# Saying simply "hello" in Irish?



## Caveat (29 Jul 2009)

Might sound like a silly question but I genuinely don't know.

Of course we all learned _dia duit_ at school but surely in the 21st century the average Irish speaker doesn't go around saying the equivalent of _God with_ _you_ - do they?

Is there a widely accepted alternative - and one that isn't simply an 'hibernised' version of an English word?


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## samanthajane (29 Jul 2009)

My children go to a gael school and that is what they are still taught.


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## z109 (29 Jul 2009)

Start a new one. What about la brea?


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## Squonk (29 Jul 2009)

Hiya


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## Ceist Beag (29 Jul 2009)

Do ye know I was thinking of exactly the same thing myself earlier this week! I use a range of terms, such as Bhall (Well), Caide mar atá tú (How are you) or maybe both together but never used a direct transaction for Hello ... but then again Hello works well in Irish too!


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## Sherman (29 Jul 2009)

In the gaeltacht we always used 'conas ata' - presumably the translation of the Dublin 'storeee'!


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## Caveat (29 Jul 2009)

samanthajane said:


> My children go to a gael school and that is what they are still taught.


 
Wow.  No problem with it - just wierdly old fashioned and not at all suitable in many cases I would have thought?



yoganmahew said:


> Start a new one. What about la brea?


 
I'm going to give it a go!


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## samanthajane (29 Jul 2009)

I think it's more seen as hello now and not what it used to be. It's like the meaning has changed.

There are many words that have also chnaged that my partner and son often argue about. My son will come home and say something and the bf wont know what he's talking about. A new word has just popped into the language.

I posted a question on here before because the bf was working late and i needed to do his homework and didn't have a clue. I got different answers from people, some even asked if i had copied it correctly since they hadn't a clue either on a few words, and they would class themselves as good irish speakers.


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## Liza (29 Jul 2009)

Caveat said:


> Might sound like a silly question but I genuinely don't know.
> 
> Of course we all learned _dia duit_ at school but surely in the 21st century the average Irish speaker doesn't go around saying the equivalent of _God with_ _you_ - do they?
> 
> Is there a widely accepted alternative - and one that isn't simply an 'hibernised' version of an English word?


 
Yes "Dia Duit" is totally used nowadays. Just think "hello" in any other language, is still the same today as 1000 years ago. I, personally, like that it's also a type of blessing. "God with you" isn't the first thing I think of when someone says it to me. I just reply 'Dia is Muire duit' and get on with the rest of the conversation. There are lots of English words which, in Latin, mean something different but we, simply, use it as what it means to us and think no more about it.

When I was in college (all-Irish), the sitcom "Friends" was at its height and to mimic Joey and I suppose, as an earlier post suggested, make up one, used to say "Conas a *tú *tá?" (emphasis on the tú) ie "How *you* doin?"  I still love this one.

Ádh mór!


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## MOB (29 Jul 2009)

It may be worth pointing out that the English 'Goodbye' is likewise derived from\a contraction of 'God be with you'.   I wouldn't regard 'Dia Dhuit' as being an overtly religious greeting.


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## mathepac (29 Jul 2009)

Doing a little bit of lateral thinking, the Hebrew and Arabic words shalom and salaam mean something like peace, complete, full, welfare. A close-ish Irish word is slán as used in "Slán leat / Slán agat / Sláinte agus saol agat" meaning "Good Health / Good Luck / Health & Life to You" or  "So long", "Goodbye".

Why not do like the Italians who use "Cioa" as both hello and goodbye (I know,  "Pronto" / "Ready Now", on the phone) and say "Slán" as hello and goodbye.

or drop the inflationary 100,000 and just say "Fáilte" as hello.

Now all we need to do is change the Spaniards from "Adios" and we're suckin' Euro diesel, bhoy.


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## mercman (29 Jul 2009)

In the part of Connamara I am in we say 'Ce bhfuil tu', meaning Howya.


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## guinang (29 Jul 2009)

I would have said Ce bhfuil tu also.  

