Editor's Corner

Recently, I was planning to go on a magical, fantastical trip to Ireland with my husband, brother, and sister-in-law. I look forward to trips to foreign countries because they are so eye-opening and educational but also (usually) fun and relaxing.

Unfortunately, our 5-year-old dog had a stroke. I will spare you the details and tell you that she’s walking, eating, doing physical therapy, and she’s doing great. We just planned the trip for later so that she is up for entertaining house guests. 😊

But this means that I haven’t gone on the invigorating travels that keep me curious about language.

I received an email the other day about something that renewed my vigor. One of you was writing to me about the word: shenanigan. I love this word, and I thought, “Yay, something Irish!” Here’s what I found out from the Online Etymology Dictionary:

shenanigan (noun)

"nonsense; deceit, humbug," 1855, American English slang, of uncertain origin. Earliest records of it are in California (San Francisco and Sacramento). Suggestions include Spanish chanada, a shortened form of charranada "trick, deceit;" or, less likely, German Schenigelei, peddler’s argot for "work, craft," or the related German slang verb schinäglen. Another guess centers on Irish sionnach "fox," and the form is perhaps conformed to an Irish surname.

Surprise, surprise! This word cannot be nailed down. The history of it is not certain, so I have to look elsewhere for a fix of Irishness. I found some Irish words on this website The Irish Roadtrip. I’m not going to lowercase the words or change any of the spelling, like centre. And the author was kind enough to share the pronunciations of the words with us!

Bóithrín

(One) of the more beautiful Irish words, ‘Bóithrín’ (or ‘Boreen’ in English’) is a word used to describe a rural road or lane that’s usually unpaved and that often has grass growing up the centre of it.

Pronunciation: ‘Boh-reen’

Cara

Often used as an Irish girls name, the word ‘Cara’ means ‘Friend’ in Irish. It’s easily pronounced ‘Car-ah’.

Teaghlach

‘Teaghlach’ is used to describe ‘A family/household’.

Pronunciation: ‘Chai-lach’

Leannán

One of the more popular Irish language words amongst courting couples, ‘Leannán’ means ‘Sweetheart/lover’.

Pronunciation: ‘Lan-awn’

Póirín

One of my favourite short Irish words, ‘Póirín’ means ‘Small potato’.

Pronunciation: ‘Pour-een’

Oíche

‘Oíche’ is the Irish word for ‘Night’. If you wanted to say ‘Good night’ to someone in Irish, you’d say ‘Oíche mhaith’.

Pronunciation: ‘Ee-hah’

Saoirse

Although many will know ‘Saoirse’ as one of the trickier-to-pronounce Irish girls names, it’s actually the Irish gaelic word for ‘Freedom’.

Pronunciation: ‘Sur-sha’

Well, I can see that I’m not going to be able to pronounce anything or figure out the meanings of these words. It should be exciting when we finally make the voyage!

Here’s a funny clip with some pronunciation lessons: Saoirse.

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | Knowledge Enablement

Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com

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