Help With A First Try? / Cuidich Le A Ciad Oidhirp?

[shaylee_mcrae]

(I hope I posted the title right! I'm still tryin' to learn)!

So... I am getting married next year. I have always been Daddy's little girl and I want to do something special for him (his whole side of the family is Scottish). I do wood carving and I want to make a frame for our daddy-daughter picture that says "a son is a son until he comes of age but a daughter is a daughter all her life" in Gaidhlig... So, I have been trying to find it on websites and stuff but to no avail and so I decided to try and tr*nsl*t* it out myself.... If I could get some input cuz there are a few words I'm not sure which usage is right, I would really appreciate it!

"A son is a son until he comes of age but a daughter is a daughter all her life".

"leanabh-mic neo-riagh leanabh-mic gu/gus/gu ruige (thats "until" and I'm not sure which way to use it) bha ainmig ochd deug/thig gu h-aois (thats "of age" and I dunno which way is correct) ach/ach seacha-sin ("but" or "but, apart from that"??) leanabh-nighinn/fitheach (a daughter?) neo-riagh leanabh-nighinn/fitheach (a daughter?) uile/uileag (all?) sealbh/neo-ath (her?) bith/beatha (life?).

So... yeah... I bolded all the words I wasnt sure how to use with the two or three options I was confused on (each slash seperates the two or three ways I found and am unsure about)... If I could get some help, that would be AWESOME!!

Thank you!
Shaylee

[faoileag]

Full marks for trying - so many people come on here and other sites simply demanding Gaelic for mottos etc. without trying themselves at all.

I'm not a native speaker or near it, so don't get carving just yet - I hope someone more qualified will come on and help out. (Lots of folk on holiday just now.)

Your title is pretty close; cuidich le ciad oidhirp. (There may be more idiomatic ways of saying it, but it's the literal rendering anyway.)

Another fairly literal version, keeping it simple:

Is mac mac gus an tig e gu aois; is nighean nighean fad a beatha.

But as I say, wait for more expert advice!

Are you trying to learn in self-study, or are you attending a course? There are Skype/online courses available from SMO (Scotland) and the AGA (North America), both starting in September.

[Seonaidh]

As Gull says, there's probably more idiomatic/neater ways of putting it. It might be an idea to google some abairtean (sayings) and try to find one close to what you've put in English, but maybe not exact. For instance, in Welsh we have such things as "Cas gŵr na châr y wlad a'i maco" - which doesn't mean anything like what you want, just using it to show a typical saying format (it actually means "Hateful [is] [the] man who does not love the land that raised him"). Maybe something like "Is mac gu h-inbhe, is nighean fhad beatha". But check it out.

[shaylee_mcrae]

Hi there!

Thank you for replying!

faoileag:

So, write it out more like a proverb then the whole saying? That might work (much shorter for hand carving into a hunka wood)!
I am trying to to teach myself because I am a broke college student and I would love to learn! My dad's mom's side of the family is Irish and my dad's dad's side is very Scottish. My Gramps could speak it fairly well since he spent his summers there with his Uncles. My dad doesn't have much at all, sadly. But, it's who I am and so I've decided I so very much want to learn! It's a mind boggling task though and I have almost no skill with languages

Seonaidh:

Although I wouldn't use it for my father of the bride gift, I actually really like that saying... I know some people who it kinda unfortunately applies too! I'll have to remember that one!

Thank you guys again!!

Shaylee

[GunChleoc]

A more literal attempt:

Bidh mac na mhac gus an tig e gu aois; bidh nighean na nighean fad a beatha.

And an attempt at shortening things:

Nad mhac gus an tig thu gu aois; nad nighean fad do bheatha.

And a bit more flowery:

Nad mhac gus an cuir thu crios-féilidh; nad nighean fad do bheatha.