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PostPosted: Mon 29 Jul 2013 6:48 pm 
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Hello! My name is Courtney. I am third generation American with great grandparents on both sides hailing from both County Cork and Kilkenny :) I have always been very proud of my heritage and I would love to commemorate this in a tattoo. Could any of you native speakers be so kind as to please help me to translate the following?

"The meaning of life is to live life with meaning"

I did a quick Google translate (would never, ever go with that, but just to get a rough translation of the phrase) and received the following "Is é an bhrí na beatha saol a chaitheamh le brí"

Thank you all in advance for any help you can provide. Very much appreciated! :)

Warm regards,
Courtney


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PostPosted: Mon 29 Jul 2013 11:41 pm 
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"Brí na beatha" does mean "the meaning of life". However it would not be "an bhrí na beatha", except under very special circumstances two articles are not used together in genitive constructions.
But a suggestion maybe based on google,

Brí na beatha saol bhrí.
The meaning of life is a life of merit.

There are other better translators here so wait for them to correct this or suggest other better translations. :yes:


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PostPosted: Tue 30 Jul 2013 12:28 am 
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I don't approve of tattoos, and if you wish to show respect for Irish ancestry, you can do it by not getting tattoos.

But I don't think anything with brí makes sense other than as a word for word rendering.

An rud is fearr amach beatha fhónta a chaitheamh


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PostPosted: Wed 31 Jul 2013 12:35 am 
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Patrick, there are many ways to respect our Irish heritage. Some people choose to do it through tattoos. Whether you approve of them or not, you must respect others rights to get them without being judged by you.


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PostPosted: Thu 01 Aug 2013 4:46 am 
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Is eol do chách go 42 í brí na beatha agus gach rud eile… :pages:


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PostPosted: Thu 01 Aug 2013 12:16 pm 
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JSM wrote:
Patrick, there are many ways to respect our Irish heritage. Some people choose to do it through tattoos. Whether you approve of them or not, you must respect others rights to get them without being judged by you.

That said, when the translation is of a crude tautology that barely works in English, it's hard to take it entirely seriously...

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PostPosted: Thu 01 Aug 2013 3:53 pm 
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Thanks to all who have replied thus far.


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PostPosted: Tue 06 Aug 2013 6:27 pm 
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Perhaps:

Saol gan chúis saol gan chéill "A life without a cause is a life without sense/reason."

or

Saol gan chuspóir saol gan chéill "A life without a purpose is a life without sense/reason."

Await correction or confirmation ...

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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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PostPosted: Tue 06 Aug 2013 8:18 pm 
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I like those Breandán, and may I suggest another based on yours?

Saol gan chéill saol ar ceal.
A life without reason is a life gone to loss.


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PostPosted: Thu 08 Aug 2013 12:21 am 
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Breandán wrote:
Perhaps:

Saol gan chúis saol gan chéill "A life without a cause is a life without sense/reason."


This s my favourite so far :good:

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(Amhlaoibh Ó Súilleabháin)

Please wait for corrections/ more input from other forum members before acting on advice


I'm familiar with Munster Irish/ Gaolainn na Mumhan (GM) and the Official Standard/an Caighdeán Oifigiúil (CO)


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