[sw-l] Sign for Leprechaun?

[Shane Gilchrist Ó hEorpa]

Sandy,

Ur idea - it may mean "forget" or "forgetful" or "quite stupid" in some
dialects.

some ISL people objected to the flicking sign and led a campaign against
this (they misunderstood it - and even so, they wont swallow the fact that
the sign is accepted in Belfast) so the sign is losing its popularity - even
so we only use that sign for something Irish, not Ireland - lately we have
moved from using a lot of English-language words into using the proper
grammar i.e. if I have a English book, I ll sign "book England theirs"

As for the cartoon leprechauns - to be honest I never grew up with that
image in me - its only when I was in England I came across a lot of that
images - like I said, it’s the Disney version - as we says here, we don’t
trust lepruchuans ;-)

(just like Halloween that was made popularised in the USA (it was an Irish
invention but never really got caught on - until the USA got hold of it -
and of course, there's the Christmas lights everywhere outside on our houses
- we started it off and the USA popularised it and then we do it better -
its so bad...)

Shane

> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-sw-l at majordomo.valenciacc.edu [mailto:owner-sw-
> l at majordomo.valenciacc.edu] On Behalf Of Sandy Fleming
> Sent: 03 February 2005 08:07
> To: sw-l at majordomo.valenciacc.edu
> Subject: RE: [sw-l] Sign for Leprechaun?
>
> Thanks!
>
> I've forwarded this to her.
>
> We have a sign for "Irish" - I don't know if it's used in ISL/NISL which
> involves flicking a finger at the lapel, indicating a shamrock. Before I
> got
> your email I suggested making this sign at the side of the hatband
> instead,
> for "leprechaun". At least a lot of the cartoon leprechauns I've seen seem
> to wear a shamrock in their hatband!
>
> Sandy
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: owner-sw-l at majordomo.valenciacc.edu
> > [mailto:owner-sw-l at majordomo.valenciacc.edu]On Behalf Of Shane Gilchrist
> > Ó hEorpa
> > Sent: 02 February 2005 21:38
> > To: sw-l at majordomo.valenciacc.edu
> > Subject: RE: [sw-l] Sign for Leprechaun?
> >
> >
> >
> > Sandy,
> >
> > Ceist maith! (good question!)
> >
> > The leprechaun - in NISL, now that is a good question because theres not
> > many leprechauns in our mythology up North - its more focused on
> warriors
> > and love stories (one of my ex boyfriends complained to me that we have
> > better stories whereas down South they have to talk about stupid
> > things like
> > leprechauns and pots of gold etc!) - and it was because the industrial
> > revolution started and was contained in the North (Belfast:
> > linen, foundry,
> > shipyard, Belfast sinks etc - that was sent all over the world - Dublin
> > wasn't even a capital (still governed from London) - for the past
> > 200 years
> > so very little desire for mythological gold. Lepruchuans (associated
> with
> > getting the mythical gold) was made popular in Irish America -
> > believe it or
> > not, it was Ireland's poor that emigrated to America - the rich stayed
> in
> > Ireland (you ll have some Americans coming to Ireland claiming that
> their
> > ancestors used to own that castle, this castle, this castle - when most
> > castles here in Ireland were built by for the Normans, the Vikings, the
> > Anglo-Irish etc - the Celts didn't live in castles!!!)
> >
> > And it is so funny - the Irish version of lepruchuans is not even
> > the Disney
> > version of lepruchuans - in many Irish mythology, lepruachuans were
> evil,
> > selfish, cannibals or something like that - and often they were
> > compared to
> > Jewish people (the stereotypes of course)
> >
> > RIGHT...the sign for lepruchuan - I have asked 6 different people
> > - and only
> > one matched my sign (lazy sign maybe?)
> >
> > (Val, u'll have to forgive me as im very tired to use signwriting
> > as im not
> > fluent yet!)
> >
> > 1. ELF (long ears) - my sign - I usually sign it as "ooooh elf,
> > evil-eyes-rolling, clapping-hands-once, come, come, will-devour-
> you...bite
> > you-in-the-leg, bite-off" - not the sign you want to tell your
> > mate, Sandy?
> > ;) (can be used in ISL or NISL)
> >
> > 2. LONG MR SPOOK EARS (both hands) - SMALL-CHILD - IRISH (in NISL)
> >
> > 3. MISCHIEVOUS E-L-F (in NISL)
> >
> > 4. E-L-F small mr-spook-ears
> >
> > 5. small man long beard pointy head (influenced by America)
> >
> > 6. green man (in ISL)
> >
> > 7. man green (in NISL)
> >
> > 8. witch's son (one said he saw someone religious signing it as "devil
> > hide-away-hide-away"!!!!)
> >
> > 9. little man doing-the-jig (irish dancing)
> >
> > If I train interpreters, I'll tell them to use the sign "elf" - but in
> > England, I guess you ll have to say "elf their Ireland" to be
> > more precise.
> >
> > Shane
> >
> >
> >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: owner-sw-l at majordomo.valenciacc.edu [mailto:owner-sw-
> > > l at majordomo.valenciacc.edu] On Behalf Of Sandy Fleming
> > > Sent: 02 February 2005 15:52
> > > To: sw-l at majordomo.valenciacc.edu
> > > Subject: [sw-l] Sign for Leprechaun?
> > >
> > > Shane,
> > >
> > > A friend of mine is asking me for a sign for "leprechaun" for her deaf
> > > child - do you know one you could teach me, by any chence?  :)
> > >
> > > Sandy
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>