Irish Translation Forum

Teifeach wrote:and im not sure why you cant have chomh dubh ?

Because it's béarlachas - a direct translation of "so black".

The song you have quoted isn't a traditional one. It's also translated from the English and sung with an anglicised accent.

Chomh has to be followed by a phrase either a comparative example, i.e., chomh dubh le tóin corcáin ("as black as the bottom of a pot"), or a qualifying phrase explaining extent, i.e., chomh lag agus nach raibh ionam seasamh "so weak I couldn't stand". The only exception is chomh maith.

BridMhor wrote:

Breandán wrote:Because it's béarlachas - a direct translation of "so black".

It means "so black" yes. But I wouldn't look at it as béarlachas.
Maybe it's not gramatically correct(I don't know) but it's used in alot of expressions.
Bhí an oíche chomh geal. / The night was so bright.

Thanks, a Bhríd. This is good to know.

And apologies to Teifeach I tend to err on the side of caution, myself.

Okay, here's a "hybrid version" which means I pinched heaps from Bríd and Teifeach and forced my own bits into the rest. I also did a sound file below. This is tentative. If there are things to be fixed in the translation (see notes below), I'll go back and punch them into the recording (brute force all around.)

Black is the colour of my true love's hair,
Dubh é an dath ar ghruaig mo ghrá

Her lips are like some roses fair,
Tá a liopaí mar na rósanna breá

She's the sweetest smile, And
the gentlest hands,
Leis an aoibh is láiche, is na lámha is caoin'

I love the ground, Whereon she stands.
Is breá liom an talamh ar a seasann sí.

(I thought this should be seasann rather than sheasann as it is the indirect relative, and I notice you have siúlann further down.)

I love my love and well she knows,
Tá grá 'am do mo ghrá is tá 's aici go maith

I love the ground, whereon she goes,
Is breá liom an talamh ar a siúlann sí

I wish the day, it soon would come,
Tá mé ar bís go dtiocfadh an lá

When she & I could be as one.
a bheadh mise is ise maraon i ngrá


I go to the Clyde and I mourn and weep,
Téim go dtí an Chluaidh le caoineadh is le gol

For satisfied, I ne'er can be,
Mar ní féidir liom bheith sásta ariamh go deo

I write her a letter, just a few short lines,
Scríobhfad litir chuici, cúpla líne nó a dhó

And suffer death, a thousand times.
Is gheobhaidh mé bás míle uair

Dubh é an dath ar ghruaig mo ghrá
Tá a liopaí mar na rósanna breá
Leis an aoibh is láiche, is na lámha is caoin'
Is breá liom an talamh ar a seasann sí.

Here's a sound file of me singing in my pj's:

http://www.awyr.com/ayrish/saewndfaylz/ ... n_dath.mp3

Hmmm, cúpla líne nó a dhó "a couple of lines or two" - it still needs a lot of work. Bet I'll find more mistakes after I've slept on it.

Can cúpla líne nó a dhó "a couple of lines or two" be fixed to cúpla líne ghearr? or líne ghearr nó a dhó, perhaps, for "a few short lines"?

Also, can anyone verify which of the following is correct:

an talamh ar a seasann sí
or
an talamh ar a sheasann sí

for "the ground on which she stands"? My inclination is that it's indirect because of the ar and therefore ar a seasann, but relative clauses aren't one of my strong points...