My Irish is pitiful. But as well as trying to brush it up by fits and starts, I also collect epigrams and pithy phrases in Irish. The first one I ever learned was on an Irish Linen Tea Towel.
Is minic do bris an beal duine a srón.
— many a time a man’s mouth broke his nose.
Is fearr rith maith na droch sheasamh
— a good run is better than a bad stand.
On a’it bhuil do chroi 'is ann a thabharfas do chose thu
– your feet will bring you to where your heart is.
Binn béal ina thost
– the melodious mouth is silent.
I can’t find my Irish Language Bible - not an actual bible but the book in which I wrote all my Oideas Gael lessons - but I have a couple of pages with these great sayings in there. My favourite is a tongue twister which I made into a shirt on Cafepress:
I found my OG notes the other day, and couldn’t help laughing at them. In level 4 that second week, we were doing “counseling sessions” with one another, and if you didn’t know that, seeing what I jotted down might make you think twice about my state of mind! They included translations for “I’m worried about my personal safety,” “I’m sick and tired of my children,” “My suit itches me,” “My job really gets me down,” and “9 mm semi-automatic” (!).
Ha. I have a book on learning Irish somewhere; it has increasingly complex imaginary conversations and such in it. There was one such involving a young Irishwoman studying in France - maybe it was a letter home - with commentary about how she couldn’t stand the food.
I always remember the seanfhocal, “Aithníonn ciaróg ciaróg eile.” Roughly translated, “One beetle recognises another,” IOW “Birds of a feather flock together.”
Now, check my pronunciation, please (Midwestern U.S. orthography): ANN-ee(uh)nn KEE(uh)-rogue KEE(uh)-rogue ELL-uh.
