Irish language question (lyrics related)
SingsIrish Songs
in my Irish/English dictionary) the Irish phrase is "grá mo chroí" (or
should "chroí" be "croí" ?) but since I don't know the language, I want to
make sure I have the correct grammar, etc. because it is for an essay I am
writing. Also, does that phrase translate as "love of my heart" or
something similar?
The song line is: And when I come back to my own dear island, I'll rest
awhile beside you "grá mo chroí"
Thanks muchly!
SingsIrish Songs
Cynthia J Jackson
Hi,
In Irish certain words, such as pronouns, change other words. They will
either lenite (aspirate, i.e. - add an h after the first letter) or
eclipse the noun it is referring to (add another letter in front of the
first letter. You don't pronounce the original first letter). So the
original word is crom. However, if you put the pronoun mo (my) in front
of it, crom gets lenited and turns into chrom (that's how you write it as
well as pronounce it).
As for the translation, I believe love of my heart would be gra' mo chroi'
(literally, 'my heart love'). My Irish dictionary lists crom as
meaning bent or stooped (my bent heart ?). The phrase gra' mo chroi' is
commonly used in songs, so that would be my bet.
Hope this helps rather than confuse.
Cindy
Malcolm Douglas
all to do with it. Irish Gaelic orthography has been re-defined twice(?) in
living memory, so you shouldn't put too much trust in the spelling you've
seen; there will be several different versions, all equally as right -or
wrong. The main problem with simplifying the spelling system for a Gaelic
language is that, while it makes pronounciation more easy, it tends to make
analysis for non-native speakers a lot more complicated, and can lead to a
lot of misunderstandings.
Malcolm
Bob Cameron
that would be gradh mo chridhe- same pronunciation. Love of my heart,
literally, close enough to My dearest love"