Irish Translation Forum

Anyone have any good Irish phrases of Valentine's Day??

I'm not looking to translate "Valentine's Day"..but I'm looking for other stuff...

It's not a traditonal festival in Ireland, so modern things like this are pretty much it, unless you have a particular mushy phrase of your own you want translated:

Lá Fhéile Vailintín sona duit [said to one person]
Lá Fhéile Vailintín sona daoibh [said to more than one person]
Happy Valentines Day

I suppose you could say something like this (not sure whether they do in Ireland):
An mbeidh tú mo vailintín?
Will you be my valentine

kevin45sf wrote:It's not a traditonal festival in Ireland, so modern things like this are pretty much it, unless you have a particular mushy phrase of your own you want translated:

Lá Fhéile Vailintín sona duit [said to one person]
Lá Fhéile Vailintín sona daoibh [said to more than one person]
Happy Valentines Day

I suppose you could say something like this (not sure whether they do in Ireland):
An mbeidh tú mo vailintín?
Will you be my valentine

I don't think you can say "An mbeidh tú mo vailintín." That's (dare I say it) a "tá sé fear" situation. Perhaps...

An mbeidh tú mar vailintín dom

Redwolf

it is Celebrated widely here ,,

I agree with Redwolfs translation.

I see the TSF issue. I guess I was thinking of being someone's valentine as being treated as somewhat transitory (a thing for that day), especially since it's just now being asked, but if on'es lucky of course it does become a (happy) state or condition.

kevin45sf wrote:I see the TSF issue. I guess I was thinking of being someone's valentine as being treated as somewhat transitory (a thing for that day), especially since it's just now being asked, but if on'es lucky of course it does become a (happy) state or condition.

The difference between "tá" and "is" really doesn't have much to do with transitory vs. intransitory states (I know it's often taught that way, but it's really not a valid comparison). It's more a matter of saying what something IS vs. what it is LIKE (it's state, condition. appearance, etc.) or what it's doing.

For example, if someone asks what I do for a living, I usually answer "is bean tí mé" (I'm a housewife), even though I haven't always been a housewife, and it's conceivable that I could someday choose to re-enter the paid workforce. I tell people "is feoilséantóir mé" (I'm a vegetarian) even though that's not something I've always been, and something that I could conceivably give up (but don't count on it! )

An easy way to remember it with this kind of sentence is, if you're asking or telling someone to "be" a noun, you either need "is" or an equivalent structure (bí mar, bí i do, etc.). If you're telling/asking someone to be an adjective ("be happy/contented," for example), then you can just use "bí" (bí sasta).

Redwolf (who has been doing so much teaching lately, she's almost as explain-y these days as mhwombat!)

I have a philosophical take on it...

The copula is used when equating primary qualities(often with indefinite article, but not always by any means)...I am a door/ I am a man/ I am a woman/ I am a teacher....nounal

The substantive is used for secondary qualities..I am red/ I am big/ I am small/ I am dreamy/ I am stoned...adjectival

Rules of thumb for budding Irish and Philosophy students