silmeth 🇺🇦An bhfuil eolas ag éinne agaibh i dtaobh bhunús an struchtúir ina bhfuil ainsíoch bealaí mar dobhriathar? Rud mar ‘bhí sé ag dul _an bóthar_’ gan an ginideach i ndiaidh ainme briathartha. An raibh a leithéid de rud sa Ghaelainn Chlasaiceach nó roimis sin?
My explanation of the use of (in)direct relative clauses with adverbials in #Irish #grammar.
Written on a forum that I _don’t_ want to advertise due to one active toxic user making it not be a safe space. But IMO the explanation is worth sharing.
I’ve seen this mistake made in several other teaching materials (both for modern and historical Irish), and see it frequently online. Hence this thread, in hope to maybe make a few more people aware of it and interested in it. :)
Críoch.
It’s in the language at lest since Middle Ir. period. In his dissertation on the historical syntax of the copula Kuninao Nashimoto mentioned it for Middle and Early Mod. Irish.
But he makes it sound like it’s limited to placename lore and not productive since EMI.
My Guide to Irish to be also has a section (I hope clearly and correctly) explaining the rule: https://www.celtic-languages.org/Guide_to_Irish_to_be#Personal_names_%E2%80%93_identification_versus_classification
This rule is well-established and commented upon in Graiméar Gaeilge na mBráithre Críostaí (the most authoritative Standard Irish grammar), by O’Nolan in his books, in Gnás na Gaedhilge by Cormac Ó Cadhlaigh.
This means that there is a difference between:
is Séamus ainm a mhic ‘Séamus is the name of his son’
and
is é Séamus a rinne é ‘it’s Séamus who did it’
sub-predicate pronoun is only put before (definite) name referring to a specific person.
One interesting rule of #Irish #grammar that many people struggle with, but it seems well alive in native Irish. A 🧵.
If a proper name (of person or place) is referring to the name itself, & not to a specific person, it’s treated as indefinite after the copula.
iamBullivantSo Irish has specific grammatical rules for.....sheep. 🤔 Why?
New Irish Grammar by The Christian Brothers, 1980, p17.
Iarlaiṫ