Word of the day - kiartey
kiartey (K’YART-a), noun = chore, job, task
Examples of usage
Vel kiartey ec Peddyr foast? - Does Peter have a job yet?
Ta mee skee jeh’n chiartey aym - I’m tired of my job
Cre’n sorch dy chiartey by vie lhiat jannoo? - What kind of job would you like to do?
Related expressions
kiartagyn - household chores, odd jobs
coorseyn-kiartey - careers
obbyr - work
faill - wages
ardjaghey - promotion
Ta mee gobbraghey - I’m working
Ta mee ass obbyr - I’m unemployed
T’ee ny taaue - She’s retired
Caghlaa obbyr aash - Change of work is rest (proverb)
There are a couple of ways to say what you do for a living in Manx:
- Ta mee ny obbrinagh - I’m an engineer, lit. “Is I in my (state of being an) engineer”
- She fir-lhee mish - I’m a (male) doctor, lit. “Is man-healing myself”
The other Celtic languages use similar structures:
Scottish Gaelic: ‘Se dotair a th’annam - I’m a doctor, lit. “Is doctor that is in me”
Irish: Is dochtúir mé - I’m a doctor, lit. “Is doctor I”
Welsh: Meddyg dwi - I’m a doctor, lit. “Doctor am I”
9 Responses to “Word of the day - kiartey”
TJ on 26 May 2006 at 9:46 pm #
hehe .. doesn’t Irish Gaelic sound as easy as spanish after comparing it to Scottish and Welsh? :)
TJ on 26 May 2006 at 9:47 pm #
Not to forget the “is” is used in general to denote a general state in Irish and one can say as well: tá mé dochtúir, I guess! But this one gives some kind a sense of changing conditions as I read once!
Declan on 27 May 2006 at 12:20 pm #
“Tá dochtúir mé”, is totally wrong. Literally that means “Am docter I”. “Is” is used for “Is dochtúir thú/sé/sí” You/He/She is a docter. It gets rather complex.
When spoken, I could nearly understand Manx, which is very interesting. Irish and Manx are very similar but spelt totally differently.
TJ on 27 May 2006 at 4:57 pm #
What about the probability?
there is another way to tell someone that you are in a certain position but might change it later …. and I thought this is achieved by “tá mé…” and not “is.”
Declan on 27 May 2006 at 9:22 pm #
I dont quite know what you are saying, but you dont say Tá … mé.
TJ on 27 May 2006 at 9:38 pm #
No I don’t say “tá ..mé” … it would be “tá mé …” ! :)
Declan on 28 May 2006 at 12:25 am #
“Tá mé dochtuir” I was taught never to say that. Ever. I dont know though.
TJ on 28 May 2006 at 4:57 am #
Oh I got it now :)
Thanks for the info :)
I was thinking of “IS” like “-se” or “-sa” when emphasizing something (like míse), I mean in order to tell someone that you ARE a doctor and I thought when someone says the normal “tá mé dochtúir” that gives an idea that the person might change his work or he will not be for long time in his job … this is what I thought, but I guess I’m wrong :)
Simon on 29 May 2006 at 5:07 pm #
Another way to say what you do for a living in Irish is: “Dochtúir atá ionam”, lit. “Doctor is in me”