hello,

I was just wondering what the literal translation to "Go n-éirí an t-ádh leat" would be, I understand it means Good Luck, but there seems to be so many words in the Irish translation, can anyone help me? Also is there a Gaeilge phrase for "Luck of the Irish"? Thank you for your time,

Sincerely,
John

Go n-éirí an t-ádh leat is one option for "good luck."

I noticed from an earlier post of yours that you indicated you were new to Irish. What you are doing with this translation is a very common mistake that we all have made (and continue to make) and this is to follow the path of "direct translation." While this is problematic in just about every language you study, it is an absolute quagmire if you try it in Irish. There are so many idiomatic expressions and unique "phrase-ology" issues with Irish that you're bound to get yourself in trouble on a word-for-word translation.

Now, having said that, let me try to answer your question.

Go n-éirí = a phrase that equates to "may" or "would that"

an t-ádh = the luck. An is the definite article (the word "the") and ádh is "luck". That "t-" thing in front is a prefix which is required when a word beginning with a vowel follows the definite article. My grammar book is not readily at hand, but I'm almost certain this is correct.

Leat is a unique creature called a prepositional pronoun. It is a combination of the pronoun "le" meaning "with" and the preposition "tu" meaning you. We put them together to get "leat" which means.."with you."

Irish is fraught (meaning full) with these creatures. As a matter of fact, I would suggest to anyone starting out in this language that you commit the more commonly used prepositional pronouns to memory very early on in your studies.

Le = with

Ag = at

Ar = on

These are VERY commonly used in idiomatic structure. If you can commit them in all of their forms to memory, it'll make life soooo much easier!

Hope this helps.

Le meas,

James

James,

Doesn't this all boil down to "May the luck rise with (to) you?" Literally translated, that is.

I don't get the indication that anything is "rising" in either

Go n-éirí an t-ádh leat

Nor in

Go n-éirí an bóthar leat

The latter one, of course is the phrase that get's translated as "may the road rise to meet you." But, as I said...I don't get any indication of anything "rising" when I try to break it down literally. There may be some idomatic nuances that I'm not getting, but I don't think so.

Several fluent and native speakers don't particularly care for the whole "may the road rise to meet you" phrasing for exactly this reason. It seems to be an anglicization of an Irish phrase. Ditto for "Erin go bragh"...it tends to drive the fluent and native speakers bonkers!!!

But...I'd be interested in what they had to say on this!

Le meas,

James

If you look up éirí in a good dictionary, you will find it covers almost half a page; and has several broad strands of meaning, of which rise is only one.

Go n-éirí an tádh leat means "may you acheive luck" or "may you succeed at obtaining luck"

An Foclóir Póca indicates éirí is a noun and then turns around and cites the idiom, "éirí croí" in which the word is used as a participle by English standards. I'm inferring this from the translation of the phrase as "elation" which would come literally from "rising heart," which makes sense in either language. Noun or adjective, the primary English translation is "rising."


If "Go éirí sé" is the present subjunctive of érigh, that brings us back to "may it (the luck) rise to you" with apologies to all native speakers presently arriving in Yonkers.

That's Bonkers, you idiot!

(Message edited by pádraig on May 02, 2005)

(Message edited by pádraig on May 02, 2005)

quote:

That "t-" thing in front is a prefix which is required when a word beginning with a vowel follows the definite article. My grammar book is not readily at hand, but I'm almost certain this is correct.

Yes, if it's masculine

Masculine: an t-asal
Feminine: an áit

**

éirigh = rise
éirigh le = succeed

D'éirigh mé go luath ar maidin = I arose early this morning

D'éirigh liom i mo theist thiomána = I succeeded in my driving test
(Note how strange this construction is -- it makes no sense whatsoever; the subject of the verb is a preposition! It's like saying "With me when to the shop".)

Pádraig:

go néirí sé - may he rise
go néirí leis - may he succeed

The pronoun matters.

Aonchus, a chara,

Go Raibh mai... Of course I'm willing to say "succeed" when it's obviously the idiomatic intent. I was just fooling around with the literal translation. Seems someone asked (for whatever reason) for something literal.

For what it's worth, I have discovered that outside of immersion, literal analysis of idiomatic expressions helps me to remember them. But that's for me; not necessarily for anyone else outside the pale (in Yonkers.)

Oh well. It just happens (as James well knows) that "may the road rise with you" is one of my pet hates and heaves me onto my hobby horse.

I dislike literal translations because I find they confuse people, and make Irish look like a quaint, pictureskew [sic] language. Being fortunate enough to have spoken 3 (1/2) languages since my early teens, I know idioms differ, and literal translation confuses.

Translating German literally into English was one of my German colleague's hobbies, and the results were usually hilarious.

Missed part of the original question:

quote:

Also is there a Gaeilge phrase for "Luck of the Irish"?

The short answer is no. This is an american cliché!

"Ádh na nGael" might do at a pinch.