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<title type="main">Bearlagair na Saor.</title><author><persName>ED. G. J.</persName></author><editor><name type="main">Mac Néill, Eoin</name></editor><respStmt>
	<resp>Electronic edition compiled by</resp>
	<name>Foclóir na Nua-Ghaeilge</name>
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	 <edition>
		 <note type="N">IG09-10536</note>
		 <note type="L">225</note>
		 <note type="B">1898</note>
		 <note type="C"/>
		 <note><p>Description of how and why changes were made</p></note>
	 </edition>
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		<publisher>Connradh na Gaedhilge</publisher>
		<pubPlace>24 Upper O'Connell Street, Dublin</pubPlace><date>Lughnasadh, 1898</date><idno>IG09-10536</idno><distributor>Royal Irish Academy</distributor>
		<availability>
		<p>Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike (cc by-nc-sa)</p>
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<title level="s">Irisleabhar na Gaedhilge</title><biblScope unit="vol">9</biblScope>
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<analytic><author>ED. G. J.</author><title>Bearlagair na Saor.</title></analytic>
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<title level="j">Bearlagair na Saor.</title><imprint><publisher>Connradh na Gaedhilge</publisher><date>Lughnasadh, 1898</date></imprint>
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<text><body><div><p><span><pb n="225"/></span>
<lb n="1"/><span>BEARLAGAR NA SAOR.</span></p>
<lb n="2"/>
<lb n="3"/><p><span>The following paper, put together by Dr. Hogan as</span>
<lb n="4"/><span>long ago as 1890, throws no little light on the subject of</span>
<lb n="5"/><span>the paper by Donnchadh O Luingsigh in last month's jour-</span>
<lb n="6"/><span>nal.  Dr. Hogan considers the béarlagair to be bearla</span>
<lb n="7"/><span>eagair, language of construction or artifical language.</span>
<lb n="8"/><span>His references prove that this mason's dialect, so far from</span>
<lb n="9"/><span>being mere jargon, contains many ancient terms, and</span>
<lb n="10"/><span>must have been preserved from very distant times by</span>
<lb n="11"/><span>Irish-speaking craftsmen.  No doubt a good deal more</span>
<lb n="12"/><span>of its vocabulary could still be collected.</span></p>
<lb n="13"/>
<lb n="14"/><p><span>Those who wish to investigate the subject thoroughly</span>
<lb n="15"/><span>may consult Evue Celtique, vol. 7, p. 369, and vol. 12,</span>
<lb n="16"/><span>pp. 176 and 301; also a paper on “The Irish Origin an</span>
<lb n="17"/><span>the age of Shelta,” by Dr. Kun Meyer, in the Journal</span>
<lb n="18"/><span>of the Gypsy Lore Society fro January, 1891 (Constable,</span>
<lb n="19"/><span>Edinbugh, publisher), and “Two Shelta Stories” by</span>
<lb n="20"/><span>John Sampson in the same journal for July, 1891.</span>
<lb n="21"/><span>“Shelta” ar “Sheldhru”(=belru, béarla) is the name of </span>
<lb n="22"/><span>a dialect used by tinkers.</span></p>
<lb n="23"/>
<lb n="24"/><p><span>That there is method in the madness of Béarlagair</span>
<lb n="25"/><span>na Saor is easily shown.</span></p>
<lb n="26"/>
<lb n="27"/><p><span>Some words are simple inversions. Cail=leac or liag.</span>
<lb n="28"/><span>Eis, man=sé, he (?). Gail=liag. Geab=beag. Geasán</span>
<lb n="29"/><span>=Seaghán(note how the now silent g is preserved).</span>
<lb n="30"/><span>Lofughadh=folughadh(?)</span></p>
<lb n="31"/>
<lb n="32"/><p><span>In other words one or more consonants are substituted.</span>