And to clarify, hello isn't around for a 1000 years.  The only reason Hello came about was as a result of the telephone.  People speaking to each other in different time zones could no longer say 'Good morning', or 'Good afternoon', etc, so they thought of a new word, hence 'hello'.

Also, I remember in an Irish school book, the word hello was used.  I think it was a bit like TG4 Irish though, rather than actually being a translation i.e. 
Kevin: Ah Sean, Ce bhfuil tu.  
Sean: Ah sound Kevin, agus tusa.


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## dontaskme (29 Jul 2009)

Caveat said:


> Wow.  No problem with it - just wierdly old fashioned and not at all suitable in many cases I would have thought?



 You can expand it to "Dia 'gus Buddha 'gus Allah duit" if you want to touch all the bases.


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## Liza (29 Jul 2009)

guinang said:


> I would have said Ce bhfuil tu also.
> 
> And to clarify, hello isn't around for a 1000 years. The only reason Hello came about was as a result of the telephone. People speaking to each other in different time zones could no longer say 'Good morning', or 'Good afternoon', etc, so they thought of a new word, hence 'hello'.
> 
> ...


 
I was referring to "other languages" and not, necessarily, English but fair point, I didn't know that. Learn something new gach lá!


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## jrewing (29 Jul 2009)

In Bavaria and Austria they use Gruss Gott "Greetings of God" (or something like that).  I don't see anything wrong with keeping _Dia duit_ - its the traditional way of greeting. Hopefully there aren't some ultra-secular Nazis lobbying to change it ;-)

It's not used in a religious fashion - much as in English "oh my God!" and "Jaysus" are generally not used in the religious sense of the term.


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## Liza (29 Jul 2009)

mathepac said:


> Doing a little bit of lateral thinking, the Hebrew and Arabic words shalom and salaam mean something like peace, complete, full, welfare. A close-ish Irish word is slán as used in "Slán leat / Slán agat / Sláinte agus saol agat" meaning "Good Health / Good Luck / Health & Life to You" or "So long", "Goodbye".
> 
> Why not do like the Italians who use "Cioa" as both hello and goodbye (I know, "Pronto" / "Ready Now", on the phone) and say "Slán" as hello and goodbye.
> 
> ...


 
Yes you're right. I worked in the Middle East for a year and the local greeting was "As-salaam alaykum" (phonetically) meaning "Peace be with you." And the reply "Wa alaykum as-salaam""And with you peace". I loved it and still use it at home with some of my colleagues who were with me out there.


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## Liza (29 Jul 2009)

jrewing said:


> In Bavaria and Austria they use Gruss Gott "Greetings of God" (or something like that). I don't see anything wrong with keeping _Dia duit_ - its the traditional way of greeting. Hopefully there aren't some ultra-secular Nazis lobbying to change it ;-)
> 
> It's not used in a religious fashion - much as in English "oh my God!" and "Jaysus" are generally not used in the religious sense of the term.


 

"Anseo, anseo!!"


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## gipimann (29 Jul 2009)

When I went to the Gaeltacht in Donegal many moons ago, the official greeting was (as another poster mentioned earlier) "Cad é mar atá tú" - which was immediately shortened to "dé a mar" which was said as if it were a single word.

Both phrases must be uttered with a convincing Ulster Irish "blas" for the correct effect!.


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## Caveat (29 Jul 2009)

All fair points.

I still find it odd though that pretty much all European languages tend to have fairly direct equivalents of a more formal "good day" type greeting and also a "Hello/Hi" type greeting - except Irish. 

TBH I wouldn't compare Arabic/Hebrew etc as the cultures from which they come are too different to that of most of western Europe IMO.



> In Bavaria and Austria they use Gruss Gott "Greetings of God" (or something like that).


I had never heard that - is it the standard greeting though or just a possible greeting?

To make it clear, I'm not anti _dia duit_ as such, just surprised that there doesn't seem to be a widely used alternative greeting that can *directly* be compared with Hello/Hi.

...meaning i.e. _ce bhfuil tú _or _conas-a-anything_ and the like don't count. 

I like the idea of _slán_ used like _ciao_ BTW but I may be ridiculed...


