Saturday, June 29, 2019

I seachtain an Mhórtais

...and yes, I'd translate "Pride" in the now-topical sense with "Mórtas". But I have a linguistic question to write about.

To start with, I am not at all happy with the way aerach  has been appropriated as the Irish equivalent of "gay", because it reeks too much of Anglicism. However, if you must use it, you should at least follow the rules of Irish grammar.

Even focloir.ie suggests that when you say you are gay, you treat the word as an adjective and use the verb: dúirt sé go raibh sé aerach. I must say that in my opinion this is plain wrong.

This whole modern thing about gay liberation is based on the idea that your sexual nature is relatively stable and unchangeable, and that homosexual persons can be so immutably homosexual that they are better off leading an openly homosexual life than trying to fit in with a heterosexual norm.

Translating this into the Irish grammar, means that you must use a noun. In Irish, you are not gay, you are a gay. If you say in Irish Tá mé aerach, it suggests a transient feeling, not an innate nature. So, if you want to say that you are a gay, you are supposed to use a noun.

It is possible to use the noun aerachán "a gay person", which was established as far back as in the nineties, when I joined the online Irish-language community. While I still feel less than aerach about using the adjective aerach or its derivatives in this sense, it is much better Irish to say Is aerachán mé than Tá mé aerach. The latter, to me, means "I am feeling gay" (in any sense).

So, dúirt sé féin gur aerachán a bhí ann/gurbh aerachán é/ gurbh aerachán ab ea é "he himself told that he was gay".

By the way, I would much prefer if Irish gays called themselves something derived from traditional Irish. Often, homosexuals and other despised groups appropriate a previously disparaging word so as to disarm the despiser. Thus, Irish-speaking gays could use féileacán, "butterfly", which is the most salient Irish nickname for homosexuals. However, it suggests effeminateness (it can also refer to stupid-looking girls with too much make-up and too little clothes on), and it is well-known that many homosexual subcultures are very macho and manly in their appearance and manners, so I guess that not all gays would find it usable. So, I guess aerachán it must be, for the time being. 

1 comment:


  1. "Bhí mé i ngrá, meallta ar fhear a thug neamhaird orm ar feadh míonna. Elijah is ainm dom. Bainim úsáid as a bheith ag obair leis, agus nuair a aistríodh é go dtí an Eoraip bhí mé millte agus chuaigh mé ag cuardach cabhrach nuair a tháinig mé trasna an fear seo ar an suíomh Dr Obodo R-phost templeofanswer@hotmail.co.uk agus iarraim cabhair chun go mbeadh sé i gcuimhne agus tar éis 3 lá den obair a ghlaoigh sé orm agus dúirt sé liom go dtaitníonn sé liom.
    ... Go raibh maith agat an Dr Obodo Tá dúil mhór agam as do chuid oibre. "- Monique, SAM

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