Buntús Cainte learners

Collins Irish Grammar error?

macchopchip — Sun, 07 Apr 2019 08:48:20 GMT

in this grammar book it lists "ní bhrisfidh tú na rialacha aris" as being an example of the negative particle "ní" used in the present tense. it is translated as " you will not break the rules again". certainly this is an example of the future tense and not the present. "ní bhriseann tú na rialacha aris" - you don't break the rules again would be the statement in the present tense. isn't this true?

Re-downloading ?

bendigomick — Tue, 12 Dec 2017 09:27:29 GMT

I bought Talk Irish Buntus Cainte some years ago and have used it very happily. Unfortunately I bought new iPhone and ITunes will not desynchronise Buntus Cainte, saying it cannot find some files. Can I re-download the two courses?

Regards,

Bendigomick

nzryans@bigpond.com

My Own Seanfhocail...

Dale D — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 17:57:55 GMT

Hello.

I am trying to translate the expression "Little strokes fell great oaks" as I thought it would be an interesting exercise.

So, I started with the verb "leag" -- "fell, cut down" -- and determined that the nature of the expression includes an implied future tense, i.e., "Little strokes will fell great oaks." Consequently, I began with "leagfaidh"

A stroke or a chop is "buille" and "small" is "beag", so "Leagfaidh buille beag..."

...and "oak" is "dair" and "mór" is "big" (or "great" in size) so I proceeded with "dair mór" at the end:

"Leagfaidh buille beag dair mór."

Now for the hard part, meaning the part I still don't fully understand. Lenition and eclipsis.

I have gathered in doing some reading that noun cases seem to change when treated as subject or object. So is the "genetive" case the "objective" mode? And what would that mean in the present instance?

And does the adverb following the noun change as well?

So instead of "dair mór". would it be "dhair mhór"?

Or am I completely off base?

Lastly, the English expression uses plurals (strokes, oaks) so if someone can help me on the pluralization, that would be great as well....

Thanks for the help!

Dale

A bug in the Online Course, Lesson 3 the "Why has `go` disappeared"-popup is empty

erithion — Tue, 24 Oct 2017 10:06:48 GMT

Well, I would still like to know what happens with "go" within "go maith" when you emphasize the adjective with "an". Could someone please elaborate on this?

Buntús Cainte

LauraHuntORI — Thu, 18 May 2017 01:57:07 GMT

An maith libh Buntús Cainte?

Learning plenty of Irish/Gaeilge for my Leaving Certificate/Scrúduithe na hArdteistiméireachta

Dylan_64 — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 19:17:51 GMT

Dia duit!

I'd like to learn enough Irish to pass my Leaving Cert./Ardteist in 2014. I would like to know how to put sentences together and how to remember how they go together. All I know to date is: Tá = Present tense, Bhí = Past tense and that a verb is always first in a sentence. An example of a sentence I know is: Bhí Jimmy go dtí an teach tábhairne gach Aoine, which is: Jimmy went to the pub every Friday and Tá mé/Táím tuirseach: I'm tired.

I would like to know enough Irish to be able to talk in a Gaeltacht when I leave school and to be able to do my Irish oral. I already know the basics like hello, goodbye, how are you?, my name is ______ and so on. I currently do Ordinary Level Irish and got a B in my Junior Cert. at Ordinary Level too. I'd like to chance an Honours/Higher Level paper but I doubt very much I'd be able to pass it. Most of the time I use Google Translate for my homework/obair bhaile and I know that it's inaccurate.

Go raibh míle maith agat.

Learning sufficient Gaelige to pass my Scrúduithe na hArdteistiméireachta and to use it in everyday life.

Dylan_64 — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 02:08:35 GMT

Dia duit!

I'm Irish just to start off. All I'd like to do is learn enough Irish to pass my Leaving Cert. in 2014. I would like to know how to put sentences together and how to remember how they go together. All I know to date is: Tá = Present tense, Bhí = Past tense and that a verb is always first in a sentence. An example of a sentence I know is: Bhí Jimmy go dtí an teach tábhairne gach Aoine, which is: Jimmy went to the pub every Friday and Tá mé/Táím tuirseach: I'm tired.

