Ní dhéanfadh an domhan capall rása d’asal.

Ní dhéanfadh an domhan capall rása d’asal.

The world would not make a race horse out of an ass (donkey).

Note: Perhaps, the most comparable English proverb is “Horses for courses.” People, like animals, have talents better suited for one thing than another. One has to accept the talents that a person has been given, and not try to make that person do something for which they are ill-suited. This should also be considered when assessing your own talents. As it was inscribed at the Delphic Oracle, “Know thyself.”

Note also: The verb in this week’s seanfhocal is in the conditional mood. Like the future tense of the indicative mood, the conditional mood is used to describe a state of being that has not occured. Therefore, the conditional form,

“Ní dhéanfadh an domhan … (The world could not …),”

is almost the same as the indicative future form,

“Ní dhéanfaidh an domhan … (The world will not …).”

Take the ‘i,’ as in indicative future, out the indicative future form and you get the conditional, at least in the second person (singular and plural) and third person singular.

Bíonn blás ar an mbeagán.

Bíonn blás ar an mbeagán.

Little things tend to be tasty.

Note: This seanfhocal runs counter to the concept that “bigger is better”. It brings to mind the English language proverb: “Good things come in small packages”. Of course, in this age of conspicuous consumption, if little things are tasty one might just be tempted to eat lots and lots of them.

Ní bhíonn beag bog.

Ní bhíonn beag bog.

Little (things) tend not to be soft.

Note: Small things (and people) are often thought of as being compact and hard. In Julius Caesar, for instance, portly men were felt to be complacent, while those who had a “lean and hungry look” were hard and dangerous.

Note also the slender “b” (written as b´ in the pronunciation key) in the word “beag” followed by a broad “b” (written as b in the pronunciation key) in the word “bog.” Listen after the slender b-sound in beag for a very weak i-sound (as in “sit”). It could be written phonetically as “bieg.” In contrast, the broad b in bog could be written phonetically as “buog.” The u-sound (as in “rule”) in bog is harder to hear because it is magnified and assimilated by the o-sound. This weak i-sound is typical after slender consonants while the weak u-sound is typical after broadz