Béarla

Irish

Etymology

Ellipsis of Béarla gallda (“foreign speech”) from béarla (“speech, language”), from Old Irish bélrae, from bél (“mouth”). Compare Scottish Gaelic Beurla Ghallta.

Pronunciation

• (Munster) IPA^(key): /ˈbʲiːa̯ɾˠl̪ˠə/
• (Connacht) IPA^(key): /ˈbʲeːɾˠl̪ˠə/
• (Ulster) IPA^(key): /ˈbʲeːɾˠl̪ˠə/, [ˈbʲɛːɾˠl̪ˠə]

Proper noun

Béarla m (genitive Béarla)

1. English (language)

   Is fearr Gaeilge bhriste ná Béarla cliste. (proverb)

   Broken Irish is better than clever English.

Usage notes

The definite article is not always used with this noun.

Derived terms

• Béarla na hAlban (“Scots”)
• Béarla na hÉireann (“Hiberno-English”)
• Béarlach (“English-language”)
• béarlachas (“Anglicism”)
• Béarlóir (“English speaker”)
• bun-Bhéarla (“Basic English”)
• glan-Bhéarla (“correct English”)
• Lucht an Bhéarla (“the Englishry”)
• Sean-Bhéarla (“Old English”)

 

Related terms

• Béarlóireacht f (“(act of) speaking English”)

Mutation

Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Eclipsis
Béarla	Bhéarla	mBéarla
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “Béarla”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• Dinneen, Patrick S. (1904) “Béarla”, in Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla, 1st edition, Dublin: Irish Texts Society, page 61
• G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “bélrae”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• Entries containing “Béarla” in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm, 1959, by Tomás de Bhaldraithe.
• Entries containing “Béarla” in New English-Irish Dictionary by Foras na Gaeilge.
• Quiggin, E. C. (1906) A Dialect of Donegal, Cambridge University Press, page 35
• Sjoestedt, M. L. (1931) Phonétique d’un parler irlandais de Kerry (in French), Paris: Librairie Ernest Leroux, page 42