I would like to know enough Irish to be able to talk in a Gaeltacht when I leave school, to be able to have a conversation in irish with my Irish teacher because he's great craic! Also I'd like to be able to do my Irish oral without saying "eh" all the time through out it all. I currently do Ordinary Level Irish and got a B in my Junior Cert. at Ordinary Level too. I'd like to chance an Honours/Higher Level paper but I doubt very much I'd be able to pass it. Most of the time I use Google Translate to do my obair bhaile and I know that it's inaccurate.

Go raibh míle maith agat.

Ceacht 37

Mary Lea — Fri, 22 May 2015 13:28:28 GMT

So, I'm finally here - it's taking me a bit longer to work through than I thought, but I'm making progress.

I have a question - I've been looking at the construct 'é a dhéanamh' etc.

Would I be able to add it onto other phrases, like 'is maith liom' etc? As in, does 'is maith liom é a ól'? (I like to drink it.) Or is that not a correct construction in Irish?

Ta me ag foghlaim Gaelge - where are the fadas!

Mary Lea — Tue, 14 Apr 2015 13:22:23 GMT

And also, what is the plural for 'fada'? If I had known I would have tried to write my first topic heading in Gaelic. I can get the fadas in my word processing programme, but they don't translate online.

I've wanted to learn Irish all my life, but one thing or another always seemed to get in the way. I started off with Buntus Cainte when I was about ten or eleven, but over the years, although I kept trying to start again, I never got much past the sixteenth lesson.

I've signed up for the interactive course on this website, and am now up to about twenty four. I'm also using Progress in Irish by Maire ni Gradaigh, and am using Rossetta Stone to suplement my learing. I've signed up (crazily) for a weeklong course in the Gaeltacht this June. I am determined to get there - I don't want my Grandparents to be the last generation in my family to speak Irish.

So - at the moment I'm devoting at least an hour a day to it, swapping my activities around. Every day I'm planning to work through at least one of the Buntus Cainte lessons, working more slowly through Progress in Irish, and working gradually through Rossetta Stone. (It only goes up to the third level, but I'm hoping by the time I get there I will be more confident.)

I've also started writing a diary in Irish - I am sure it is full of grammatical errors at this stage (I'm using a dictionary to supplement my vocabulary, and am keeping a jotting book for new words and phrases. I could really do with a spelling course as well - the kind of thing kids go through at school when they are learning to write.

What I would really like would be to find someone in a similar situation who wants to practise speaking - of course, I am selfish and would be happy for the speaker to be better than me (they can hardly be much worse) but if anyone is interested in Skyping so we could converse in Gaelic I would be delighted. Are any people on this forum already skyping? And are there Gaelic language groups on twitter or facebook?

Go raibh maith agat, gach duine. Siul agam gach beg me ag cainte fos. (See, I told you I am not very good - I am pushing what little language I have to get thoughts across, and I don't know if it's working yet. I'm trying though!)

Tú nó Sibh

Dale D — Wed, 02 Jul 2014 21:54:47 GMT

I have arrived at a point of confusion....

I have understood, from all the conjugation tables I have seen, that tú is "you" singular and that sibh is "you" plural (or "yous" as it is sometimes written or spoken). However, in Ceachtana 58 of Buntús Cainte, it seems that "sibh" is being used as the objective form of "you" singular. Is this correct? Or am I assuming too much, or not enough?

The confusion first arose over the second set of example sentences following the vocabulary at the beginning. The fifth one says, Ní fhaca mé riamh cheana sibh. The translation is, "I never saw you before." The sixth one says, Chonaic sibh fada ó shin iad. "You saw them long ago."

The pictures in the iPad version of Buntús Cainte shows a woman being accosted by a robber and saying, Ní fhaca mé riamh cheana sibh. This gives the definite impression that "you" is only one person in this instance (unless the viewer is seeing both of those pictured).

The sixth sentence shows an old man seeing two young boys in a "thought bubble" under the words, Chonaic sibh fada ó shin iad. This again gives the impression that "you" is only one person in this instance.

