10 Apr Adding a few “cupla focal”, in Irish, Italian, German, French (you name it) to our ceremonies…..
“Tir gan teanga, Tir gan anam” A country without a language is a country without a soul. Or so they say. Is it soulful to learn a new language then, opening you up to an exciting world of culture, food, art, travel and expression? Oh and Jamie Oliver’s ‘Gianduja’ original Nutella recipe, which pretty much singlehandedly urged me to learn Italian.
I downloaded the Duolingo Application to aid my learning; loving the daily quests and exercises and especially loving the little icon, Duo, who flutters in to tell me I am amazing. Now, the lessons are basic enough, with plenty of repetition and room to make mistakes, but still, the compliments are welcome. While I am earning lingots on the app to beat the band and even occasionally cruising into the advance leagues and promotion zones, when it comes to actually speaking Italian in the big bad world, the only zone I enter is out of the “comfort” one.
I sweat a little as I mutter a ‘Ciao’, my standard ‘piacere di conoscerti’ or nice to meet you only suitable when I meet Italian speakers for the first time. I rhyme off the same ‘grazie mille’ and ‘prego’ or thank you and you’re welcome, as if they are the only Italian words ever invented and if my new Italian friend dares to ask another question, I blush and rush off, blubbering an ‘A domani’ or a quick ‘A presto’. See you tomorrow or see you soon. But not for great conversation!
Paul Mescal, the Irish actor, best known for wearing GAA shorts and gold chains (aswell as being a brilliant actor), recently gave an interview as Gaeilge, on the red carpet at the Bafta Awards Ceremony. He was commenting on the highest grossing Irish language film of all time, An Cailin Cuin (The Quiet Girl), securing nominations at the Oscars, the Baftas and festivals the world over. As Hugh Carr said in his article on joe.ie ‘it’s time we admit it – the Irish language is cool again’. Mescal was invited to appear on RTE’s The Late Late Show, where he admitted to being ‘very proud of the Irish that I have and I think it’s important to not gate keep the language. If you have your ‘cupla focail’ absolutely use it’. Afterall, as another saying goes, ‘Is fear Gaeilge briste na Bearla cliste’. That’s Irish for ‘get on with it if you have a ‘few words’ and who the hell cares if you make a mistake’! Or something like that.
What has this to do with weddings and ceremonies I hear you ask? Well, at Coastal Ceremonies, we have always used our Cead Mile Failtes and our Bienvenidos. We love a herzlich willkommen as much as the next guy. Lately, we’ve been adding more to our ceremony scripts. With all the talk of love, of ‘amore’, of being together ‘sempre e per sempre’, always and forever, we are going out of our comfort zones and tackling vows, stories, and readings in a variety of languages.
It may not be perfect, but it is inclusive and it is fun! And if our couples and families are happy to translate for us or indeed, happy for us to employ the skills of google, then we’ll happily practice the translation and read it confidently on the day.
I promise there’ll not be a blush or a sweat in sight!
Orla x