The GaelMinn Gazette: September, 2016
THE GAELMINN GAZETTE (#135): SEPTEMBER, 2016
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The GaelMinn Gazette, a monthly e-newsletter from Gaeltacht Minnesota, carries helpful items for anyone studying the Irish language, anywhere, as well as news of interest to local and regional students.
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To read this newsletter as a web page, go to www.gaelminn.org/lastgaz.htm .
Content (C) 2016 Gaeltacht Minnesota
CONTENTS
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Tips, Tools, & Tricks
---May You Have . . .
GaelMinn News & Announcements
Lessons Learned: From the Classroom
---Don't Give In To Vocabulary Stress!
About Gaeltacht Minnesota
TIPS, TOOLS, AND TRICKS
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----------MAY YOU HAVE . . .
One of the first things you learned to say in Irish was "Go raibh maith agat", for "Thank you!" But, translated literally, this really comes out to mean "May you have good", may good things befall you. In other words, it is a benevolent wish, or blessing, rather than a literal "thanks" (and we'll touch on this a little more below).
We're firm believers in the value of sprinkling small bits of Irish throughout your day. Saying a few small phrases, 5-10 times a day, will often do you as much good as waiting for that magic day when you're going to have an hour to practice your Irish! And this "go raibh X agat" construction is one that is easy to work into daily life.
Just remember that you can substitute a lot of things for that X, or for the "maith" in "go raibh maith agat", and wish that on someone -- for good or ill. Say "Go raibh sneachta agat" (snow) to someone who is leaving for a ski trip, or mutter "Go raibh toghairm agat!" (summons, a ticket) at someone when they speed by you on the highway.
Now, not everything you say will produce perfect grammar, depending on the noun you use. If you use emotions, or even sickness, replace "agat" with "ort" -- "Go raibh slaghdán ort!", "May you catch a cold!" And to wish that people NOT have something, use "Ná raibh X agat!", as in "Ná raibh sneachta agat" for a skier you don't like.
But the GOAL is to get in the habit of thinking of Irish responses to events in your day, so to get started, focus on making the response, and don't worry too much about the grammar. If you don't know the Irish word, just say "Go raibh 'great tips' agat!" to your favorite waiter, and look up the Irish you need when you get home.
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GAELTACHT MINNESOTA NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
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----------GREAT MADISON WORKSHOP IN OCTOBER!
Be sure to head to Madison, WI, the weekend of October 14-16, where the Celtic Cultural Center has long held a spectacular fall workshop. Organizer Dineen always recruits an unusual roster of instructors combined with enthusiastic students at all levels.
For more information and a registration form, keep an eye on their web page, where materials will be posted soon. You don't want to miss this one! http://www.celticmadison.org/events/irish-weekend.html .
----------CONFERENCE IN MONTANA, OCTOBER 21-22
The American Conference for Irish Studies will hold their conference at the University of Montana this year. The theme is "Her Exile Children: Ireland and Irish America", and the conference will be addressed by the Irish Ambassador to the US and by the state's Governor. Many additional cultural activities are planned. For more information, contact Traolach at Traolach.oriordain@mso.umt.edu .
----------CLASS SCHEDULE
NO CLASS on Halloween
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LESSONS LEARNED: FROM THE CLASSROOM
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We've learned a few things in our Monday night classes -- from both instructors AND students.
----------DON'T GIVE IN TO VOCABULARY STRESS!
Vocabulary, or lack of it, is one of the things that sometimes bothers students in class or study group. You are among friends, using your Irish, and someone uses a word you don't know. It is just so painfully obvious when you don't know what someone said, and even more annoying when you want to say something but don't have the Irish words you need.
Naturally, we encourage you to continually build your vocabulary. But it's also important not to let these gaps in vocabulary distract you, or discourage you. Remember:
* It is absolutely normal to recognize a lot more vocabulary than you can use in your speech and writing -- the same is true of your English vocabulary! "Reception" is always broader than "production".
* Different people use different vocabulary because they want to talk about different things. That doesn't mean that they are doing wonderfully, and you're doing miserably! "Different" isn't better or larger, it just means that they tend to pay attention to words that fit their interests. In our classes, we often start with little accounts of what students have been up to in the previous week. We had a class, at one time, where one student would talk about scuba diving, another about watchmaking, and a third about theatre, among other topics. Each of those vocabulary sets is going to be new to people who don't have those same hobbies or professions.
* Knowing the structure and grammar of the language allows you to plug in vocabulary, but vocabulary won't teach you HOW to say what you know. In other words, don't let your lack of vocabulary distract you from learning how sentences are made, when mutations occur, and all of that. Indeed, if you can apply grammar to nonsense syllables and made up words, all the better -- you'll easily transfer those skills to real words as your vocabulary increases.
* Don't think you have to memorize every new term you encounter. Focus on words you might use often and don't worry to much about the other words you don't know.
* Try to recognize your progress. Give yourself a star in your notebook when you realize you have just used, or understood, a word that you didn't know a month ago. Because vocabulary growth is so gradual, and because we are so aware of what we do NOT know, we often fail to see that we are actually learning more words over time.
* Above all, have PATIENCE! Building vocabulary is a "slow and steady" item, it just takes time. Getting frustrated won't help one bit.
If having to ask a classmate or study buddy what a word means motivates you to learn, that's fine. If it gives rise to an internal drama in which you conclude you are a poor student because you don't know every word you encounter, that's not fine at all.
Encountering new words should be fun and interesting, not a source of stress. Relax and enjoy the experience!
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ABOUT GAELTACHT MINNESOTA
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Gaeltacht Minnesota is a volunteer organization that has been teaching free weekly classes in Irish for more than two decades. Besides free classes, we offer several workshops each year, a newsletter for learners, and participate in a wide variety of community events.
---------- CONTACT US
You can stay up to date with Gaeltacht Minnesota at www.gaelminn.org , or drop us a line anytime at info@gaelminn.org .
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