Someone pointed out that the abbreviations for male and female are reversed in Irish, F for men (fir) and M for women (mná). So how are bathrooms labelled in Irish? I would assume that there are normally just the signs that show a man and woman figure respectively, but I'm curious if anyone's seen this before. Also wondering who's filled out forms in Irish that require sex identification? Do men put F and women B?

P.S. I don't speak Irish!

(Message edited by Aindréas on June 14, 2006)

Usually the whole word is written out on the signs. I presume that the forms have a space for a tick mark just as they do here. And in most places in Ireland the signs are as Bearla

So far, when that was in Irish, the words Fir and Mná were fully written on every toilet, and never with just M/F.

I read somewhare, some tourist or other got confused because mna looks like man scrambled up. Don't recall whether this was true or just a story writtne for fun.

Beir bua

The pub "Irish Fiddler" in my town (in Germany) actually made a joke out of it by really just writing "m" (german: Männer=men) and "f" (german: Frauen=women) on the doors - everyone gets confused :-)

quote:

I would assume that there are normally just the signs that show a man and woman figure respectively

Is the guy wearing a kilt? Those signs won't help much either...

"The pub "Irish Fiddler" in my town (in Germany) actually made a joke out of it by really just writing "m" (german: Männer=men) and "f" (german: Frauen=women) on the doors - everyone gets confused :-)"


Cá bhfuil an greann?

quote:

Cá bhfuil an greann?

Because it's still the Irish meaning - so men burst into the women's restroom and vice versa.
An dtuigeann tú anois é? :-)

I thought I might add, when m an n are next to eachother, an a goes in between. So mná is pronounced like maná, not m'na. Just a side note, not like most people here dosen't already know that.

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not like most people here dosen't already know that.

Actually, I didn't know that, ÓDwyer.
Go raibh míle maith agat!

quote:

So mná is pronounced like maná, not m'na.

That is an interesting observation. Here's one way to experience it. Go to the collection of poems by Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill at lyrikline.org :

http://www.lyrikline.org/index.php?id=56&L=0&author=nn00&cHash=e030f18528

and select the poem "An Bád Sí". The first stanza ends with our word:

ag dul isteach go Faill na Mná.

Now press "Audio" to hear the author, a native speaker of Munster Irish, say the poem.

The funny thing about this is that, to the English-speaking ear, there is definitely a short neutral vowel pronounced between the 'm' and the 'n'. But if you asked an Irish-speaker if there's a vowel there, you'd likely be told "no"! I doubt that Nuala thinks she's putting a vowel there.

The question is further complicated by the fact that from Conamara north through Donegal and over to the Hebrides, the word "mná" is pronounced with an 'r' instead of an 'n': /mra:/, and no vowel between.

Cuimhnim é sin ag bheith mar ( mna: ) i Mumhan. I gConnacht is Uladh, bíonn sé mar ( mra: ).

(Message edited by Maidhc_Ó_G. on June 16, 2006)

Very lovely listening, Dhennis. I thought most of the speakers were using the Munster dialect. Is anyone familiar with these poets - where they're from....

I found Cathal Ó Seargaigh's "Croas" quite nice. He pronounced as (cru:s). There were also some other words. Is he from Uladh?

And Gabriel Rosenstock's "Ferrara 9-13". Beautiful. Really great stuff there. I thought he might be out of Connacht, but I couldn't place just where. Does anyone have an idea?

All very lovely - no matter!

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Cathal Ó Seargaigh ... Is he from Uladh?

Is the Pope Catholic? Is cainteoir ó dhúchas é. Rugadh agus a tógadh in aice le Gort an Choirce é.

quote:

Gabriel Rosenstock .... I thought he might be out of Connacht

Is as Baile Átha Cliath dó, go bhfios dom. Éist leis an "ao" in "gaotha", agus leis an mbéim sa bhfocal "Aibreáin". Is tréithe iad sin de Ghaeilge na Mumhan, agus de Ghaeilge BhÁC.

Ó searCaigh....donegal

rosenstock...ma from galway, da german doctor, born limerick, lives dub.

gabh mo leithscéal, a Dhonncha, post go mall