Is Beatha Teanga í a Labhairt

If you have a ‘cúpla focal’;

Translated literally this would be ‘Life of a language is speaking her’.

Notice that in speech ‘is’ unlike other verbs is not emphasised and therefore can be omitted. Listen to the word ‘beatha’, the ‘th’ is sounded as a ‘h’. In the word ‘labhairt’ The ‘abh’ is sounded like the ‘o’ in ‘own, in Ulster Irish. The ‘t’ at the end of ‘labhairt’ is a slender ‘t’ and is pronounced similar to the English sound ‘ch’ in ‘cheer’.

The sentence begins with ‘is’ (be) also known as the copula. It is followed by ‘beatha teanga’ (life of a language) and then ‘í a labhairt’ (to speak it), the ‘í’ , the feminine third person pronoun referring to ‘teanga’ (language) which is a feminine noun. The ‘a’ is a preposition which connects the pronoun to the verbal noun ‘labhairt’ which comes from the verb ‘labhair’ (speak).

If you’re an advanced learner;

Is beatha teanga í a labhairt.
If we speak a language it will live.

We see in this sentence that the verb comes at the beginning. In this case the verb is the copula, ‘is’, which is used to describe a permanent state as opposed to a temporary state in which case the verb ‘bí’ would be used.

Look at the difference between these two sentences:

‘Is capall é’ (It is a horse) – a permanent state.
‘Bíonn sé ina chodladh’ (it sleeps) – a temporary state.

The verb is followed by two nouns ‘beatha teanga’ (life of a language), the second noun qualifying the first.
The phrase ‘í a labhairt’ (to speak it) consists of the pronoun ‘í’ which refers to the feminine noun ‘teanga’ (language), ‘a’, a preposition which connects the pronoun to the verbal noun ‘labhairt’ which comes from the verb ‘labhair’ (speak).

If you’re fluent but would like to improve your grammar;
Is beatha teanga í a labhairt.

Ciallaíonn an seanfhocal seo má labhraítear teanga go mairfidh sí.
Úsáidtear an chopail, ‘is’, le cur síos ar staid atá buan seachas staid atá sealadach.

Amharc ar an difear idir an dá abairt seo:

‘Is Francach é’ – staid bhuan
‘Tá sé fliuch’ – staid shealadach

Leanann an dá ainmfhocal ‘beatha teanga’ an chopail. Tá ‘beatha’ cáilithe ag ‘teanga’.
Sa fhrása ‘í a labhairt’ tá an forainm ‘í’, an forainm bhaininscneach a thagraíonn do ‘teanga’, agus ‘a’, réamhfhocal a nascann an forainm leis an ainm bhriathartha ‘labhairt’ ainm briathartha an bhriathair ‘labhair’.

De ghnáth cuireann an réamhfhocal ‘a’ séimhiú ar an ainm bhriathartha –
‘é a bhogadh’ ach ní chuireann sé séimhiú ar ‘l’
‘é a lasadh’.