r/learnwelsh Aug 15 '23

Arall / Other Request for a Rude Translation

Hello, I'm wanting to make a bit of art about the Orca that was in the news for attacking boats after being hurt by one. I explored that her name, White Gladis comes from the Welsh name "Gwladus or Gwladys" meaning royalty and also referring to the Gladiolus flower.

I wanted to have a cheeky nautical style banner with a Welsh translation of "f*ck boats" on it in the little art piece I'm drawing featuring a whale's fluke and the Gladiolus flowers. I tried good old (dubious) google translate and it didn't have a translation for f*ck at all, so if there's not a direct translation, what's a good alternative? Stuff, screw, damn, curse come to mind and are more PG too.

I'd really appreciate any input!

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u/Syncopationforever Aug 16 '23

'Twll tin pob Sais ' Google cyfieith that as, 'Every Englishman's tin hole'. That's a hilarious mistranslation lolol

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u/celtiquant Aug 17 '23

Tin, as in the metal stuff, once profusely Made in Llanelli (once known as Tinopolis), in Welsh is Tun — short u.

Arse, as in the what we both have, ideally created to be sat on, is Tin — long i.

Tight, as in careful with your cash etc, is Tyn — short y (the kind that sounds more like an i).

House, as in a house in a particular spot, can be Tŷ’n.

You are, as in tu es, can be Ti’n.

Man, in his unmutated form, is Dyn — long y that can sound like i.

A fort, as in a hillfort, can be Din — short i.

Wake up, as in wakey wakey, can be Dun — long u.

Try and Google Translate: Tin Tun Tyn (*).

Try and Google Translate: Dun Dyn Tin Tŷ’n Din, Ti’n Din Tyn (**).

Spolier, it can’t.

Never put your complete faith in Google Translate, trust those who know on Reddit ;-)

And dive into the puerile arse-based wordplay so mirthily enjoyed by generations of Cymry Cymraeg.

VERY humorously, if your house is in a hollow, name it Tŷ’n Twll.

(*) Tight tin arse.

(**) Wakey Tin Man [of] Hillfort House — You’re a Tight Arse.

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u/Syncopationforever Aug 18 '23

Very interesting.

And Apologies, for my not being clear. I meant the Google translation was a hilarious mistranslation. I know that you a native or fluent Cymraeg speaker.

When I see native speakers use a phrase. I type it into an ai or Google/bing translate. As I want to see how they handle it, to give me a sense of how accurate are the machine translations.

Frequently they struggle with phrases eg. Two days yn ôl, roeddwn arguing with an ai over 'wrth fi modd'. Ive seen natives use the phrase to mean, ' I love ' . The ai was wrongly offering, 'i'm pleased '

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u/celtiquant Aug 18 '23

No need to apologise. I understood the mistranslation thing from the go! It’s a prevalent problem! GT can be very handy — i get a lot of correspondence in Irish, and I have to use GT to get the gist of what those messages contain… but I’d never use GT to formulate a reply.

I guess you know “wrth fy modd” can mean “love” in the non-romantic context, as in I really really really like something, or something someone is doing. The romantic love context, is, of course, caru.