Celtic symbols, arts and culture
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Ondine: Ancient Celtic Myth in Modern Ireland
Nov 14th
Ondine is an unusual film that uses Celtic mythology as a background theme for a low key romantic tale. Director Neil Jordan, best known for The Crying Game, sets this movie in modern day Ireland, but in many ways there’s an old fashioned, even ancient ambiance to it. Of course, there are cars and cell phones, but the story centers on Syracuse, a Fisherman (Colin Farrell) living in a small village who pulls a woman (Alicja Bachleda) out of the water, and this theme could have been taken from a folk tale (Irish or otherwise) that dates back centuries.
The woman has no apparent memory and calls herself Ondine (which is a word for a kind of water nymph), and she may or may not be a supernatural creature. Like another film from 1995, The Secret of Roan Inish, this one deals with the legend of selkies, half woman-half seal creatures that are traditional to Celtic folklore. However, Ondine is quite original and deals with the subject in its own way.
Syracuse has a young daughter (Alison Barry) who is mostly confined to a wheelchair due to a kidney ailment, and has a contentious relationship with his ex-wife, which complicates his situation when he find Ondine. As you might expect, Syracuse and Ondine develop a relationship of sorts, but, unlike the way such a theme would be handled in a typical Hollywood movie, the characters are all quite complex and the story seems more interested in exploring archetypal themes than conforming to a formula plot.
Ondine is a movie that fans of indie movies, Celtic myth and compelling but quiet tales will enjoy. Netflix, somewhat incorrectly, categorizes this film as sci fi/fantasy. It remains uncertain for much of the movie whether or not Ondine is actually a selkie, but apart from this, if you’re looking for a movie with special effects or bizarre shapeshifting creatures, this isn’t it. If you have to put Ondine in a category, it would be an independent romantic drama.
English Words Shared With The French Language
Oct 4th
English and French sound very dissimilar when you hear them spoken, but these two languages actually share quite a few commonalities, especially when written. Understanding the history of the two languages will help you understand the similarities and differences that they enjoy.
History of Modern French
Both French and English started in European countries. French is a “Romance” language, which means its origins lie in the ancient Roman Empire. Latin was the language of the Roman Empire, but since the Empire had such a vast reach, many areas developed their own dialects of the language, often mixed with the languages of the native people. When the area that is today known as France was invaded by Germanic tribes in the 400s, the language took on a decidedly Germanic flavor. The native tongue of the new governing body was mixed with the Latin the people were speaking to create a new dialect, decidedly Latin, but with Germanic pronunciations.
As the Germanic tribes maintained control of the area, the language digressed further from Latin and became its own distinct tongue. This required the language to be codified, or written, so that political and legal process could take place much easier. The language was named “French” for the Frankish people that lived in the area where it was predominantly spoken. French became the official language of the new country in 1539 by the Edict of Villers Cotterets. The grammar of the language has remained relatively the same since the early 1600s, which is when the language was standardized by the French Academy. Today it is the official language of 22 countries, and the co-official language of many others, including Canada, Switzerland, Madagascar, and Belgium.
History of Modern English
English is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. A truly global language, it is the language of finance, technology, and diplomacy. This is surprising in light of the fact that the language originated on the tiny island of Great Britain.
The English language is not a Romantic language like French. Because the island was isolated from the Roman Empire, it was not influenced as heavily by Latin as the inland languages were. However, French and English share one main commonality, and that is the influence of invading Germanic tribes.
While different tribes invaded England than invaded France, they spoke similar languages. Prior to the Germanic invasion, the people of Great Britain spoke a Celtic language. However, the Germanic people spoke a language that eventually developed into Old English. This was the language spoken on the island until 1100.
In 1066, France and England’s histories overlapped, when the William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy, conquered the island and brought French to the land. While the people did not speak France, the government did, and the language began to influence the language of the common people, eventually developing into Middle English, a combination of French and Old English. This gradually developed into Modern English, the language that is spoken today, and the invention of the printing press made it possible to unify and standardize the language.
Words Common to French and English
The overlapping influence of the Germanic tribes and the French influence on English history cause there to be several words that the two languages share. The pronunciation may be different, but these common words include:
-Anniversary
-Art
-Armoire
-Attaché
-Ballet
-Belle
-Bric-a-brac
-Brunette
-Bureau
-Café
-Chaise lounge
-Chic
-Cliché
-Clique
-Commandant
-Concierge
-Cul-de-sac
-Décor
-Entrée
-Entrepreneur
-Extraordinaire
-Façade
-Faux
-Fiancé
-Forte
-Hors d’oeuvre
-Impasse
-Layette
-Laissez-faire
-Liaison
-Lieu
-Material
-Melee
-Montage
-Motif
-Mousse
-National
-Passé
-Petite
-Rapport
-Reconnaissance
-Restaurateur
-Sabotage
-Saboteur
-Sans
-Touché
Speaking more that one language is very common these days. You can use English Dictionary Software to help improve your online English learning. When considering online English classes, consider English Link.
Icelandic â a Language With a Strong Heritage
Sep 28th
The popularity of Icelandâs tourism sector is growing day by day and this ever increasing popularity is encouraging more and more people to turn towards this small country in northern Europe to spend their summer and winter holidays. If you are planning to go in summer, which is the best time to visit there, you must take care of necessary reservations of flights and accommodations in hotels. Also do not forget to book the tickets of cultural and art shows that take place there in summer season only. Through these shows one can get the closer view of Iceland and its language.
