Group: Celtic Nation
Posts: 4
Joined: 17-Apr-2004 Zodiac: Oak
Realm: Brazil
I'm not sure if this is the appropriate place to post this. If it's not, I'll be happy to have the mods moving it.
Here's the deal: I write a little comic, and soon I'll be incorporating some elements of the irish and celtic culture (which I love, by the way), and I wanted a heads-up on a little Rankins's song. Could somebody translate the chorus for 'Grey Dusk of Eve' for me? I know it's a part of an older song, and has something to do with sailing.
It goes like this:
"Leis an lurgainn o hi Leis an lurgainn o ho Ruel an anamoich o hi ?S fheudar falbh le ?cuid seol"
Thanks everyone!
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In a perfect world this is where my signature would be.
May dragons bring you wealth and guard your treasures May they banish darkness and enlighten you May female dragons grant you inner power May the Dragon Queen neutralize your enemies May Dragon Spirits give you power over Elementals May weather dragons bring rain at your request May Ti'amat effect the changes you command May Ishtar grant you Dragon Power May Ishtar grant you Dragon Power
First off let me say that the Rankins are actually singing in Scottish Gaelic, not Irish. They are from an area in Canada called Cape Breton Island, one of the few areas outside of Scotland where Scottish Gaelic is commonly used.
Second, I need to correct a common misconception about the Celtic languages. Here I am quoting from Teach Yourself Gaelic, pg 1:
"Scottish Gaelic is one of six modern Celtic languages. The Celtic languages fall into two groups: Gaelic and British. Scottish Gaelic, Irish Gaelic and Manx belong to the Gaelic group and Welsh, Breton and Cornish to the British group."
So, as you can see, while there are six CELTIC languages, there are only THREE varieities of Gaelic!
Now for your translation.
"Leis an lurgainn o hi Leis an lurgainn o ho Reul an anamoich o hi ?S fheudar falbh le ?cuid seol"
Now you can probably guess that "o hi" and "o ho" are just nonsense syllables, kinda like "fa la la" or "di do run run."
The rest I'll try my best to translate, but some of the English confuses me! I am assuming that these are sailor terms, but since I know nothing about sailor terminology, I have no idea how close my translation is. I will forward this to some friends of mine who have much more Gaelic than I do and will get back with you on it!
With the (shank or shin?) o hi With the (shank or shin?) o ho The evening star o hi And must go with (every?) sail
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Slàn agus beannachd, Allen R. Alderman
'S i Alba tìr mo chridhe. 'S i Gàidhlig cànan m' anama. Scotland is the land of my heart. Gaelic is the language of my soul.
Group: Celtic Nation
Posts: 4
Joined: 17-Apr-2004 Zodiac: Oak
Realm: Brazil
Thanks! This has been very helpful.
QUOTE
"Scottish Gaelic is one of six modern Celtic languages. The Celtic languages fall into two groups: Gaelic and British. Scottish Gaelic, Irish Gaelic and Manx belong to the Gaelic group and Welsh, Breton and Cornish to the British group."
So, as you can see, while there are six CELTIC languages, there are only THREE varieities of Gaelic!
I think I understand now. And that means I won't have to worry about learning them all. I still don't know much about Celtic culture, but we learn as we go, right?
Group: Super Moderator
Posts: 3,069
Joined: 09-Oct-2003 Zodiac: Holly
Realm: Kentucky
We're hear to learn We're here to teach Here to share memories Of long lost times And of the wonderous isles Learn, my friend Learn and grow Then spread the wealth So others may know Know the wealth Know the wisdom Of times long past Of history unknown To protect the memory Of how it was then is to protect the future And how it will be tomorrow
Learn my friend, Learn and teach. In this may the endless cycle of life and knowledge continue.
Teach Yourself Gaelic is a do-it-yourself guide to learning to speak Scottish Gaelic. (Not sure which Gaelic you're interested - there is also Teach Yourself Irish, but I know nothing at all about that one.) Teach Yourself Gaelic (or TYG) is published by the NTC Publishing Group and was written by Boyd Robertson and Iain Taylor. It is available alone or in a set with either 2 Casettes or CDs. In my humble opinion, it is a very good book (though there are a few things I take issue with in it) and is probably the one most commonly available in the US. If you are interested in learning Scottish Gaelic then I recommend TYG, but be sure you get the set with either tapes or CDs, not just the book alone as you need to hear some spoken Gaelic as well. I also recommend you get a good dictionary as the Vocabulary Key in the back of the book is pretty crummy. If you need advice on selecting a good dictionary (or set of dictionaries) let me know and I may be able ot help you out there as well.
The book and tapes sound great! I am definitely becoming more interested in learning gaelic; is it anything like French, because that's the only other language I can speak proficiently ( of course being Canadian it has been drilled into me since grade school )?
I wish I could answer your question, faolin, but I must confess I can only speak English fluently with a smattering of Gaelic and just a tiny pinch of high-school Spanish! Perhps Cù Dubh or Faileas or one of the other Gaelic learners knows the answer?
By the way, faolin, I would translate your signature as meaning "Let it be so." What is that in reference to? Perhaps a reference to ST:TNG "Make it so"? Or perhaps to the Beatles' song "Let It Be"? Did you translate it yourself? If so, good job!
This post has been edited by WizardofOwls on 15-Jul-2004, 11:21 PM
Thanks soooooo much W. of O.. Yes please help me with the dictionaries as I really have never seen a Gaelic one......and yes it is Scottish Gaelic I am looking for.
Faolin, I am also from Canada and did French in school up to grade 10 then did the military French language training in St Jean sur Richelieu. I come from Nova Scotia and have heard Gaelic many times and I can tell you they sound nothing alike. Gaelic is more gutteral like English than the sing song French language. This is in my humble opinion tho. As for grammar in the 2 languages, I have no idea. My grammar in English leaves much to be desired forget any second language I have learned lol. I still don't conjugate french verbs.......I let those who I am speaking to figure out what I am saying lol.
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