I need some pronunciation help,(I can't seem to understand the pronunciation guides I've been to)
the word is bheatha - which I hope means life, could someone spell it out for me phonetically? I am getting a tattoo of a triskele and would like bheatha below it since it stands for the 3 cycles of life! It would be nice to actually say the word properly if I'm going to have it tattooed!!!

Michele, a chara,

I don't do pronunciations, but I'd like to suggest that the best way for you to 'hear' the word would be to try and obtain a copy of the old Irish song "Óro,'S É Do Bheatha 'Bhaile". It's been recorded by many artists - Sinéad O' Connor and The Clancy Brothers to name but two.

Incidentally, the word on its own is 'Beatha', not 'Bheatha' - the 'h' is caused by the preceding word.

Le meas,

Larry.

The "h" after the B is, as Larry indicated, a grammar requirement that is driven by the preceding word. As you can see, it changes the pronunciation.

Beatha = Bah hah

Bheatha = Vah hah

There is another word that I think might be better for your purpose, though. I base this on some comments made by a native speaker on another thread. I think I understand the difference but, we'll see soon enough!

Saol = life (sounds like sill as in window sill)

My life = Mo shaol (funny sound here, no real equivalent in english-- Muh hyill--but put the "h" sound back in the throat with the tongue blocking some of the sound---that's about as close as I can get---sorry)

Your life = do shaol (Same as above but doh rather than muh)

There may be another variation (tense) of this word that stands alone as an autonomous thought but I'm not certain.

Hope this helps.

James

Thank you! You all are great! Though now I dont know if I should use beatha or shaol, I'll look up that other disscussion that James was refering to. Anyone else have an oppinion??
Thanks for your help! Michele

Michele,

You would only use "shaol" with a possessive pronoun like mo or do in front of it. By itself, the word is simply "saol".

Hope you find what you're looking for,

Dawn

I'll make your search easier. The discussion was under "Translation Help", the last post came on 9/25. In it, Aonghus said he preferred 'Saol' for a period of life and 'Beatha' for the "thing" life.
Going by this, I would use Beatha for your purpose.
Incidently, there happens to be a proverb in the archives that goes," Fiche bliain ag theacht, Fiche bliain go maith, Fiche bliain ag meath, is Fiche bliain gan rath."
Twenty years coming, Twenty years good, Twenty years declining, and Twenty years useless.
But, that makes four cycles of life.
Tá súil agam go nd'féadfadh sin ag chuir cridiú duit.
Slán go foill,
-Maidhc.

Another version of that:

Fiche blian ag fás,
Fiche blian faoi bhláth,
Fiche blian ag meath
Fiche blian gan rath

20 yrs a growing
20 yrs in bloom etc.

Wow!! You all are great, thank you so much for all of your help! I think I am going with beatha, because I want the word life as a "thing", not a specific period. By the way could you say my life, mo beatha or mo bheatha - is either proper?
Thank you again for your help!!
Michele

Michele, a chara,

You'd say "Mo bheatha", never "Mo beatha"

Le meas,

Larry.