The most used language of Iceland is âthe Icelandicâ and it is one of the very famous Nordic languages group. This group is the sub-group of the Germanic languages. Normally, Germanic language is divided into two groups i.e. North Germanic or Nordic languages and West Germanic. Iceland was first inhabited in around 870 A.D and most of the first visitors were from Norway [west Norway], Sweden and Ireland. Some Celtics were also in the earliest arrivals to Iceland. The language that became the most popular in Iceland was that of the people of Norway. Some traces of Celtic language are also visible in Icelandic language. The only words borrowed from Celtic language are some personal names and some names of places. Till 14th century Icelandic and Norwegian language was almost same. It was after 14th century that they became totally different from each other. This change occurred due to significant changes in the language of Norway. Icelandic language didnât change and this was due to rich Icelandic literature that was written in read in the same language in 12th and 13th centuries. Now it is said that not even a single word has changed in Icelandic language thatâs why the texts written in twelfth century can be read by a ten year boy even now. Another quality of Icelandic language is its uniformity i.e. the absence of dialects. But, Icelandic language has seen a huge change in its phonetics.
Because of its closeness to North America Icelandic is quite popular there. There are many in North America that speaks Icelandic language. These communities came into existence because there was huge immigration of people between Iceland, Canada and America right from the final 25 years of nineteenth century and the initial years of twentieth century. The first immigration is said to have started as early as 1855 but it started on huge amount only after 1870. It is said that first small colony of Icelanders was set around Lake Michigan in Washington in 1870. In 1875, Icelanders reached Canada and formed their first colony there on the west shore of Lake Winnipeg âalso called new Icelandâ. Many of same colonies were formed in Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia. Till now also hundreds and thousands of people there can still read, write and speak Icelandic language.
Since nineteenth century, language purism has been the national policy of the government of Iceland. According to this policy, they have decided that instead of using foreign words for new things they will coin the new words [neologism] or will revive the old words and use them after giving then new meanings. The Icelandic committee for language is responsible to guide government and public in general regarding the matters of language based on scholarly basis.
Asberg Jonsson is the manager of Iceland Visitor, a company specializing in packages for Vacation in Iceland and day tours in Iceland. For more information visit www.icelandvisitor.com
Happy Celtic New Year’s
Nov 2nd
Samhain, or Halloween marks the end of the light half of the year and the beginning of the dark half in the Celtic calendar. It may seem odd to think of November 1 as New Year’s Day, but perhaps no stranger than January 1, which is, after all, the heart of winter. A more intuitive New Year’s Day would probably be the start of Spring, around March 21. However, it’s interesting to contemplate why the Celts chose the time of year when winter was approaching to mark the New Year.
Samhain, which was the largest celebration in medieval Ireland, lasting for three days, is also the name of the month of November in Irish and Scottish. It marks the final harvest, as well as being a time to honor the dead. It is also believed to be a time when the “veil” between worlds -the world of the living and the world of the dead- is thinnest. This is the origin of modern Halloween ghosts, witches and so forth.
Wiccan and Celtic Re-constructionist pagans also honor Samhain as the highest holy day. They generally follow the Celtic Wheel of the Year, which is marked by the four seasonal changes (the solstices and equinoxes) and four festivals, Beltane, Samhain, Lughnasa and Imbolc. While the ancient and medieval Celts probably did not follow this calendar precisely, it is based on some of the traditional Celtic festivals and honors the Celtic practice of following the cycles of nature.
Some religious fundamentalists, meanwhile, see Halloween or Samhain as satanic or a celebration of heathen gods. While the latter may be true from a Christian (or monotheistic) point of view, the notion that pagan beliefs are satanic is not accurate. The fact is, paganism originates from a world view that did not recognize a single malevolent entity such as Satan or the Devil, so such an entity was neither worshipped nor feared or hated.
Many Celtic Christians have integrated the traditions of their pagan ancestors with Christian beliefs. For example, November 1 is also All Saints Day. The other pagan festivals have been similarly “updated” with Christian interpretations.
Whatever path you follow, Happy Celtic New Year!
Celtic Symbols: why are they so popular?
Sep 12th
Thanks for visiting the Celtic Symbols blog! This site is inspired by the beauty and enduring popularity of Celtic symbols such as knotwork, zoomorphic images (those depicting animals, both real and imaginary, such as sea monsters and dragons) and other images. These images are very commonly seen today in many art books, in jewelry, as tattoos and fantasy art (paintings, book covers, CD covers, etc.).
Celtic art goes way back in history, and I’ll be exploring some of this fascinating tradition. There will also be links to other interesting sites and resources. I think Celtic symbols and artwork has such appeal, not only for its intrinsic beauty, but because it expresses something of the infinite, as in a Celtic knot. There is both a spirituality and earthiness to Celtic art.
I’d like to explore the many ways Celtic symbols have been used over the centuries, including languages. For example, one of the earliest Celtic languages was the Irish Tree Alphabet, known as Ogham. This, and other aspects of Celtic or Gaelic languages have also become very popular recently, especially in music.
So please visit this site often and keep up with this fascinating aspect of Celtic culture!
