Another tattoo question

Redwolf · **Posted:** Thu 28 Sep 2017 4:07 pm

Hey all!

I'm thinking of doing a blog post on Ed Sheeran's Irish tattoo. Part of what I do when I write these things is suggest better ways to say it (both in terms of accuracy and in terms of idiom), as well as point out what's wrong with the original.

If you haven't seen it yet, this is what his tattoo says:

Nuair is gá dom fháil bhaile, is tú mo réalt eolais which he claims means "When I need to get home, you are my guiding light."

The first thing that jumps out at me is "fháil bhaile," which is completely and utterly wrong (even if he'd had the inflection and grammar correct, we all know that you don't say "get home" using "faigh.") The other is that "réalt eolais" means "guiding star" rather than "guiding light," but I can see that working for the basic meaning (though I wonder if something like "rabhchán" might work better).

Any thoughts on what to do with this?

Redwolf

Labhrás · **Joined:** Sat 03 May 2014 4:01 pm **Posts:** 1932

Más gá duit ghoil abhaile is féidir leat tacsaí a fháil abhaile. Níl réalt uait.

Redwolf · **Posted:** Thu 28 Sep 2017 7:15 pm

Labhrás wrote:

Más gá duit ghoil abhaile is féidir leat tacsaí a fháil abhaile. Níl réalt uait.

GOA!

Is liric amhrán í

Redwolf

Cúmhaí · **Posted:** Fri 29 Sep 2017 8:03 pm

Redwolf wrote:

which he claims means "When I need to get home, you are my guiding light."

Nuair is uaimse filleadh abhaile, tusa atá do mo threorú

Is faoi threoir do sholais a fhaighim an bealach abhaile

Bríd Mhór · **Joined:** Sun 28 Aug 2011 8:29 pm **Posts:** 2985

Cúmhaí wrote:

Is faoi threoir do sholais a fhaighim an bealach abhaile

That's lovely

Redwolf · **Posted:** Sat 30 Sep 2017 8:27 pm

Bríd Mhór wrote:

Cúmhaí wrote:

Is faoi threoir do sholais a fhaighim an bealach abhaile

That's lovely

It really is! Poetic and very natural!

So, can anyone point out grammatical problems with the saying (the one on Sheeran, not the Cúmhaí wrote) beyond the obvious. Obvious being, at this point:

1) Wrong idiom (we don't "get" home in Irish)

2) Unnecessary lenition

3) Wrong construction in the first part of the sentence

If you really wanted to use "réalt eolais" (which FGB does have as "guiding star") should it be "mo réalt eolais" or "réalt m'eolais"?

Redwolf

Labhrás · **Joined:** Sat 03 May 2014 4:01 pm **Posts:** 1932

Redwolf wrote:

3) Wrong construction in the first part of the sentence

Except for "fáil", its lenition and the missing a in abhaile the construction is OK.
Nuair is gá dom teacht abhaile would be correct. (though I'd probably choose another idiom for "to have to")

Redwolf wrote:

If you really wanted to use "réalt eolais" (which FGB does have as "guiding star") should it be "mo réalt eolais" or "réalt m'eolais"?

mo réalt eolais is OK.
[mo (réalt eolais)]
It is not the star of my knowledge but [my (knowledge = guiding star)].

Errigal · **Joined:** Fri 09 Sep 2011 2:06 pm **Posts:** 710

Cúmhaí wrote:

Nuair is uaimse filleadh abhaile, tusa atá do mo threorú

> Nuair atá uaim filleadh abhaile or Nuair is filleadh abhaile atá uaim

Labhrás · **Joined:** Sat 03 May 2014 4:01 pm **Posts:** 1932

Errigal wrote:

Cúmhaí wrote:

Nuair is uaimse filleadh abhaile, tusa atá do mo threorú

> Nuair atá uaim filleadh abhaile or Nuair is filleadh abhaile atá uaim

Yes.

I'd think the following version which Cumhaí had probably in mind would not be used:
Nuair is uaim atá filleadh abhaile
because that "tá uaim" phrase wouldn't be separated.

I've read an article about indirect relative clauses in such situations recently, so I wonder if someone could say instead:
Nuair is mé a bhfuil filleadh abhaile uaim.

Cúmhaí · **Posted:** Mon 02 Oct 2017 6:02 pm

Bríd Mhór wrote:

That's lovely

*starstruck*

Errigal wrote:

Cúmhaí wrote:

Nuair is uaimse filleadh abhaile, tusa atá do mo threorú

> Nuair atá uaim filleadh abhaile or Nuair is filleadh abhaile atá uaim

go raibh maith agat, a chara

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