However, it seems that the use of the term sibh should render these translations as: "I never saw you (plural) before." and "You (plural) saw them long ago." I know this can be a confusing area because English does not have a plural of "you" while many other languages, such as the Romance languages, do. In listening to Irish persons speaking English while I was there, we would often hear ourselves referred to as "yous", which is an "improvised" plural of you that English doesn't recognize but the Irish employ freely anyway. Without a plural for "you" this point of grammar could easily become muddled.

The dialog portion of the lesson (58) seems to support the idea that sibh is being employed as the plural of "you". Máire asks, "An bhaca tú mé féin agus Seán ar an gcrann sa ghairdín, a mhamaí?" Nora replies, "Chonaic mé go deibhin sibh. Tá súil agam nach bhfaca daidí sibh!" In both cases she seems to be addressing the remark to both Máire and Seán. (You plural.)

So, shouldn't the translation of the other sentences indicate the plural "you"?

Ní fhaca mé riamh cheana sibh. "I never saw yous before."

Chonaic sibh fada ó shin iad. "Yous saw them long ago."

Am I correct on this? Or am I reading things in that aren't really there? I hope someone can explain this, otherwise I'll be really confused.

Thanks!

Dale D

Learn Irish with Buntús Cainte on your iPad - award-winning new app!

michelle — Wed, 07 May 2014 11:41:04 GMT

Really excited to say we released our Buntús Cainte Irish Course for Beginners last week. Most of you know we've been working on this iPad app for over a year. But it's finally out there!

On release last week, it hit the number 1 slot in the Irish education category and hit number 20 in the UK Education category. And a few weeks earlier, the app won Best App award at the Celtic Media Festival

Learn Irish with Buntús Cainte is the result of a co-production between us and MG ALBA (BBC Scotland). We decided to pool our resources to create an app for learners of Irish and Scots Gaelic that is as beautiful, effective and rich as any app produced for major world languages like Spanish or English.

During the production period, we collaborated with great actors, award-winning illustrator Julie-Anne Graham, instructional designers and language-learning geeks. The result is our gorgeous and engaging language learning app with 60 lessons, more than 1,000 bespoke illustrations, 1,800 native speaker audio files and 3,000 test questions and learning games that take full advantage of the iPad’s touchscreen.

Personally, I've been blown away by how much people love our quizzes! We developed five question types that test different aspects of language mastery, and I wrote over 3,000 quiz questions. That was a tonne of work, but the questions are a huge hit with our learners.

So, are we on Android? Well...not yet! We decided to develop our iPad app first after analysing the traffic on www.talkirish.com – over 70% of mobile traffic currently comes from iOS devices. However, we're now hard at work on a HTML5 version of the course for desktop and Android tablets - visit http://buntuscainte.com to sign up for a release alert.

Got an iPad? Download the app now and try the first lesson for free!

Just released - Interactive Online Irish Course

michelle — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 19:51:13 GMT

So after a LOAD of hard work we've released the first 20 lessons of our interactive Irish lessons, based on the classic Buntús Cainte course. It's taken us longer than we expected but we think it was well worth it. Our course is gorgeous and we believe it's the best Irish language course ever published online.

We've taken the text and audio from the book course and we've commissioned fantastic new colour graphics, added grammar notes and quizzes, to create a fun new way to learn Irish. The 20 lessons should take you around 10 hours to complete - and give you a really solid introduction to the Irish language.

You can learn more about the course here:

http://talkirish.com/online-irish-course/

You can find out what's covered in each individual lesson in our lesson list here:

http://talkirish.com/forums/p/3751/6544.aspx#6544

As usual, you can try before you buy - view the first lesson for free here:

http://talkirish.com/online-irish-course/freelesson.aspx

Does our new Buntús Cainte course work on MP3 players and smartphones other than Apple's, such as Android or Nokia?

michelle — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 10:22:44 GMT

As long as your MP3 player or smartphone can display lyrics embedded in MP3 files while playing the audio (this is how you can read the Irish and English translation while listening to the audio course), our Buntús Cainte course will work.

Unfortunately, the built-in MP3 players in Android and Nokia smartphones don't support embedded lyrics. There might be third-party MP3 players you can install on your phone that have this functionality. We'll start checking these out when we get a moment, and we'll post our findings here.

