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 March 02 2008, 19:05 PM |
NOTS3W
"Anseo again"
Joined: 02 Mar 2008
Posts: 13
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Wow! This has been an enlightening journey around this site. Glad I found it. I recently came across the term "anam cara" and had planned to have that engraved inside of an engagement ring. I understand now that the correct spelling would be m'anamchara or m'anamcara with a dot over the c. Are there any accents involved?
I also understand that there's considerable debate over that phrase and that I should perhaps go a different direction like "mo shonuachar" or "is tu companach m'anama" but I'm not 100% certain about the meanings of those two phrases. Also, can the dotted c always replace the ch whether it's at the beginning, middle or end of the word? Again, do any of the letters need accent marks?
I'd really like for this to be correct and meaningful. It's from a man (me) to a woman with a meaning of "[to/for] my partner/lover/soulmate".
Thanks to all of the posters here. You've been a big help already.
Ray |
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| March 02 2008, 19:48 PM |
BuachaillBeo
"Laoch na nGael"
Joined: 18 Aug 2007
Location: Corcaigh
Posts: 1,395
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right well anamchara means spiritual advisor, a confessor; there's no debate about it and it's not an appropriate translation for what you want.
i think the IGTF standard, so to speak, for this translation is buanchara
buanchara = soulmate
mo bhuanchara = my 'soulmate'
a bhuanchara = when you're addressing your 'soulmate'
i don't even know for sure if this'd be a good one to use but you can wait for more input anyway.
There are accents involved, and if you want to do dots instead 'h's you can (as in the dot would replace the h by going over the preceding letter - eg "mo buancara" would have the dots placed over the b and the c (note also there's no h after the b when it's just buanchara on its own))
anyway, wait for more 
_________________
Always wait for confirmation on my translations!
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| March 02 2008, 20:43 PM |
Dun Chaochain
"Gaeilgeoir"
Joined: 29 Feb 2008
Posts: 476
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Grá mo chroí
is a simple but meaningful term of endearment, meaning "The Love of My Heart" |
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| March 02 2008, 21:48 PM |
wdsci
"Aistritheoir Cíocrach"
Joined: 06 Jun 2004
Location: Stáit Aontaithe Meiriceá (United States of America)
Posts: 17,671
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| BuachaillBeo wrote: |
right well anamchara means spiritual advisor, a confessor; there's no debate about it and it's not an appropriate translation for what you want.
i think the IGTF standard, so to speak, for this translation is buanchara
buanchara = soulmate
mo bhuanchara = my 'soulmate'
a bhuanchara = when you're addressing your 'soulmate'
i don't even know for sure if this'd be a good one to use but you can wait for more input anyway.
There are accents involved, and if you want to do dots instead 'h's you can (as in the dot would replace the h by going over the preceding letter - eg "mo buancara" would have the dots placed over the b and the c (note also there's no h after the b when it's just buanchara on its own))
anyway, wait for more |
Actually there is quite a debate about it and you can't make it go away just by saying that there isn't. But I would agree, anamchara is not appropriate for your situation. On the other hand, I think avoiding the entire issue by using a phrase that nobody would translate as "soulmate" (such as grá mo chroí) is really not a bad idea.
David
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(A learner of Irish since June 2004)
Always wait for confirmation on my translations - I'm still new at this!
The content of this post (except for quoted material) is covered by the GNU Free Documentation License. |
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| March 02 2008, 23:02 PM |
NOTS3W
"Anseo again"
Joined: 02 Mar 2008
Posts: 13
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| wdsci wrote: |
I think avoiding the entire issue by using a phrase that nobody would translate as "soulmate" (such as grá mo chroí) is really not a bad idea.
David |
That's what I was thinking. I wouldn't someone knowledgeable to snicker at the almost over-used anam chara or even m'anamchara. I like grá mo chroí much better. Is that an accent mark or just a dot over the í? I assume that a dot over the c would eliminate the h if the engraver can do that.
Thank you all for your help with this.
Ray |
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| March 03 2008, 3:28 AM |
yort
"Scéalaí Mór"
Joined: 28 Jun 2005
Location: Ottawa, Canada
Posts: 1,617
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That's an accent over the 'i', not a dot.
