Scríobh Seán (ar snáth eile)

quote:

Anyone want to contribute some Irish words/phrases for snacks/meals (I guess, besides tae)?

Na gnáth chinn:
Bricfeasta
Lón
Dinnéir
Tae
Suipéir

In books I have seen, from the hard times, bia na maidine, agus bia an tráthnóna.

"proinn" is any kid of a meal.

Chaith mé mo phroinn - I ate my meal.

Greim also means a bite to eat, hence "Greim Gasta" for fast food.

I saw a café down the country once called "Nithe le nithe" (Things to eat)

An bhfuil níos mó ann?

I came across this the other day:

bainne na maidine: milk for the morning.

'Níl bainne na maidine againn': We don't have milk for the morning

Is there any regional difference (in Irish) for the names of the evening meal? For instance, I would never call my evening meal "supper", but I know many people who distinguish "dinner" and "supper". I would want to use the proper term understood by most Irish. As it looks, many are borrowed words, did the distinctions come to?

Scroid airneáin: snack late at night when talking with friends & neighbours.

From somebody's essay: "Ó! Bhí mo chroí i mo bhéile!"

Ceann eile ón bhfoinse céanna: "Tá sí bean bhlasta!"

"Greim gasta" - take-away. "Greimín gasta" Cá bhfaca mé é sin? Oileán éigin fadó? Inis Oirr? Toraigh? (Pronounced "grim - een" in Mayo except that the "r" doesn't sound like the English "r". Neither does the "G" I suppose. You've got to hear it.)

One feature worth noting is the idea of food being communal. You don't say "MY breakfast" rather "an bricfeasta" otherwise "an chéadphroinn" or "briseadh céalacain"

Is there an Irish word for brunch? I am guessing no but am curious.

I've seen lón use as "brunch".

quote:

Is there any regional difference (in Irish) for the names of the evening meal? For instance, I would never call my evening meal "supper", but I know many people who distinguish "dinner" and "supper".

I am not sure about regional differences as Gaeilge but there are certainly differences in English when it comes to dietary habits and the names of meals. When I grew up in working class Dublin, we had dinner at around 1 and tea (the evening meal) at 6ish. You might have a slice or toast or something going to bed and that might be called supper. Dinner would be the main meal of the day and tea would be lighter. My wife's family in Kerry would do likewise.

Nowadays, with a more urbanised and office-based workforce, people don't go home on their breaks and often have a lighter meal in the middle of the day and a more substantial one at home in the evening. The midday meal is generally called lunch and the evening meal dinner. The term 'lunch' has gained more and more currency and is used by many now to refer to the midday meal regardless of whether it is a sandwich or a full meal or whether it is eaten at home or at work. This would be more prevalent in the cities and has a whiff of social climbing about it! This is reinforced by the fact that in restaurants lunch is the midday meal and dinner the evening one and that one has soirées called dinner parties. Of course, you have a lunch break rather than a dinner break in work. In many parts of Dublin, the meal known as "tea" is an endangered species. I will mourn its passing.

In an attempt to pretend that this post has something to do with Irish, I will say that my friend often e-mails me at about 12.30 and writes (as Gaeilge) "Bhfuil tú saor le haghaidh lón?". Is fíor-dreapadóir sóisíalta é!

(Message edited by An_chilleasrach on September 02, 2009)

An_chilleasrach,
Thanks for your feedback. I am frightfully aware of the homogenization of everything from clothing to meals, to you name it! The peak of efficiency! After seeing Irish words that we're, for the most part, English loans, I did wonder if the distinctions of the English came with it. It seems after reading your post and thinking about it it probably has more to do with our lifestyles than our language. E.g., the loss of the siesta and the leisured life, and the rise of post-industrialism. (Leisure is used not in the sense of laziness or waste, but of that used by Josef Pieper in "Leisure: The Basis of Culture".)

I'm sure now I can be accused of going off topic, but culture has a lot to do with how we speak, hence your statement about the loss of tae, the large midday meal, and the rise of the large evening meal.

A Sheáin w, ab in tusa sa phictiúr? Cén fáth an cantal?

A Thaidhgín, níl mé sa phictiúr. Tá Bertie Wooster. Tá sé le greann. (Tá mé dáiríre faoin Gaeilge!)

Deirtear ceadphroinn agus meánlae fosta.

Cé hé Bertie Wooster? Bertie s'againne nó samhlaíocht P. G. Wodehouse? Níor léigh mé leabhar leis riamh. Táim aineolach.

Is maith liom dáiríreacht. Dáiríre.

Ggn
Ar chuala tú an ceann ag Pat Shortt: We'd have the dinner in the mornin' so as to get a good run at the day.

Fear Wodehouse. Is mór an spóirt an fear chéanna, é ina óinmhid cruthanta, go hiomlán spléach ar a ghiolla chun é chóiméad slán ó na báirsigh, agus a aintín meáite ar é a bheith pósta.

Gach aon duine a luann P G Wodehouse is léir dom gur bhain siad taitneamh as. Os rud é gur thaitn Evelyn Waugh liomsa fadó is dócha go bhfuil sé thar am agam tosú ar PGW. Cad é an chéad leabhar dá chuid? Cár cheart dom tosú?

Dar liomsa, léigh Carry on, Jeeves ar an gcéad leabhar agus amharc ar na físeáin. An-ghreannmhar!


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carry_On_Jeeves
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeeves_and_wooster

quote:

Cár cheart dom tosú?

Is féidir tosú áit ar bith, feictear dom.

Go raibh 1,000. Inseoidh mé anseo ar ball cé mar a thaitnigh liom.