Does anyone here speak Gaelic (specifically Irish)?

TheCanMan

I'm going to get my first tattoo. I've been wanting to get one for quite a while, but had a feeling that it needed to be something personally important (maybe my next one I'll decide to just get something that looks cool, idk). I finally came up with an idea, and I've let it simmer in my brain for a while just to make sure it wasn't just a passing fancy. It's not, I still really want it. Through a few different online Irish Gaelic translation and dictionary sites I've come up with the following:

Mo mhac - Mo áthas - Mo gháire
Tá tú an chuid is fearr de dom.

Theoretically that should (at least roughly) translate to:

My sons - My joy - My laughter
You are the best of me.

Before I get this permanently inked onto my skin, I'd be most appreciative if someone who actually knows the language could either confirm or correct this translation. Thanks!

Enc

It is an extremely rare language. You might want to send an email to a professor at a University that offers it as part of their curriculum rather than trust a website.

TheCanMan

Yeah, I know it was a longshot. But emailing a professor for the translation is a pretty good idea that I hadn't thought of. I never really feel comfortable contacting a stranger out of the blue, but I think I'll try. Thanks.

Kalkino

TheCanMan wrote: »

Yeah, I know it was a longshot. But emailing a professor for the translation is a pretty good idea that I hadn't thought of. I never really feel comfortable contacting a stranger out of the blue, but I think I'll try. Thanks.

I think Irish is taught at school in Ireland still and there may be a few Irish on the board (well, there are some @tav) but who knows if they are fluent enough to help.

A good friend is very fluent and I could ask him, but it might take a week or two for a response, if you can wait

Creagan

Is there an Irish heritage center near you? They would be able to help you better than an internet translator...

TheCanMan

Kalkino wrote: »

TheCanMan wrote: »

Yeah, I know it was a longshot. But emailing a professor for the translation is a pretty good idea that I hadn't thought of. I never really feel comfortable contacting a stranger out of the blue, but I think I'll try. Thanks.

I think Irish is taught at school in Ireland still and there may be a few Irish on the board (well, there are some @tav) but who knows if they are fluent enough to help.

A good friend is very fluent and I could ask him, but it might take a week or two for a response, if you can wait

I'm certainly not in any rush, so if you wouldn't mind asking him that'd be great.

Kalkino

TheCanMan wrote: »

Kalkino wrote: »

TheCanMan wrote: »

Yeah, I know it was a longshot. But emailing a professor for the translation is a pretty good idea that I hadn't thought of. I never really feel comfortable contacting a stranger out of the blue, but I think I'll try. Thanks.

I think Irish is taught at school in Ireland still and there may be a few Irish on the board (well, there are some @tav) but who knows if they are fluent enough to help.

A good friend is very fluent and I could ask him, but it might take a week or two for a response, if you can wait

I'm certainly not in any rush, so if you wouldn't mind asking him that'd be great.

Ok, I'll send him an email now to see what he thinks. He is pretty busy, so no promises about response/time.

wilting

Kalkino wrote: »

I think Irish is taught at school in Ireland still and there may be a few Irish on the board (...) but who knows if they are fluent enough to help.

Yeah. The translations are roughly in the right direction but don't sound natural. I couldn't say how correct they are.

I'd associate "áthas" with "happiness" rather than "joy" and the usage of "chuid" didn't seem right, a cursory internet search suggested "an mhórchuid de" for "the best part of". I'd be hesitant about how well that whole phrase works.

My Irish is terrible though.

It might be an idea to get more familiar with the language yourself, maybe read some Irish poetry(with translations), and try to find natural phrases that suit what you want, rather than starting with an english meaning of what you want to convey.

I'm sure you could ask on an Irish language forum, or Irish forum generally. Er... is it against the rules to link to other forums here?

TheCanMan

Awesome, I already got a response from the translation forum @wilting sent me (although I'd be more than happy to get more input). Amazingly, it seems my first attempt may have been closer than what I eventually went with (I kept looking around and talked myself out of the original attempt). The suggested translation is:

Mo mhac - M'áthas - Mo gháire
Is tusa an chuid is fearr díom.

That's exactly what I first came up with except I used "m'aoibhneas" for "my joy" originally. I'm guessing aoibhneas and áthas are probably synonyms like joy/happiness. And, really, it's the sentiment that's most important to me so if I accidentally end up with "My sons - My happiness - My laughter" I'm not going to be worried about it.

TheCanMan

Just received another correction since I want it to be "sons" (plural).

So the corrected translation as of now is:

Mo mhic - M'áthas - Mo gháire
Is sibhse an chuid is fearr díom.

TheCanMan

So this is a thing I did on Friday.



I'm thinking about finishing it off with a trinity knot with Aiden & Shawn's names on the two diagonal edges.

Big "Thanks!" to @wilting for linking me to the translation forum I used.

wilting

A pleasure.