Phrases in English taken outside the context of a sentence don't often make sense in another language. And due to different ways of structuring a sentence it is even more difficult. I don't know if it's the case with Gaelic, but in many languages there are few synonyms and almost no homonyms. One word means "fair" as in equitable trade, another means "fair" as in proper treatment, and another means "fare" as in fee. There may not be a word that equals "fair's" use when talking about skin tone, hair color or the feminine gender. Add to that the colloquialisms we use, in any language, and how they're used, translation can be exceedingly difficult.
Take a simple exchange between people passing on the street: "How's it going?" "Pretty good." That's hard to translate into any language. If you had only heard true standard English all your life it wouldn't make sense to begin with. How is what going? Going? Where is it going? What is it? Pretty is usually considered to be a good adjective, but what does this have to do with an un-named person or object going somewhere. By "how" are we talking about condition, ease of movement, type of conveyance? My ex-wife used to say something to me in Spanish that literally translated to English said "Stop walking your head into the walls." That doesn't make much sense in either language, but it's something people say in Mexico when someone keeps trying to do something but remains unsuccessful.
I've tried online translators with two word phrases and it came out with three to five words, and not just in Gaelic but in several languages. If you run the phrase through a translator, run the translated text back to english and see what you get. Often the end result makes no sense at all! It would be better to read up on common phrases in Gaelic or talk to a fluent speaker about it. Of course, that's what your original post is about. You will likely wind up using something like "Getting better with every passing day" but may find another phrase, hopefully shorter as well, that can be taken to mean this. There may also be a colloquialism that is taken to mean "better everyday" but translates completely differently.
Good luck.
The grass is greener on the other side of the fence...and it's usually greenest right above the septic tank.
Allen
Bookmarks