teanga

Irish

Alternative forms

• teangaidh

Etymology

From Old Irish tengae, from Proto-Celtic *tangʷāss (compare Welsh tafod), from Proto-Indo-European *dn̥ǵʰwéh₂s (“tongue, speech, language”). The dative singular form teangaidh as the nominative singular is archaic but still survives in Ulster.

Pronunciation

• (Waterford, Cork) IPA^(key): /ˈtʲaŋə/
• (Kerry, Galway) IPA^(key): /ˈtʲaŋɡə/, (Cois Fharraige) [ˈtʲæːŋɡə]
• (Mayo, Ulster) IPA^(key): /ˈtʲaŋiː/ (corresponding to teangaidh)

Noun

teanga f (genitive singular teanga, nominative plural teangacha or teangthacha)

1. (anatomy) tongue
2. language

Declension

Declension of teanga (fourth declension)

bare forms singular plural nominative teanga teangacha vocative a theanga a theangacha genitive teanga teangacha dative teanga teangacha forms with the definite article singular plural nominative an teanga na teangacha genitive na teanga na dteangacha dative leis an teanga don teanga leis na teangacha

• Alternative plural form: teangthacha

Derived terms

• alt teanga (“tongue joint”)
• aonteangach (“monolingual, unilingual”)
• aonteangach m (“monoglot”)
• bac teanga (“language handicap”)
• bacainn teanga (“language barrier”)
• barra teanga (“language bar”)
• bualadh teanga (“actinomycosis”)
• cinnteachas teanga (“linguistic determinism”)
• cód teanga (“language code”)
• coibhneasacht teanga (“linguistic relativity”)
• comhstruchtúr teanga (“language construct”)
• comhtheanga (“common language”)
• creimeadh teanga (“language attrition”)
• damhtheanga (“oxtongue”)
• daolteanga (“sharp, vicious, tongue”)
• drochtheanga (“bad language”)
• fásteanga (“creole language”)
• feidhmiú teanga (“linguistic performance”)
• feidhmiúchán teanga (“linguistic performance”)
• foghlaim teanga (“language learning”)
• idirtheanga (“interlanguage”)
• inniúlacht teanga (“linguistic competence, language competence”)
• iompú teanga (“language shift”)
• lus na teanga (“adder’s-tongue”)
• maolteanga (“stammer, stutter”)
• máthairtheanga (“mother tongue”)
• meaisínteanga (“machine language”)
• meititheanga (“metalanguage”)
• mianach sealbhaithe teanga (“language acquisition device”)
• micritheanga (“microlanguage”)
• mionlach teanga (“linguistic minority”)
• mionteanga (“minority language”)
• nasctheanga (“pidgin language”)
• neamhord teanga (“language disorder”)
• nuatheanga (“modern language”)
• pleanáil teanga (“language planning”)
• réim teanga (“linguistic register”)
• rolladh teanga (“tongue rolling”)
• sainréim teanga (“register”)
• saotharlann teanga (“language laboratory”)
• sealbhú teanga (“language acquisition”)
• spadal teanga (“tongue depressor”)
• sprioctheanga (“object language, target language”)
• téacs go teanga (“text-to-speech”)
• teanga agus eitre (“tongue and groove”)
• teanga aidhme (“object language”)
• teanga amhairc (“visual language”)
• teanga an bhúcla (“tongue of belt”)
• teanga an duine (“human language”)
• teanga an phobail (“vernacular”)
• teanga chait (“sole; hornwrack”)
• teanga choiteann (“vernacular”)
• teanga chomharthaíochta (“sign language”)
• teanga chon (“hound’s tongue”)
• teanga chumtha (“constructed language”)
• teanga dhíolama (“assembly language”)
• teanga dhomhanda (“world language”)
• teanga dhúchais (“vernacular”)
• teanga fhileata (“poetic language”)
• teanga fhógrach (“declarative language”)
• teanga fhoinseach (“source language”)
• teanga fia (“hart’s-tongue fern”)
• teanga ghlacach (“receptive language”)
• teanga i mbaol (“endangered language”)
• teanga iarratais (“query language”)
• teanga iasachta (“foreign language”)
• teanga idirmheánach (“intermediate language”)
• teanga idirnáisiúnta chúnta (“international auxiliary language”)
• teanga inbhreisithe (“extensible language”)
• teanga ionramhála sonraí (“data manipulation language”)
• teanga íseal-leibhéil (“low-level language”)
• teanga mhadra rua (“hart’s-tongue fern”)
• teanga mharcála (“markup language”)
• teanga mheaisín (“machine language”)
• teanga mhín (“white dead-nettle”)
• teanga nádúrtha (“natural language”)
• teanga náisiúnta (“national language”)
• teanga nós imeachta (“procedural language”)
• teanga oifigiúil (“official language”)
• teanga ríomhaire (“computer language”)
• teanga ríomhaireachta (“computer language”)
• teanga ríomhchlárúcháin (“programming language”)
• teanga scriptithe (“scripting language”)
• teanga shaorga (“artificial language”)
• teanga shintéiseach (“synthetic language”)
• teanga shiombalach (“symbolic language”)
• teanga thrasfhoirmiúcháin (“transformation language”)
• teanga thuairiscithe leathanach (“page description language”)
• teangach (“tongued; lingual; wordy, loquacious”)
• teangachruthach (“tongue-shaped, linguiform”)
• teangaigh (“to tongue”)
• teangaire (“interpreter”)
• teangaithe (“tongued”)
• teangeolaí (“linguist”)
• teangeolaíocht (“linguistics”)
• teangóg (“ligule”)
• teangúil (“lingual”)
• teorainn teangacha (“linguistic boundary”)
• truailliú teanga (“language pollution”)

