BS: Celtic translation requested

Subject: Celtic translation requested
From: aussiebloke
Date: 12 Jan 01 - 10:37 AM

G'day...
An Irish mate of mine added this to the bottom of a letter recently.
Slain agus go raibh an bothar laith
Any Celtic speakers that could oblige with a translation?
Thanks in advance
aussiebloke...

Subject: RE: BS: Celtic translation requested
From:
Date: 12 Jan 01 - 11:00 AM

I can't help, but someone should be able to. It's Irish.

For information sake, I will say this. There isn't a language known as Celt. There are languages which are Celtic in origin. Six are currently around in varying recovery success stories.

Celtic languages currently are broken into two branches, P Celtic and Q Celtic languages, each with three forms. The Q type uses the Q/K sound more than the other. These are the Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx languages. The P type languages are Welsh, the best known, and Cornish and Breton, which are beginning to come back.

Subject: RE: BS: Celtic translation requested
From:
Date: 12 Jan 01 - 11:02 AM

Hmmm. The saying is probably a toast of some form, or a parting.

It starts with Slain which looks like the word Slan in Irish, or Slainte in Scottish Gaelic. This word means HealthModern Irish is different in spelling so I can't make out any of the rest.

Subject: RE: BS: Celtic translation requested
From: Steve Latimer
Date: 12 Jan 01 - 11:10 AM

While we're at it, my Dublin born Father named his boat Macushlah (Macuslah?). He never would tell me what it meant, only that it was Irish. Can anyone help.

Subject: RE: BS: Celtic translation requested
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 12 Jan 01 - 11:16 AM

Macushlah = Darlin'

Subject: RE: BS: Celtic translation requested
From: Steve Latimer
Date: 12 Jan 01 - 11:31 AM

McGrath of Harlow, thank you. I have no idea why he wouldn't tell me what that meant. I always thought it was something nasty.

Subject: RE: BS: Celtic translation requested
From: Mikey joe
Date: 12 Jan 01 - 11:48 AM

Hi folks

Aussie bloke it means

'Goodbye and may the road go with you'

Tuigean tu? (Do you understand?)

May the road go with you is isimilar to another which is

Go n'eiri an bothar leat (May the road rise to meet you)

Both of these simply mean may the path that lies ahead of you be easy and wothout trouble

Hope this helps

Lig do sath (Take it easy)

Mj

Subject: RE: BS: Celtic translation requested
From: Fergie
Date: 12 Jan 01 - 02:13 PM

mó cúisla is often anglicanised as machusla, is literally translates as MY PULSE a term of endearment meaning, you are the pulse of my heart.

Subject: RE: BS: Celtic translation requested
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 12 Jan 01 - 02:54 PM

I've always thought "May the road rise to meet you" could be a curse as well, meaning "May you fall flat on your face..."

Subject: RE: BS: Celtic translation requested
From: aussiebloke
Date: 14 Jan 01 - 11:41 AM

Thanks for that 'catters...

Subject: RE: BS: Celtic translation requested
From: Sarah2
Date: 14 Jan 01 - 02:04 PM

This is all interesting. Please let me use this to ask for someone to give me the Irish or Scots (or both) Gaelic word or phrase for "suncatcher."

Thanks,

Sarah

Subject: RE: BS: Celtic translation requested
From: Sarah2
Date: 14 Jan 01 - 02:07 PM

Subject: RE: BS: Celtic translation requested
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 14 Jan 01 - 07:15 PM

What's the English word for it? (We don't get a lot of sun around here.)

Subject: RE: BS: Celtic translation requested
From: Sarah2
Date: 14 Jan 01 - 09:27 PM

Sorry McGrath -- had to go away for a bit. A suncatcher is (roughly) a colored glass item that one hangs in a window. It throws the colors around the room when the sun shines on it. Some folk use crystals for this, too.

I have a friend who is making some with Celtic knotwork patterns for our local Celtic organization's raffles. We'd like to make a sign...

Sarah

Subject: RE: BS: Celtic translation requested
From: MMario
Date: 14 Jan 01 - 09:32 PM

I suspect one will have to be coined, though there might be a word for "prism"?

Subject: RE: BS: Celtic translation requested
From: Sarah2
Date: 14 Jan 01 - 09:39 PM

MMario, yeah, that's why I suggested it might be a phrase. Something like "stained glass art piece that throws colors onto your walls and floor." Only shorter.

Sarah

Subject: RE: BS: Celtic translation requested
From: Jimmy C
Date: 14 Jan 01 - 09:46 PM

The word for sun is "grian" and the word for catch is "ceap" v.

