Béarlachas
Encyclopedia
Béarlachas is an Irish
term for a variety of words and phrases used in the language that are perceived to be either excessively influenced by English
or to be English. This influence may vary between simple anglicism
s to a process of interlanguage
forms. It is a result of bilingualism within a society where there is a dominant, superstrate language and a minority language with few or no monolingual speakers and a perceived “lesser” status.
Calquing
also occurs: an English phrase is literally translated into Irish, even though an equivalent Irish phrase already exists.. Such is "Moilligh síos" (“slow down” – moill “delay” + síos “downwards”, calqued from English), instead of the more correct "Maolaigh ar do luas" (“reduce your velocity”), or simply Maolaigh! “Slow down!”.
Other words are early Béarlachas, having entered the language in 18th and 19th centuries:
Words used for foreign inventions, imports, and so on, where a native Irish word does not exist, are often an import as well. These are strictly speaking not béarlachas, but simple loans. In some cases an Irish word has been developed in addition, and in others not. This has been a characteristic of word development in the language for as long as written records exist, and is not limited to béarlachas. In some cases the original Irish word is no longer known, or has a different meaning within the same semantic field:
Modern forms:
Older forms:
of the foreign word:
The most striking forms of Béarlachas, however, are the names of the letters of the alphabet, the vast majority of which are normally said in the English way, except for ‹a›, as well as the use of words such as bhuel "well", dheas "yes", no "no", jost "just", dhiúnó "you know" (for tá's agat) and álraight "all right" (for go maith). Such words are used with their English syntax in Irish:
Letters that are not traditionally used in Irish orthography
occur (such as ‹j, k, q, v, w, x, y, z›, as well as ‹h› at the beginning of words), though in older Béarlachas words the foreign sounds have been gaelicised
:
Most words that begin with ‹p› in the language are also foreign loans, as ‹p› did not exist in prehistoric or early Old Irish (such as póg “kiss” (Old Welsh pawg, Latin pacem “peace”, peaca Latin pecatum “sin”).
prisoners in Long Kesh prison spoke in Irish. They nickname
d the place "An Gaoltacht", a portmanteau
replacing the first syllable of the Irish "Gaeltacht
" (Irish speaking region) with the English "gaol/jail".
It is thought by some that the republican slogan "Tiocfaidh ár lá
" (Our day will come) is a form of Béarlachas, more idiomatic equivalents being "Beidh ár lá linn"(Our day will be with us) or "Beidh ár lá againn" (We will have our day); however the verb "teacht" “come” is often used in a variety of phrases to express the “coming” of days, such as "tháinig an lá go raibh orm an t-oileán d’fhágaint" “the day came when I had to leave the island”.
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
term for a variety of words and phrases used in the language that are perceived to be either excessively influenced by English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
or to be English. This influence may vary between simple anglicism
Anglicism
An Anglicism, as most often defined, is a word borrowed from English into another language. "Anglicism" also describes English syntax, grammar, meaning, and structure used in another language with varying degrees of corruption.-Anglicisms in Chinese:...
s to a process of interlanguage
Interlanguage
An interlanguage is an emerging linguistic system that has been developed by a learner of a second language who has not become fully proficient yet but is approximating the target language: preserving some features of their first language , or overgeneralizing target language rules in speaking or...
forms. It is a result of bilingualism within a society where there is a dominant, superstrate language and a minority language with few or no monolingual speakers and a perceived “lesser” status.
Types
Béarlachas exists in many forms, from the direct translation of English phrases to the common form of creating verbs from English words by suffixing the verb formant -áil (this is also used to form verbs from native roots, such as trasnáil, “cross over”, from trasna “across”, tuigeáil (Connacht, Ulster) “understanding” (Munster tuiscint), from tuig “understand”, and so on) "Táim ag runáil go dtí an siopa" (I'm running towards the shop) is an example of Béarlachas as "runáil" is a verb created from the English word "run" with the Irish suffix áil attached; the correct Irish sentence is Táim ag rith go dtí an siopa.Calquing
Calque
In linguistics, a calque or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal, word-for-word or root-for-root translation.-Calque:...
also occurs: an English phrase is literally translated into Irish, even though an equivalent Irish phrase already exists.. Such is "Moilligh síos" (“slow down” – moill “delay” + síos “downwards”, calqued from English), instead of the more correct "Maolaigh ar do luas" (“reduce your velocity”), or simply Maolaigh! “Slow down!”.
Old borrowings
Many words are commonly thought by “purists” to be béarlachas, however, have been a part of the language for a long time, and have become “nativised”. True béarlachas is where the word or phrase is known to be English and is not felt to be Irish, just as in English French or Latin words and phrases can be used in full knowledge of their “non-anglosaxon” status, such as status quo and plus ça change. Some of the so-called English words are actually from Norse or Norman French, and as such are not Béarlachas. For example:- liosta: list (Norman French "liste")
- aidhm: aim (Norman French "aesmer") (where cuspóir is considered by some to be the "native" Irish word)
- halla: hall (Norse "hǫll") (the Irish word is áras).
