sibh

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Irish

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Old Irish sib (compare Scottish Gaelic sibh, Manx shiu, from Proto-Celtic *swīswīs (compare Middle Welsh chwichwi), a reduplicated form of *swīs (you, ye) (see Old Irish síi), from Proto-Indo-European *wos.

Pronunciation

Pronoun

sibh (emphatic form sibhse, conjunctive and disjunctive)

  1. you (plural), ye/you
    Bhí sibh ansin.You were there.
    Cloisim sibh.I hear you.

Usage notes

  • Unlike many European languages, modern Irish does not have a T-V distinction, i.e. it does not distinguish between familiar/informal and polite/formal second-person pronouns. Sibh is used to address two or more people, regardless of how well known those people are to the speaker. It is no longer used to address one single person.
  • The emphatic form sibhse is also used as the vocative: Haigh sibhse! — "Hey you (all)!"

See also

Irish personal pronouns
person conjunctive
(emphatic)
disjunctive
(emphatic)
possessive
determiner
singular first
(mise)
mo L
m' before vowel sounds
second
(tusa)1
thú
(thusa)
do L
d' before vowel sounds
third m
(seisean)
é
(eisean)
a L
f
(sise)
í
(ise)
a H
n ea
plural first muid, sinn
(muidne, muide), (sinne)
ár E
second sibh
(sibhse)1
bhur E
third siad
(siadsan)
iad
(iadsan)
a E

L Triggers lenitionE Triggers eclipsisH Triggers h-prothesis

1 Also used as the vocative

The reflexive is formed by adding féin to the relevant pronoun.
For instance, "myself" = mé féin, "yourselves" = sibh féin.

Further reading

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

From Old Irish sib. Cognates include Irish sibh and Manx shiu.

Pronunciation

Pronoun

sibh (emphatic sibhse)

  1. second-person plural/formal pronoun; ye, you

Usage notes

  • sibh is used to address more than one person, or to address one person formally or politely, particularly if they are significantly older or of higher social rank than the speaker.
  • Grandparents, teachers and clergymen are addressed as sibh, and parents often are also. Addressing them as thu would usually be considered rude.
  • People significantly younger than the speaker, for instance a child addressed by a young adult, are never addressed as sibh. Children do not use sibh amongst themselves. Some people may find it uncomfortable to be addressed as sibh if they do not consider themselves to be significantly older than the speaker.
  • The use of sibh varies by dialect, with some places being stricter about its usage than others.

Derived terms

See also

Scottish Gaelic personal pronouns
simple emphatic
singular plural singular plural
first person mi sinn mise sinne
second person thu, tu1 sibh2 thusa, tusa1 sibhse2
third
person
m e iad esan iadsan
f i ise

1 Used when following a verb ending in -n, -s or -dh.
2 sibh and sibhse also act as the polite singular pronouns.
To mark a direct object of a verbal noun, the derivatives of gam are used.

References

  1. ^ Oftedal, M. (1956) A linguistic survey of the Gaelic dialects of Scotland, Vol. III: The Gaelic of Leurbost, Isle of Lewis, Oslo: Norsk Tidsskrift for Sprogvidenskap
  2. ^ Rev. C. M. Robertson (1902) “Skye Gaelic”, in Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness, Volume XXIII: 1898-99, Gaelic Society of Inverness, pages 54-88
  3. ^ Mac Gill-Fhinnein, Gordon (1966) Gàidhlig Uidhist a Deas, Dublin: Institiúid Ard-Léinn Bhaile Átha Cliath
  4. ^ John MacPherson (1945) The Gaelic dialect of North Uist (Thesis)‎, Edinburgh: University of Edinburgh
  5. ^ Borgstrøm, Carl Hj. (1937) The dialect of Barra in the Outer Hebrides, Oslo: Norsk Tidsskrift for Sprogvidenskap
  6. ^ Roy Wentworth (2003) Gaelic Words and Phrases From Wester Ross / Faclan is Abairtean à Ros an Iar, Inverness: CLÀR, →ISBN

Further reading

  • Edward Dwelly (1911) “sibh”, in Faclair Gàidhlig gu Beurla le Dealbhan, 10th edition, Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited, →ISBN
  • Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “sib”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language