HI there
I am from New Zealand/Aotearoa and want to learn some Irish to acknowledge my parents and ancestors for the introductory sentences of my formal Maori mihi (basically a way of saying who you are)

Could someone please let me know how to say the following?

" My mother, Philomena, and father, Tommy, came to New Zealand from Ireland.
They had ten children in this land
I am the youngest"

The rest will be in Maori

Many thanks

Liam

Tháinig mo mháthair agus m'athair chun na Nua-Shéalainne ó Éirinn.
Bhí deich gclann acu sa tír seo.
Tá mé ar an mac is óige.

Thank you!

Is anyone aware of a link that helps with pronunciation? Or would perhaps be kind enough to spell it out phonetically?

The whole point of the pepeha is to talk about who you are, which includes your ancestors. As my late father was a native Irish speaker this is how I will honour him - so I’d love to nail it.

Tháinig mo mháthair agus m'athair chun na Nua-Shéalainne ó Éirinn.
['hɑːnɪg´ mə 'wɑːhɪr´ 'agɘs 'mahɪr´ xunə 'nuːə 'heːl´ɪn´ oː 'eːr´ɪn´]

Bhí deich gclann acu sa tír seo.
[v´iː d´e 'glɑːn aku sə 't´iːr´ ʃo]

Tá mé ar an mac is óige.
[tɑː m´eː er´ə 'mak əs 'oːg´ə]

g´ = "slender" pronunciation of g (as well: r´, m´, d´ etc.)
I cannot explain it in detail here, esp. what this means for every consonant.
For slender r´ see "athair" (father) in https://www.teanglann.ie/ga/fuaim/athair
(There you can put in every word for pronunciation, except for changes like mháthair for máthair)

ɑ = a as in father
ə = a as in about
iː = ː for long vowel (as in eel)
ʃ = slender s (s´) like English sh
x = ch as in (Scottish) loch, but you can simply omitt this sound in "chun na": /unə/ or even /nə/
' = stressed syllables

The pronunciation is simplified. Some minor or hard to explain differences are omitted - as well as dialect differences.

Kia ora Liam

My condolences for the passing of your father. Some additional suggestions below but what Labhrás has given you should be fine. Ive been learning Ulster Irish so thing are expressed a little differently perhaps but I havent included those here.

You may want to introduce yourself as gaelige (in Irish) would be a nice way to start.

Dia daoibh - God with you plural - formal greeting - jee-a dee-av
Is mise Liam - I am Liam - iss mish-eh Liam

then as from Labhrás

finish with
go raibh míle maith agaibh - thank you plural / one thousand thanks - go ray mee-lay my agiv (the pronunciation varies across the dial

if you want to say their names this is a bit complicated so just say in English - you will have enough just learning your few lines !

if you're really stuck Im in Lower Hutt and I can talk you through it - is it for your dad's funeral ?



Adh mór! good luck

Ngā mihi

Thanks so much!

Sorry to give you the wrong impression. Dad passed many years ago.

I just want to do this to lift my game when called upon at work. I just think it appropriate to do the bit where we talk about our ancestors in their language. He would have spoken whatever dialect is around Connemara, but I don’t think anyone in NZ will spot the difference!

Thank you again and best wishes

Liam

Hello Ssalzano

It would actually be really helpful to meet up and discuss if you don’t mind - maybe for a cuppa or lunch?

I can be found on the interweb if you’d be happy to do that:

- liambrenz@hotmail.com
- https://m.facebook.com/liam.brennan.564

Many thanks

Liam

Deich gclann doesn't mean "10 children", and I think Labhrás has enough knowledge of Irish not to suggest such mistranslations.

If that's true, then why would he have posted it?

Maybe this is good: Bhí deichniúr leanaí acu.