Question for you Irish speakers

Started by Oraisteach, July 12, 2010, 03:47:24 AM

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ardmhachaabu

Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something

ardmhachaabu

Tá a fhios agat cad é tá i gcéist agam cibé
Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something

Oraisteach


IolarCoisCuain

The tricky thing here is to do with idiom. "With great sorrow" is comfortable as an idiom in English, but it doesn't really have an Irish equivalent. You need to use different words to express the same sentiment.

For instance, say you want to say "he's able to read" in Irish.

Your first go is "Tá sé ábalta léamh." That gets the meaning across, but as Irish it's Borat level. Poor.

Then you try "Is féidir leis léamh." That's better, but you're still making the mistake of directly mapping from one language to another. The translated expression sounds English in Irish. Like Hercule Poirot using all those French constructions when he's explaining who killed Colonel Mustard. The killer, it was his niece, no?

"Tá léamh aige." Now you've hit it. The idiomatically correct expression - he has reading. You hear it - or you used to, anyway - in some old people's expressions. The Synge language was English expressed in an Irish idiom. Now, God help us, we seem to have Irish expressed in an English idiom and the Gaelscoileanna are not helping. But I feel a rant coming on so I'd better go off and do some work.

Oráisteach, you might check your DMs when you get a chance.

Canalman

Le íseal chroí........................... "with a heavy heart "is another altternative if you want. No séimhiú issue here.

Denn Forever

Quote from: Canalman on July 14, 2010, 10:12:11 AM
Le íseal chroí........................... "with a heavy heart "is another altternative if you want. No séimhiú issue here.

Is that not a low heart rather than heavy?
I have more respect for a man
that says what he means and
means what he says...