Mutation

Mutated forms of teanga

radical	lenition	eclipsis
teanga	theanga	dteanga

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Modern Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

References

References

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977), “teanga”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

From Old Irish tengae, from Proto-Celtic *tangʷāt-, from Proto-Indo-European *dn̥ǵʰwéh₂s (“tongue, speech, language”). The dative singular form teangaidh has become the nominative singular in some dialects.

Pronunciation

• (Lewis, Harris, Wester Ross) IPA^(key): /ˈtʲʰɛ̃ɣə/
  • (Ness) IPA^(key): [ˈtʲʰɤ̃ɣə]
  • (Lochs) IPA^(key): [ˈtʃʰæ̃ˑɣə]
• (Uist, Lochalsh, Lochaber, North Argyll) IPA^(key): /ˈtʃʰɛŋɡə/
• (Barra) IPA^(key): /ˈtʃʰɛŋɡʌ/
• (Skye) IPA^(key): /ˈtʃʰɛŋə/
• (Tiree, Mull, Islay, Mid Argyll) IPA^(key): /ˈtʃʰɛkə/
• (Sutherland, Easter Ross, Loch Ness-side) IPA^(key): /ˈtʲʰɛŋɪ/ (corresponding to the form teangaidh)
• (Mackay Country, Eastern Highlands) IPA^(key): /ˈtʃʰɛɣɪ/, /ˈtʃʰɤɣɪ/ (corresponding to the form teangaidh)
• Hyphenation: tean‧ga

Noun

teanga f (dative singular teanga or teangaidh, genitive singular teanga or teangaidh, plural teangan or teangannan)

1. (anatomy) tongue
2. (linguistics) language

   Synonym: cànan

Declension

Declension of teanga (type III feminine noun)

indefinite
	singular	plural
nominative	teanga	teangan
genitive	teanga	theangan
dative	teanga	teangan; teangaibh1
definite
	singular	plural
nominative	(an) teanga	(na) teangan
genitive	(na) teanga	(nan) teangan
dative	(an) teanga	(na) teangan; teangaibh1
vocative	theanga	theangan

¹ obsolete form, used until the 19th century

Declension of teanga (type Vd feminine noun)

indefinite
	singular	plural
nominative	teanga	teangannan
genitive	teangaidh	theangannan
dative	teangaidh	teangannan; teangaibh✝
definite
	singular	plural
nominative	(an) teanga	(na) teangannan
genitive	(na) teangaidh	(nan) teangannan
dative	(an) teangaidh	(na) teangannan; teangaibh✝
vocative	theanga	theangannan

• Alternative genitive singular: teangann

Derived terms

• air bàrr teangaidh (“on the tip of one's tongue”)
• air teangaidh (“by heart”)
• eadar-theangachadh (“translation”)
• eadar-theangaich (“translate”)
• eadar-theangair (“translator”)

Mutation

Mutation of teanga

radical	lenition
teanga	theanga

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Scottish Gaelic.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Further reading

• Edward Dwelly (1911), “teanga”, in Faclair Gàidhlig gu Beurla le Dealbhan [The Illustrated Gaelic–English Dictionary]‎^[4], 10th edition, Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited, →ISBN