In The News Criptea-airgeadra? Gruaimscrolláil? Conas a chuirtear le foclóir na Gaeilge?
Mar 17, 2026
Cormac Breathnach, Foclóir.ie project manager working on adding new Irish words to online dictionaries, and Alan Titley, writer and commentator on Irish-language literature, talk about how English loanwords like binge-watch and influencer become part of Irish. They discuss how everyday speech coins or adapts terms. They explain how focloir.ie evaluates and documents new vocabulary and the debates around purity versus natural change.
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Irish Vocabulary Grows Through Everyday Speech
- Irish evolves naturally as speakers create new words to describe new concepts like bingewatch, influencer and mansplaining.
- Éine O'Ceili and guests stress spoken community drives coinage, not just formal planning by institutions.
Borrowings And Native Adaptations Coexist
- Loanwords from English (e.g., cryptocurrency, podcast) enter Irish and speakers adapt them or create native equivalents.
- Alan Titley and Cormac Breathnach discuss both direct borrowings and calques appearing in daily use.
Local Pubs And Daily Life Shape Words
- Alan Titley gives colourful local examples about language use in villages and pubs to show how words spread informally.
- He mentions mixing drinks and local customs as moments where colloquial terms get coined and shared.