Secular greetings in Irish Gaelic?

[DylanNDR]

Some friends and I are planning a trip to Ireland, and decided to brush up on a bit of the Irish language just for fun. We did notice that several of the greetings in our little beginner's handout invoke god quite a bit. Our group is mostly atheists and pagans, and we're not entirely comfortable saying "God and Mary be with you (Dia is Muire dhuit)." If anyone has suggestions for friendly and polite phrases that are also secular, it would be much appreciated.

[aiseiri47]

I'm afraid I don't really know much Gaelic at all, and I know of know other way to say "Hello" than "Dia dhuit" - and I've consulted the boyfriend and he doesn't know any other either. But I would like to point out that some English language sayings are no less religious - Goodbye, for instance, is a shortened version of "God be with you" and I know people from a variety of religions and none at all that use "God bless you" when someone sneezes. Just because a saying in a language invokes a god doesn't mean it's meant literally, it's just part of the culture from when the language was formed. I'm sure there are a number of examples from other languages - I doubt many Irish people will think that you're giving them a blessing if you greet them in Irish (though many of them might think it very touristy of you ).

[Tulip1]

There is a thread about this here:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthre ... 2056278113

[DylanNDR]

I'm afraid I don't really know much Gaelic at all, and I know of know other way to say "Hello" than "Dia dhuit" - and I've consulted the boyfriend and he doesn't know any other either. But I would like to point out that some English language sayings are no less religious - Goodbye, for instance, is a shortened version of "God be with you" and I know people from a variety of religions and none at all that use "God bless you" when someone sneezes. Just because a saying in a language invokes a god doesn't mean it's meant literally, it's just part of the culture from when the language was formed. I'm sure there are a number of examples from other languages - I doubt many Irish people will think that you're giving them a blessing if you greet them in Irish (though many of them might think it very touristy of you ).

It's not really about expunging all references to god, just that the (very brief, informal) class on Irish I just had suggested that I should reply to "Dia dhuit" with "Dia is Muire dhuit," which seemed to take things from "generic greeting" to "overtly religious greeting." That may be a misunderstanding of the context and practical usage on my part based on my very limited experience (the teacher was not a native Irish speaker).

And yes, it is a bit touristy, but really it's just for fun. Plus we may be going to some of the areas where the signage is in Irish and wanted to be at least marginally prepared linguistically.

Thanks, Tulip1, for the thread link!

[ocallaghanbohrdt]

When I stayed in the Kerry Gaeltacht in the 60s the locals replied to 'Dia Dhuit' with another 'Dia Dhuit'.
I think you will make plenty of friends with your Irish efforts, however touristy!

[HarryO'Criosna]

Just go with "conas atá tú?" which is how are you...say it as cunniss ataw too.

[DylanNDR]

Thanks for your help, everyone! Or should I say, go raibh maith agaibh!

[DecT]

Hi,

I tried to get an answer to this on a Gaelic forum but without success. It would appear that secular Gaelic is not permitted in Irish speaking circles.

Anyway, my son had the bright idea of looking at Scots Gaelic, which is very similar, but comes from more diverse religious backgrounds.

The Scots Gaelic greetings are secular:

http://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/gaelic.php

Regards,

Dec

[Bik]

There are some suggestions on this thread

viewtopic.php?f=44&t=5186&start=15