Here are two recordings of a verse from an Irish song that I learnt this week in the sean-nós class in Gleann Cholm Cille. The first recording is spoken by the sean-nós tutor, Gearódín Breathnach, and the second recording is sung by Gearódín and the class.
Recording 1:
Recording 2:
Your challenge is to identify the song and have a go at transcribing the words, either in Irish, or in the IPA or your own phonetic spelling system.
Here’s a recording of the whole song:
Recte: Sean-nós. Níl an ‘s’ caol. Is álainn an t-amhrán é agus is chan sibh go han-mhaith é. Tá bualadh bos tuilte agabih! Tá na focail ar fáil ar an idirlíon, ar ndóigh. Tá leagan de le cloisteáil ar an albam “Clannad 2”, más buan mo chuimhne.
Ar chonnlaigh ghlais an fhoghmhair
A stóirín gur dhearc mé uaim
Ba deas do chos i mbróig
‘Sba ró-dheas do leagan siubhail.
Do ghruaidh ar dhath na rósaí
‘Sdo chúirníní bhí fighte dlúith
Monuar gan sinn ‘ár bpósadh
Nó’r bórd luinge ‘triall ‘un siubhail.
The song is called “Ar choinligh ghlas an fhómhair” (By the green stubble of the harvest).
The version I have has slightly different spelling:
Ar choinligh ghlas an fhómhair,
a stóirín, gur dhearc mé uaim.
Ba deas do chos i mbróigín
is ba ró-dheas do leagan siúil,
Do ghrua ar dhath na rósaí
is do chúirníní bhí fite dlúth.
Mo nuar gan sinn ár bpósadh
ar bord loinge ag triall ‘un siúil.
Here’s an English translation:
By the green harvest stubble,
my darling, I looked around on all to to see.
How lovely your foot in your little shoe,
how lovelier still your graceful walk.
Your cheek the hue of roses,
and your ringlets so braided, thick.
My woe that we are not to wed
on board a ship a-sailing west.
Do you have it transcribed into IPA? I made a start, but was ultimately defeated.
fiosachd – that’s entirely up to you.
One reason for this challenge was see what non-Irish speakers made of the sounds of Irish.
This is what it sounds like to me:
At hun wee glas a nowah
az stori gon yak me mwa
bajash d’hosh immrogin
sparoyaz dayugim….
With some exposure to Gaelic spelling and pronunciation (mostly in music) but not much, here is my phonetic (non-IPA) transcription with a few words I think I recognized in Gaelic:
Ar chonnlui gwas a mower a story gor niach nil buan.
Ba djas to chosh imrogin sparoyas do geagam siúil.
Do wurwai mordernrossi stuwurmini bhuí fuche dlui.
Mo mluwa ganshen arbosu ar bord munye etchitiyalum siúil.
Upon seeing other (Gaelic speakers’) transcriptions, I am amazed.