Irish Proverb 194 - Seanfhocail Ghaeilge 194

A somewhat poignant yet articulate expression of the Irish will to maintain their language and culture in defiance of all oppression.

I can't help but notice in this and other similar proverbs that the verb "is" seems to be implied rather than stated, which, given the VSO construct of Irish feels a bit strange.  Is there some rule of thumb on when you can leave the verb to implication and when it needs to be included?

Dale

You've opened a can of worms with that one, Dale. (Where do you buy cans of worms, by the way, and which national cuisine makes such extensive use of them?) Anyway, the "is" in question here is called the copula (an chopail) and some people have even disputed that it really is a verb. Without going into that, there are many cases where you can drop it in ordinary speech. Múinteoir é an fear sin instead of Is múinteoir é an fear sin. There are other cases where you can't, like Is féidir liom Gaeilge a labhairt or Is fearr liom Gaeilge ná Béarla.  In this case, I think it's just parataxis anyway - A land without a language, a land without a soul.

"Can of worms..."  Yes, I'm familiar with that term.  A colleague at work used to give me projects to do that were always "simple"...until I tried to do them, and there was always a lot more to it.  I went to the grocery store, bought some gummi worms, put them in a can with a plastic top, and made a label for it myself as his "can of worms".

I have never had trouble with the concept of the copula being a verb, and am a bit mystified that there is any arguement about it.  The comparison is often made to "ser" and "estar" in Spanish, and having studied Spanish I get that quite readily.  I do appreciate the clarification, and it makes sense that it becomes "assumed" in certain circumstances.  I guess you have to learn them case by case....