Today all around the world, people of Irish decent (or just lovers of Irish culture) are getting ready to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. From parades to feasts, people will gather to commemorate Irish history and culture – which stretches back far before the first ever St. Patrick’s Day parade was organized. A glance at Irish culture reminds us of the important role that language plays, and the uniqueness of the Gaelic language. Gaelic writers have a significant literary impact, but in order to reach a wider audience their works need professional Gaelic literature translation.
The Origin of St Patrick’s Day: Why, When and How?
St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated each year on March 17th, the anniversary of the death of St. Patrick himself. It commemorates the arrival of Christianity in Ireland, which is said to have been introduced by St. Patrick around the end of the fourth century. Over the years, it has become a celebration of Irish culture and heritage in general.
St. Patrick’s Day celebrations usually include parades, cèilidhs (social gatherings with traditional dancing) and the dressing in green attire and shamrocks (which in historic folklore are said to have been used by St. Patrick to demonstrate the Catholic holy trinity). According to tradition, the Lenten restrictions observed by Christians from Ash Wednesday through Easter Sunday, banning people from eating meat and drinking alcohol, were lifted on St. Patrick’s Day. So, historically, the Christian Irish would attend church services in the morning and celebrate the day feasting. Interestingly, the corned beef and cabbage, considered the traditional meal of St. Patrick’s Day, is really only traditional in celebrations outside of Ireland.
Today, St. Patrick’s Day is widely celebrated not only in Ireland, but all over the world by Irish descendants, especially in the United States and Canada.
The Gaelic Language – Lost in Translation?
Also known as the Irish language, the Gaelic language originated in Ireland and was widely spoken by Irish people around the 13th to 18th centuries. Although English is the most widely spoken language across the island today, Gaelic is also recognized as an official language by the Republic of Ireland as well as the European Union.
For much of Ireland’s history, Gaelic was a predominant language spoken by the Irish. However, the increasing power of the English state in Ireland during the Elizabethan Era changed its fate. Gaelic language speakers began to decline in the 17th century and kept decreasing until the end of British rule, with less than 15% of the population speaking Gaelic at that point. Surprisingly, the 21st century has seen a new peak in the number of Gaelic speakers. According to the national census, in 2011 there were around 94,000 people who spoke Gaelic as a first language, and at least 1.3 million who used it occasionally either in or out of school.
Gaelic Literature Translation
Even though the use of Gaelic has dramatically decreased over the centuries, it is still one of the oldest literary languages in Europe, second only to Latin. From old hymns from around the 6th century to Irish modern literature, Gaelic writers have provided the literary world with a number of significant works. Famous authors of contemporary Irish literature include Pádraic Ó Conaire , the poet Seán Pádraig Ó Ríordáin, and Pádraig Ó Cíobháin. However, likely due to the low number of Gaelic speakers around the world, these works do not reach as wide an audience as they could. In order to change this, Irish authors would have to entrust their works to professional Gaelic language translation. However, literary translation, and especially Gaelic literature translation, is a very precise and specialized task.
Aside from selecting a good agency to provide you with a quality Gaelic literature translation, choosing a good literary translator can be a tricky task. A professional literary translation services provider will not simply translate the content literally when performing a Gaelic literature translation. Rather they must use a method called transcreation which ensures that the intended message of the writer is preserved in the translated version and makes sense in the context of the target language. This demands an understanding of the cultural context in both cultures. Thus, when hiring a Gaelic literary translator, it is important to make sure that he or she is not only proficient in both the source (Gaelic) and target languages, but also has a deep knowledge of both the Irish culture and the target culture, and is a skilled writer.
What is there to do in Boston on St. Patrick’s Day?
If looking into some Gaelic language translation or literature isn’t really your thing this St. Patrick’s day, fear not! There are plenty celebrations taking place around the world, and quite a few in our home state as well. Massachusetts has one of the largest populations of Irish descent in the US. 25% of the people living in the State have Irish heritage. Thus, it is not surprising that St. Patrick’s Day is one of the most celebrated festivities of the year.
If you want to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day as a true Bostonian (or should we say Irish-Bostonian?), there are a number of things you can do on the weekend of March 17th.
Although the St. Patrick’s Day Parade is not to be missed, that is only the beginning of the celebration. You can go cheer on the runners of the St. Patrick’s Day Road Race in Southie (or you could even try and participate!), take a long, interesting walk around Boston’s Irish Heritage Trail or just go to one of the uncountable Irish pubs in town to enjoy a pint.
No matter what your plan is, do not forget to dress in green and wear a shamrock – maybe you will get lucky and find a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow!
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