Galway Bay - cannot translate some words

Latest post Tue, Sep 26 2017 2:44 by LauraHuntORI. 2 replies.
  • Sat, Sep 23 2017 14:30

    • amia
    • Not Ranked
    • Joined on Sat, Sep 23 2017
    • Posts 1
    • Points 37

    Galway Bay - cannot translate some words

    Hello,

    I'm going to learn a traditionnal song from Dr. Arthur Colahan : Galway Bay.

    There some words I cannot translate. Can you help me ?

    upland diggin' praties. I cannot translate "praties" ?

    barefoot gossoms. Is it like "children" ?

    breezes blowing o're the sea of Ireland. Is o're = over ?

    Thanks in advance !

    • Post Points: 37
  • Sat, Sep 23 2017 16:39 In reply to

    • Dale D
    • Top 10 Contributor
      Male
    • Joined on Fri, Feb 18 2011
    • Woodland, California USA
    • Posts 591
    • Points 8,813

    Re: Galway Bay - cannot translate some words

    Hello, amia.

    The translations you are requesting are not Irish per se, but more Hyberno-English (English as spoken by an Irish person).

    "praties" is probably a reference to potatoes, which are "prata" in the Irish language, and the plural is "prataí" pronounced " praw-tee" so the hyberno-English would add an "s" to it to make it agree with English grammar.

    I am unsure about "gossoms".

    The contraction "o'er" is a standard poetic contraction for "over" and is not Hiberno-English, but a common form used by English poets for hundreds of years.

     

    I hope that helps you a little.

     

    Dale D

    • Post Points: 5
  • Tue, Sep 26 2017 2:44 In reply to

    • LauraHuntORI
    • Top 10 Contributor
      Female
    • Joined on Sun, Feb 8 2015
    • Chicago, IL, USA
    • Posts 261
    • Points 2,881

    Re: Galway Bay - cannot translate some words

    Garsún means boy. Then what Dale said about the praties. O're would be over, yes. 

    • Post Points: 5
Page 1 of 1 (3 items) | RSS
Learn Irish with Talk Irish, 117a Ormeau Road, Belfast, BT7 1SH, N Ireland
© Copyright 2019 TalkIrish.com  -  Privacy Policy  -  About Us  -  Jobs  -  News  -  Links