| Manx | English | |
|---|---|---|
| Skeealyn Ass Ellan Arran | Stories from The Isle of Arran | |
| VA DOOINNEY ard-ghooghyssagh ayn bleeantyn er dy henney nish as vagh eh ec balley v’eh ruggit as troggit ayn enmyssit Banlickan er cheu heear yn ellan noi Kion-cheerey (Kintyre). | There was a very famous man, many years ago now, and he lived at a farm he was born and raised in called Banlickan on the west side of the island facing Kintyre. | |
| She John Sillars yn ennym ersyn[1], agh yiarragh ad Shoanie Lespie rish sy Ghaidhlig, as yinnagh eh staulkal as shelgey da Duchess Vontrose (va ny chiarn er yn ellan ec y traa shen) son e churrym. | John Sillars is his name, but they would call him Shoanie Lespie in Gàidhlig (Scottish Gaelic), and he would stalk and hunt for the Duchess of Montrose (who was lord of the island at that time) for his duty. | |
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[1] She John Sillars yn ennym ersyn] ‘It is John Sillars the name on him (emphatic)’.
In the traditional language this sentence is understood as ‘It is John Sillars (and not any other name) was his name (and not someone else’s)’, The use of this construction, rather than the expected
[V’eh / T’eh enmyssit John Sillars].’He was / He is called John Sillars’ indicates this story is part of a longer narrative.
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| T’ad gra dy by warrag eshyn[2] as yinnagh eh spotchyn-obbree er ny deiney, as myr shen dy vel ram skeealyn goll mygeayrt eer yn laa t'ayn jiu my-e-chione. | They say he was a wit and he would make practicle jokes on the men, and so there are many stories going around about him even these days. | |
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[2] dy by warrag eshyn] Evidently ‘that he was a wit’. Here the witer is using
[dy by] as the dependent form of
[by] /
[b’] found in Manx as the past or conditional of the copula verb
[’s] — although it is not usually considered generally productive. In traditional Manx neither
[’s] or
[by] /
[b’] are used before a noun, where we find instead
[she], or a zero copula, and always with an accompanying agreement. It seems that the writer here is using
[dy by] as the dependent of
[she], where
[dy re] /
[dy nee] is expected, although
[warrag] here is not fronted, or is not an essential condition, so we would expect
[dy row eh ny warrag], or
[dy row eh warrag].
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| Ansherbee, tra v'eh aeg as cummal ec Ard Vanlickan, yioghe eh eddryman ny bleddyr muickey as verragh eh stiagh ayn palchey dy phishyryn chirmit tra veagh eh bog, as eisht heidagh eh ennal ayn myr dy beagh eh gollrish mollag-aeragh eisht lhigagh eh dasyn chirmagh. | Anyway, when he was young and living at Ard Vanlickan, he would find a bladder or pig’s baldder and he’d put into it plenty of dried peas when it would be soft, and then he’d blow breath in it as if it was like an air balloon, then he’d let them dry. | |
| Tra v’eh chirrym chraagh eh as myr shen yinnagh[3] eh feiyr mooar agglagh as cur [y] drogh er [dy] chooilley ghooinney. | When it was dry he would shake it and like it would make make an awful big noise and annoy every man. | |
|
[3] yinnagh] original gives
[dy jinnagh]
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| Oie dy row hie eh lesh shilley er e naboo Angus Donnell va baghey heese y raad ayns Banlickan Injil as va ceilidh as dram ny ghaa goll, as tra haink yn oor dy gholl thie, dooyrt eh rish Angus dy row eh fo aggle goll thie sy dorraghys as hirr eh er cheet marish paart jeh'n raad. | One night he went to visit his neighbour Angus Donnell who was living down the way in Lower Banlickan and there was a ceilidh and many a dram going, and when the hour came to go home, he said to Angus that he was afraid of going home in the dark and he asked him to come with him some of the way. | |
| Shen ren eh, as erreish daue roshtyn yn “Clach Biorach” (Clagh Birragh) mysh lhieh-raad heose, dooyrt Shoanie dy re ayns stayd ny share[4] v'eh, as beagh eh kiart dy liooar goll gyn cooney erbee ny sodjey. | That is what he did, and after they arrived at the “Clach Biorach” (Sharp Pointy Stone) about half-way down, Shoanie said that it was in a better state, and it would be okay to go without any help further. | |
|
[4] stayd ny share]
[stayd share]
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| Lurg da cur yn oie vie er e naboo, hrog Shoanie yn eddryman va er follaght er cooyl ny cloaie ayns |shen, as ghow eh toshiaght shen y chraa as y chlabberey, as v’eh feiyral dy mooar gollrish gunney-jeshaght as hug eh aggle er Angus as eshyn tuittym sheese ayns towl cray rish yn raad. | After wishing his neighbour goodnight, Shoanie lifted the bladder that was hidden behind the stone there, and he started to shake and rattle that, and it was making noise greatly like a machine-gun and it frightened Angus and he fell down in a clay hole along the way. | |
| Tra rosh eh thie cha row red erbee ry chlashtyn voish agh "Jee bannee mee, yn guilley boght, nhee ennagh quaag!" | When he arrived home nothing was audible from him but “God bless me, the poor boy, something strange!” | |
| Keayrt elley v’eh ny hassoo ’sy gharey echey heose ec Banlickan as ceau shilley er Kioncheerey trooid daa ghless-hooilley. | Another time he was standing in his garden down at Banlickan and ‘casting a sight’ on Kyntyre through binoculars. | |
| Eisht haink carrey rish as dooyrt eh, “Ta shen jeeaghyn cho aalin dooys[5], vel ad mie dy liooar?” | Then a friend appeared and he said, “That looks so beautiful to me, are they good enough?” | |
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[5] Ta shen jeeaghyn cho aalin dooys] ‘That looks as beautiful to me’, although evidently
[cho] ‘as’ / ‘so’ (see
[cha]), here is intended as a calque on English ‘so’ in the sense of ‘very’ / ‘really’.
