Expressions at home and abroad

As a child in the 1960’s,  I remember a few expressions used by my father when greeting people or seeing them at work. When he met someone he would say “Dia Dhuit” which in English means God be with you, or “Dia is Mhuire dhuit” which means God and Mary be with you. On saying goodbye he would say “Go n-éirí an bóthar leat!” which translates to “may the road rise with you”  or Slan leat, also for good bye.  By then in Ireland these expressions had almost died out except for the areas in the west where Irish was still the first language. These areas were and are still called “The Gaeltacht” and children and adults can go there to learn and improve their Irish.

Many things changed with education, more people were completing secondary school and continuing on to university. Those that couldn’t go to university could feed their thirst for knowledge in their local library which were always busy places. 

Television especially American TV series and films exposed us to a wealth of new expressions some good some shall we say colourful!  If you listen to radio or TV interviews you will hear many words and expressions which we have adopted from America and now form part of our language.  Listening to a radio show recently where people were being interviewed sounded like the dialogue from the movie “The Godfather” or “Scar face” and this is their normal language!   I smile as I think, if my parents were alive today,  I would have to translate for them!

 When we started school we quickly picked up expressions from our school friends.  I remember first saying “Hi” and thinking I sounded really modern saying something which the grown-ups did not say! My father criticised this term of greeting saying there was no sentiment or meaning in it, it meant nothing! However we continued to say Hi and still do today.

In Turkey where I live now.  There is a whole language of thoughtful and colourful expressions for every occasion and can vary with the time of day!  They are also very demonstrative of their feelings and show friends how happy they are to meet them by a warm embrace followed by a kiss on both cheeks accompanied by lots of  greetings like “Selam,”  Hoş geldiniz”   Welcome and “Hos bulduk,”  happy to be here, When my neighbour catches sight of me crouching over and tugging at a cluster of stubborn weeds,  she will say “Kolay Gelsin”.  This term is used for anyone working,  it can be gardening, painting, doing repairs work, building ect and it translates to “may it come easy” My reply will be “Sagol”  which is a friendly way to say Thank you.

We get asked to join in family meals a lot here,  it does not matter what they are eating,  they want to share it.  Before and after a meal  the person serving the meal will say “Afiet Olsun”.  It means “enjoy your meal” or may it be good for you, and they are very surprised to hear that in English we only say this before a meal and never after!  To the person who cooked the meal they say  “Elenize sağlık”  which means  “health to your hands”.“Allah Allah”  means “good Lord”,  this you will hear anywhere and everywhere!    

 If someone is ill,  they will wish them well by saying “Geçmiş olsun,” which means “may it pass”,  But it can also be used in response to something like, “My mother-in-law is visiting”. In that case you could precede it with an Allah Allah for emphasis.   If someone sneezes they say “Cok  yasa” which means “long life”.  You will hear this even if you sneeze on a bus when the person does not know you but they will still wish you a long life!

When someone buys a new dress, a new handbag or even a new car they will say “güle güle kullanin” and this means “use it smiling.”

If you speak about the future,  you will hear them say “Inşallah” which means  “God willing”. Just like our parents used to say long ago “With the help of God”

When saying goodbye  (used by the person leaving) they say “Hoşçakalın”.   “Güle güle” is the response and said by the person who is staying!

A homely house

The little treasures in our lives enrich them and they develop stories as they move through our lives with us.  I’ve always loved bone china.  I love the delicate feel, how you have to handle it carefully so as not to break or crack it.The ornate detail, the beautifully painted flowers, the gold rim and the delicate handles on the cups, jugs and sugar bowls.  Many years ago I treated myself, spent almost a week’s wages on a beautiful set of “Royal Tara”.                               

  It was displayed for almost 30 years in our dining room dresser which had 2 glass doors.  It was taken out and used for just a few special occasions.    In that dresser there are 3 shelves.  As well as the china tea set there were other treasures. A large china jug with delicate flowers on it, a green glass smoker’s pipe, 2 blue and white cockerels which were from my grandmother’s dresser!  There were 2 handmade mugs again in which the most delicate flowers were painted by my aunt Mary.  She made these in her first pottery class.  I think of her every time I see them and how happy I was when she choose me to have them.  Along with the china there were other treasures too, 2 little china cats which I bought on a school tour as a young girl.  I remember seeing them in a little shop window and fell for them instantly. On the top shelf there was a gold coloured china set of 6 cups and saucers on a little gold stand, this was given to us as an engagement present. There were two urns which I brought back from Yugoslavia on one of my first foreign holidays.  There was a plate, a gift from Sarah a friend in Paris. There was a doll collection too but I donated them to a charity auction which then made the dresser less cluttered!  A small oil lamp also given to me as a gift.  The brass candle sticks barely visible on the top of the dresser were a wedding gift to my parents and they stood on their mantelpiece throughout my childhood. There was a little pair of ballet slippers which were worn by my daughter at the age of 4 for her first ballet class. A small black teddy cat which belonged  to my nephew David.  All these little possessions are simple treasures to me and are irreplaceable.

On my window sill in Ireland I have some little treasures too. The lamp with the blue glass base I bought for myself,  I love anything blue and had to stop myself from starting a blue glass collection!

 In my home here in Turkey there are no window sills!  I drew up a simple design for two small wall units. A neighbour made them for me. I brought some of my favourite cups and saucers from Ireland and along with some local coffee cups and saucers they make a nice sense of home in our living room here. I was thinking that in the autumn I will organise a monthly gathering with my friends called  "Sunday afternoon with tea and cakes" in which we will meet up and have home made cakes and tea from our china cups!

 The two cups and saucers on the top shelf here with the little shamrocks  were made by Carrigaline Pottery in Cork Ireland a company which sadly no longer exists.  If we move back to Ireland permanently at some later stage,  these two will have to come with me! 

  I also bought a unit with 2 glass doors which has some new treasures,  gifts from friends here. This space is now full with part of our growing book collection.  I really need to get wall book shelves for all our books which are in piles against the wall and give this unit over to our new glass collection!  Books really need their own space.  We brought some out from Ireland but have built up a collection here.  There are book sales on every three months in aid of charities and it's a great way of getting rid of the ones we've read and getting new ones but again we get attached to the books and it's not always easy to let them go.  I love to hear about other peoples "little treasures" and their stories,  maybe a subject for our Sunday afternoon tea!