Overview

Rediscover the lost words of an ancient land in this new and updated edition of an international bestseller. Most people associate Britain and Ireland with the English language, a vast, sprawling linguistic tree with roots in Latin, French, and German, and branches spanning the world, from Australia and India to North America. But the inhabitants of these islands originally spoke another tongue. Look closely enough and English contains traces of the Celtic soil from which it sprung, found in words like bog, loch, cairn and crag. Today, this heritage can be found nowhere more powerfully than in modern-day Gaelic. In Thirty-Two Words for Field Manchán Magan explores the enchantment, sublime beauty and sheer oddness of a 3000-year-old lexicon. Imbuing the natural world with meaning and magic, it evokes a time-honoured way of life, from its 32 separate words for a field, to terms like loisideach (a place with a lot of kneading troughs), bróis (whiskey for a horseman at a wedding), and iarmhaireacht (the loneliness you feel when you are the only person awake at cockcrow). Told through stories collected from Magan's own life and travels, Thirty-Two Words for Field is an enthralling celebration of Irish words, and a testament to the indelible relationship between landscape, culture and language.

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9781804184035

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Reviews

'Marvellous' * The Sunday Times * 'Manchán is an inspired chronicler and writer: a conduit through which everything ancient comes alive, and everything that dwells in the future finds a home in the present' -- Wade Davis 'A rip-roaring, archaeological and anthropological exploration of the lyricism, mystery and oddities of the Irish language, and the layers of ancient knowledge encoded within' * The Irish Times * 'The book I never knew I needed' -- Caitriona Balfe 'If you're into Irish Mythology, Manchán has got some incredibly interesting theories about Irish mythology based on his understanding of the Irish language, and he's got some theories about the roots of the Irish language that are going to blow your head off' -- Blindboy Boatclub 'One only needs to wade a few pages into this rich and absorbing work to see that perhaps we could do with a lot more characters like him dotted about this world' -- Hilary A. White * Irish Independent * 'An accessible yet erudite stroll back through the Irish landscape' -- Paddy Kehoe * RTE * 'Manchán's book, for which you don't need a word of Irish, is a fascinating insight into our changing culture' -- John Masterson * Irish Independent * 'The amount of fascinating detail in there is enormous' -- Dave Fanning 'This book is perfect for anyone who is looking to brush up on their Irish history, or delve a little deeper into their cultural heritage' -- Aine O'Boyle * RTE * 'So often, discourse about minority languages is all hairshirts and anguish, mapping loss and calibrating the remorseless march of homogeneity. In Thirty-Two Worlds for Field, Manchán Magan upends all this, and does so with such infectious glee. Burrowing deep and dizzying into the lineage and lore of the Irish language, he opens it out for us all, not as mere vocabulary or grammar, but as key to cultural wealth, intellectual integrity, personal authenticity and a way of seeing the world that is as old as the hills, yet forged brand new - and just when we need it most. Fierce, witty, passionate and informed, Magan is the perfect companion for this soulful, elemental journey' -- Mike Parker * author of All the Wide Border and On the Red Hill *

'Marvellous' * The Sunday Times * 'A rip-roaring, archaeological and anthropological exploration of the lyricism, mystery and oddities of the Irish language, and the layers of ancient knowledge encoded within' * The Irish Times * 'The book I never knew I needed' -- Caitriona Balfe 'If you're into Irish Mythology, Manchán has got some incredibly interesting theories about Irish mythology based on his understanding of the Irish language, and he's got some theories about the roots of the Irish language that are going to blow your head off' -- Blindboy Boatclub 'One only needs to wade a few pages into this rich and absorbing work to see that perhaps we could do with a lot more characters like him dotted about this world' -- Hilary A. White * Irish Independent * 'An accessible yet erudite stroll back through the Irish landscape' -- Paddy Kehoe * RTE * 'Manchán's book, for which you don't need a word of Irish, is a fascinating insight into our changing culture' -- John Masterson * Irish Independent * 'The amount of fascinating detail in there is enormous' -- Dave Fanning 'This book is perfect for anyone who is looking to brush up on their Irish history, or delve a little deeper into their cultural heritage' -- Aine O'Boyle * RTE *

'Marvellous' * The Sunday Times * 'Manchán is an inspired chronicler and writer: a conduit through which everything ancient comes alive, and everything that dwells in the future finds a home in the present' -- Wade Davis 'A rip-roaring, archaeological and anthropological exploration of the lyricism, mystery and oddities of the Irish language, and the layers of ancient knowledge encoded within' * The Irish Times * 'The book I never knew I needed' -- Caitriona Balfe 'If you're into Irish Mythology, Manchán has got some incredibly interesting theories about Irish mythology based on his understanding of the Irish language, and he's got some theories about the roots of the Irish language that are going to blow your head off' -- Blindboy Boatclub 'One only needs to wade a few pages into this rich and absorbing work to see that perhaps we could do with a lot more characters like him dotted about this world' -- Hilary A. White * Irish Independent * 'An accessible yet erudite stroll back through the Irish landscape' -- Paddy Kehoe * RTE * 'Manchán's book, for which you don't need a word of Irish, is a fascinating insight into our changing culture' -- John Masterson * Irish Independent * 'The amount of fascinating detail in there is enormous' -- Dave Fanning 'This book is perfect for anyone who is looking to brush up on their Irish history, or delve a little deeper into their cultural heritage' -- Aine O'Boyle * RTE *

'A rip-roaring, archaeological and anthropological exploration of the lyricism, mystery and oddities of the Irish language, and the layers of ancient knowledge encoded within' * The Irish Times * 'The book I never knew I needed' -- Caitriona Balfe 'If you're into Irish Mythology, Manchán has got some incredibly interesting theories about Irish mythology based on his understanding of the Irish language, and he's got some theories about the roots of the Irish language that are going to blow your head off' -- Blindboy Boatclub 'One only needs to wade a few pages into this rich and absorbing work to see that perhaps we could do with a lot more characters like him dotted about this world' -- Hilary A. White * Irish Independent * 'An accessible yet erudite stroll back through the Irish landscape' -- Paddy Kehoe * RTE * 'Manchán's book, for which you don't need a word of Irish, is a fascinating insight into our changing culture' -- John Masterson * Irish Independent * 'The amount of fascinating detail in there is enormous' -- Dave Fanning 'This book is perfect for anyone who is looking to brush up on their Irish history, or delve a little deeper into their cultural heritage' -- Aine O'Boyle * RTE *

Author Information

Manchán Magan is a writer and documentary-maker. He has written books on his travels in Africa, India and South America and two novels, along with several award-winning and best-selling books about the Irish language and landscape. He lives in an oak wood, with bees and hens, in a grass-roofed house near Lough Lene, Co Westmeath, Ireland.

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