The phrase 'to catch old of' would be 'greim a bhreith ar'

the word for 'grab' is'aladh'.

I don't imagine there is an existing word for 'suncatcher', but I would be tempted to unite 'grian' with the word for ornament 'ornaid' and come up with something like 'ornaidagrian". My Irish is not what it used to be so I apoligise to any native speaker out there.

slan

Subject: RE: BS: Celtic translation requested
From: Sarah2
Date: 14 Jan 01 - 09:53 PM

See, living language! To pluralize, I think someone told me to -- was it? -- "h'" before the word...?

Sarah

Subject: RE: BS: Celtic translation requested
From: sian, west wales
Date: 15 Jan 01 - 04:59 AM

I'm not aware of a word in Welsh for one, but even the English doesn't actually convey what it IS really. It may catch the sun, but it lets it go again. I wonder if Heliwr Haul would work in Welsh? Hela (HELL-ah)means to collect, but also to hunt; Haul (Hile) is sun. I can think of other possibilities which might be more poetic, but more difficult in terms of pronunciation...

sian

Subject: RE: BS: Celtic translation requested
From: Mikey joe
Date: 15 Jan 01 - 07:28 AM

Well Sarah

If you're to use Jimmy C's (better than anything else) word ornáidagrian. The plural would be na h-ornáidagrianí

The h has nothing to do with puralising it is there as na and ornáidagrianí end and begin with a vowel so the h simply makes it easier to pronounce. Hope this helps

Mj

Subject: RE: BS: Celtic translation requested
From: MartinRyan
Date: 15 Jan 01 - 08:38 AM

I suspect it would be more accurate as "ornáidgréine" - the sun-word in the possessive case. Pronounce roughly "or-nawd-grain-ye". Nice rhythm, with the extra syllable?

Regards

Subject: RE: BS: Celtic translation requested
From: Mikey joe
Date: 15 Jan 01 - 08:50 AM

Correct Martin, spot on I stand corrected

Subject: RE: BS: Celtic translation requested
From: GUEST
Date: 15 Jan 01 - 06:12 PM

Yes, yes, that's a beautiful word! Thanks so much.

Sarah

Subject: RE: BS: Celtic translation requested
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 15 Jan 01 - 06:58 PM

And if it catches on we'll be hearing how St Brendan brought them back from his travels and gave them the name, and they've been making them all along down in Kerry...

Subject: RE: BS: Celtic translation requested
From: Jimmy C
Date: 15 Jan 01 - 10:52 PM

Hi, it looks like we coined a new word, Thanks Mikey Joe and Martin for putting the finishing touches to it.

McGrath, they probably would have been making them a long time ago in Ireland (if we only knew what the sun looked like) ?.

Subject: RE: BS: Celtic translation requested
From: aussiebloke
Date: 16 Jan 01 - 09:24 PM

Now that's thread creep for ya...

Dontchya love it?

aussiebloke

Subject: RE: BS: Celtic translation requested
From: Sarah2
Date: 16 Jan 01 - 09:36 PM

Thanks again, all. Lovely new word for the world.

Sarah

Subject: RE: BS: Celtic translation requested
From: GUEST
Date: 18 Jan 01 - 03:31 PM

By the way, go n-éirí an bóthar leat, doesn't really mean "May the road rise up to meet you" The verb éirigh means to rise éirigh leis means to succeed; the fgrammatical forms in this phrase are -éirí...leat. So may you succeed on your journey

Subject: RE: BS: Celtic translation requested
From: aussiebloke
Date: 18 Jan 01 - 04:23 PM

To think the first translation I heard of 'it'
(Slain agus go raibh an bothar laith) was reported to me as 'Go quietly up the lane with a book'.

Then comes along ornáidgréine which must be a strong contender for neologism of the year.

Cheers, and may we all 'succeed on your journey'

aussiebloke

Subject: RE: BS: Celtic translation requested
From: GUEST,JanetCT
Date: 18 Jan 01 - 06:05 PM

Okay, so what is Irish for "threadcreep"?

Subject: RE: BS: Celtic translation requested
From: Jimmy C
Date: 18 Jan 01 - 11:18 PM

Snamhaigh na snath

Subject: RE: BS: Celtic translation requested
From: Fergie
Date: 19 Jan 01 - 08:55 PM

Good one Jimmy

Subject: RE: BS: Celtic translation requested
From: Fergie
Date: 19 Jan 01 - 08:55 PM

Good one Jimmy