Motherfoclóir: Dispatches from a Not So Dead Language

by Darach Ó Séaghdha

[wyvernfriend]

reader, I bought it... Actually I bought two, on the basis of the library copy. One for me and one as a Christmas gift for my dad who loves Irish. That was after getting about half way through and realising that I had a load of pieces of paper to mark the interesting words.
 
When I was a kid I remember the green dictionary that was written in the older script (cló Gaelach) - which, by the way, I can read, that had regular blank pages for you to add in words and meanings and it was covered by notes by both my grandfather and father and a few other hands.  Words have always fascinated me and I loved the idea of words that needed explaining in other languages. This book is a meandering stroll through a variety of words, sometimes words that sound like them and the usages. There's also a chapter about neologisms and a section on Irish pronunciation.
 
It's a very very geeky book but I enjoyed it hugely, I listen to the podcast, despite the terrible rendition of the national anthem either end.