#gaeilgoir

Butchered tongue feels like when you speak Irish and someone looks at you expecting a translation for the language that’s forever the beating soul of their own country

Butchered tongue feels like crossing the border and not seeing the Irish langauge signs anymore

Butchered tongue feels like trying everything to pull back as much of your culture as possible and never feeling like it’s enough

Butchered tongue feels like the guilt for not doing enough to save the language every time you look at Irish history and realise what people did to save it so you could speak it

Butchered tongue feels like every single time someone mocks Irish in front of you and looks surprised that you call them out on it

Butchered tongue feels like the anger every time you struggle in Irish because it should come so easy to you

secrets to the universe hidden under cut bc this is gonna be a long one!

Clagarnach baistí - pelting rain

Ag clagarnach ar an díon - rain pattering on the roof

Bogfhearthainn - soft rain

Fliuch go craiceann - soaked to the skin

Breacbháisteach - occasional rain

Seadbháisteach - drizzle of rain

Cídeog - covering your head and shoulders against rain/wind

For the most part, the same terms are used for men and women, nouns are the same, the only different thing is the definitive article.

In most gendered languages, male is the default (Eg: my friends in Spanish for a group containing 9 women and 1 man uses the masculine version of the word friend) but Irish doesn’t really work that way.

🇮🇪- favourite thing abt Irish

Probably just how much you can tell about the culture from the language. Irish is a gendered language, but it’s not like a lot of Romance languages where you can tell by the ending of a noun/adjective, even if you can sometimes. The language vocally sounds extremely fluid and flowy, and uses very flowery, poetic phrasing instead of simplistic phrasing (eg: go raibh maith agat, tá brón orm, dia dhuit directly translation to, may goodness be with you, the sorrow is on me, may god be with you, even when they’re used as thanks, sorry, and hi.)

Firstly, we have Sinéad O'Connor's song 'Famine'. Sinéad was an Irish singer-songwriter and a prominent activist. A very interesting figure, who wrote beautifully poignant songs on issues Ireland faced in the 90's in particular, but these songs still remain very relevant today. This song deals with the truth behind the so-called famine in Ireland, and has been deemed controversial since Sinead first performed it.

Of course, next we have Hozier. 'Butchered Tongue' is a wistful song about the decline in the Irish language and Irish culture. It also touches on the pitchcapping of Irish Rebels during the 1798 rebellion against the british. Yes I cried when hearing this song for the first time.

Another Hozier song, that actually surprised me a lot, is 'De Selby (part 1)'. This song is the first time I have heard the Irish language in a song by a globally popular artist. The idea that this song was played, that Irish was played across the world still amazes me. See my translation for this song here. This song is incredibly beautiful.

A band that sings in Irish is Dysania, and I would really recommend their song 'Lasú Croí'. The song slaps, and they are incredible for keeping our language alive through modern music. I'd also recommend 'Bothar Briste'.

Another band that sings as gaeilge is IMLÉ. I'd recommend 'Éad' and 'Go Deo, Go Deo.' Their songs are incredibly moving, 'Go Deo, Go Deo' kinda reminds me of a calmer version of 'Army Dreamers' by Kate Bush.

'The Town I Left Behind' is also a classic song that practically every Irish person knows. I would personally recommend The Dubliner's version. As well as this I would recommend listening to 'Grace', and 'The Foggy Dew'. All these songs deal with Ireland's history in some way - from the troubles to the 1916 rising.