The Irish Language - Grammar, Pronunciation, Games, Myths, Poetry and more

Re: Need Help. How would you say a Courageous Dancing Fox?

Dale D — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 16:47:30 GMT

Fáilte romhat, a Natasha!

The only place I had seen "madra rua" employed, in my limited experience, was in the book "An Prionsa Beag" (The Little Prince), translated by Breandán Ó Doibhlin. The "fox" is a pivotal character in that story, and I had seen the term previously. I was not aware of the alternative term "sionnach" until your inquiry, so we have both learned from each other! Of course, that's what this forum is all about....

Slán!

Dale D

Re: Need Help. How would you say a Courageous Dancing Fox?

thedancingirish — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 12:29:14 GMT

Thank you so much that is very helpful. I am excited to include language in my school, but it will be a long journey as I still need to grow myself.

I had seen the "madra rua" and I love the symbology of a red fox. I wasn't sure it would be a good version of fox to use since I see it associated with pubs and a news journal.

Go raibh maith agat,

Natasha H

Re: Need Help. How would you say a Courageous Dancing Fox?

Dale D — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 08:59:35 GMT

Haigh, thedancingirish.

Misneach = courage, which is a noun; what you want is the adjective form "courageous" which is "misniúil".

In Irish, adjectives generally follow the noun they modify, so "Sionnach Misniúil" would be "a courageous fox.

So I would tentatively render it "An Sionnach Misniúil Damhsa" The Courageous Dancing Fox.

There is another term for "fox" -- "madra rua", literally "red-haired dog" but it is a term used in literature for fox. It might be a bit more cumbersome to use in this case, and you may not have in mind a red-haired fox, but rather a grey fox or whatever other variety, but just in case you are interested....

Disclaimer: I am not a native Irish speaker, and consider myself a learner, so I may be mistaken. I would advise you to wait a bit and see if anyone else confirms my construct before using it for an official licensing purchase.

Slán!

Dale D

Need Help. How would you say a Courageous Dancing Fox?

thedancingirish — Thu, 09 Jun 2016 17:42:55 GMT

I have reciently received my Irish Dance Certification and would like to have a creative name for my school. There are schools with the name an sionnach. I was thinking something like Misneach Sionnach Damhsa. I don't know anything about gramer and wanted some advice before purchasing licensing. Let me know your thoughs?