Thirty-Two Words for Field

Rediscover the lost words of an ancient land in this new and updated edition of an international bestseller. Most people associate Britain and Ireland with the English language, a vast, sprawling linguistic tree with roots in Latin, French, and German, and branches spanning the world, from Australia and India to North America. But the inhabitants of these islands originally spoke another tongue. Look closely enough and English contains traces of the Celtic soil from which it sprung, found in words like bog, loch, cairn and crag. Today, this heritage can be found nowhere more powerfully than in modern-day Gaelic. In Thirty-Two Words for Field Manchán Magan explores the enchantment, sublime beauty and sheer oddness of a 3000-year-old lexicon. Imbuing the natural world with meaning and magic, it evokes a time-honoured way of life, from its 32 separate words for a field, to terms like loisideach (a place with a lot of kneading troughs), bróis (whiskey for a horseman at a wedding), and iarmhaireacht (the loneliness you feel when you are the only person awake at cockcrow). Told through stories collected from Magan's own life and travels, Thirty-Two Words for Field is an enthralling celebration of Irish words, and a testament to the indelible relationship between landscape, culture and language.

Rediscover the lost words of an ancient land in this new and updated edition of an international bestseller. Most people associate Britain and Ireland with the English language, a vast, sprawling linguistic tree with roots in Latin, French, and German, and branches spanning the world, from Australia and India to North America. But the inhabitants of these islands originally spoke another tongue. Look closely enough and English contains traces of the Celtic soil from which it sprung, found in words like bog, loch, cairn and crag. Today, this heritage can be found nowhere more powerfully than in modern-day Gaelic. In Thirty-Two Words for Field Manchán Magan explores the enchantment, sublime beauty and sheer oddness of a 3000-year-old lexicon. Imbuing the natural world with meaning and magic, it evokes a time-honoured way of life, from its 32 separate words for a field, to terms like loisideach (a place with a lot of kneading troughs), bróis (whiskey for a horseman at a wedding), and iarmhaireacht (the loneliness you feel when you are the only person awake at cockcrow). Told through stories collected from Magan's own life and travels, Thirty-Two Words for Field is an enthralling celebration of Irish words, and a testament to the indelible relationship between landscape, culture and language.

"What a joyful, profound, passionate revelry of a book this is--an illumination of how words make worlds; a reminder of what is lost when a language is lost; an act of salvage for ways of being and seeing which are fast vanishing."--Robert Macfarlane, author of Is a River Alive? In this lyrical exploration of the Irish language's deep-rooted connection to nature, myth and memory, bestselling Irish author Manch?n Magan offers readers a fresh way of seeing the world through words shaped by wind, water, ancestors, and the ancient rhythms of the land. The Irish language has thirty-two words for field. Among them are: Geamhar - a field of corn-grass - Tuar - a field for cattle at night - Reidhlean - a field for games or dancing - Cathairin - a field with a fairy-dwelling in it. The richness of the Irish language is closely tied to the natural landscape and offers a more magical way of seeing the world. Most people associate Britain and Ireland with the English language, a vast, sprawling linguistic tree with roots in Latin, French, and German. But the inhabitants of these islands originally spoke another tongue. Look closely enough and English contains traces of the Celtic soil from which it sprung, found in words like bog, loch, cairn, and crag. Today, this heritage can be found nowhere more powerfully than in modern-day Gaelic. In Thirty-Two Words for Field , Manch?n explores how Gaelic, a three-thousand-year-old lexicon, has imbued the natural world with meaning and magic, evoking a time-honored way of life, from its thirty-two separate words for a field to terms like br?is (whiskey for a horseman at a wedding), iarmhaireacht (the loneliness you feel when you are the only person awake at dawn), and bladhmann (steam rising from a fermented haystack or idle boasting). Manch?n urges readers to consider the sublime beauty and profound oddness of this ancient tongue that has been spoken in close connection to the land for thousands of years. Told through stories collected from his own life and travels, Thirty-Two Words for Field is an enthralling celebration of Irish words and a testament to the indelible relationship between landscape, culture, and language. "This is a remarkable work that deepened my feeling of connection to a living world and expanded my sense of the possible."--Merlin Sheldrake, author of Entangled Life

"What a joyful, profound, passionate revelry of a book this is--an illumination of how words make worlds; a reminder of what is lost when a language is lost; an act of salvage for ways of being and seeing which are fast vanishing."--Robert Macfarlane, author of Is a River Alive? In this lyrical exploration of the Irish language's deep-rooted connection to nature, myth and memory, bestselling Irish author Manch?n Magan offers readers a fresh way of seeing the world through words shaped by wind, water, ancestors, and the ancient rhythms of the land. The Irish language has thirty-two words for field. Among them are: Geamhar - a field of corn-grass - Tuar - a field for cattle at night - Reidhlean - a field for games or dancing - Cathairin - a field with a fairy-dwelling in it. The richness of the Irish language is closely tied to the natural landscape and offers a more magical way of seeing the world. Most people associate Britain and Ireland with the English language, a vast, sprawling linguistic tree with roots in Latin, French, and German. But the inhabitants of these islands originally spoke another tongue. Look closely enough and English contains traces of the Celtic soil from which it sprung, found in words like bog, loch, cairn, and crag. Today, this heritage can be found nowhere more powerfully than in modern-day Gaelic. In Thirty-Two Words for Field , Manch?n explores how Gaelic, a three-thousand-year-old lexicon, has imbued the natural world with meaning and magic, evoking a time-honored way of life, from its thirty-two separate words for a field to terms like br?is (whiskey for a horseman at a wedding), iarmhaireacht (the loneliness you feel when you are the only person awake at dawn), and bladhmann (steam rising from a fermented haystack or idle boasting). Manch?n urges readers to consider the sublime beauty and profound oddness of this ancient tongue that has been spoken in close connection to the land for thousands of years. Told through stories collected from his own life and travels, Thirty-Two Words for Field is an enthralling celebration of Irish words and a testament to the indelible relationship between landscape, culture, and language. "This is a remarkable work that deepened my feeling of connection to a living world and expanded my sense of the possible."--Merlin Sheldrake, author of Entangled Life