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Hello everyone. I'm getting married in October and the ceremony is going to be mix of modern and ancient traditions with a heavy Scottish influence. I will be in full Highland formal attire, and in addition I am having a Scottish dirk made to bring it all together. This dirk will be an heirloom piece that will be passed down to my children, and I am having the MacNeil clan motto etched onto the blade.
Clan mottos were typically written in one of four languages: Latin, used by the church and scholars, English, heraldic French, and most rarely Gaelic. I'm decended from the MacNeils of Barra in the Outer Hebrides, which even today has a very high Scottish Gaelic speaking population. Though rare on period originals, I felt that given my heritage that the motto should be written in Scottish Gaelic.
The clan motto is: "Conquer or Die", and most websites list the translation as "buaidh no bas" for Scottish Gaelic. I did my own research and found the term "bas" to mean "palm" in Scottish Gaelic and the term "die" translated as "bàsaich". At this point, I really don't know what to think, as I am certainly no linguist.
I really want to get a proper Scottisg Gaelic translation of the motto. Afterall, this dirk is a high quality piece and I'd hate to ruin it with an improper translation. ANy help would be greatly appriciated. Thanks in advance.
- JM