If you're unsure whether your MP3 player or smartphone can display lyrics embedded in MP3 files, you can download the first lesson of our course *FOR FREE* from our bandcamp page and try it out.

Let other learners know if it works on your device by posting a message in this thread!

Is there a text trannscription of the MP3 course?

thunderhead — Sat, 10 Aug 2013 21:17:56 GMT

Haigh. I just got the MP3 course offered on this site, but I'm visualy impaired, so I use a screen reader to access the computer. I looked at the online course, but it was flash-based, and so it didn't work at all with my screen reader, so I got the MP3 thinking it would be a course sorta like an audiobook.

I hope this won't be too difficult, but is there any way I could get a text transcription of the lessons so I can read it as I'm listening? If there isn't does anyone have a suggestion of an Irish course that would be accessible? Go raibh maithe agat.

Buntús Cainte - Lessons 1-20

michelle — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 19:26:44 GMT

Here's a short guide to what's covered in lessons 1-20 of the Buntús Cainte MP3 and online course.

You'll find our online course here:

http://talkirish.com/online-irish-course/

And if you want to brush up your irish on the go, get our MP3 course here:

http://talkirish.com/mp3-irish-course/

Lesson One - Talking about the weather

The weather is often a topic of conversation in Ireland. Probably because we usually have 5 different types of weather before breakfast!

In lesson one you’ll learn how to use basic adjectives like hot and cold and the phrase it is to comment on the weather.

ROLEPLAY

At the end of the lesson you'll hear a roleplay between Nóra and her friend Cáit and find out what they think of the weather today...

Lesson Two – Still talking about the weather

We really can’t say enough about the weather! This lesson expands on the vocabulary you learnt in Lesson 1 so you can talk at greater length about what’s going on outside!

You’ll learn more basic adjectives like good and bad and the phrase it is not to comment on the weather.

ROLEPLAY

Listen to a conversation between Nóra and her friend Cáit and see if the weather has improved any today...

Lesson Three - Describing physical characteristics

In this lesson you’ll learn adjectives that describe the physical characteristics of people, whether they're tall or small, young or old, or well or sick.

You’ll also learn the phrases he is and he is not so that you can put sentences together and join in the gossip when it starts!

ROLEPLAY

Listen to a conversation between Nóra and her friend Cáit and find out what has happened to Seán...

Lesson Four – More physical characteristics

In this lesson you’ll learn more adjectives that describe people, whether they're strong or weak, fat or thin.

You’ll learn the phrases I am and I am not so you can describe yourself, as well as you are and you are not, so you can describe others.

ROLEPLAY

Test your vocabulary by listening to a roleplay with Nóra chatting to her neighbour Séamas who is rather peculiarly dressed...

Lesson Five – Where is she?

In this lesson you'll learn common words that describe location such as here, there, inside, outside, above and below. Then you'll accompany a nice young man who's on the lookout for love!

You’ll learn how to say she is and she is not, as well as how to ask questions such as is she?

ROLEPLAY

Listen to a chat between Nóra and Seán and find out where Máire has got to...

Lesson Six – Where are they?

In this lesson we'll try to find more people. They all seem to have gone missing!

You'll learn words to describe different kinds of people; man, woman, boy, girl, mammy and daddy. Then you'll learn the words to ask where are they?

ROLEPLAY

Listen to a conversation between Pádraig and Máire and find out where everyone has disappeared to...

Lesson Seven – Describing locations

In this lesson you'll learn how to describe location, so if you are looking for someone you'll be able to find out where they are, whether they're at home, in the kitchen, in the bed or in the school.

You'll put these new words together with the verbs you've already learned to make sentences.

ROLEPLAY

Séamas has dropped into the house looking for Pádraig and Nóra, but he may get more than he bargained for...

Lesson Eight – Forms of transport

In this lesson you'll learn how talk about different types of transportation. Whether you're travelling by plane, train or automobile, these are the words you'll need to know if you are travelling in Ireland.

You'll also learn generic words to describe people and things: words like anyone and anything always come in useful.

ROLEPLAY

Listen to a conversation at the station where Seán and Máire are waiting for their father to get off the train. But what on earth has happened to Nóra and the car?

