Irish Translation Forum

"Ba dheas an lá go oíche"

Can this mean "The day was good" or "It was a good day"? (it's really impossibly to translate directly without causing misunderstanding)

Lit. It was nice (that) the day (was) until night --

The day was nice all until nightfall.

But the meaning is lost somewhat in that translation, isn't it? Isn't what is being said that the whole day was nice, until it ended?

Would then 'The day was nice until it ended' or perhaps just 'The day was nice' suffice?

sethkoopa wrote:Would then 'The day was nice until it ended' or perhaps just 'The day was nice' suffice?

yes either /or

sethkoopa wrote:But the meaning is lost somewhat in that translation, isn't it?

Meaning is ALWAYS lost in translation. That's why it's best not to bother, but rather to learn to appreciate it in the original.

oisin718 wrote:

sethkoopa wrote:But the meaning is lost somewhat in that translation, isn't it?

Meaning is ALWAYS lost in translation. That's why it's best not to bother, but rather to learn to appreciate it in the original.

That's very true, and well-said. My goal with learning a language is always to get to the point where I'm NOT mentally translating. You have to learn what words mean and how the grammar works to begin with, or you have no reference for learning, but the sooner you can understand what's being said without thinking "in English, this would be...", the sooner you'll really start appreciating and enjoying things written in the language.

When I translate songs, I do so once...for the practice. After that, I ONLY listen to the song in Irish, and I never again refer back to my translation. The goal is to appreciate how the lyricist used the Irish language, not simply to understand the bare meaning of the words.

Redwolf

Ba dheas an lá go oíche"

go hoíche - nach bhfuil sin ceart?

Niall Mór wrote:

Ba dheas an lá go hoíche"

Yes, go hóiche.

It simply means, it was a lovely day all day long (the whole day was lovely).

on the subject of this same song, would this line:

"...aoibhneas i gach áit gan gruaim" work as reading "...gloomless delight everywhere" or "gloomless happiness everywhere"? or is it being explicitly pointed that the delight is without gloom?

sethkoopa wrote:on the subject of this same song, would this line:

"...aoibhneas i gach áit gan gruaim" work as reading "...gloomless delight everywhere" or "gloomless happiness everywhere"? or is it being explicitly pointed that the delight is without gloom?

I would say "delight is everywhere, without gloom," or, if you prefer a more poetic rendition "delight in every place, undimmed."

Redwolf