'Let it Go' in Gaelic

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Mairead
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'Let it Go' in Gaelic

Unread post by Mairead »

Halò, a h-uile duine! This past semester, in my free time I've been tr*nsl*t*ng "Let it Go" from the movie Frozen into Gaelic. I've just finished the first draft and there are a couple lines I wasn't sure about, so I want to post those here to ask if they are correct.

Tha an sneachd a' luisneachadh geal
I was trying to say 'The snow is glowing white'. Is it okay to use 'geal' like that?

Tha a' ghaoth a' fàs mòr coltach ris an t-stoirm am broinn
'The wind is getting stronger like the storm inside'

Dh'fheuch mi ùine mhòr
'I tried a long time'

Thuirt thu gur e fhearr e a-staigh
'You said that it is better inside'

'S fhearr leam an fhuachd air cor air bith
'I prefer the cold anyway'. I would use 'co-dhiù' but it doesn't fit the rhythm, and I saw 'air cor air bith' as an alternative on AFB.

Ann am fochair a' ghaoth 's an speur
'In conjunction with the wind and sky'

Tha iad a' togail caisteal deighe air m'anam cumhachdach
They build a castle of ice out of my strong soul'

Tha fhios 'am aonan le cheann soilleir mu dheireadh
'I know one thing with a clear head at last'

Tapadh leibh! :)


Tha avatar agam à dhealbh aig mo phiuthar anns an Cellardyke. Tha trì videothan Ghàidhlig agam anns an Youtube.
My avatar is from a photo that my sister took in Cellardyke. I have three Gaelic videos on Youtube.
poor_mouse
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Re: 'Let it Go' in Gaelic

Unread post by poor_mouse »

is getting stronger -- a' fàs nas motha / nas làidire
an stoirm (an t-s only before vowel, l, n, r)
gu bheil e nas fheàrr a-staigh (comparative), gur e as fheàrr a-staigh (superlative)

'S dòcha gun innis ar caraidean dhut an corr.
I think our friends will tell you the rest.
Eilidh -- Luchag Bhochd
Seonaidh
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Re: 'Let it Go' in Gaelic

Unread post by Seonaidh »

Inntinneach. Ciamar a tha thu air "let it go" fhèin a dhèanamh? Tha mi air "Gad hi fynd" fhaicinn sa Chuimris: de mu "leigeadh às"? Chan eil mi cinnteach idir.

???
Deàrrsaidh an sneachd air a' bheinn gheal a-nochd; gun lorg-coise ann oirre.
Seo rìoghachd aonarachd agus 's mise a' bhanrigh oirre.
Tha a' ghaoth ag èigheach mar na th' agam taobh a-staigh.
Chan fhaodainn a cumail a-staigh, ged a dh'fheuchainn gu cruaidh.
???
Mairead
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Re: 'Let it Go' in Gaelic

Unread post by Mairead »

Tapadh leat, a Sheonaidh. I watched several different translations of the song in other languages and many of them do a variation on "I'm free" instead of "let it go", so I went with "Tha mi saor".

This is what I came up with for the first verse:

Tha an sneachd a' luisneachadh geal air a' bheinn; chan eil daoine eile ann.
Tha an rìoghachd seo 'na chùlanach, 's tha mise aig an ceann.
Tha a' ghaoth a' fàs mòr coltach ris an stoirm am broinn.
Cha b' urrainn dhomh ga chleith; dh'fheuch mi ùine mhòr.

I'll have to rework the line about the wind and the storm, though, since Luchag Bochd pointed out I'd made an error with the "growing stronger" bit. I quite like how you've put that line. Since I'm still a beginner at Gaelic it's quite a challenge to do the song and I know there are probably better ways to put a lot of the lines, but I really enjoy it and I'd like to put it on Youtube to add to the many different versions of the song available.

Am bheil mòran mhearachdan anns na abairtean gun robh mi a' cur an-seo?
Tha avatar agam à dhealbh aig mo phiuthar anns an Cellardyke. Tha trì videothan Ghàidhlig agam anns an Youtube.
My avatar is from a photo that my sister took in Cellardyke. I have three Gaelic videos on Youtube.
Seonaidh
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Re: 'Let it Go' in Gaelic

Unread post by Seonaidh »

Tha.

OK - I s'pose you'd like me to tell you what...let's sèè now...

"Rìoghachd" is gramatically feminine, so "na" (no apostrophe needed) causes no change in the following word.
"at the helm" or whatever - "aig a' cheann", as it's governed by a preposition (aig). In Auld Gaelick, you might have put "aig a' chionn", but that actual dative/prepositional case is now only found in fossilised pjrases like "os cionn".

"An stoirm am broinn"? maybe better "an stoirm nam bhroinn" (as it's inside the wee lassie herself).

"I tried a big hour". What I put isn't necessarily correct, but I felt a more continuous feel was better, so I used the conditional (which doubles as imperfect or habitual).

Does "let it go" really mean "I am free"? Is there a more appropriate rendering?

To do a literal tr*nsl*t**n - and also to preserve the rhyming and scansion patterns - is well nigh impossible, so a bit of poetic licence is needed (have you got yours yet, I think they're available from the PPLA for a modest fee [Poet and Poem Licensing Authority, based in South Wales]). The task is to get the same sort of feeling across - in a recognisable fashion (i.e. without taking too many liberties which rhyme and stress etc.) Doing a straight tr*nsl*t**n is easy enough - but getting the sense over while preserving the essential rhythm is a stuffed koala - well, it's something else, anyway.
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