Yeah, I think "as Gaeilge" is the favourite of learners.
We say "i nGaeilge" for written and spoken Irish in Conamara.

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It is recommended that you always wait for three to agree on a translation.
I speak Connemara Irish, and my input will often reflect that.
I will do an mp3 file on request for short translations.
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Wow! It's funny that the dialects are basically inverted on this. Here's two examples from Munster:

Séadna, Chapter 11:
Síle: Abair as Gaelainn é, a Ghobnait.

Eoghan Ó Catháin, Baile Ícín, in Gaeilge Chorca Dhuibhne:
Dh'fhiafraigh sé dhóibh as Béarla...

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The dialect I use is Cork Irish.
Ar sgáth a chéile a mhairid na daoine, lag agus láidir, uasal is íseal

Isn't - as Gaeilge - Standard ? as it gets out of having to use any kind of séimhiú or urú ? (that's what I've always understood anyway)

Good to know.

Can you explain what trí Ghaeilge means and how it's used?

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Is foghlaimeoir mé. Is fearr liom Gaeilge Chonnacht. Corrections always appreciated.

I suspect so...



http://www.potafocal.com/Search.aspx?Te ... D+Ghaeilge
'Tri' seems to be used when metaphorically likening Irish to a medium that something is passed thru like a space or resource

http://www.potafocal.com/Search.aspx?Text=i+nGaeilge
'I' seems to reflect the idea of Irish being a substance or a state one 'is in' and so acts accordingly

http://www.potafocal.com/Search.aspx?Text=as+Gaeilge
'As' is less clear (maybe from or out of' the space of Irish')


As you can see there are some subtle differences that might pass most by

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__̴ı̴̴̡̡̡ ̡͌l̡̡̡ ̡͌l̡*̡̡ ̴̡ı̴̴̡ ̡̡͡|̲̲̲͡͡͡ ̲▫̲͡ ̲̲̲͡͡π̲̲͡͡ ̲̲͡▫̲̲͡͡ ̲|̡̡̡ ̡ ̴̡ı̴̡̡ ̡͌l̡̡̡̡.___

I think standard Irish allows "as Gaeilge" and "i nGaeilge", but pupils are taught "as Gaeilge" because "as" triggers no initial mutation.
But as you may know, "as Gaeilge" isn't natural (the use of "as" is Munster and concerns only spoken things: labhair as Gaelainn vs. scríobh i nGaelainn ; Gaeilge is a Connemara form) and the majority of native speakers say "i nGaeilge/nGaeilg/nGaelainn".

To me "trí Ghaeilge" (which is also weird since trí is Munster and Gaeilge is Connemara) means something like "through/by the mean of Irish". I don't think you'd say "bhí sé 'labhairt trí Ghaeilge"... :=

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Is fearr Gaeilg na Gaeltaċta ná Gaeilg ar biṫ eile
Agus is í Gaeilg Ġaoṫ Doḃair is binne

It seems odd to me that "as Gaeilge" would be promoted as the standard for the reason suggested above. If it is, it is one of the few words that are treated this way. Whatever the faults of Standard Irish, avoiding initial mutations isn't a feature I have noticed. Who says it's 'standard' anyway?

Besides that, "i nGaeilge" would be far easier to teach, especially to the type of weaker student who has a tendency to translate everything word for word from English. Students rarely have major trouble with the likes of "i mBaile Átha Cliath" and the weaker ones insist on putting the urú on even when it is not required! And as for getting their heads around "Tá muinín agam as..."...

I often hear 'trí mheán na Gaeilge', but don't think I hear 'trí Ghaeilge'.

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Yeah, it seems to be so, Irish as a medium or conduit that one uses to reach people while in speaking or writing one is just putting 'in(to) Irish or it issues forth (as)

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__̴ı̴̴̡̡̡ ̡͌l̡̡̡ ̡͌l̡*̡̡ ̴̡ı̴̴̡ ̡̡͡|̲̲̲͡͡͡ ̲▫̲͡ ̲̲̲͡͡π̲̲͡͡ ̲̲͡▫̲̲͡͡ ̲|̡̡̡ ̡ ̴̡ı̴̡̡ ̡͌l̡̡̡̡.___

for what other reason? "as Gaelainn" is only used in Munster, and in native speech, as far as I know, only when talking about the spoken language! In all other places & cases, everybody uses "i nGaeilg(e)/nGaelainn"... Obviously they haven't chosen "as Gaeilge" because it's more common, because it isn't at all



but you have to teach what an urú is, and to make your pupils pronounce "ng" at the beginning of a word, something that even many teachers don't manage to do (many use an "n" instead: Dún na Nall" etc..., my old teacher told us many non-native speakers say Dún na nDall (the fortress of the blind) instead of "Dún na nGall" because they don't manage to pronounce ng at the beginning of a word (well, it's easy though...)



except to pronounce "Baile" maybe, most non-native speakers say "baille" (with a ly-sound, which is wrong) instead of "baile"... even many teachers.
But pronouncing an m sound at the beginning of a word isn't difficult for them. And I guess you learn "i nGaeilge" before learning "i mBÁC" in classes

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Is fearr Gaeilg na Gaeltaċta ná Gaeilg ar biṫ eile
Agus is í Gaeilg Ġaoṫ Doḃair is binne