Lesson Nine – The Garda

In Irish the word for police officer is garda, and in Southern Ireland this is what everyone calls a police officer, even if they don't speak Irish! So this word will definitely come in very handy.

As well as learning the words for policeman and teacher, in this lesson we'll also learn additional words to describe locations, like at the chapel and at the shop.

ROLEPLAY

Listen to a conversation between Pádraig and Seán and find out why Seán is on his own in the house...

Lesson Ten – Food glorious food!

Mmmm, delicious food. It's always good to know the words to describe meals, especially if you're getting peckish!

In this lesson you'll learn words to describe meals eaten at different times of the day, such as breakfast or lunch.

ROLEPLAY

Pádraig has arrived at the school with a message for his children but he finds Seán alone in the playground. Where has everyone gone?

Lesson Eleven – Who is that?

If you are inquisitive like the people in this lesson you'll definitely want to know the word for who? as well as who is? Then you can get as nosey as you like and ask all sorts of questions about other people.

ROLEPLAY

Listen to a conversation between Nóra and Seán for you to test your knowledge. Has Seán deserted his post as babysitter?

Lesson Twelve – Food basics

In this lesson you'll learn the words to describe different kinds of food staples, like bread, butter, milk and tea. Then you'll be able to ask for what you want at the dinner table.

ROLEPLAY

Can Máire set the table to Nóra's satisfaction?

Lesson Thirteen – On the...

In this lesson you'll learn the word for on so that you can describe different kinds of situations, such as on the bus, on the road or on the aeroplane. You'll be able to ask where people are with the words for isn't he? and aren't they?

ROLEPLAY

Listen to a conversation between Seán and Nóra and find out what unusual use Seán has found for the newspaper...

Lesson Fourteen – More verbs!

In this lesson you'll learn new verbs to describe actions, such as dancing, talking, working and learning. You'll then be able to put them into sentences to describe the actions of other people.

ROLEPLAY

Find out why Máire is late home from school...

Lesson Fifteen – Cutlery and Crockery

In this lesson you'll learn words to describe the cutlery and crockery in your home, whether it is a knife, fork and spoon, or a plate, cup and saucer.

ROLEPLAY

Listen to a conversation with Seán and Máire about table manners. Can they behave themselves and gain Nóra's approval?

Lesson Sixteen – And even more verbs!

In this lesson you'll learn new verbs to describe actions, such as eating, drinking, running and playing. You'll also learn how to use these verbs when talking about the past, by learning how to say he was and they were.

ROLEPLAY

Nóra is waiting for Seán to arrive home so she can serve the dinners together. Where is he and what has he been doing?

Lesson Seventeen – More than one

In this lesson you'll learn how to describe people in the plural. You'll be able to talk about the boys, the girls, the children and the teachers. You'll also learn how talk about negatives by learning the words for he wasn't and they weren't.

ROLEPLAY

Seán has some exciting news about his day at school...what could it be?

Lesson Eighteen – In a...

In this lesson you'll learn the word for in so that you'll be able to describe different kinds of situations, such as in a bus, in a train or in an aeroplane. You'll be able to put together questions asking where people are with the words for wasn't he? and weren't they?

ROLEPLAY

Seán has just been to the shop to buy food, but Nóra wants to hear whether her friend Cáit the shopkeeper has got over her recent illness. Will Seán have good news for her?

Lesson Nineteen – Animals

In this lesson you'll learn the words for different animals, such as cat, dog, cow and sheep. You'll also learn the words for there and how to ask where was he?

ROLEPLAY

Find out why Máire is so late back from the shop...

Lesson Twenty – Numbers and telling the time

In this lesson you'll learn how to count numbers from 1 to 6 and how to tell the time. You'll also learn the words for clock and how to ask what time is it?

ROLEPLAY

Listen to a conversation between Nóra and Pádraig and find out why Nóra is so annoyed...

Translation question

Hewitt — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 08:25:23 GMT

Hi,

First of all, I want to congrats the website and the people involved. It's very useful and interesting. I've been looking for a proper translation for 'pet' or maybe for 'puppy'.

Can anybody help me?

thanks a lot,

Hugo

Vocabulary list

celticlord88 — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 23:50:28 GMT

Is there any way for users to download the vocabulary lists to their computer? The lessons are great. If not, I can just type out the words manually. Thanks!

