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What does: Is mise le m(e)as mean?

09 Aug 99 - 12:19 AM (#103271)
Subject: What does: Is mise le mas mean?
From: Carl Boyn

What does Is mise le mas mean? And how is it pronounced?


09 Aug 99 - 01:01 AM (#103276)
Subject: RE: What does: Is mise le mas mean?
From: katlaughing

According to the translation program here at the Mudcat, the literal translation is "put is the farmhouse", so probably something more along the lines of "the farmhouse is located" or something like that.

There are some people on here who know French. Hopefully they will check this out and post. As for pronunciation, "mise" would be "miz" and "mas" is "maw", unless of course someone who knows it better than me comes along and says otherwise!

katlaughing


09 Aug 99 - 04:06 AM (#103289)
Subject: RE: What does: Is mise le mas mean?
From: alison

where did you see it ... could be gaelige.

rough translation..

"It's me, with the buttock"... hahahahahaha (maybe I should leave it to people who speak good Irish)

in that case it would be pronounced

mise= misha

slainte

alison


09 Aug 99 - 07:00 AM (#103296)
Subject: RE: What does: Is mise le mas mean?
From: Garry of Australia

Alison, you have got it all wrong, it means folkies are lousy musicians


09 Aug 99 - 09:34 AM (#103319)
Subject: RE: What does: Is mise le mas mean?
From: PF

Hello, I just stumbled on this, but "Is mise le meas" is the Irish equivalent of saying "Yours sincerely" Literal translation would be something like,

Thats me with sincerity.


09 Aug 99 - 10:43 AM (#103338)
Subject: RE: What does: Is mise le mas mean?
From: Alan of Australia

G'day,
Well that makes sense. Sincerity and buttock are synonyms. In Irish anyway.

Cheers,
Alan


09 Aug 99 - 11:57 AM (#103360)
Subject: RE: What does: Is mise le mas mean?
From: j0_77

Is Gaelic - yuppers seen it on letters from the Irish Tax Office - hehe at the botton on the Gaelic letter. BTW In the ROI (Ireland south of the border) all government letters done like that.


09 Aug 99 - 12:50 PM (#103377)
Subject: RE: What does: Is mise le mas mean?
From: katlaughing

Phew! That'll teach me to assume something is French! That's great guys!


09 Aug 99 - 02:29 PM (#103406)
Subject: RE: What does: Is mise le mas mean?
From: Fergm1

Is mise le meas. this is Gaelic it means respectfully yours. or a literal translation = it is I with admiration you normally find this written as the last line before the signature on a letter written in Irish Gaelic and followed by your signature

Is mise le meas Fergus O'Ruiséal


09 Aug 99 - 03:10 PM (#103414)
Subject: RE: What does: Is mise le mas mean?
From: Alice

how is it pronounced?


09 Aug 99 - 05:19 PM (#103442)
Subject: RE: What does: Is mise le mas mean?
From: Frank Howe

pronunciation -

Iss mishe lay mas


29 Oct 08 - 06:17 AM (#2478834)
Subject: RE: What does: Is mise le mas mean?
From: GUEST

French ?!

Mise le meas - literally; me, with, regards

Pronounced 'misha leh mas'


19 Nov 08 - 02:53 PM (#2497844)
Subject: RE: What does: Is mise le mas mean?
From: GUEST

It meas literally,

"it's me with liking"

to have "meas" on something is to like it a lot

"ta meas agam" = I have liking for....


Gearoid


19 Nov 08 - 03:23 PM (#2497874)
Subject: RE: What does: Is mise le mas mean?
From: MartinRyan

In this context "meas" is equivalent to respect or esteem, really. The expression is quite formal - you're more likely to find it at the foot of a tax demand than of a letter from a friend! Think of it as "Yours faithfully" as against "Yours sincerely" or "Yours truly".

Regards


19 Nov 08 - 05:18 PM (#2497969)
Subject: RE: What does: Is mise le mas mean?
From: Seamus Kennedy

Sean Lemass, former Taoiseach, used to introduce himself with this phrase: Is mise Lemass - I am Lemass.

Not to be confused with the man who tried to assassinate him - Lemass murderer.

Seamus


20 Nov 08 - 10:18 AM (#2498440)
Subject: RE: What does: Is mise le mas mean?
From: Jim Carroll

Oh dear, Seamus:
Or Lemass that would have been said if he'd succeeded.
Jim Carroll


20 Nov 08 - 11:15 AM (#2498489)
Subject: RE: What does: Is mise le mas mean?
From: Seamus Kennedy

Ah yes, Jim - Lemass of Christian burial.
Are you related to Wexford or Christmas Carroll, by the way?

