Hi all, could you please help me with another translation of dialogue? A couple of these lines might be tricky. (Sorry!!)

I'll try to explain as much meaning as I can but please ask if you need more background. I need it to be in Connacht Irish, pretty please.

Lines needing translation:

"What spell did you use? The one with lemon oil?”
“I did nothing.”
“You return home, and she stops on her own? That’s quite a coincidence.”
“Maybe it’s not.”

The "spell" being referred to is a magical one--potions, incantations, witchy stuff.
The "I did nothing" line is the speaker saying he didn't do a spell. He didn't do anything to the person they're talking about.
The "she stops on her own" part is the speaker referring to a bad habit of this person they're talking about. The person has abruptly stopped doing it, on her own.
In the "maybe it's not" line, the speaker means "maybe it's not a coincidence" but I don't really want to repeat "coincidence" if I don't have to.

(I can't wait to learn the Irish word for "coincidence"....)

Thanks!!!

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I'm very much a beginner learner. Don't hesitate to correct me, as long as you explain why. This is how I learn best!

Hello Mimerim,

There are several ways you could translate the phrases you've requested above. Here's an attempt to translate them in my best attempt at giving them a Connacht (Connemara) flavour:

-"Cén gheis a chuir tú uirthi? Geis na hola líomóide?" (What spell did you put on her? The lemon oil spell?)
-"Dheamhan geis a chuir mé uirthi." (No spell at all did I put on her)
-"Filleann tú ar an mbaile agus éiríonn sí as as a stuaim féin? An-chomhthárlú go deo é sin."
(You return home and she stops on her own? That's a remarkable coincidence.)
-"B'fhéidir nach ea." (Maybe it's not.)

Bríd Mhór is a native speaker of Connemara Irish so it would worthwhile to wait for her to vet my translation (and suggest improvements).

BTW, the 'as as' together is not a mistake and the Irish translation I've used for 'coincidence' is 'comhtharlú'.

This is just a thought (and I'm looking forward to what Bríd thinks), but in moving from the English to the Irish, it might be better to switch to the past tense in this sentence, since it isn't really referring to a habitual action (unless the returning and stopping happens regularly over time):

D'fhill tú ar an mbaile agus d'éirígh sí as as a stuaim féin?
You returned home and she stopped on her own?

And just as a side note, since you expressed an interest, the word comhthárlú means basically "happened together", which is essentially what the Latin behind "coincidence" means.

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I'm not a native (or entirely fluent) speaker, so be sure to wait for confirmations/corrections, especially for tattoos.

Should there be an H there?



Good point Caoimhín.
D'fhill tú ar an mbaile agus d'éirígh sí as as a stuaim féin? - nothing wrong with saying it that way.
But maybe simpler to say "Chuaigh tú abhaile, agus d'éirigh sí as leí féin."


No other way to say it that I can think of. (Sometimes it's pronounced like there is a H in "ea", but that is not important)

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It is recommended that you always wait for three to agree on a translation.
I speak Connemara Irish, and my input will often reflect that.
I will do an mp3 file on request for short translations.
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I know we've talked about the "oh really?" intonation before, but would it not be better in this instance to have something extra? In Scottish Gaelic, we can use "gu dearbh!" as an explicit "oh really?" -- is there anything like that in Irish?

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A language belongs to its native speakers, and when you speak it, you are a guest in their homes.
If you are not a good guest, you have no right to complain about receiving poor hospitality.

This is just a thought (and I'm looking forward to what Bríd thinks), but in moving from the English to the Irish, it might be better to switch to the past tense in this sentence, since it isn't really referring to a habitual action (unless the returning and stopping happens regularly over time):

D'fhill tú ar an mbaile agus d'éirígh sí as as a stuaim féin?
You returned home and she stopped on her own?

@CaoimhínSF - Yes, it could be in the past tense but I used the present in the context of a historical present (as in the original), which is possible in both English and Irish (and in at least a few other European languages I know of). I think the context would indicate that it's a historical present rather than a habitual one.

@Bríd Mhór - In this particular negative construction the 'h' is an example of a (n optional) buanséimhiú. (I think I've heard 'dheamhan' pronounced in Connemara as if written 'dhiún' if memory serves). As far as I know, 'diabhal' would never be lenited (e.g. 'diabhal scéal' etc.) I suppose I could have written 'diabhal geis a chuir mé uirthi'. I'm thinking maybe 'fill ar' (or 'pill ar') is more common in Donegal than Connemara. Yes, I remember the pronunciation 'nath hea' as being very common in rapid informal speech for 'nach ea' i Connemara (and sometimes 'hea' for 'is ea').

@NiallBeag - a few possibilities for 'oh, really?' (to start the ball rolling):

(An) mar sin é?

ó, ab ea (Conn.) / ab é (Don.)?

D(h)áiríre?

An (verb) anois? (e.g. 'Tá X -------. (Ó), (an) bhfuil anois?')

maybe 'Ná habair!' to express incredulous surprise

Originally it was "do dheamhan" and "don diabhal".
That’s why deamhan is lenited and diabhal is not.

We use "fill" here too. But I'd use it in the context of "returning home" rather than "going home".

For - oh really? - what about: - An fíor é? as well as - Dáiríre?

This is getting a bit over my head...

But I think these fit pretty well:

"Cén gheis a chuir tú uirthi? Geis na hola líomóide?"
"Chuaigh tú abhaile, agus d'éirigh sí as leí féin? An-chomhthárlú go deo é sin." (I'm okay with the first sentence here going to past tense. I like the simplicity of this one. The simpler and more clipped, the better. These two speakers aren't happy with each other.)
"B'fhéidir nach ea."

As for the second line, if possible I'd like the word "nothing" to be in there because it's repeated later in English. Maybe just a straight translation of "I did nothing." ??
(Seems simple enough for an amateur like me but I can't yet conjugate verbs.

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I'm very much a beginner learner. Don't hesitate to correct me, as long as you explain why. This is how I learn best!