Irish: cad / céard

[L'irlandais]

Hello,

A recent discussion posted here in Other languages got me wondering about the difference between these two words.
If I wanted to say something along the lines of "I am unsure what to do."


Níl mé cinnte cad a dhéanfaidh mé.

Níl mé cinnte céard a dhéanfaidh mé anois.


Any enlightenment welcome.

 

[Gaelecosse]

I am no expert on Irish, but I believe they are just different dialects.

cad used in ulster irish

and céard in certain other dialects, perhaps.

 

[L'irlandais]

Thanks for that. You may be right. I am busy trying to improve my written/spoken German at the moment.
My "native" Irish is having to take a back seat once more as life pulls in a different direction.

 

[Gaelecosse]

I just checked.

Céard is used in Connemara Irish
Cad is used in Donegal Irish and in Munster Irish.

For example:

Céard é seo? (Connemara) : What is this?
Cad é seo? (Donegal)
Cad é so? (Munster)

---
Cad is also the official standard's chosen form, whereas céard is Connemara.

 

[djwebb1969]

I believe céard and créad also derive from cad é rud, but usage is exactly the same as cad. See also 'séard for is é an rud.