family in Irish Gaelic

[pipersgrip]

I was wondering what the proper or most preferred way to say "family" in the Irish language. I have heard of teaghlach, but was wondering if yins have heard anything different. Thanks.

[avanutria]

It sort of depends. Do you mean family as in you and your kids, or as in you and your siblings/parents?

http://www.irishgaelictranslator.com/mi ... /4/family/

[Redwolf]

Actually, there are several words for "family," and, as Avanutria said, it kind of depends on what you mean by "family," though none of them is an exact correlation for the various meanings we load on that word:

Muintir (MWIN-chir): Your "people." As another IGTFer puts it, "the entire family reunion crowd"...in other words, everyone who is related to you, past and present. Can also include friends, neighbors, associates, etc., or the collective people of an area (as in "muintir na hÉireann": the people of Ireland)

Teaghlach (CHAI-lukh): Literally your "household." Refers only to the people who live with you...so when you're a kid, your "teaghlach" could be your parents and siblings, maybe an elderly relative who lives with you, etc. When you grow up, your "Teaghlach" may just be you, or you and some roommates, or your spouse/partner and kids, etc.

Clann (Klahn): "Descendants." Refers ONLY to your children and other descendants, or to the collective children of a family ("An bhfuil clann agat?" is how you would ask a someone if he or she had any children). Can also be used to refer to all the descendants of a particular ancestor (for example, "Clann Uí Mháille" or "Clann Uí Níall"), but would not include their spouses. Generally best not used unless you're talking about your kids and grandkids, since the meaning English speakers have given to the word "clan" (which is derived from "clann") has a different, less-specific, meaning.

Gaolta (G(w)EEL-tuh): Relatives. Similar to "muintir," but less widely used (you mainly encounter it in songs), and has about as much "family feeling" as the English word "relatives."

Typically, one uses teaghlach to refer to one's immediate family (the so-called "nuclear" family) and "muintir" for every other potential meaning of "family."

Redwolf

[pipersgrip]

Thank you very much, I was meaning my whole entire family, cousins, uncles and everyone else.

[Redwolf]

Thank you very much, I was meaning my whole entire family, cousins, uncles and everyone else.

Muintir is what you want, then. Or, if you want to say "my family," "mo mhuintir" (that "h" isn't a typo...it's required). That will change the pronunciation as well, to "muh WIN-chir."

Keep in mind that Irish words can change significantly depending on how they're used in a sentence, so if you want to use this as anything other than a standalone word, let us know.

If you like using Irish, this is a good site to bookmark as well:

http://www.irishgaelictranslator.com/translation/

Redwolf

[pipersgrip]

Thank you Redwolf, you were much help. Thanks avanutria too for the useful website.