Translation help please :)

**Lallans** · 22nd March 11, 08:57 AM

Irish gaelic has it as " níos fearr gach lá ". That's making it a 3 word phrase, " better every day".

"Better everyday" comes out as " níos fearr ó lá go lá ".

Hint: I rely on the professional advice of Google Translate. But they don't have Scots Gaelic, just Irish.

**ksshane** · 22nd March 11, 11:13 PM

Im trying to do the same thing (different phrase). You might ask the question at http://www.irishgaelictranslator.com/ and make sure to put in your post that you would like Scottish Gaelic if possible.

They seem really helpful. But I'm having a problem receiving my verification email for registration, could just be my email though.

Hope that helps

**EagleJCS** · 22nd March 11, 11:35 PM

Canuck makes a good observation. Do you want 'better everyday' as in 'improving the ordinary', or 'better every day' as in 'improving one day at a time'? One little space makes a huge difference.

**Whidbey78** · 23rd March 11, 12:31 AM

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.

**ksshane** · 23rd March 11, 10:01 PM

Maybe i should have been more clear. The site i was referring to is a forum much like this one with Iresh and Scotts that actually translate for you. Not a computer program. They recommend that if the translation is for a tattoo that you wait to recieve at least 3 confirmations on the translation.

**MacSpadger** · 24th March 11, 11:03 AM

Originally Posted by ksshane

Maybe i should have been more clear. The site i was referring to is a forum much like this one with Iresh and Scotts that actually translate for you. Not a computer program. They recommend that if the translation is for a tattoo that you wait to recieve at least 3 confirmations on the translation.

I wouldn't touch these with a barge pole. Very often the answers are from people in the US with no Gàidhlig who copy the responses given by the online translation software. I have seen, honestly, with my own eyes, two people in different areas of the world with Chan eil fios agam as their mottos. I can't even remember what they thought it meant, something about strength for one, but it actually means, "I have no knowledge" in other words, "I don't know".

A US police dept had a logo on the pipe band bass drum. They had asked for a translaion for "Men of The Thin Blue Line", which is just about impossible to translate. What they proudly displayed every time they played was "I copulate with thin blue men".

There are professional translation services out there from Gaelic speakers and for a small phrase it won't cost much. I'd go to one of those.