If you add a dot over the 'c', you can avoid the 'h'. If the dot confuses the engraver, just tell him it's a superscript period.
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I'm learning. ALWAYS wait for someone else. Always. No exceptions. Especially on Tuesdays.
In the battle between Troy and his flute, the struggle to a consistently strong low D is a Very Slow advance
yort@igtf | kothz@chiff |
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| March 03 2008, 3:53 AM |
Dun Chaochain
"Gaeilgeoir"
Joined: 29 Feb 2008
Posts: 476
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| yort wrote: |
That's an accent over the 'i', not a dot.
If you add a dot over the 'c', you can avoid the 'h'. If the dot confuses the engraver, just tell him it's a superscript period. |
Ray--yeah, that's an accent. You can cut and paste the phrase into a different program and blow up the font size for a better look.
I think you'll like Grá mo chroí--for wedding rings or stuff like that, the phrase is both classy and authentic (i.e. Irish-speakers use it in real life).
If you're interested in experimenting in the old (pre-1950) fonts, post a new thread asking Aibigeal to post an image of Grá mo chroí in the old Gaelic script, with the dotted c. I'm not tech savvy enough to do that! No one uses the old fonts anymore, but they were pretty. (I hope you don't mind me recommending this Aibigeal!) |
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| March 07 2008, 22:11 PM |
BuachaillBeo
"Laoch na nGael"
Joined: 18 Aug 2007
Location: Corcaigh
Posts: 1,395
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| wdsci wrote: |
Actually there is quite a debate about it and you can't make it go away just by saying that there isn't.
David |
Ah but i can try 
didn't actually realise there was to be honest, handy to find it out - i suppose the only place i consistently get exposed to it is here in the context of mistranslating soul mate... so is it not always confessor or something or what's the case with it?
_________________
Always wait for confirmation on my translations!
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| March 07 2008, 22:40 PM |
Redwolf
"Ard-Banríon na Ráiméise"
Joined: 19 Jan 2004
Location: Poblacht California
Posts: 41,269
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| BuachaillBeo wrote: |
| wdsci wrote: |
Actually there is quite a debate about it and you can't make it go away just by saying that there isn't.
David |
Ah but i can try
didn't actually realise there was to be honest, handy to find it out - i suppose the only place i consistently get exposed to it is here in the context of mistranslating soul mate... so is it not always confessor or something or what's the case with it? |
Well, what's happened is, at some point (no one knows where), someone evidently decided that "anamchara" meant "soul mate" (because it contains the word "soul" and the word "friend"), the trend grew, and now it's even heard apparently from time to time on television. The fact that, if you wanted to say "soul friend" you'd have to say "cara anama" notwithstanding, the misuse of this word has continued to grow.
The other issue is that there appears to be a difference between what Americans mean by the term "soulmate" (i.e., fated lovers...the one person in the universe you're intended to be with) and what Europeans mean by "soulmate" (a very, very close friend)
To be honest, I keep hoping this new agey term will go away in English as well as in Irish, but that's the source of the debates. Some say we should bow to usage (even though it's still rather tenuous) and let "anamchara" become "soulmate," at least in the sense of very close friends. Others (and I'm one of them) think that, since "anamchara" already has a meaning that is still in use (and since it would be ungrammatical if used for "soul friend" anyway), other options should be explored. For the American interpretation, I like "fíorghrá" and for the European I like dlúthchara.
Anyway, that's the debate in a nutshell.
Redwolf
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Is fearr Gaeilge na scoile ná gan Gaeilge ar bith |
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| March 16 2008, 17:06 PM |
NOTS3W
"Anseo again"
Joined: 02 Mar 2008
Posts: 13
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Sorry to have abandoned my own thread, but I'm back for more. I'm going with gra mo chroi if I can find an engraver who can do that on the ring I'll be buying. I found two TrueType Fonts that look right to me. AmericanUncD:
and Gaeilge 1:
The first one doesn't have a dotted c character. The second has a hard-to-read (for my American eyes) g.
I need to find a font that has the best of both. I'll start a new thread to see if Aibigeal can help, too.
Another question: How is this phrase pronounced? I'm assuming it's grah mow kroy. Are you laughing? Am I close?
Thanks again.
Ray |
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