Archive for June, 2012
Which Came First?: “O, Sagt, Könnt Ihr Sehen?,” or “Ó Abair An Léir Dhuit?,” ” Aue! se’i e vaai?” Posted by róislín on Jun 30, 2012
(le Róislín) If you’ve made your way through all four verses of “An Bhratach Gheal-Réaltach,” both i mBéarla agus i nGaeilge, perhaps you’d also like to test your knowledge of other translations. Can you match up the year in which the anthem was translated into the following languages? Their names are given in Irish, to…
Ó Abair An Léir Dhuit, Véarsa 4: Oh, Say Can You See, 4th (and final) verse (Amhrán Náisiúnta na Stát Aontaithe) Posted by róislín on Jun 27, 2012
(le Róislín) The Irish expression for “to leave no stone unturned” is reasonably apropos here. In Irish, it’s not actually expressed as a negative injunction (“don’t leave it unturned”) but rather as a positive instruction (“turn” it, or more literally “search it”) The phrase is “dóigh agus andóigh a chuardach,” literally “to search every…
Ó Abair An Léir Dhuit, Véarsa 3: Oh, Say Can You See, 3rd verse (Amhrán Náisiúnta na Stát Aontaithe) Posted by róislín on Jun 24, 2012
(le Róislín) By now maybe you’ve made your way through the first verse of “An Bhratach Gheal-Réaltach” (The Star-Spangled Banner) and proceeded on to the less frequently sung second one, presented in the two recent blogs (naisc thíos). But, mar a déarfadh Ron Popeil (dá mbeadh Gaeilge aige), “Ach fan, tá a thuilleadh ann!” Yes, tá…
Ó Abair An Léir Dhuit, Véarsa 2: Oh, Say Can You See, 2nd verse (Amhrán Náisiúnta na Stát Aontaithe) Posted by róislín on Jun 21, 2012
(le Róislín) Most people only sing the first verse of “The Star-Spangled Banner” but an tAthair Ó Gramhnaigh translated all four verses. Here is Véarsa a Dó, with the same set-up as in the previous blog. I’ve split the lines to facilitate the columns and I’ve added a pronunciation guide and a literal translation. The…
Ó Abair An Léir Dhuit: Oh Say Can You See (Amhrán Náisiúnta na Stát Aontaithe) Posted by róislín on Jun 18, 2012
(le Róislín) As those of us sna Stáit Aontaithe transition from Lá na Brataí (14 Meitheamh) go Lá na Saoirse (i Meiriceá; 4 Iúil), this might be an apt time to try the American National Anthem in Irish. It was translated long before the ongoing row as to whether “The Star-Spangled Banner” should be sung…
Más É “Coffey” Do Shloinne … Posted by róislín on Jun 15, 2012
(le Róislín) Our most recent blog looked in some depth at the surname Ó Cuil(l)ean(n)áin, including its meaning, its various spellings, and its role in creating place names or landmark buildings. While there are thousands of such sloinnte suimiúla in Irish, which could create blogs topics from now till Lá Thaidhg na dTadhgann (Cén lá? …
“An Fada Leat Uait Í, Uait Í?” Iníon Uí Chuileannáin agus a Cohórt Posted by róislín on Jun 11, 2012
(le Róislín) Before wrapping up our discussion of the Cullinans of diamond fame, it might be interesting to look at the name itself. Not only does it have several spellings in Irish, but it also has several anglicizations. And some noteworthy bearers of the name, in real life and in song. The main variations in…