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| “Ta,” dooyrt Shoanie, “vel uss son skeet trooid ocsyn?” | “Yes,” said Shoanie, “do you want to look through them?” | |
| “Mie dy liooar,” dooyrt yn fer elley. “Bannee mee,” dooyrt eh, “t’ad feer lajer dy jarroo. | “Good enough,” said the other one. “Bless me,” he said, “they’re very strong indeed. | |
| Foddym fakin feeagh er banglane heose sy vagher hoal aynshid,” dooyrt eh spotcheragh. Eisht ghow Shoanie adsyn as dooyrt eh, | I can see a deer on a branch up in the field over yonder,” he said, joking. | |
| “T’ou uss kiart dy liooar, as ta mee fakin yn feeagh shen meekey neesht!”[6] | “You are right enough, and I see that deer winking too!” | |
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[6] ta mee fakin yn feeagh shen meekey neesht] ‘I see that deer winking also!’ although evidently the intended meaning is ‘I also see that that deer is winking!’
[ta mee fakin myyrgeddin dy vel yn feeagh shen meekey].
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| Laa dy row va Shoanie mooie er y cheer shelgey feeaiee marish Duchess Vontrose as e sheshaght as haghyr ad er cleigh as v'eh orroosyn shen y ghrappal. | One day Shoanie was out on the land hunting deer with the Duchess of Montrose and her team and they came across a hedge and they had to climb it. | |
| Dod Shoanie clamberagh harree gyn boirey erbee, agh haink beggan dy ghoilleeid er y duchess jannoo drappal urree as fy yerrey dooyrt ee, “Nee trooid y chleigh ta mee nish?” | Shoanie could climb over it no bother at all, but a little bit of difficulty came upon the Duchess making her climb on it and finally she said, “Am I through the hedge now?” | |
| “Cha nee,” dooyrt Shoanie, “agh veagh shiu mie dy liooar mannagh nee cho mooar yn thoyn eu!”[7] | “No,” said Shoanie, “but you would be alright if your bottom wasn’t so big!” | |
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[7] mannagh nee cho mooar yn thoyn eu!] evidently the intended meaning is ‘if your bottom wasn’t so big’.
[mannagh nee] is used before nouns, rather than adjectives, and is not used where a conditional tense is required.
[mannagh beagh yn thoyn eu cha mooar as t’eh] ‘if your bottom wasn’t as big (as it is)’.
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| Va Shoanie ny lhie ching agglagh sy thie as va eash vooar er, as smooinee e huyr dy row eh er chee geddyn baase as myr shen chionnee ee lheiney-vaaish as caashey as costrayl dy ushtey-vea son e oanluckey — she chliaghtey va lesh ny shenn chummaltee beggan dy chaashey y ghee as dram y ghiu ec oanluckey — agh va'n Vlein Noa tayrn orroo as noi dagh ooilley yerkallys ren Shoanie couyral dy mie as myr shen dy vel ad gra nagh nee dooinney erbee elley agh eshyn hene ren giu yn ushtey-vea va er ny chionnaghey er son e oanluckey hene! | Shoanie was lying sick in the house and he was a great age, and his sister thought that he was about to die and so she bought a death shroud and cheese and a jar of whiskey for his burial — it’s a custom with the old residents to eat a little cheese and to drink a dram at a burial — but the New Year was drawing in on them and against every expectation Shoanie recovered well and so they say that no any other man but himself drank the whisky that had been bought for his own burial! | |
| SHORUS Y CREAYRIE | SHORUS Y CREAYRIE | |