T’eh feayraghey

By Simon

T’eh feayraghey as goll fliugh ayns shoh er y gherrid, agh ta’n ghrian soilshean jiu. Oie Jardain cheayll mee y çhentagyn as hie mee dy akin ad, agh tra haink mee ayns shen va’n jerrey orroo hannah. S’cummey – honnick mee taishbynys çhentagyn yindyssagh ayns Lunnin ayns Mean Fouyir.

Mae hi’n mynd yn oerach ac yn wlypach yma yn ddiweddar, ond mae’r haul yn disgleirio heddiw. Nos Iau mi glywes i’r tannau gwyllt ac es i allan i weld nhw, ond pan gyrhaedais i yno roedden nhw wedi gorffen yn barod. Dim ots – weles i arddangosfa dân gwyllt ardderchog yn Llundain ym Mis Medi.

Tá sé ag éirí níos fuaire agus níos fliche anseo le déanaí, ach tá an grian ag soilsigh inniu. Oíche Déardaoin chuala mé an tinte ealaíne agus chuiagh mé amach chun iad a fheiceáil, ach nuair a tháinig mé ann ansin bhí siad i ndiaidh críochnaithe cheana féin. Is cuma – chonaic mé taispéantas tinte ealaíne go hiontach i Londain i mí Mheán Fómhair.

Word of the day – moli

By Simon

Today’s word, moli, is the Welsh for ‘to praise’ and appears in a song we’re learning at the Welsh learners’ choir. I don’t think it’s commonly-used in modern Welsh, but does appear in some songs and maybe in poems. The more common word for to praise is canmol, which appears to come from the same root.

Related words include moliannus, praiseworthy; molianrwydd / moliant / molud, praise.

The words for ‘to praise’ and ‘praise’ in Irish and Scottish Gaelic are simliar to the Welsh: moladh, and mol, in Manx they’re moylley and moyll, and in Breton they are meuliñ and meuleudi.

Another meaning of moli is ‘to gather scurf in the eyes’. Scurf, or môl, is a word I haven’t come across before and means the stuff that appears in the corners of your eyes during sleep. There’s probably another name for it – does anybody know?

Translator specs

By Simon

A Japanese company has come up with a gizmo called a Tele Scouter / テレスカウター which can translate what people say to you in foreign languages and display the results via a retinal display attached to your glasses.

The Tele Scouter is a small gadget that fixes onto glasses which incorporates a retinal display, a camera and a microphone. The microphone picks up the language and transmits it to a small computer worn around the waist, which sends it to a server for translation. The translation is then displayed on the retina. The device cannot currently keep up with language spoken at normal speed, and is a bit bulky, but it’s an interesting development.

If the size can be reduced and the speed and reliability increase, this device could be really useful. If it could also translate and/or transliterate written language, if would be even more useful, especially in for languages written with different writing systems.

Guillyn baa

By Simon

Riyr ny yei y passan coloayrtys Frangish, hie mee dys y Thie Bee Blue Sky ayn Bangor as honnick mee Sharon King and the Never Never Cowboys, possan kiaull voish Nalbin. She arraneyder, screeudeyr arraneyn as gitardeyr ee Sharon, as va daa chaillin elley lhee – Vera van Heeringen, ar y gitar, mandalyn, fiddyl as kiaulleeaght cooidjagh, as Isobel Lohss ar y kishtey kiaullee as kiaulleeaght cooidjagh. Va ny arraneyn as y kiaull yindyssagh, as va ennaghtyn mie ayn.

Cowbois

Heno ar ôl y grŵp sgwrs Ffrangeg, es i i’r Tŷ Bwyta Blue Sky ym Mangor ac mi weles i Sharon King and the Never Never Cowboys, grŵp o’r Alban. Cantores, cyddansoddwraig a gitarydd ydy Sharon, ac roedd gynni hi dwy ennod eraill – Vera van Heeringen ar y gitâr, mandolin a ffidl a llais cyfeiliant, a Isobel Lohss ar yr acordion a llais cyfeilliant. Roedd y caneuon a’r gerddoriaeth yn wych, ac roedd naws da yn y lle.

A totally stoatin bevvy

By Simon

A UK supermarket has started putting descriptions of wines in Georgie, Scouse and other regional varieties of English, according to this article. They believe that the normal descriptions are too confusing and complicated and don’t use everyday language.

In Scouse (spoken in Liverpool) it’s, “A totally boss bottle of Merlot which smells o’ blackberry, choccie, a brew and toffees. Juicy and complex like, this bevey is top wi most scran ‘specially me ma’s scouse. Tellin ye, this is deffo a bevey that will leave youz and youz mates made up over yez Sayers pastie.”

In Somerset it’s “Alright my luvver, eers one helluva Merlot. Be stinkin hummin a sivvies thar be bleddy ansome wi yaw croust or oggy. Purfect ta share wi yaw pardy as i’ aiin ta eavy. Mygar be a purdy wine! Churs!”

The title of this post is from a Scots version of the description, and in Geordie (spoken in Newcastle) a Merlot is described as “A canny Merlot ableeze wi succulent blackcurrants an blueberries. This Merlot has legs leik a thoroughbred, strong an forward, tha sucks the leif oot of yer palate. Its stowed bouquet is a delight fer yer nose an will leave yee clamming fer moor. This ain ne blash”

A spokeswoman for the supermarket said, “Local shopkeepers and suppliers came up with the dialect – it’s not come from central office or from a computer,” she insists. “We know that people don’t really talk like this – we just wanted to make wine buying accessible and fun.”

The Lion and the Mouse

By Simon

El león y el ratón

Emilio Gonzalez, who works as an intercultural mediator with immigrant children in Tenerife, emailed me to see if I could help to translate a short story into as many languages as possible.

Here’s the original Spanish version, and the English version:

El león y el ratón

Érase una vez un ratón que salió de su madriguera y se encontró un enorme león.

El león quería comérselo.
– Por favor, león no me comas. Puede que un día me necesites.
El león le respondió:
-¿Cómo quieres que te necesite, con lo pequeño que eres?

El león se apiadó al ver cuán pequeño era le ratón y lo soltó.
Un día, el ratón escuchó unos rugidos terribles.
Era el señor león.

Cuando llegó al lugar, encontró al león atrapado en una red.
– íYo te salvaré! – dijo el ratón.
¿Tú? Eres demasiado pequeño para tanto esfuerzo.

El ratón empezó a roer la cuerda de la red y el león pudo salvarse.

Desde aquella noche, los dos fueron amigos para siempre.

The Lion and the Mouse

Once upon a time there was a little mouse who, coming out of his hole, met an enormous lion.

The lion wanted to eat him up.
“Please, Mr. Lion, don’t eat me. One day you might need me.”
The lion answered, “Why should I need someone as small as you?”

Seeing how tiny the mouse was, the lion took pity on him and set him free.
One day, the mouse heard an almight roar.
It was the lion.

When he got to the place, he found the lion trapped in a net.
“I’ll save you!” said the mouse.
“You?” You are too small for such a hard task.”

The mouse started to nibble at the rope of the net and the lion was saved.

From that day on they were friends forever.

The story has already been translated into Catalan, Basque, France, Portuguese, German, Arabic and Chinese, as well as English. Here’s a pdf with those translations.

Could you translate it into any other languages?

If you can help, please email Emilio at: animaccion[at]gmail[dot]com