Final Quiz issues in Lesson 1

rkhernon — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 10:25:53 GMT

I'm having issues with the final quiz on lesson 1. It won't let me take the quiz b/c it says I have not gone through all the options but as far as I'm aware I have. Has anyone else had this problem?

Buntús Cainte on iPad with iOS 5

michelle — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 21:37:02 GMT

We've discovered that iPads running the latest iPad system update (iOS 5) will not display the lyrics from our Buntús Cainte MP3 course.

This appears to be a bug in Apple's update and is affecting not just Buntús Cainte, but any file that uses the lyrics function.

Right now we're waiting to see when Apple will release an update to fix this problem - as are many other iPad users.

In the meantime, the course still works just fine on iPhone, iPod Touch and iPod classic, as well as working on PC and Mac media players.

If you want, you can email buntuscainte@talkirish.com to let me know if you've been having problems viewing the lyrics and I'll email you as soon as the problem is resolved.

flash card game

Randall — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 15:38:37 GMT

I cannot for the life of me work out how to play the flash card game. When I do as the rules state, it just tells me almost straight away, that I've broken the chain. Could anyone please expain the rules more fully. I appreciate that the fault may be mine, but where does it lie? It does look like a most useful resource, if I could only learn how to cope with it.

Randall

Check out the first FREE lesson of our online Buntús Cainte course

michelle — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 09:25:31 GMT

We're hard at work getting ready to release the first 20 lessons of our new 60 lesson online Irish course, based on Buntús Cainte. But we can't wait to show you what we've done, so we've released the first lesson free for you to check out at http://talkirish.com/online_irish_course/

So what's new? Well, we've created some gorgeous new graphics, that are fun and colourful and really help you learn the words you see. We've also added some grammar help to the lessons, which is something lots of learners have asked for. We've also included a question section - so you can check up on your new understanding of Irish.

Buntús Cainte online is an excellent partner to the Buntús Cainte MP3 course. We're aiming to release the online course over Winter 2010 - both online and on CD-ROM.

Have a look at it at http://talkirish.com/online_irish_course/ and post back here to let us know what you think of it!

Dialect

Murphy23 — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 15:13:49 GMT

Which dialect does Buntas Cainte lean too? I understand that its the Official Standard but does it have a leaning?

For example how are you? Is Conas ata tu in 3 but not in Connacht. Is there any Connacht in there?

Is Buntús Cainte MP3 course available for download from the iTunes Store?

michelle — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 10:19:55 GMT

Unfortunately, Apple's restrictions on the iTunes store prevent us from offering this course directly from iTunes. Apple doesn't allow small publishers like us to publish directly to the iTunes store. We have to go through a third-party publishing company. And none of the third-party publishing companies we could find supported embedding lyrics in MP3 files. So instead, you can buy and download this course directly from us!

Just released - Buntús Cainte for iPod, iPhone and iPad!

michelle — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 07:25:22 GMT

A few weeks ago, we secured the rights to produce a new version of Buntús Cainte, the most popular Irish language course in history. And after a few weeks of very hard work, we’ve launched Buntús Cainte for iPod, iPhone and iPad!

We’ve used some geek magic to insert the English and Irish text right inside the MP3 files. This means you can listen to the audio and read the text right on your iPod or iPhone!

Now there’s no need to carry a course book with you. Just download the MP3s to your device and you can learn or brush up on your Irish wherever you are, whenever you want. I’m taking Buntús Cainte away with me this weekend on a trip to Fermanagh – I love having the chance to learn and revise my Irish in short bursts no matter where I am. Where will you learn Irish with Buntús Cainte?

Check out the course and let me know what you think of it. And feel free to spread the word to friends, colleagues and family too!

Slán,

Michelle

Trouble Showing Text in new Buntus Cainte Application

minehan — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 13:10:25 GMT

I was very excited to learn of the new Buntus Cainte application and downloaded it today to my iPod Touch (3rd Generation).

I may be doing something wrong, but when I touch the icon in the upper right while a lesson is playing I do not get the lyrics, only a listing of all the lessons on the album.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Go raibh maith agat,

Sean