How would I say,

"it is such a pleasure. It is such a privilege. It is so wonderful to be here with my own people, and to speak the language of my ancestors. I am at home. i am here with each of you".

I just would like to know how to express this,
Beannachtai,
Faber MacMhaolain

I'll give it a go,
but before you try it out on a discerning
gathering of Gaeilgeoirí, wait to see
what corrections the Gold Ring gang makes.


Tá an oiread seo pléisiúr agam.
Tá an oiread sin pribhléid dom.
Tá sé éachtach dom bheith anseo leis mo mhuintir féin, agus labhairt an theanga mo sinsear.
Táim sa bhaile.
Táim anseo le gach aon duine.

Tá dream an fháinne óir i suan faoi éadaí bána...zzzzzzz...

Tá an oiread seo pléisiúir agam
...oiread pribhléide...
...agus teanga mo shinsear a labhairt.


Is aistrúchán breá é an méid a bhfuil scríofa agat. B'fhéidir go ndéarfainn codanna de ar shlí eile.

Is mór an ábhar sonais dom é.
Is mór an phribhléid é.
Is iontach ar fad é a bheith anseo i dteannta mo mhuintire féin agus teanga mo shinsear a labhairt.
Táim i mo dhúchas féin. Táim anseo le gach aon duine díbh.

Dúirt Pádraig

quote:

agus labhairt an theanga mo shinsear.

agus dúirt Ormondo

quote:

...agus teanga mo shinsear a labhairt.

Tá ceist agam as Béarla mar níl ach giota beag Gaeilge agam

I have seen the verbal noun written with and without the particle when the meaning is the same as the infinitive in English; that is, "to speak." Aside from the word order, which is correct:

labhairt = to speak
or
a labhairt = to speak?

To speak the language of my ancestors = teanga mo shinsear a labhairt.

In "verbal noun clauses", the object is put before the verbal noun, and the verbal noun is preceded by the leniting particle "a".

"labhairt an theanga mo shinsear" is wrong according to grammar, because you wouldn't put the verbal noun before, you wouldn't put the article "an" before "teanga" because it is followed by a definite noun, and the article "an" never lenites d, t, s.

Both are correct, and neither; it depends entirely on the syntax of the rest of the clause. You could have written "agus mé ag labhairt an teanga mo shinsear" in which case the ag takes the place of a (in origin, a worn-down form of do). Of course, the meaning isn't exactly the same in this case.

A Phádraig, a chara.

In this case, Ormondo's construction is correct and closest to "and to speak the language of my ancestors".

If the English had been "and to be speaking the language of my ancestors", it could have also been translated:

agus a bheith ag labhairt teanga mo shinsear.

Perhaps someone has a better way of expressing it, but for transitive verbs, if ag is present before the verbal noun, the object will follow the verbal noun and the object will be in the genitive case, i.e., ag déanamh ruda, otherwise the infinitive follows the object in the rud a dhéanamh construction.

Also, on the whole labhairt is "speaking" and a labhairt is "to speak", but never assume one-to-one correspondence between use of the verbal noun in Irish and use of the infinitive or gerund in English.

Sometimes the two are interchangeable:

Is maith liom teangacha a labhairt. "I like to speak languages." OR "I like speaking languages."
Tá áthas orm bualadh leat. "Pleased to meet you." but literally "There is gladness on me meeting with you."

(Oops, others have once again posted while I was typing. Sorry for any duplication. (^^;) )

Go raibh maith agaibh, a daoine uaisle. Lughaidh, your comment "you wouldn't put the verbal noun before" will serve me well if it has universal application. Does it? The language of my ancestors to speak.

(Message edited by pádraig on March 22, 2009)

quote:

Both are correct, and neither; it depends entirely on the syntax of the rest of the clause. You could have written "agus mé ag labhairt an teanga mo shinsear" in which case the ag takes the place of a (in origin, a worn-down form of do). Of course, the meaning isn't exactly the same in this case.

But with "ag" before the verbal noun it isn't a "verbal noun clause" anymore. At least not the same kind at all.

Another common mistake is putting every element before the verbal noun, while normally you only put the object. And everything else after it.

Ba mhaith liom sin a dhéanamh = I'd like to do that.
Ba mhaith liom codladh sa gharradh = I'd like to sleep in the garden. Not : *Ba mhaith liom sa gharradh a chodladh or something like that.

Ceapaim atá sé agam. It just occurred to me that Faber may have been left in the lurch down in Texas. What is the agreed upon answer to his request for translation?

quote:

"it is such a pleasure. It is such a privilege. It is so wonderful to be here with my own people, and to speak the language of my ancestors. I am at home. i am here with each of you".

quote:

But with "ag" before the verbal noun it isn't a "verbal noun clause" anymore. At least not the same kind at all.

That's rather the point I was trying to make: There's more than one kind of clause formed with the verbal noun; one sort demands a/do, others do not. So whether labhairt or a labhairt is the correct form depends on the construction in question.

it is such a pleasure. It is such a privilege. It is so wonderful to be here with my own people, and to speak the language of my ancestors. I am at home. i am here with each of you

In Ulster Irish :

Nach mór an pléisiúr é.
Nach mór an phribhléid í.
Tá sé gomh hiontach bheith anseo le mo mhuitir féin, agus teangaidh mo shinsear a labhairt.
Tá mé sa bhaile.
Tá mé anseo le achan nduine agaibh.

Maidir le:
"it is such a pleasure. It is such a privilege. It is so wonderful to be here with my own people, and to speak the language of my ancestors. I am at home. i am here with each of you".

Here's my attempt at a translation. I don't intend to include every word and nuance but rather express the ideas as they would typically be expressed in Irish -- as far as I know:

Cuireann sé fíor-ghliondar orm. An-phribhléid is ea é. Tá riméad orm bheith anseo le mo mhuintir féin agus [deis a bheith agam] teanga mo shinsear a labhairt. Táim sa bhaile. Táim anseo in éineacht le gach duine agaibh.

[deis a bheith agam] means [ to have an opportunity ]

If it weren't a translation I'd suggest replacing the last sentence with "Is aoibhinn liom gur chas mé ar gach uile dhuine agaibh" or "Is aoibhinn liom go bhfuil gach uile dhuine agaibh in éindí liom anseo". Just suggestions.

"pléisiúr" has other connotations not appropriate here.

If ever a "Style Book" is produced for Irish I hope it has advice on the word "sinsear" -- should I say "teanga mo shinsir" (singular) or "teanga mo shinsear" (plural)

OK. I looked it up. Cheadaigh mé Gléacht. Sinsear = ancestor, progenitor, so "teanga mo shinsear" is correct for "the language of my ancestors". (Tuiseal Ginideach, Lag-iolra)

While I'm at it I'll mention how to stress that word or emphasise it: "mo sheacht sinsear romham" = as far back as possible or literally: my seven ancestors before me.