Seamus


06 Jan 09 - 10:44 AM (#2532870)
Subject: RE: What does: Is mise le mas mean?
From: GUEST,Estranged from Cork

It means with respect, jesus people the ones who were serious still got it for the most part almost entirely wrong.


06 Jan 09 - 01:57 PM (#2533145)
Subject: RE: What does: Is mise le mas mean?
From: Seamus Kennedy

Esteemed, sorry, Estranged Guest - I do believe Martin Ryan nailed it on the 19th of November. Now come on, tell the truth and shame the devil, did you read the whole thread, or just jump in when you got mad?

Is mise le meas,

Seamus


13 Jan 09 - 10:12 PM (#2539299)
Subject: RE: What does: Is mise le mas mean?
From: GUEST,The Hurler in the Ditch

There used to be in the 60s a culchie joke along the lines that rural folks could be relied on to vote FF because they were always getting letters signed by that nice Mr Lemass.


13 Jan 09 - 11:46 PM (#2539336)
Subject: RE: What does: Is mise le mas mean?
From: Seamus Kennedy

Of course, Mischa Le Masse is the Russian-French great grandfather of Sean Lemass, or so I've been led to believe. He was a world-renowned ballet-dancer in his day, famous for his grand-jetés, among other things.

Seamus


11 Aug 09 - 02:09 AM (#2697481)
Subject: RE: What does: Is mise le mas mean?
From: GUEST,mick, The Peoples Republic of Cork.

So there is truth in that line in the song so..

¨The devil is dead and buried in Killarney
Some say he rose again¨ but obviously instead of joining the british army he joined the tax office and now signs all tax letters personally!

Wheres Mulder and Scully, I bet still investigating the disappearance of Beamish or some other horse nonsense.

;-)


08 Dec 09 - 04:27 AM (#2783564)
Subject: RE: What does: Is mise le mas mean?
From: GUEST,tir chonaill abú

i am a native speaker from ireland and the question in which u ask simply means when used at the end of a letter

kind regards.


15 Jan 10 - 12:30 PM (#2812767)
Subject: RE: What does: Is mise le m(e)as mean?
From: GUEST,me

Mise is my name its irish pronuced Misha


15 Jan 10 - 09:37 PM (#2813286)
Subject: RE: What does: Is mise le m(e)as mean?
From: GUEST,999

http://74.125.155.132/search?q=cache:vgDsm7uT7V0J:www.irishgaelictranslator.com/translation/topic53930.html+Is+mise+le+mas&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca


16 Jan 10 - 04:51 PM (#2813877)
Subject: RE: What does: Is mise le m(e)as mean?
From: Uncle_DaveO

Here is GUEST,999's URL, blickified:

IrishTranslator


22 Jun 13 - 09:20 PM (#3529223)
Subject: RE: What does: Is mise le m(e)as mean?
From: GUEST

Some amount of gobshitery on this thread.


15 Mar 16 - 11:47 AM (#3779012)
Subject: RE: What does: Is mise le m(e)as mean?
From: GUEST,Murphy

Ah, sure yer all fecking mad!


15 Mar 16 - 03:31 PM (#3779063)
Subject: RE: What does: Is mise le m(e)as mean?
From: keberoxu

Rest in peace, katlaughing, or laugh in peace if you prefer. Your attempt meant well!

And to put the French Farmhouse -- "mas" -- to bed once and for all, I never see that word without thinking of the south of France, where many such houses can be found, and the Gipsy Kings, who when they made their fortunes, for the most part invested in real estate for each household. In their official biography, "Parce que nous sommes gitans," written by Francois Mattei, there are frequent references to this or that "mas" in which a family has been installed.

When I saw Is mise le meas, though, the first thing that came to mind was, Messe ocus Pangur Bán. "Myself and Pangur Bán," of course. White pussy cat stalking mice in a monk's hermitage. There's a happy image.