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## Marathon Man (30 Jul 2009)

Liza said:


> "Anseo, anseo!!"


Here, here??

More like "Eist, eist!!"

Ceart??


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## Tomodinhio (30 Jul 2009)

How about "Ceart go leor bud" ...... alright bud


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## gillarosa (30 Jul 2009)

For a less formal greeting, "hi" has been 'borrowed' into the language, its pronounced the same as English and spelt "hóigh". Personally I like "aon scéal"


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## Liza (30 Jul 2009)

Marathon Man said:


> Here, here??
> 
> More like "Eist, eist!!"
> 
> Ceart??


 
Gabh mo leithscéal! I was just being silly, just adding a light note, not at all suggesting it was accurate, in fact, I would have been surprisee if it had been. The likes of myself is doing well to be even making an effort. But, again, I've learnt something new! Cheers!


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## annR (30 Jul 2009)

how about "cad e an craic"


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## Thirsty (30 Jul 2009)

Is_ eist_ not 'listen', rather than 'hear', defintely nothing to do with 'here'!


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## Marathon Man (30 Jul 2009)

Kildrought said:


> Is_ eist_ not 'listen', rather than 'hear', defintely nothing to do with 'here'!


Yeah, I though it might be "clois, clois!", but it doesn't sound right. Maybe a Gaelgeoir anorak can answer. [probably going to bring down the wrath of all Gealgeoiri for that!]

Paddy Short has the best - Das riht!


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## juke (30 Jul 2009)

jrewing said:


> In Bavaria and Austria they use Gruss Gott "Greetings of God" (or something like that).





Caveat said:


> I had never heard that - is it the standard greeting though or just a possible greeting?


Fairly standard in the parts of Austria around Salzburg I've been in, eg it's the first thing a shop assistant/waiter would say when you come enter. Friends say ot to each other too.
In Switzerland, they say the same, I think (?),  just in dialect "greutzi"


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## Liza (30 Jul 2009)

Marathon Man said:


> Yeah, I though it might be "clois, clois!", but it doesn't sound right. Maybe a Gaelgeoir anorak can answer. [probably going to bring down the wrath of all Gealgeoiri for that!]
> 
> Paddy Short has the best - Das riht!


 
Ha Ha! I like that!


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## elcato (31 Jul 2009)

'Cén scéal' or 'Aon scéal' is what I use meself but I'm a Dub which is more from the 'What's the story' or 'Story'


> Yeah, I though it might be "clois, clois!", but it doesn't sound right.


'Maith thú' is regarded as the nearest match.


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## Liza (1 Aug 2009)

Probably no direct translation. 
I would have used "Aontaím leat", if I was being serious about it. "Tá an ceart agat" Something like that...


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## aonfocaleile (1 Aug 2009)

There is no direct translation of hear hear that I'm aware of. As regards Dia Duit and its use as a standard greeting, this is down to development of the language. Consider it in the same way as the word gay, which has a different meaning today than it did 50 years ago. 

Religious phrases feature heavily as part of Irish for many reasons. Our culture developed separately to most of Western Europe because of our position as an island nation. Language and religion were also closely linked during the struggle for independence.

As an Irish speaker, I have to say that I'm mildly offended at suggestions we should consider changing the use of Dia Duit to the equivalent of good day, because its "inappropriate". I disagree. In my view it is highly inappropriate to suggest a change to the language simply because society has become more secular over the years or because it _might_ cause offense to someone. Cultural differences and traditions should be respected, rather than eroded, unless they impinge dramatically on others.


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## mercman (1 Aug 2009)

aonfocaleile said:


> Religious phrases feature heavily as part of Irish for many reasons. Our culture developed separately to most of Western Europe because of our position as an island nation. Language and religion were also closely linked during the struggle for independence.
> 
> In my view it is highly inappropriate to suggest a change to the language simply because society has become more secular over the years or because it _might_ cause offense to someone. Cultural differences and traditions should be respected, rather than eroded, unless they impinge dramatically on others.



