Cuidich mi!

[Hev]

A bheil seo ceart?


Feumaidh mi stad / sguir agus a dhol dhan leabaidh. Tha an oidhche a’ tighinn anmoch agus dùisgidh mi trath a maireach. Tha mi sgìth agus tha mi ag iarraidh a bhith nam chadal.

Moran taing

[poor_mouse]

'S dòcha, "Feumaidh mi sgur / stadadh" (verbal noun).

tràth

a-màireach (Seall Am Faclair Beag )

Do you mean that the night came very late today? It's rather strange.

[Seonaidh]

It is, as Bochdluchag says, a bit stronge. Can you aid me with the English here: is it

"I must stop and go to bed. The night is getting late and I wake early tomorrow. I'm tired and I'm wanting to be asleep."

There's and ancient joke about a traveller asking an Irishman how to get to a nearby village. The reply starts something like, "Well, if I was going there, I wouldn't be starting from here!" And in a sense it's a similar story in languages. In particular, the English construction "Come and see!", or "I'll go and get the book" and so forth is somewhat peculiar to English and a literal tr*nsl*t**n into most other languages would look a bit weird. As an example, a once popular textbook for Welsh learners was called "Dewch i Ddysgu Cymraeg!": literally, this is "Come to Learn Welsh!" - but more usual in English would be "Come and Learn Welsh!"

Anyway, your "stop and go to bed" isn't quite in that category, but I'm not at all sure about "stop". For you've used either "sgur" or "stad": on its own, "stad" would probably be better here, but even that somewhat begs the question "stop what?" Not universally by any means, but often "stad" is used for things like stopping a car etc., i.e. some movement. "Sgur" has more the meaning of "cease" and it really needs you to say what you're ceasing doing. Perhaps what you had in mind was something like "sgur ris an eadarlìon a shurfadh", or "sgur ri sgrìobhadh" and so on. Or maybe just "sgur ri cluiche".

Note for the pair wee moosie - "stad" is fine as a verb-noun. But she's right about "sgur" an àite "sguir".

"Tha an oidhche a' tighinn anmoch" - "The night is coming late" - very strange. It would be nice to use some sort of idion here, as in English "the witching hour" or Welsh "wedi chwech arna'i" (lit. "It's gone six on me" - the time when quarrymen needed to be at work). Unfortunately, I can't think of an appropriate Gaelic idiom, though I feel there must be one. In non-idiotic English, it might be better to say something like "the hour is getting late" anyway: or maybe you had in mind something like "the night is drawing on"? Probably just "It's getting late" (and I would NOT recommend "tha e a' faighinn anmoch"...). Maybe something slightly more poetic, e.g. "Tha solas an là air falbh" - "The daylight's gone".

Now, did you mean to say that you will wake up early in the morning, as if that was what you usually do anyway? If so, fine. But I suspect you meant to say that you NEEDED to wake up early in the morning (for some reason, e.g. going to work etc.). In which case, rather than "dùisgidh mi tràth a-màireach" you might prefer to say "bidh agam ri dùsgadh tràth sa mhadainn" (I need to wake up early in the morning).

As for the last bit, OK, but sounds a tad long-winded. Maybe just "Tha mi sgith agus ag iarraidh mo chadal". But top marks for knowing about "nam chadal" etc.

[Hev]

Thanks for your help. Don't quite know why I put "the night is coming late": meant to stay "the night is getting late". I like the poetic approach "Tha solas an là air falbh" and thanks for help re stopping. Will keep trying!

[GunChleoc]

There's a song called "tha i a' tarraing anmoch" - it's getting late

http://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/en/fu ... d/100795/4

http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/allta ... nmoch.html