Help with translation please

[Douglas]

Hello,
Can someone help me?
If you want to say “Family is important”, is this the right way: “Is tábhachtach an chlann”, or is this a better option: “Is tábhachtach do mhuintir”.

Thanks for your help.

Douglas Wilson

[Lughaidh]

I’d say “Tá do theaghlach tábhachtach” or “Tá an teaghlach tábhachtach”.
Normally, “do mhuintir” means “your parents” and “an chlann” means “the children” (clann doesn’t include your parents nor your grandparents, for example).

[Cúnla]

Ideally you’d probably want to see if there were any existing Irish sayings or proverbs that’d give you the meaning you wanted and that had a similar currency in Irish to what your English catchphrase has in English. Well-known, for example, is the proverb:

Is maol guala gan bráthair

…which parses literally as “’tis bare a shoulder with no brother,” and which can mean that, well, family/kin (“brother” being representative thereof) is of great importance and that one is not whole without it.

There are others besides, depending on what nuance you’re looking for, e.g.:

Is tréan an rud an gaol

≈ “Family/blood/kinship is great/powerful/strong.”

Clann a leagas, clann a thóigeas

≈ “Family (i.e., having a family=wife+children) may bring you down, but family [also] lifts you up/restores you.”

Ní grá go clann

≈ “You ain’t seen [real] love till you have a family.”

[Lughaidh]

Is maol guala gan bráthair

gan bHráthair 😉

[Cúnla]

Is maol guala gan bráthair

gan bHráthair 😉

Sa gCaighdeán 😛

[Lughaidh]

Goidé ‘n chanúint nach gcuirtear séimhiú inti i ndiaidh “gan”?

[Cúnla]

Tá an dá nós (.i. séimhiú ⁊ loime) coitianta sna canúintí Connachtacha atá ar eolas agamsa ar chaoi ar bith. Gheobhfá séimhiú mórán i gcónaí i nathanna áirithe ar nós gan mhoill, gan mhaith, ⁊rl., agus chluinfeá gan tsásamh, gan tsúil, freisin, ach is minic a bhítear anonn is anall idir an dá chleachtadh…

[Douglas]

Thank you all so much; this is very helpful!

[Author]

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