Fáilte

Douglas, Isle of Man, greets all road users with a bilingual welcome sign

Scotland likewise welcomes arrivals on the A7, reading Welcome to Scotland in English and Fàilte gu Alba in Scottish Gaelic

Fáilte (Irish pronunciation: [ˈfˠaːlʲtʲə]), Fàilte (Scottish Gaelic: [ˈfaːltʲə]) or Failt (Manx: [ˈfaːlʲtʃ]) is a word meaning "welcome".^[1]

This word appears in the Irish phrase céad míle fáilte (a hundred thousand welcomes) as well as the similar Scottish phrase ceud mìle fàilte and the Manx keead milley failt. It also occurs in the name of Fáilte Ireland and its predecessor organization, Bord Fáilte (Board of Welcome). Fáilte Towers, an RTÉ reality programme broadcast in Ireland in 2008, incorporates this word in its name as well.^[2]^[3]

The accent above the a is a diacritic known in Irish as the síneadh fada (literally, long stretching, as it lengthens the vowel; often called just the fada in English), and as the stràc (pronounced [s̪t̪ɾaːʰk]) in Scottish Gaelic.

References[]

^ Ó Dónaill Foclóir Gaeilge - Béarla (1977, reprint 1992) An Gúm ISBN 1-85791-037-0
^ "Fáilte Towers". Irish Independent. 2008-08-02. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
^ "Castlebellingham to roll out red carpet for reality TV stars". Drogheda Independent. 2008-08-05. Archived from the original on 2008-09-24. Retrieved 2008-08-10.

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[1] Ó Dónaill Foclóir Gaeilge - Béarla (1977, reprint 1992) An Gúm ISBN 1-85791-037-0

[2] "Fáilte Towers". Irish Independent. 2008-08-02. Retrieved 2008-08-11.

[3] "Castlebellingham to roll out red carpet for reality TV stars". Drogheda Independent. 2008-08-05. Archived from the original on 2008-09-24. Retrieved 2008-08-10.

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