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Hi everyone..... Bit off I guess, joining your forum just to ask for a tr*nsl*t**n but you guys are my last hope and as I know the generosity of the Scottish people very well I thought this would be the best place to find my answer...

I am trying to make a wooden gift for a wonderful couple who we as a family have had the privilege of getting to know over the last few years and are in the process of taking a new direction in life. The gift is a carving of the Isle of Skye itself with Isle of Skye written above and below I want to write the following, a familiar Scottish proverb and one which has been so true for us as a family every time we have visited that beautiful island.
The phrase is:-

Listen to the silence, be still and let your soul catch up.

The Gaelic I have for that so far is

Èist ris an t-sàmhchair, bi fhathast agus leig do anam grèim suas

Would someone be so kind as to let me know if this will be understood by my fluent Gaelic speaking friends up there on the misty isle...?

Thank you in advance for your help
Nigel

"Èist ris an t-sàmhchair," is OK, the rest looks like a horrible Googlemangle.

Be still = "bi sàmhach", or "bi fèitheil"

I am having trouble finding an expression for "catch up" though - "gus an ruig d' anam thu"?

You should also be aware that most of us here are not native speakers, so using a professional tr*nsl*t**n service might be a good idea.

GunChleoc, Thank you. Really appreciate you taking the time to reply.

Pro t*ns service wanted 199+vat for that single phrase.... I really like the people its for but....

So I emailed the Inverness Gaelic society and a very helpful lady called Alice came back with this:


"Èist ris an t-sàmhchair. Bi sàmhach agus leig le d' anam greimeachadh"

Fits the bill almost perfectly and she uses your "Bi samhach" but the last word is Grasp... Could that be substituted with "Glacadh suas" for catch up or would that be incorrect grammatically or in some other way?


That said I do like the phrase that you have used, until your soul arrives.... "gus an ruig d' anam thu"
If I were to use that I would substitute everything after Bi samhach I assume?

Nigel

That tr*nsl*t**n service is a bit on the expensive side to put it mildly - are you sure that that quote was for a single sentence? There are affordable ones available that will do a good job http://www.foramnagaidhlig.net/foram/vi ... =14&t=1262

"Glacadh suas" does not mean "catch up" in any shape or form, it's the words "catch" and "up" translated separately and cobbled together. It does not make any sense whatsoever in Gaelic, I'm afraid.

You can use the tr*nsl*t**n the Gaelic Society provided you with. "gus an ruig d' anam thu" means "until your soul reaches you", literally, and it would come indeed after "bi sàmhach". Check out the meanings of "greimeachadh" at http://www.faclair.com/ to help you judge with tr*nsl*t**n you prefer.