I've found this and wonder if I can use it as a model to translate "History written in stone". Forgive me if this is way off-base but I am a beginner:

It was written in ink, le dúch a scríobhadh é.

I don't think that "le" works so I'll use "i"

I carraig a scríobhadh an seanscéal.

Translating prepositions like "on," "in," "with," etc. is often difficult, because different languages used them in different situations. For example Inis dom fút féin - "tell me about yourself." Except in this case, the prepositional pronoun used, "fút" is the combination of the 2nd singular pronoun with the preposition, fé/faoi, which is usually translated as "under."

My point is, you can't necessarily use a preposition just because it seems to work in English. I'd wait for further confirmation on this, but I don't think either the preposition i or le sound natural here.

In English written "in" ink, and written/set "in" stone both use the same preposition, but the former refers to the tool used to make the mark, and the latter refers to the object on which the mark is made. Another way of saying each of the above while maintaining the distinction might be to use two different prepositions, "with" and "on" i.e. "written with ink"/"written on stone."

I think these prepositions would probably be the ones to use in Irish too. Ar for "on stone" and le for "with ink."



History, in the sense of the school subject is usually translated using the word stair.

The translation of stone as carraig also seems problematic to me. It sounds more like a geographical feature, like a rock or a cliff called "the stone of X." Focal.ie gives táibléad cloiche for "stone tablet" which, I think, is probably as close as you'll get to a literal translation of "written in stone."



With that in mind, I'll suggest this as a translation because it retains the sense of the term "set in stone" which we automatically understand in english:

Bín an stair scríobhta ar tháibléad cloiche

Literally, "(the) history does be written on a stone tablet" i.e. "history gets written in stone."



More of a literal translation might be the following:

Scríobhtar an stair ar tháibléad cloiche
(The) history is written on a stone tablet.

Scríobhadh an stair ar tháibléad cloiche
(The) history was written on a stone tablet.



Make sure you wait for more suggestions/corrections,
Ade.

Thanks for the reply Ade. I appreciate the thorough and step-by-step way that you explained your response. This is why I attempt to express more difficult things despite my beginner level of Irish... because I enjoy the mental process.

Yes, Irish prepositions are truly another realm of existence and as daunting as it feels, I also enjoy them.

I wonder if one could make use of the expression scríofa ar an mballa in this case. Literally, it means "written on the wall", but I've seen it used in terms of "it's there for all to see" or perhaps "it's destiny". I'm not sure that would exactly convey the idea of something like history being written permanently, and thus not to be denied, but it does have nice poetic imagery, in that much of what we know about some historical periods literally is written on walls.

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

What about 'Stair greanta i gcloch"? Taken from: http://www.focloir.ie/en/dictionary/ei/stone#stone__22

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Looks as though you've nailed it perfectly!

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

Spot on. Much better.

Translator's folly: written was the english dead-end and the best word "graven", which is sort of older English, provided the ready-made expression. I had a feeling the expression would have existed in Irish. Much thanks.

Stair greanta i gcloch!

I think it needs the article:

An stair greanta i gcloch !

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Múinteoir Gaeilge - Irish Teacher
My "specialty" is Connemara Irish, particularly Cois Fhairrge dialect, but I can also speak Ulster and Munster Irish with native-level pronunciation.
Is fearr Gaeilge ḃriste ná Béarla cliste, cinnte, aċ i ḃfad níos fearr aríst í Gaeilge ḃinn ḃeo na nGaeltaċtaí.
Gaeilge Chonnacht (GC), go háraid Gaeilge Chois Fhairrge (GCF), Gaeilic Uladh (GU), Gaelainn na Mumhan (GM), agus Gaeilge an Chaighdeáin Oifigiúil (CO).

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