Confused!

Hello,

I'm working on translating a phrase from English to Irish but my level isn't high enough so I've tried using a couple different translators online... would love some help!

The phrase I'm trying to translate is:

I don't know where I'm going, but I'm on my way.

I imagine that the direct translation would be better as: I don't know where I go, but I am on my way. 

These are my attempts, but I don't know which is best.

Níl a fhios agam nuair a tá mé ag dul, 

ach tá mé ar mo bhealach.

Níl a fhios agam nuair a théann mé, 

ach tá mé ar bhealach

Níl a fhios agam nuair mé ag dul, 

ach tá mé ar bhealach.

Níl a fhios agam nuair mé ag dul, 

ach tá mé ar mo bhealach.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks!!!

Hi, Molly.

Your attempts are not bad, but the literal translation doesn't seem to work in Irish the way we English speakers would like it to....

Your first attempt was:

Níl a fhios agam nuair a tá mé ag dul, ach tá mé ar mo bhealach.

"Bealach" does, indeed, mean "way", as does "slí", but "bealach" properly means "channel", "road", "roadway" or "thoroughfare", as well as "way", but it seems to be more in the line of "way" as in the name of a type of street.  "Slí" is similar, but I've seen it used for the way one travels as well.  In both cases, though, these terms seem to refer to something "static", whereas you are trying to convey the idea of being "in progress".  I would suggest the following:

Níl a fhios agam nuair a tá mé ag dul, ach tá mé ag siúil.  (I don't know where I'm going, but I'm walking.)

That seems to carry the idea that you are "actively" going somewhere, where saying "ar mo bhealach" could mean "I'm standing on the road" (but not going anywhere)."  I hope that makes sense.

One caveat is that I'm not sure if "siúil" should be lenited to "ag shiúil".  I couldn't find an example in my online Irish dictionary that uses that construct.  To complicate matters, "siúil" is listed as the verb form, but is an intransitive verb, which means that it doesn't have a conjugation, and therefore no "verbal noun" is given.  It is used in other expressions like, "Siúil leat!" meaning "Come on!"

My other caveat is that I'm no where near fluent, but I think this carries the sense of Irish idioms much better than the literal translation.  Hopefully someone will confirm (or refute) my offering so we can be more definitive about this....

Slán!

Dale D

Haigh, Dale's right, it's kind of tricky to translate these things and invariably something gets lost along the way. I would translate it as:

Níl a fhios agam cá bhfuil mé ag dul, ach tá mé ar an bhealach.

OR

Níl a fhios agam cá bhfuil mo thriall, ach tá mé ar an bhealach.

Nuair wouldn't be used because it means "when".

I'll think about it some more and see if I can think of anything else. Hope it's not for a tattoo!!

So, seano, you would use bhealach? You just destroyed my entire line of reasoning!  Oh, well, so much for that one....

Hey, seano, while I have your attention, I posted a question or two for you back in the English terms from Irish thread.  Don't know if you ever noticed it, but thought I'd ask for some feedback.

Thanks!  Beidh mé ag caint leat níos moille.

Dale D

Thanks for the help!

It's NOT for a tattoo!!! I'm working on a cross stitch for my grandma and a few years ago she read that quote somewhere and repeats it a lot! Since our family has a lot of Irish heritage I thought it'd be cool to do that for her!

But Seano, do you think the latter part translate more like I'm on the road (like not moving?). Dale, you're right, the quote embodies more of an essence of movement!

Thanks so much for your help!

Molly

Haigh Dale, Sorry, I didn't have time to give a full answer there. Ar an bhealach is pretty much th sameas 'on the way' in English. I think 'ar an bhóthar' would be more ambiguous in terms of being on a road or being in movement. To me, 'ar an bhealach' does imply movement. I'll try and check the things on the other thread, but it may be a week or two, I'm afraid! Beidh mé ar an bhealach! :-)