Outlander Episode 201 – Through a Glass, Darkly – The Gàidhlig Bits I Could Decipher

It’s over! It’s finally OVER! Droughtlander has ended and it appears that everyone has survived. Not a lot of Gaelic in this episode, but not surprising considering we didn’t even get to 1745 until over half an hour in, but there were a few nice phrases. Translations below as always.

 

Le Havre

39:21   Murtagh muttering under his breath

‘s mairg leam seo air fad! – I consider this crappy! (colloquial)

 

40:21  Jamie as he lies on the bed

Gasta! A bed that doesna move. – Great! A bed that doesna move

 

44:43  Jamie curses under his breath about what to tell Murtagh

Mac na galla! – Son of a bitch!

 

48:46 Jamie as he hands his shirt to Claire

Seo – Two ways to interpret this. Could be ‘here’ as he hands Claire the shirt or ‘this’ speaking to Jared referencing his back.

Updated 6/6/2015 – Outlander Episode 116 – To Ransom a Man’s Soul – The Gàidhlig Bits I Could Decipher

Great news! The Gaelic is back in a big way this episode. The bad news is that it was way more complicated than what I normally translate. I’m giving it my best shot though and will call in the big guns as needed.

After the rescue

8:22 Jamie to Claire

Leig leam falbh- Let me go die.

8:38 Jamie to Murtagh

Feumaidh tu stad a chur air mo chràdh! – You must put an end to my torment!

Murtagh to Jamie

Chan éist mi ri seo! – I won’t listen to this!

At the Abbey

27:02 Angus to Willie after the story about his uncle

Dùin do chraos! -shut your big mouth!

I know this is what everyone wants but I don’t have anywhere near all of this yet, just some pieces. I’m putting what I have here and if anyone else can pick out more words, please let me know.

UPDATED: Ok. I have this now. Thanks to those who submitted their possible translations (especially Laura and McInnis). I wanted to wait a bit and see if I could get confirmation, but here’s my best shot! Here is a back translation of perhaps one of the most moving passages of the entire show.

27:11 Jamie to Murtagh

 Ciamar as urrainn ​mo leigeil ris a’ chràdh seo​?​ – How ​can I be left to ​this pain?

Murtagh to Jamie

Nì sinn ar dìcheall do leigheas.​ – We shall do our utmost to heal you.

Jamie to Murtagh

Cha ghabh cuid de ​nithean​ leigheas – Some things ​don​’t ​take h​ealing​.

Mar as miann leam, cuir crìoch air seo a-nis. – As is my desire, put an end to this now.

Murtagh to Jamie

Chan ​fhu​ilinn mi ​’n c​òrr. – I’ll suffer no more of this.

Jamie to Murtagh

Chan fhaigh mi seachad air seo. – I won’t get ​past​ this.

An toir ​u orm aslachdainn? – Will you force me to beg?​

Murtagh to Jamie

Thug mi geall do d​’ mhàthair. – I gave a promise to your mother.

​Sìth air a h-anam​. –  Peace on her soul

Nach tig​eadh cron ort​. – That no harm would come to you.​

Jamie to Murtagh

Is anmoch an uair, a ghoistidh -late is the hour, oh godfather​.

Murtagh to Jamie

Agas Claire? – And Claire?

Am bitheadh i na banntrach, air a treigsinn? –  Would she just be a widow, forsaken?

Tha do cheann sa bhrochan. – Your head’s in the porridge (you’re not thinking straight).

Chan eil smaoin agad oirre ann. – You haven’t a single thought for her.

Jamie to Murtagh

Chan eil smaoin agam ann ach oirre-se. – I have​n’t a single​ thought ​of anything but her.

33:32 Willie to Jamie when he walks into Jamie’s room

A Fhrisealaich, bheil u dùisgte? – Fraser, are you awake?

On the beach

51:26  Angus to Murtagh

Air d’ ais, ana-chrìosdaidh -Be off with you, heathen!

On the Cristabel

55:43 Jamie to Claire when she tells him she’s pregnant

Gast’ air fad! – Absolutely brilliant.

