Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Introduction 1
The reason for this book 2
Where’s the artwork? 2
Chapter 1: What is Irish Gaelic? 3
Irish, Gaelic, or Irish Gaelic? 3
A brief history of the Irish language 5
The decline of Irish under English rule 6
The status of the Irish language today 7
Irish dialect differences 8
The traditional dialects 9
The Official Standard 9
Urban Irish 9
Interesting features of the Irish language 10
The verb comes first 10
Words can change… a lot 11
New beginnings 11
“No” doesn’t mean no 12
Conclusion 12
Chapter 2: Irish Writing and Symbols 13
Traditional Irish writing 13
Ogham 14
Celtic knotwork 15
Other popular symbols 16
Chapter 3: Tattoo Translation “Fails” 17
Drug-free disaster 17
The girl made sorrowful by a bad translation 18
My soul what? 20
Daddy’s little who? 22
Don’t be a meme 24
Chapter 4: Translation Issues and Advice 25
Translation issues 25
“Simple” isn’t always so simple 26
First step in translation: what do you mean? 26
Which word works best? 27
When it works but it doesn’t 27
Song lyrics and poetry 28
Translation advice 28
Glossary translations: the three big “don’ts” 28
Adapting translations or finding new ones 29
Cultural cautions 31
Bottom line: your tattoo, your responsibility 32
Chapter 5: The Irish Tattoo Glossary 33
How to use the glossary 33
The Irish tattoo glossary 38
Place, identity and heritage 38
Family 40
Love and friendship 50
In memoriam 55
Religious and spiritual 57
Courage, honour, and service 66
Work, activities, and identities 69
Emotions, qualities, and concepts 71
Personal mottos and sayings 74
Quotes from movies, TV, and literature 78
Traditional Irish sayings and proverbs 80
Glossary Index 83
Resources 91