28 Jul 16 - 06:28 AM (#3802386)
Subject: RE: What does: Is mise le m(e)as mean?
From: GUEST,bob o marley

People use it to create the impression that they are special ...more Irish than others


28 Jul 16 - 06:43 AM (#3802390)
Subject: RE: What does: Is mise le m(e)as mean?
From: Felipa

not if they are writing in Irish, Bob; then it's simply a formal ending to a letter, similar to "yours sincerely" or "respectively yours". "Meas" means respect, and yes the pronounciation is closer to "mas" than to "mees" - somewhere between mas and mes, I'd say.

have looked at early contributions now -- I enjoyed Séamus Kennedy's made up interpretation. But this discussion could have ended in 1999 as there were some correct answers then. Fergm1 got it

Perhaps this should be a BS thread. I don't know that the expression is used in any songs. And there certainly are some bs contributions to the thread!


29 Jul 16 - 05:12 AM (#3802556)
Subject: RE: What does: Is mise le m(e)as mean?
From: Joe Offer

Well, there was no BS section when this thread began. But even then, we usually put linguistic questions in the folklore category. They often have broad connection to music, so we leave them in the music section.


29 Jul 16 - 05:45 PM (#3802654)
Subject: RE: What does: Is mise le m(e)as mean?
From: Thompson

To be serious for a moment —

it means:

I am, with respect,

(to which is added your name.)

The pronunciation is, roughly, Iss MISH-uh luh MASS.

It's a formal closure to a letter. Less formal is:

Do chara

(to which is added your name.)

This means "Your friend", and is pronounced Dhuh KHORRuh.

A note on this pronunciation: the general 'd' and 't' sounds in Irish are pronounced more or less as in French; in other words, the tongue doesn't just tip off the back of the top teeth, as in English, but the tip rests on the bottom teeth while the spot about a finger's breadth back from the tip makes the 'd' or 't' sound. This is why a lot of Irish people appear to pronounce 'th' as 't' or 'd' to an English or Anglophone ear; they're pronouncing it in the Gaelic/French manner.

The 'ch' sound in Irish ('loch', 'chara' is not as raspy as the Spanish 'j' sound; it's closer to 'h', but it's an 'h' sounded with the tongue raised almost as if to say 'k', but with the breath wafting through as if to sound 'h'.


29 Jul 16 - 05:46 PM (#3802656)
Subject: RE: What does: Is mise le m(e)as mean?
From: Thompson

Incidentally, if they think about it, the French 'r' sound is easy for Irish-speakers, because it's more or less the same sound as 'gh' in Irish.


29 Jul 16 - 09:32 PM (#3802687)
Subject: RE: What does: Is mise le m(e)as mean?
From: Seamus Kennedy

Yiz are tearin' the arse out of what could have been a lovely stupid thread with all your serious answers. No mas! Oh wait.....


30 Jul 16 - 05:39 AM (#3802707)
Subject: RE: What does: Is mise le m(e)as mean?
From: eftifino

I'm going to put my Floirin's worth. Yes, Mise, le Meas means Respectfully Yours.

As Thompson notes, the Irish alphabet can be a bit of a minefield, as well as pronunciations. For example, for many Irish people, to this day, it is impossible to get your tongue around the 'Th" sound, Hence the 'DIS, DAT, DESE, DOSE' way of speech. In modern Irish pring, having an 'h' is a substitute for the old dot, or buailte sign over letters, signifying they were to be aspirated. For example M( buailte) is now mh and is pronounced as a soft v or even silent, depending on the Munster, Connacht or other dialect.

Mather ( mother) is pronounced MawHer. Note the T is silent, so no th sound.
but Mo Mhather (My Mother) is pronounced Muh WawHer

70 years old, in Australia for 45 years and still remember the odd scraps!


30 Jul 16 - 06:53 AM (#3802716)
Subject: RE: What does: Is mise le m(e)as mean?
From: Thompson

…though the 'th' sound used to be sounded rather than silent, as recently as the 16th century, which is why Stonybatter (Stony-bóthar) is so pronounced still, rather than being pronounced Stonybohar as it would be today.


30 Jul 16 - 07:19 AM (#3802720)
Subject: RE: What does: Is mise le m(e)as mean?
From: GUEST,Philippa

eftifino - your spelling is wrong - mathair, mo mhathair
(father - athair , my father m'athair)

song challenge to write a song with "mise le meas" in it. Séamus Kennedy?


30 Jul 16 - 04:01 PM (#3802772)
Subject: RE: What does: Is mise le m(e)as mean?
From: keberoxu

"In modern Irish pring,..."


huh? whatsa pring?


30 Jul 16 - 04:59 PM (#3802780)
Subject: RE: What does: Is mise le m(e)as mean?
From: GUEST,Martin Ryan

"In modern Irish pring,..."


I suspect that should be "print",,,

Regards

p.s. I love the precision of "having an 'h'..."!