I received the following from a friend (who is incidentally a bodhran player) and pass it on with no comment :- " I was reading a book about folk-life in the Mizzen, West Cork - the glossary of Irish Terms included the word bohrán: a cow-pat, so now I know everything, what eegit started mis spelling it with a 'd'? "
Well as I say, no comment.
I heard it's a corruption of "tambourine." I'm not so familiar with the spelling rules of Irish and Scottish Gaelic, but it isn't uncommon to add silent "dh."
The consonant after the vowel makes in general takes the harsh sound of the "O" to a soft (short) sound like "ah" so broken down it would sound like ...bahh ran ....put together with the second syllable it may sound like "bow..ron."
In a like manner a vowel preceded by another can make the one of the vowels hard depending on the placement of the consonant....example the word Gaelic itself or teanas (tennis)
of coarse there are many rules that change the way vowels sound together that would make the above mostly the exception like the word 'caol' (thin) or slaodach (slow) which is similar to 'oo' or 'ee'
I'm no expert....sorry to be elementary there are many rules, however, it is very interesting just how the written language specifically reflects the actual sounds of the words.
The word comes from the Irish root meaning 'deaf' and the word bodhran also means a deaf person (!). The /dh/ often represents a sound that once was pronounced but is no longer. It would have been, probably, a "voiced velar fricative" made with friction in the back of the mouth, something like a Parisian French /r/.
As I pointed out on the thread Bodhrans, Botheration and the Wah-Wah effect, according to the Concise Oxford Dictionary, the english words "bother" and "botheration" probably derive from the Irish word "bodhaire" meaning noise and its derivative "bodhraim" meaning deafen, annoy
Well so far the comments have been mostly informative and maybe even educational. But who came up with the idea of hitting a cow-pat with a stick to accompany dance music? and why??
Eejit is a typical Scottish term which might now translate as plonker. It can be used aggressively or as a gentle almost affectionate description depending on the tone and inflection you use. The addition of the f 'ing word makes it particularly suitable as a term of abuse for someone who has really annoyed you.
During a jam at my sister's wedding last month I picked up the Bodhran to play along with a tune....and later that day my (other- than-Irish) uncle mentioned that I was really good on that "Tupperware Lid thing"
Who put the 'd' in bodhran
Who put the 'd' in bodhran
I received the following from a friend (who is incidentally a bodhran player) and pass it on with no comment :- " I was reading a book about folk-life in the Mizzen, West Cork - the glossary of Irish Terms included the word bohrán: a cow-pat, so now I know everything, what eegit started mis spelling it with a 'd'? "
Well as I say, no comment.
# Posted on November 25th 2004 by tooteyflutey
Re: Who put the 'd' in bodhran
"eegit" ?
# Posted on November 25th 2004 by BegF
Re: Who put the 'd' in bodhran
I heard it's a corruption of "tambourine." I'm not so familiar with the spelling rules of Irish and Scottish Gaelic, but it isn't uncommon to add silent "dh."
# Posted on November 25th 2004 by slainte
Re: Who put the 'd' in bodhran
Hmm, corruption of tambourine? Take the wee cymbles off because they're too musical (drip drip)
# Posted on November 25th 2004 by ...
Re: Who put the 'd' in bodhran
The consonant after the vowel makes in general takes the harsh sound of the "O" to a soft (short) sound like "ah" so broken down it would sound like ...bahh ran ....put together with the second syllable it may sound like "bow..ron."
In a like manner a vowel preceded by another can make the one of the vowels hard depending on the placement of the consonant....example the word Gaelic itself or teanas (tennis)
of coarse there are many rules that change the way vowels sound together that would make the above mostly the exception like the word 'caol' (thin) or slaodach (slow) which is similar to 'oo' or 'ee'
I'm no expert....sorry to be elementary there are many rules, however, it is very interesting just how the written language specifically reflects the actual sounds of the words.
# Posted on November 25th 2004 by Tim_Fiddler
Re: Who put the 'd' in bodhran
The word comes from the Irish root meaning 'deaf' and the word bodhran also means a deaf person (!). The /dh/ often represents a sound that once was pronounced but is no longer. It would have been, probably, a "voiced velar fricative" made with friction in the back of the mouth, something like a Parisian French /r/.
# Posted on November 25th 2004 by Feadaire
Re: Who put the 'd' in bodhran
it's good to see that the thing has beeen slagged since antiquity
# Posted on November 25th 2004 by ...
Re: Who put the 'd' in bodhran
As I pointed out on the thread Bodhrans, Botheration and the Wah-Wah effect, according to the Concise Oxford Dictionary, the english words "bother" and "botheration" probably derive from the Irish word "bodhaire" meaning noise and its derivative "bodhraim" meaning deafen, annoy
# Posted on November 25th 2004 by An Goban Saor
Re: Who put the 'd' in bodhran
What's an 'eegit'?
# Posted on November 25th 2004 by anniejryan
Re: Who put the 'd' in bodhran
yeah, who put the g in eejit?
# Posted on November 25th 2004 by kris
Re: Who put the 'd' in bodhran
Or the silent "c" in "rap"?
Trevor
# Posted on November 25th 2004 by Trevor Jennings
Re: Who put the 'd' in bodhran
The D is there so for once you can get a decent tune with your rythym.
All together now -Dee De De D Dee Di Dee.
# Posted on November 25th 2004 by Davetnova
Re: Who put the 'd' in bodhran
"eegit" (or "eejit") is just an irishization of the word "idiot".
# Posted on November 25th 2004 by Bard
Re: Who put the 'd' in bodhran
I take it that the D is silent, all we need now is a silent A,B,C,E,F,and G. Problem solved. (or does that constitute slagging?)
# Posted on November 25th 2004 by curlew
Re: Who put the 'd' in bodhran
Well so far the comments have been mostly informative and maybe even educational. But who came up with the idea of hitting a cow-pat with a stick to accompany dance music? and why??
# Posted on November 26th 2004 by tooteyflutey
Re: Who put the 'd' in bodhran
Eejit is a typical Scottish term which might now translate as plonker. It can be used aggressively or as a gentle almost affectionate description depending on the tone and inflection you use. The addition of the f 'ing word makes it particularly suitable as a term of abuse for someone who has really annoyed you.
# Posted on November 26th 2004 by bigfish
Re: Who put the 'd' in bodhran
In cases like that, I prefer spailpín.
Sin é,
-Padraig
# Posted on November 26th 2004 by Pádraig
Re: Who put the 'd' in bodhran
During a jam at my sister's wedding last month I picked up the Bodhran to play along with a tune....and later that day my (other- than-Irish) uncle mentioned that I was really good on that "Tupperware Lid thing"
# Posted on November 26th 2004 by Tim_Fiddler
Re: Who put the 'd' in bodhran
"I'd say at one time or another, we were all called a 'spailpín'..."
- Cathy Jordan
# Posted on December 2nd 2004 by Lizzy