With that we’ve reached the end of a marvelous season 1 for Outlander. I’m a bit sad to think that this is the end of the Gaelic episode recaps for the better part of a year. But, I think on #WorldOutlanderDay it is entirely appropriate to thank two people for the part they’ve played in making sure Gaelic language and culture were not given short shrift in the Outlander universe.

First, it was Diana Gabaldon’s brilliance and dedication to grounding her work in the real language and culture of the time period she chose that started a worldwide interest among people who had maybe not given it much thought before. The ultimate vision was hers and it is that vision given such great life in the TV series. However, in that Outlander TV world, it is Àdhamh Ó Broin who deserves our thanks and appreciation for working tirelessly to make sure that authenticity was brought to every scene where Gaelic was spoken.

It was his passion for his culture and history that led him to fight to get or keep every scrap of Gaelic dialogue he could and prevent anything from being a caricature . It was his care and dedication as a teacher that made sure that the actors he worked with were able to learn and perform their lines in such stupendous fashion and, I think in many cases, gain a real appreciation for language and culture they may not have had before. And lastly, it was his generosity as a person that led him to share his time and passion with the countless numbers of Outlander fans through social media. I know I would have probably given up in frustration at ever reaching any understanding of Gaelic without his tireless support and encouragement for a rank beginner. I hope no one will think I take too much on myself when I offer profound thanks on behalf of all of us Outlander fans. Congrats Àdhamh on a brilliant end of season 1 that fittingly includes perhaps the strongest Gaelic scene of the entire season. I know I can’t wait to see what season 2 has in store!

Slàn leat an-dràsta. (Goodbye for now)

P.S. I will keep updating this post as more translation for the scene between Jamie and Murtagh becomes available.

P.S.S. Full transcript now included!!

Outlander Episode 110 – By the Pricking of My Thumbs – The Gàidhlig Bits I Could Decipher

I don’t know about all of you, but after the eternity of Droughtlander, the newest episode of Outlander seemed to come almost overnight.  I’m loving the fact that here in the US, Starz is posting the episodes through StarzPlay and OnDemand starting at midnight since I need all the head start I can get. Thanks also to those of you who pick up things I miss or get wrong on the first try! Deciphering Gaelic is definitely a group effort!

Claire’s Morning Wakeup Call (we should all be so lucky)

4:01 Jamie’s exclamation at being interrupted

a Dhia – God/For Heaven’s sake! (Pretty sure the lad was taking the Lord’s name in vain here. Claire had reason to be a bit upset too. 😉 )

 4:24 Jamie goes to let Murtagh in (Almost positive this is a repeat of a slur used in ‘Episode 101 – Sassenach’ as Jamie’s not feeling that kindly towards Murtagh and his not-so-impeccable timing.)

 A bhalgair /ə VALAgir/ (ya bastard!) (filthy cur, really)

4:46 Jamie upon learning of the Duke of Sandringham’s arrival

Gasta! – Great!

6:39 Jamie about wanting to go home to Lallybroch

Broch Tuarach – North Facing Tower (As book readers know, this is Jamie’s official title as Laird of Lallybroch)

The Changeling

22:35 Jamie to Claire to give him the baby

Seo – here

Banquet with the Duke

39:00 Colum and the Duke

Slàinte mhath – Good health/Cheers! (an old favorite)

The Duel

44:35 Jamie to the MacDonalds

Thalla gu h-Iort (Hiort)! –  “to St Kilda with ye!”

Leaving with Dougal

52:02 Jamie to Claire regarding dangerous times

Mo Nighean Donn – My brown-haired lass (Jamie’s favorite endearment. After Sassenach, that is.)

That’s it for the Gaelic this week. If anyone has anything I missed, don’t hesitate to post a comment or send me a tweet at @GreatScotBlog!

Wait…that didn’t sound like Jamie? Who is Seumas Ruadh?

