[MR] Translation question

[l e storey]

Dia duit, a hEilionora!

I'm going to guess that you'd like the phrase as Gaeilge (in Irish)? 
Would Modern Irish do? or would you like something that's closer to
your persona's period?  In either case, please tell me where and when
your persona hails from -- there are a lot of regional nuances in
Irish, so being from Munster is very very different from Donegal.

I'm going to assume so, and offer a couple of suggestions / thoughts:

* I'm going to guess that the phrase "If not now, then when?  If not
me, then who?" is an idiom as Bearla (in English), so it may not
directly translate into Irish ...
* ... but there is very likely a seanfhocal (a saying, lit. "old word")
that would meet your intent. (see below for a link)

As far as auto-translators go, I haven't found one that does a clean
job btwn English and French, and there are far more French speakers
than English :-) so YMMV as far as a web app ... but here are a couple
of links with my comments:

* Daltaí na Gaeilge - http://www.daltai.com/daltai.htm
This group (mostly folks in NY/NJ area) of Students of Irish may be
able to help you out -- post to their forum (make sure to use the
English/Irish one, not the Irish only!), and do check out their
seanfhocal page: http://www.daltai.com/proverbs.htm
--> If you'd like to learn Irish in person, this is a wonderful group
to work with and they offer immersion weekends!
--> AND, funny enough, here's a current thread on a period name:
http://www.daltai.com/discus/messages/20/12926.html?1094840698

Google found me the following, when I searched for "chara duit" ("dear"
and "god" as Gaeilge; unlikely to be together on any page that isn't
about Irish!):
* http://www.irishgaelictranslator.com/translation/
I can't say anything about it, as I've only just found this link; I'd
never heard of it, though, so YMMV
--> Keep in mind that fada and séimhiú usage as well as noun
declensions and other grammar will radically change the words you find
in a dictionary when they are strung together in a phrase ... though
looking at a quick translation for "china doll," it seemed right/OK to
me
--> AND keep in mind that the regional difference etc above + the
differences btwn English and Hiberno-English and Irish may yield very
different answers

I'd love to take a stab at your phrase :-) and I may do so with my
Irish group on Monday night, but I'm not a native speaker and far from
fluent atm; I'll defer to others!  

Again: please reply with time/place of your persona, as that may (or
not) matter.  (And if you post to translation forum on Daltaí, do
include the time/place information; there are some very keen folks who
know Old/Middle Irish that are known by this group!)

Go n'éirí an t-ádh leat! (good luck)

-Siobhán

--- Eleanor FitzWilliam <eilionoraingheanuilliam at hotmail.com> wrote:

> 
> Beg everyone's pardon this Friday afternoon, but I need some
> assistance, 
> please.
> 
> A friend of mine found out that I'm involved in the SCA, and was
> wondering 
> about my persona (which is Irish).  The conversation gradually led to
> other 
> areas, but returned to the nature of my query.  My friend (and now
> myself as 
> a result) were wondering where one might venture to translate a
> quote.  Are 
> there any websites online where you can type in the quote (or words)
> and 
> have them translated for you?  Or, to make this slightly less of a
> headache, 
> is there anyone on this list (or any other list for that matter) who
> could 
> possibly help me with the translation?
> 
> This is the quote:
> 
> "If not now, then when?  If not me, then who?"
> 
> (This kind of reminded me of the conversation on the list a little
> while ago 
> regarding chivalry.  I've always liked this quote, and would like to,
> 
> somehow, incorporate it into my persona.)
> 
> Any help would be so much apperciated!!!!!!!!!!!
> (Please feel free to forward to any list you may deem fit.)
> 
> Eilionora inghean Uilliam
> *~*~*~*~*~*~*
> Or, a phoenix issuant from base, head to sinister, gules and in chief
> three 
> suns sable
> Shire of Seareach --->  seareach.atlantia.sca.org
> Shire Chronicler
> mka Ashley Elmore
> 
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