<lb n="33"/><span>Caid=dail; ciath=cian; cuanog=cuarog; fiuch=fiodh;</span>
<lb n="34"/><span>féag=déad, fuadh=luadh; gosmhail=cosmhail; lais=</span>
<lb n="35"/><span>laimh; prosmuigh=brosduigh; scaoise or scaoire=</span>
<lb n="36"/><span>oidhche; sechruigh= sellruigh(?); sead=teach(?);</span>
<lb n="37"/><span>taor=daor.</span></p>
<lb n="38"/>
<lb n="39"/><p><span>In some instances inversion and substitution are com-</span>
<lb n="40"/><span>bined.  Cronik, i.e., croinneog=cloigeann; liobog=</span>
<lb n="41"/><span>miltog; bearalan=(maralaun)=leanabhan.</span></p>
<lb n="42"/>
<lb n="43"/><p><span>Another device is the insertion of a syllable, brú, tre,</span>
<lb n="44"/><span>fre, bhabh, etc.  Cabrúl=cal; caistrig=caistig=sechaid</span>
<lb n="45"/><span>(a common word, meaning “pass, hand, reach,” as in</span>
<lb n="46"/><span>“pass me the mustard”); coistrigh=coisigh; cuifreachan=</span>
<lb n="47"/><span>coilean; custraman=cosan; cuithre=cú, cuin; galltris-</span>
<lb n="48"/><span>each=gall, gaillseach; mo-bhabh-sa=mise; do-bhabh-sa=</span>
<lb n="49"/><span>tusa.</span></p>
<lb n="50"/>
<lb n="51"/><p><span>Then there is a foreign element. Libreacan is cetainly</span>
<lb n="52"/><span>from libra; sec, stop, may represent check, and stimire,</span>
<lb n="53"/><span>steamer.</span></p>
<lb n="54"/>
<lb n="55"/><p><span>Over and above all these, some old Irish words are</span>
<lb n="56"/><span>certainly used, as derc, des, dobhar, du, fearbach, iomthusa</span>
<lb n="57"/><span>(emthuesa), rae, triath, etc. (see vocabulary).</span></p>
<lb n="58"/>
<lb n="59"/><p><span>Turning to last month's article, we find it strengthen-</span>
<lb n="60"/><span>ing Dr. Hogan's collection in several instances, but the</span>
<lb n="61"/><span>translation is sometimes more than doubtful.  We sug-</span>
<lb n="62"/><span>gest:</span></p>
<lb n="63"/>
<lb n="64"/><p><span>1. Sead é an chín, the house is dirty.</span>
<lb n="65"/><span>2. Geab an lúd, the work is little.</span>
<lb n="66"/><span>3. Seic ar do bhúith, stop your (noise?).</span>
<lb n="67"/><span>4. Geab-éis geabanta na mbulcán sead, little boy of the</span>
<lb n="68"/><span>foul(words?).</span>
<lb n="69"/><span>5. ...cruinneacáin clútach.</span>
<lb n="70"/><span>6. ... gur seabhruigheas.  Tuada, compare tuaite. An</span>
<lb n="71"/><span>sgaoid seo=anocht.</span>
<lb n="72"/><span>7. Read a bhearuláin?  Long shuain, see longán.</span>
<lb n="73"/><span>9. Sead is here clearly=fada.  Cibir, see ciabair.</span>
<lb n="74"/><span>10. Drive the cows away from the way; i.e., out of the</span>
<lb n="75"/><span>way.  Very well (or, mar an gcéadna, also).</span>
<lb n="76"/><span>11. The bull...</span></p>
<lb n="77"/>
<lb n="78"/><p><span>To those who may make further contributions to this</span>
<lb n="79"/><span>curious study, we would say a word of perhaps unneces-</span>
<lb n="80"/><span>sary caution.  The meaning attached to the words by the</span>
<lb n="81"/><span>person who knows them should be given as he gives it,</span>
<lb n="82"/><span>without making any effort to reconcile it with Dr. Hogan's</span>
<lb n="83"/><span>vocabulary. Ed. G. J.</span></p>
<lb n="84"/>
<lb n="85"/><p>
<lb n="86"/></p></div></body></text></TEI>
Historical Irish Corpus
1600 - 1926

Bearlagair na Saor.

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Historical Irish Corpus1600 - 1926

Bearlagair na Saor.

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Historical Irish Corpus
1600 - 1926