Outlander Character Names in Gàidhlig

So, now that many of us have seen episode 101 of Outlander (crossing fingers that EVERYONE will be able to see it soon), we have had our first chance to really appreciate the Gàidhlig language use in the show. (See my previous blog posts for more about the Gàidhlig in episode 101).

I thought it might be useful to point out that the Outlander character names are different in Gàidhlig than in English. This means that when addressed in Gàidhlig, we will not hear the names to which we are all so accustomed.

To help, I have created the following cheat sheet. I am providing my own pronunciation guides, so I will apologize in advance for them not being up to Àdhamh’s standards. I hope to remedy that eventually but he’s a busy lad at the moment.

Update: Hey! Guess Àdhamh found a spare moment, or my representations were really bad. The post is now updated with his pronunciation representations.

This list will likely grow over time, but let’s start with the biggies for now.

 

Jamie :      Seumas //SHAMEuss/ sometimes Seamus Ruadh //SHAMEuss ROOa/

Colum:      Calum /colum/

Dougal:     Dùghall /doool/

Murtagh : Murchadh /MOORAchugh/ ch as “loch”/ This is a hard one. Here is a link to an audio clip. Note only the first part is Murchadh, the second part is a last name, MacBhriain.

Rupert:     Ràibeart  /RAAbursht/

Claire:       Sorcha /SAWRucha/

I hope this little list will help you pick out whom is being addressed in Gàidhlig! Happy viewing.

Updated 8/6/2014 Outlander Episode 101: Sassenach – The Gàidhlig Bits I Could Decipher

So in spite of being at the San Diego premiere and also attending an advanced screening of Outlander Episode 101 last Wednesday, I was also one of the many Outlanders who tuned into Starz at 12:01 August 2 to watch the first Outlander episode yet again. On my initial viewing of the episode titled “Sassenach”, I was only able to pick out a couple of words of the Gàidhlig dialogue. However, after several more viewings (more than 5 but less than 10, but who’s counting?), I have come up with the following list of Gàidhlig I believe I have been able to understand. There is absolutely no guarantee that it is correct and I am quite sure some of the grammar is likely incorrect.  🙂 For words that I could find audio pronunciation files, I have linked them.

So here goes my best attempt. Hopefully the list will go longer with each episode.

Note:  Some people might consider my descriptions of the scenes below a bit of a spoiler, so consider yourself warned.

Outlander Episode 101: Sassenach

The timings listed are from playing the episode through the Starz.com website.

In the woods:

44:23 Murtagh to Claire after he knocks out BJR

Trobhad! – Come!

In the cottage:

45:08 When Murtagh brings Claire in:

Mhurchaidh – Murtagh, sounds like: ah vur-ah-hee because of lenition
Creag an Dùin – Craig na Dun

Murtagh says “caileag shassanach” (English girl). The other man asks “an do ghoid thu as a leapaidh, a bhalaich?” (did you steal/take her from her bed, lad?) [Thanks to Lori and Laurie for this bit. Confirmed by Àdhamh.]

46:59 Someone hands Jamie the whisky

Taing dhut – Thanks.

48:15 Claire puts Jamie’s arm back in joint:

Taing Dhia! – Thank God

51:00 After Claire helps wrap the plaid, Jamie says something to her.

Seo, a-nis. – Here, now. [Not positive yet. Have asked Àdhamh for confirmation. Confirmed by Àdhamh and he says Sam improvised this himself.]

51:18 Dougal to the others

Trobhad – Come

On the road:

52:49 Jamie to Claire

Clach a’ Choillich – Cocknammon Stone

54:07 Jamie War Cry

Tulach Ard!

56:53 After Jamie brings Claire back after the ambush:

Slàinte mhath – Good health! or Cheers!

58:53 When Jamie comes to as Claire cleans his shoulder with alcohol:

Tha mi gasta. – I’m fine.

 

Resources

For those interested, my go to resource, other than Àdhamh Ó Broin, is the Dictionary available at LearnGaelic.Net. The dictionary is very good and easy to use for both English->Gaelic as well as Gaelic->English translations.  There are also audio pronunciation files for many of the Gàidhlig words and phrases.