| Manx | English | |
|---|---|---|
| CORAA NY GAEL | Voice of the Gaels | |
| TAMMYLT er dy henney va mee ayns Pwllheli. | A WHILE ago I was in Pwllheli. | |
| Va laa yn vargee ayn, as dramane fliugh tannaghtyn er y slane valley, yn aght va gagh ooilley red myr fooillaghtyn erreish y thooilley hene. | There was a market day, and a wet drizzle remained on the whole town, in such a way that everything was like the remnants after the flood itself. | |
| Solley[1] va shin maynrey dy hooyl ayns shapyn dy nyn gummal chirrym as cheh. Cha row[2] foays mooar aym er ny reddyn ry chreck, ’s mooar yn foays va aym er ny deiney mygeayrt y moom as adsyn loayrt ’sy Vretnish. | So we were happy to walk in shops to keep us dry and hot (warm). I did not have a great interest in the things for sale, how great was my interest on the men around about me and those who spoke in Welsh. | |
|
[1] solley] ‘so it is’, expected at the end of a phrase, not at the beginning. Here takien to mean ‘so’.
[2] Cha row] ‘was not’. Original gives
[Mannagh row] ‘Unless ... was’, ‘Were it not’, ‘if ... wasn’t’, etc.
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| Cheayll mee cloan as shenn deiney eirinagh as shapeyder. | I heard children and old fareming men and a shop-keeper. | |
| By hreih lhiam nagh vod mee toiggal ny v’ad gra rish y cheilley as nagh vod mee goll stiagh ayns shapyn aynsyn oddins clashtyn y Ghailck. | I was sorry that I couldn’t understand what they were saying to eachother and that I couldn’t go into shops in which I could here Manx. | |
| Ce’n aght veagh eh keead blein er dy henney syn Ellan? Gagh laa yn vargee veagh yn Ghailck ry chlashtyn ayns ny shapyn, loayrit dy dooghysagh as gyn yindys, myr ta’n Vretnish ayns Pwllheli jiu — er lhimmey nagh row Woolworths ry akin aynshen! | How would it be a hundred years ago in the Island? Every market day Manx would be heard in the shops spoken naturally and no wonder, as Welsh is in Pwllheli today — except that Woolworths was to be seen there! | |
| Va mee maynrey dy lhaih yn screeuyn veih “Jingo” ayns y Chaghter dy jeianagh. | I was happy to read the letter from “Jingo” in the Herald recently. | |
| Ga nagh vel mee ayns slane cordailys lesh Brian Boru mychione yn “stoo dree,” t’eh kiart dy liooar tra t’eh gra dy re egin dooin loayrt yn chengey bio — loayrt dy jarroo, as loayrt reesht. | Although I do not entirely agree with Brian Boru about the “slow (boring) stuff”, he is correct enough when he says that it is essential for us to speak the living tongue — speaking indeed, and speaking again. | |
| Er dagh ooilley chor, Mannagh vel shin loayrt yn chengey, cha bee chengey ayn ry loayrt! | In every possible way, Unless we speak the languaeg, there won’t be a language to speak. | |
| Ny yeih, er lhiam pene cha nel yn chengey bio jannoo ymmyd jeh focklyn dy liooar. Ayns yn Lioar Chasherick ta mooarane focklyn as raaghyn nagh vel ry chlashtyn rieau er nyn meillyn, as ayns y focklioar Kelly ta mooarane elley — focklyn miey Gailckagh ta jarroodit as Bunnys caillit ain. | Nevertheless, I think myself, that the living tongue does not make use of enough words. In the Holy Book there are many words and phrases that are not ever heard on our lips, and in the dictionary of Kelly there are many more — good Manx words that are forgotten and that we have almost lost. | |
| Dooyrt Cregeen hene, ayns ny goan foshlee jeh e ’ocklioar, nagh row agh daa trass-ayrnyn ny chengey freayllt ’sy vible, as, ny sodjey, dy ve feer-ghirrit va e ocklioar, ta shen dy ghra dy vel mooarane focklyn elley ’sy chengey nagh dod eh[3] goaill stiagh. | Cregeen himself said, in the opening words of his dictionary, that there was only two thirds of the language kept in the bible, and, durther, to be very short his dictionary was [sic], that is to say that there are many other words in the language that he could not include. | |
|
[3] nagh dod] original gives
[nagh vod]
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| S’rour yn vaarle ta ’sy Ghailck ain, ga dy re shenn-vaarle ee dy mennick; - as ’sy chooish shen cha nel yn Vible hene gyn foiljyn. | There is too much English in our Manx, although it is often old English, — and in that topic, the Bible itself is not without fault. | |
| Jirree[4] yn Vible “hainck [sic] ad back”, “ghow ad possession jeh’n cheer” baarlagh dy jarroo. | The Bible {rose ??} “haink ad back” (“they came back”), “ghow ad possession jeh’n cheer” (“They took possession of the land”) — Anglicized indeed. | |
|
[4] Jirree] ‘Rose’, ‘Arose’. Perhaps the intended meaning here was ‘established’, or ‘promoted’ ?
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| Ce’n fa nagh roe scruit “hainck [sic] ad er ash” as “ghow ad yn cheer daue hene”? As ’syn chengey bio ta shin gra “ta mee treishteil” as treishteil ny ockle baarlagh — dy niarragh shin “ta doghys orrym” veagh yn cheeall cheddin ain as shinyn jannoo ymmyd jeh fockle mie Gailckagh. | Why wasn’t it written “haink ad er ash” (“they reappeared”) and “ghow ad yn cheer daue hene” (“they took the land to themselves”)? And in the living tongue we say “ta mee treishteil” (“I hope”) and treishteil is an English word — if we were to say “there is a hope upon me” we would have the same sense while we make use of a good Manx word.[5] | |
|
[5]
[doghys] is attested in Kelly’s Manx to English dictionary, but not elsewhere so far. In the traditional language, negative conditions are said to be
[er] ‘on’ a person, whereas positive conditions are said to be
[ec] ‘at’ a person, so, if
[doghys] were to be used, rather than
[ta doghys orrym], we would expect
[ta doghys aym].
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| Ta ny reddyn shoh ayns lauyn ny fir-ynsee. | These things are in the hands of the teachers. | |
| ’Slias da ny ynseydee hene ny smoo as ny ’smoo cliaghtey, ny ’smoo focklyn Gailckagh, as ny ’sloo focklyn baarlagh. | The teachers themselves need more and more practice, more Manx words, and fewer English words. | |
| Solley[6] bee ny ’smoo Gailck mie ain. | So, we will have more good Manx. | |
|
[6] solley] ‘so it is’, expected at the end of a phrase, not at the beginning. Here takien to mean ‘so’.
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| Er y fa shen ta mee gra dy vel Brian Boru as Jingo ny neesht kiart. Smie yn red my ’sbio dy liooar ta yn chengey son “arganys” d’irree my-e-kione—ny Lhisin gra “chengleyrys”? | Therefore I say that Brian Boru and Jingo are both correct. How good a thing if the language is alive enough[7] for an “argument” to arise about it — or out I to say “argument” [alternative word]. | |
|
[7] How good a thing if the language is alive enough] — an estimated translation.
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| EEBYRTAGH. | EEBYRTAGH. (EXILE). | |