- véarsa, béarsa [the b- initial considered to be uneducated dialect]: verse (Norman French verse [βʲe:rsə]; the Irish word is rann)
Other words are early Béarlachas, having entered the language in 18th and 19th centuries:
- praghas: price(also possibly from Norman French "preis", "pris")
- dabht: doubt (the Irish words are : amhras, gó)
Modern concepts
Words used for foreign inventions, imports, and so on, where a native Irish word does not exist, are often an import as well. These are strictly speaking not béarlachas, but simple loans. In some cases an Irish word has been developed in addition, and in others not. This has been a characteristic of word development in the language for as long as written records exist, and is not limited to béarlachas. In some cases the original Irish word is no longer known, or has a different meaning within the same semantic field:
Modern forms:
- fón, guthán “phone”
- carr, gluaisteán “car”
- badhsuiceal, rothar “bicycle”
Older forms:
- iarla (Norse jarl), tiarna (Irish) “lord, earl”
- póg (Old Welsh pawg , Latin (osculum) pacis “(kiss of) peace”) “kiss”
- bád (Old Norse), currach (Irish) “boat”
- garsún (Munster), gasúr (Connacht, Ulster) “small boy”, buachaill (Irish) “teenager, youth”
Variation
In some cases, the foreign loan has an official pronunciation in Irish, and a colloquial one based on English; the colloquial form is Béarlachas, while official form is a GaelicisationGaelicization
Gaelicization or Gaelicisation is the act or process of making something Gaelic, or gaining characteristics of the Gaels. The Gaels are an ethno-linguistic group who are traditionally viewed as having spread from Ireland to Scotland and the Isle of Man."Gaelic" as a linguistic term, refers to the...
of the foreign word:
- ceint (kʲenʲtʲ, sˠɛnʲtʲ) “cent”
- bus (bʷʊsʷ, bos) “bus”
- stádas (staːdəs, statəs/stætəs/ʃtætəs, steitəs) “status”
The most striking forms of Béarlachas, however, are the names of the letters of the alphabet, the vast majority of which are normally said in the English way, except for ‹a›, as well as the use of words such as bhuel "well", dheas "yes", no "no", jost "just", dhiúnó "you know" (for tá's agat) and álraight "all right" (for go maith). Such words are used with their English syntax in Irish:
- Bhuel, fanfa mé jost anseo, dhiúnó, go dtioca tú ar ais.
- Well, I'll just wait here, you know, till you come back.
- bhFuil tú álraight ansan, a bhuachaill? - No, nílim álraight anaonchor.
- Are you all right there, lad? - No, I'm not all right at all.
Letters that are not traditionally used in Irish orthography
Irish orthography
Irish orthography has evolved over many centuries, since Old Irish was first written down in the Latin alphabet in about the 6th century AD. Prior to that, Primitive Irish was written in Ogham...
occur (such as ‹j, k, q, v, w, x, y, z›, as well as ‹h› at the beginning of words), though in older Béarlachas words the foreign sounds have been gaelicised
Gaelicization
Gaelicization or Gaelicisation is the act or process of making something Gaelic, or gaining characteristics of the Gaels. The Gaels are an ethno-linguistic group who are traditionally viewed as having spread from Ireland to Scotland and the Isle of Man."Gaelic" as a linguistic term, refers to the...
:
- Jab: Job (beside post from French, obair from Latin)
- Zú, Sú: Zoo (where gairdín ainmhithe already exists)
- w > bh / v : bhálcaereacht, válcaereacht “strolling, walking”
Most words that begin with ‹p› in the language are also foreign loans, as ‹p› did not exist in prehistoric or early Old Irish (such as póg “kiss” (Old Welsh pawg, Latin pacem “peace”, peaca Latin pecatum “sin”).
Use in Republicanism
Between the 1970s and 1990s RepublicanIrish Republicanism
Irish republicanism is an ideology based on the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic.In 1801, under the Act of Union, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
prisoners in Long Kesh prison spoke in Irish. They nickname
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
d the place "An Gaoltacht", a portmanteau
Portmanteau word
A portmanteau or portmanteau word is a blend of two words or morphemes into one new word. A portmanteau word typically combines both sounds and meanings, as in smog, coined by blending smoke and fog. More generally, it may refer to any term or phrase that combines two or more meanings...
replacing the first syllable of the Irish "Gaeltacht
Gaeltacht
is the Irish language word meaning an Irish-speaking region. In Ireland, the Gaeltacht, or an Ghaeltacht, refers individually to any, or collectively to all, of the districts where the government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant language, that is, the vernacular spoken at home...
" (Irish speaking region) with the English "gaol/jail".
It is thought by some that the republican slogan "Tiocfaidh ár lá
Tiocfaidh ár lá
Tiocfaidh ár lá is an Irish language phrase which translates as "our day will come", the hoped-for day being that of a united Ireland. It became a popular slogan with militant Irish republicans in the 1980s.-Origins:...
" (Our day will come) is a form of Béarlachas, more idiomatic equivalents being "Beidh ár lá linn"(Our day will be with us) or "Beidh ár lá againn" (We will have our day); however the verb "teacht" “come” is often used in a variety of phrases to express the “coming” of days, such as "tháinig an lá go raibh orm an t-oileán d’fhágaint" “the day came when I had to leave the island”.
Scotland
The same concept also exists within Scottish Gaelic, where it is referred to in the Scottish Gaelic form Beurlachas (pjɤːrˠlˠ̪əxəs̪). Some examples include:- stòraidh "story" for instead of sgeulachd
- gèam "game" instead of cluiche
- tidsear "teacher" instead of the older mùin(t)ear
- nurs "nurse" instead of banaltram.