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Memory Busters
Apr. 9th, 2005 07:54 pmI'm about a quarter of the way through. There are two major hurdles in the near future.
I have 20 songs by Barry White; most of their titles are complete, or near-complete, sentences. (Most of them are also sentences anyone with the faintest trace of reserve would blush to speak aloud.)
Then there's Enya. English titles are no problem. Latin titles I can handle; the shift from classical to ecclesiastical pronunciation is a minor hitch. But I'm really not familiar with the spelling/pronunciation conventions of Irish... I can guess how to pronounce "Smaointe", because I know that the Irish Prime Minister's official title is "Taoiseach", pronounced (I am told) "tay-shock", so "Smaointe" should be "smain-teh" - or maybe "shmain-teh". But "taoiseach" is one of the very few Irish words I know.
Addendum: I am indeed an idiot. Sitting in my to-read pile is a book titled The Celtic Languages, which includes a clear description of the quirks of Irish spelling. Study time.
I have 20 songs by Barry White; most of their titles are complete, or near-complete, sentences. (Most of them are also sentences anyone with the faintest trace of reserve would blush to speak aloud.)
Then there's Enya. English titles are no problem. Latin titles I can handle; the shift from classical to ecclesiastical pronunciation is a minor hitch. But I'm really not familiar with the spelling/pronunciation conventions of Irish... I can guess how to pronounce "Smaointe", because I know that the Irish Prime Minister's official title is "Taoiseach", pronounced (I am told) "tay-shock", so "Smaointe" should be "smain-teh" - or maybe "shmain-teh". But "taoiseach" is one of the very few Irish words I know.
Addendum: I am indeed an idiot. Sitting in my to-read pile is a book titled The Celtic Languages, which includes a clear description of the quirks of Irish spelling. Study time.
