Hi folks,

would someone please translate the following for me?

"So That Others may Live"

This is the motto for most search and rescue units, and we'd like to have it done in Irish Gaelic, as opposed to latin which most people do.
Help would be greatly appreciated.

There's many many possibilities. I'll throw a few out there. You might even get lucky and find one that rhymes.


chun gurbh fhéidir go mairfeadh daoine eile

chun gurbh fhéidir le daoine eile maireachtáil


The fluent people here would probably be able to think of a good one straight away. I was thinking also along the lines of " i mbun go mair..", some nice illiteration.


-Phil

Chun go mairfidh daoine eile.
Literally 'so that other people will live'.
That's the nearest I can get even though it doesn't sound very eloquent to me.

Phil, "chun gurbh fhéidir" doesn't sound right to me in this context, but I'm not sure.

Steve, hold your guns until you get more authoritative suggestions.

Slán

Antóin

I'm by no means fluent at all. But what about, "D'fhonn go d'fhéadfadh daoine eile maireachtáil."
Does that even capture any of the essence of it?
-Miadhc.

"So That Others may Live"

Well first of all, we have to tackle that "may". It obviously isn't the permission verb, as in:

I may go to the shop

May I got to the toilet please?


Here, it means something like "possible that" "so that it's possible"

For example

If I go to the shop today, I may see John there

=

If I go to the shop today, it's possible and likely that I'll see John there

-

So that's we're I was going with my "gurbh fhéidir" = "so that it would be possible"


-Phil

Thanks folks. I've been told by someone within the Irish Air Corps that their translation comes out as the following:

Go Mairidis Beo

I don't know the language at all(pity), so any help is appreciated. Any clue what exactly the above translates to?

Basically Steve, 'May they survive'

Not exactly what you were looking for.

Ádh mór.

Not exactly, but as mentioned, the Air Corps SAR squadron has used that motto for almost 30 years.

I found "d'fhonn go" as an idiom expressing purpose, as in "so that". Being that it stems from 'fonn' meaning 'urge', to me, it lent a sense of duty. (It is being used in a motto.) I followed that with "d'fhéadfadh" expressing possibility along with the noun for "living, livelihood" - maireachtáil - as it was similar to the example given to me. D'fhéadfadh sé teacht. He may (possibly) come.
I realize that 'fonn' also means "mood, frame of mind, and humor. But I think that's how the idiom in this case works. I think, if you were to ask Steve why he does it, he wouldn't simply answer, "out of a sense of duty", but also because "it gives him pleasure".
So, "Urged with the possibility of other people living. - So that others may live."
D'fhonn go d'fhéadfadh daoine eile maireachtáil.
-Maidhc

Well seeing how there's multiple possiblilities, I suggest we split up the phrase into different parts, then give a load of possible translations for each part, and then we can put them together to find the best one, in particular, the one with the best meaning, rhyme and illiteration.

So here goes:

"So that others may live"


So that = "chun g..."
-------


others = "daoine eile"
-------


may live = "is féidir leo maireachtáil", "is féidir go mairfidh siad", "is féidir go mairíonn siad", "b'fhéidir go mairíonn siad",
--------


I suggest we all throw in suggestions for each and then we can put them together. That is unless ofcourse Aonghus comes up with one straight away, we haven't heard from him yet.

I know there's many possibilities for "so that", but the only I can remember and I use is "chun".

As for "others", maybe there's a special word for it ( Like éinne for anyone ).


-Phil

Ó Aonghus i "gComhra Oscailte as Gaeilge".

"Ar mhaith le beatha dhaoine eile."

-Maidhc.

which means...?

Is it " For the benefit of life for others "?

-Phil

Ar mhaithe le - for the benefit of

I quite like "Go Mairidís beo", it sounds elegant in Irish, and is very close in meaning to "That others may live"

The word "may" is rarely translated into Irish, since that is what the Modh Fhoshuiteach, or Subjunctive mood, is for.

Is "go mairidís" an alternative to "go maire siad"?

I have to say I agree with you Aonghus about the elegance. Sometimes Gaeilge phrases do sound as elegant as a Latin motto carved in wood.

What do yous think of these?:

chun go maire siad

chun go maire daoine eile

chun go mairidís beo


-Phil

go mairidís is the same as go maire siad.

I find "chun go something" without a clause before it is awkward in a way that go mairidís beo isn't.

Seosamh MacMuirí in an above post translated 'Go mairidís beo' to be "May they survive". Steve mentioned, too, that it's the motto of the Irish Air Corp SAR Squadron.
I agree with Seosamh that it isn't quite what we would hope for.

More than likely, the IAC followed the standard fly-boys habit of KISS: keep it simple stupid.

The origin of the saying "So That Others may Live" comes from a speech made during the 1960s by an American pararescue specialist. His speech ended with the line "these things we do, so that others may live".

I withdraw my original suggestion - "chun go mairfidh daoine eile". It's clumsy if not incorrect. I would be inclined to go with the precedent made by the Irish Air Corp - "Go mairidís beo". It's not a literal translation but carries the true sense of Steve's motto and is short and succinct.

How phonetically would it be said? I've found some pronounciation info on the 'net, but its pretty scary with some of the combinations involved. Don't know if any relate to this saying, but I'd like to be sure.

I was wondering if anyone knows what the Irish equivalent of Rest in Peace ( as put on a tombstone) would be.
Go raibh maith agat

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam. (For a male)
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam. (For a female)

May his/her soul be on the right hand of God.

I líonta Dé go gcastar sinn.

May we be enveloped in the nets of God. (Fishing metaphor)

In iothlainn Dé go dtugtar sinn.

May we be taken to God's haggard. (Farming metaphor)

Solas na bhFlaitheas dá anam/dá hanam

May the light of Heaven shine on his/her soul

Suaimhneas síoraí dá anam/hanam
Eternal rest to his/her soul