quote:

why would the month be in the genitive?

December = Mí na Nollag. Tá an focal sa ghinideach anseo freisin.

Let's see if I understand this. Nollag is the genitive of Nollaig and would be translated "of Christmas," which is a shortened version of the month of Christmas. Mí na Nollag. Therefore there is no Irish word for December.

By the same token can we say there are no Irish words for September and October. Hence the genitive "Fómhair" and the shortened forms of:

The month of Mid-harvest -- Mí na Meán Fómhair
The month of Hervest-end -- Mí na Deireadh Fómhair?

It'd be "Mí Mheán Fómhair" and "Mí Dheireadh Fómhair"
No definite article is needed.


Padraig wrote:
"By the same token can we say there are no Irish words for September and October"

In a manner yes Padraig, but not exactly, since September and October are both latin words and not English and they are both innacurate!
The were both coined when the old Julian calendar was used when there were only ten months in the year:

Septem - Seventh
ber - Month (even though it's the nineth month now)

Octo - Eighth
ber - month (even though it's the 10th month now)

So you have to ask yourself, why would the Irish language wish to linguistically associate itself with such temporal slopiness! ;o)