[ page ]senator Róṁánaċ tré gan Laidean do laḃairt, bioḋ gur ṫaiṫniġ leis an Impire fearsaiḋe, sean-ráiḋte, agus sean-ḟocail Ghreugaċa.
Ins na haimsearaċaiḃ so, mar an gceudna, na hambasadúirí, .i. teaċtairí na ríġṫe, ní laḃraid a ngnóiṫe aċt i dteangain nádúrṫa a ríoġ fein; tar a éis sin, is le fear teangan doḃeirid re, ṫuigsint a n-intinn. Is ró-ṁilleánaċ do ḃí Cicero ar an druing do ḃíoḋ taitneaṁaċ ar an dteangain Ghreugaiġ, agus ar ṫeangṫaiḃ coṁaiġṫeaċa eile, agus do ṫarcaisniġ a dteanga nádúrṫa féin Laidne, ag ráḋ: “Ní féidir liom gan a ḃeiṫ i n-a iongnaḋ ró-ṁór orm, níḋ ċoṁ neaṁ-ġnáṫaċ sin agus atá i n-aġaiḋ an uile reusúin .i. gan cion do ḃeiṫ ag gaċ neaċ ar a ṫeangain ndúṫċais nádúrṫa féin.”
Ar an aḋḃar sin, is cóir agus is iomċuḃaiḋ ḋúinn-ne, na hÉireannaiġ, ḃeiṫ ceanaṁail gráḋaċ onóraċ ar ar dteanain ndúṫċais nádúrṫa féin, an Ghaeḋealg, noċ atá ċoṁ folaiġṫeaċ, ċoṁ múċta sin, naċ mór ná deaċaiḋ sí as cuiṁne na ndaoine: a ṁilleán so—is féidir a ċur ar an aois ealaḋan noċ is uġdair do’ n teangain, do ċuir í fá ḟór-ḋorċaċt agus cruas focal, dá sgríoḃaḋ i moḋaiḃ agus i ḃfoclaiḃ diaṁara dorċa do-ṫuigseant ; agus ní ḟuilid saor mórán d’ár ndaoiniḃ uaisle, doḃeir a dteanga ḋúṫċais nádúrṫa (noċ atá foirtill fuiriṫe onóraċ foġlamṫa geur-ċúiseaċ innti féin) i dtarcaisne agus i neaṁ-ċion, agus ċaiṫeas a n-aimsir ag saoṫruġaḋ agus ag foġlaim teanṫa coṁaiġṫeaċ eile.
Notes.
Teanga, here declined—gen. -an, dat. -ain. Better gen. -aḋ, dat. -aiḋ.
Re = le: re ’ṫuigsint = re a ṫuigsint towards its understanding = to be understood.
Ná deaċaiḋ, Old and Munster form = naċ ndeaċaiḋ. Teangṫa, nom. pl. form for gen. pl. teangad. In like manner teaċtairí na ríġṫe for na ríoġ. This tendency (to use one form throughout all plural cases) is very strong in modern colloquial Irish, as fataiḋe, potatoes; glanaḋ na ḃfataiḋe, weeding the potatoes; baint ḟataiḋe, digging potatoes; cliaḃ fataiḋe, a hamper of potatoes, &c.
Translation.
OUR NATIVE LANGUAGE.
There is no nation throughout the world that does not think it honourable[1] to esteem its own language, and to read it and write it.[2] The Romans gave so much esteem and honour to the Latin language,[3] although they were well learned in the Greek language, which was in esteem[4] at that time—nevertheless[5] they did not think it fitting[6] to answer the envoys or letters of the Greeks but in the Latin language; and moreover, after the Greeks were[7] [brought] under them and under their rule, they (the Romans) pretended[8] that they did not understand the Greek language, though they understood it very well. For it is not only in Rome that this [language] was [spoken], but throughout Asia [Minor] entirely, and also over the whole of Greece; and this in order that there might be great respect for the Latin language. Moreover, to verify this, as Dion Cassius has written, the Emperor Claudius punished very severely[9] a Roman senator for not speaking Latin,[10] although the Emperor delighted in[11] Greek verses, sayings and proverbs.
In these times, likewise, the ambassadors,[12] i.e., the messengers of the kings, do not speak their business but in the natural language of their own king; after this[13] they make their meaning understood through an interpreter.[14] Cicero was very censorious[9] towards those who took pleasure in[15] the Greek language and in other foreign languages, and who despised their own natural language (of) Latin, saying:—“I cannot help wondering very much[16] at a thing so extraordinary that it is[17] against all reason, i.e., that every one should not esteem his own native natural language.”
For this reason, it is right and fitting for us, the Irish,[18] to be full of esteem, love and honour for our own native natural language, the Gaelic, which[19] is so much in the background, so stamped out, that it has almost gone[20] out of the people’s memory: the blame of this may be laid on the learned, who[19] are the authors of the language,[21] who have buried it under obscurity and difficulty of vocabulary,[22] writing it in mysterious, obscure and untelligible idioms and words; and many of our gentry are not free [from blame] who regard[23] their native natural language, which is forcible, ready, dignified, cultured, and exact in itself, with contempt and with disregard, and who spend their time labouring and learning other foreign[24] tongues.
- ↑ “That it is not honourable with it;” a more classical form would be le naċ onóraċ, “with whom it is not honourable.” Bheiṫ ceanaṁail ar, lit. “to be esteemful on.” See, also, third paragraph, line two.
- ↑ Lit. “And its reading and its writing.” Note that a is not the “sign” of the infinitive, as some modern grammarians state. A before an infinitive can only mean “his,” “her,” “its,” “their,” as feuċad le n-a ḋeunaṁ. “I shall look to its doing, I shall try to do it.” When we meet such phrases as luċ a ṁarḃaḋ, “to kill a mouse,” the a is merely a corruption of do. The same corruption is found in many other phrases, as ’tá peann a ḋiṫ orm for do ḋiṫ, “there is a pen of want on me; I want a pen,” Dul a ċodlaḋ for dul do ċodlaḋ, “going to sleep,” a réir mar adeir Brian for do réir, “according to what B says,” dul a ḃaile for dul do ḃaile or do’n ḃaile, “going home.”
- ↑ Laidne, “of Latin,” pronounced lainne, gen. of Laidean.
- ↑ Note the use of the adverb go ceanaṁail after the verb atáim, where in English an adjective would be used.
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- ↑ 9.0 9.1
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- ↑ 19.0 19.1
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