Translation for a headstone

[tanya.bailey]

Hey I am trying to get a very accurate translation of "I am Scotland" for my grandfather's headstone in Scots Gaelic...can someone please help me out?

[Scotsgait]

Originally Posted by tanya.bailey

Hey I am trying to get a very accurate translation of "I am Scotland" for my grandfather's headstone in Scots Gaelic...can someone please help me out?

Tha mi Alba

[tanya.bailey]

Thanks!

[MacCoinnich1320]

I am Scotland?

Do you mean I am Scottish if so then it would be 's e Albannach a th' annam.

If you are saying I am Scotland then i suppose Tha mi Alba is ok but it doesn't look right or sound right.

[Calum Mac Neill]

"Is mise Alba" (I am Scotland) would be correct. "Tha mi Alba" is wrong.

The difference is the same as the difference between Spanish, "soy estudiante", which is right, and "estoy estudiante", which is wrong.

However, you may wish to abbreviate this to "Mise Alba" in imitation of the famous Irish poem by Pádraic Pearse called "Mise Éire" (I am Ireland).

[tanya.bailey]

wow thanks for the correction...I really appreciate it...

[Calum Mac Neill]

You're welcome, Tanya!

I fully appreciate how difficult it can be to get a reliable form of Gaelic. Even Gaelic speakers themselves can disagree about both modern and ancient grammar, and there are often several alternatives, so it can be difficult to know which to choose sometimes! And then there's also the situation when a Gaelic speaker makes a slip of the finger on the keyboard ... !