There is a terrific amount of differences which have changed in the last 50 years, no more evident than in the religious circumstances. The Ryan report has given the Nation an embarrassing CV of how we conducted ourselves and in case you were unaware the people wanted change and apology. For many this has been too late and meaningless. 

Unfortunately the main reason why Gaeilge has maintained some use in a number of pockets and areas is the present Minister has hurled heaps of money at some specific areas.(of his choice only) The love of the language (although my own personal thoughts are of its social beauties and social characteristics) is a far long memory of the forgotten Irish Culture.


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## Caveat (2 Aug 2009)

aonfocaleile said:


> As an Irish speaker, I have to say that I'm mildly offended at suggestions we should consider changing the use of Dia Duit to the equivalent of good day, because its "inappropriate". I disagree. In my view it is highly inappropriate to suggest a change to the language simply because society has become more secular over the years or because it _might_ cause offense to someone.



Nobody is saying this.  I mentioned 'not always appropriate' meaning it may not always suit the situation/exchange  - not necessarily anything to do with secularism.

I'm not advocating changing anything, just enquiring if there was an alternative and am surprised to find that there doesn't seem to be.


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## z109 (2 Aug 2009)

Only dead languages don't evolve.

edit: Sorry, forgot about French... so, Excepting French, living languages evolve...


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## aonfocaleile (2 Aug 2009)

mercman said:


> There is a terrific amount of differences which have changed in the last 50 years, no more evident than in the religious circumstances. The Ryan report has given the Nation an embarrassing CV of how we conducted ourselves and in case you were unaware the people wanted change and apology. For many this has been too late and meaningless.



I am quite aware of this. However, I fail to see any connection between the Ryan report and the circumstances which led to it and the Irish language. The linkages between Irish and religion, as evident in some phrases, date back hundreds of years - not 50. Issues with the modern church have no bearing on the language.
I agree with your point about the current Minister. I'm not advocating throwing money at language projects, especially at the moment. 

As regards an alternative to Dia Duit as a greeting, it seems to me that use of this phrase is dwindling among Irish speakers. In my experience, the use of Dia Duit is now only common in formal settings and is not used as much as an informal greeting between friends and acquaintances. Terms such as Conas atá (tú)/ Cad é mar atá tú are more common as greetings and the word Hi, which is spelled háigh, is now accepted as part of the language. This is part of the development of the language.That said, I wouldn't use it in an exam, as the Dept of Education tends to be a fair bit behind in terms of the "caighdeán" or "official" language. 

Yoganmahew made a comment that only dead languages don't evolve. This isn't the case with Irish. The growth in the number of Gaelscoileanna outside of traditional Gaeltacht areas in recent times is leading to a new dialect. While die-harders might sneer at it (and do), nonetheless it is evidence of how the language continues to change and develop. If Irish was a dead language, mobile phone operators would not be introducing text services as Gaeilge;

http://www.vodafone.ie/aboutus/media/press/show/BAU004654.shtml

http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/1106/phone.html

Nor would social networking sites such as facebook provide an Irish version;

http://ga-ie.facebook.com/


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## mercman (3 Aug 2009)

aonfocaleile said:


> I agree with your point about the current Minister. I'm not advocating throwing money at language projects, especially at the moment.



But he has done. How much was wasted in changing place names to Irish instead of showing both As Bearla agus As Gaeilge. And if you would like me to extend the list of waste I will.

The one single thing introduced a number of years ago was the introduction to 'Seachtain na Gaeilge'. This worked very well when it gave every Radio listener and TV viewer the small smidgens of Irish to bring into conversation. This cost a tiny amount of money but guess what ? Instead of extending a low cost method of developing Irish useage the entire project appears to have gone to ground, apart from schools.


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## jrewing (4 Aug 2009)

Caveat said:


> I had never heard that - is it the standard greeting though or just a possible greeting?


 
Gruss Gott is pretty much the standard greeting in Southern Germany...


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## Caveat (4 Aug 2009)

Thanks for all replies.

As the question is pretty much answered I'll close this now before it gets into LOS territory.  

If anyone really wants it kept open, PM me.


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