Irish Translation Forum

Greetings

Note: As they're written, all of these are addressed to a single person. If you're addressing them to more than one person, you can either leave off the Duit ("to you-singular") entirely, or replace it with Daoibh ("to you-plural.")

Merry Christmas
Nollaig Shona (Duit, Daoibh) Happy Christmas (to You) [mp3 Munster, mp3 Ulster, mp3 Connacht]
Beannachtaí na Nollag (Duit) Blessings of Christmas (to You) [mp3 Munster, mp3 Ulster, mp3 Connacht]

Happy New Year
Athbhliain Faoi Mhaise (Duit) A New Year of Prosperity (to You) [mp3 Munster, mp3 Ulster, mp3 Connacht]

Happy Holidays / Season's Greetings
Beannachtaí na Féile (Duit) Greetings of the Festival (to You) [mp3 Munster, mp3 Ulster, mp3 Connacht]


Useful terms

[mp3 Ulster - all terms in a list]

Christmas Eve: Oíche Nollag [mp3 Munster, mp3 Connacht]
Christmas Day: Lá Nollag [mp3 Munster, mp3 Connacht]
Christmas tree: crann Nollag [mp3 Munster, mp3 Connacht]
Christmas card: cárta Nollag [mp3 Munster, mp3 Connacht]
Christmas gift: bronntanas Nollag [mp3 Munster, mp3 Connacht]
Father Christmas / Santa Claus: Daidí na Nollag [mp3 Munster, mp3 Connacht]
New Year's Eve: Oíche Chinn Bhliana [mp3 Munster, mp3 Connacht]
New Year's Day: Lá Caille [mp3 Munster, mp3 Connacht]


Sayings and Proverbs

Nollaig Shona daoibh go léir agus Athbhliain faoi shéan is faoi mhaise daoibh, agus go mba seacht fearr sinn go léir ag an am seo ar an bhliain seo chugainn!
Merry Christmas to you all and a happy and prosperous New Year to you all and may we all be seven times better off at this time next year!
[mp3 Ulster, mp3 Connacht]

Tuar maith don athbhliain na píobairí teallaigh a chloisteáil Lá Nollag.
It is a good omen for the new year to hear the crickets on Christmas Day.
[mp3 Ulster, mp3 Connacht]

Is maith an bhliain a dtig Nollaig i dtús gealaí.
The year is good when Christmas comes in the new moon.
[mp3 Ulster, mp3 Connacht]

Téann an saol thart mar a bheadh eiteoga air, agus cuireann gach aon Nollaig bliain eile ar do ghualainn.
Life goes by as if it had wings, and every Christmas puts another year on your shoulder.
[mp3 Connacht]

Ráithe ó Nollaig go Féile Phádraig
Three months (a season) from Christmas to St. Patrick's Day
[mp3 Ulster, mp3 Connacht]

Other traditional sayings:
http://www.irishgaelictranslator.com/tr ... 52045.html
(Warning: some of them are less than cheery! In Ireland, Christmastime is also when the bad winter weather sets in.)


Miscellaneous
Lyrics in Irish for several Christmas carols:
http://www.irishgaelictranslator.com/tr ... 51920.html

A holiday riddle in Irish:
http://www.irishgaelictranslator.com/tr ... tml#285462


Do you need a translation that's not on this list? Ask us!

Those are more cheerful!!

Go raibh maith agat, maith thú!

Those are great!!!

Many thanks you's!!!!

how would you pronounce "Nollaig Shona (Duit)"

LunchBox wrote:how would you pronounce "Nollaig Shona (Duit)"

NOLL-IG HU-NUH DITCH

Oh, it'd be excellent if rudimentry pronounciations for the basic christmas greetings could be shared ...!

Great idea! In fact maybe we could put up sound files to go with them... I'll check with Eoin to see if he's willing to host them on the server.

I can record the Connemara pronunciations if nobody else is willing. (Braoin? PFolan?) My blas isn't native-speaker perfect (mo sheacht ngráin ar na R-anna caola seo!) but I think it'd do - it's recognizably not Ulster or Munster at any rate.

Pwyll, could we talk you into recording for Ulster? Or DoireTrasna, maybe?

Who'll take the Munster ones? I don't think I've ever heard any of ye Muimhnigh speaking, so I don't really know who to suggest... Caffler? Tiarnán? Somebody PM me, please.

Anybody who's interested (for any of the dialects), PM me and we can discuss technical details. I wouldn't be asking for all the proverbs, etc. to be recorded - just the main greetings from the top of this post, and maybe the vocabulary words from the middle section.

OK, got the green light from Eoin, so...

Anybody fancy being the Voice of IGT?
(there might even be some Swiss chocolate in it for ya...)

Aibigéal wrote:Anybody fancy being the Voice of IGT?

I'll try do a few tomorrow, don't like speaking to a machine when there's others around!

Don't forget, of course, like translations, pronunciations have to be confirmed.