Dear misssky2005,
"Tha gradh agam ort" is not from Tolkien and also not written in one
of the languages invented by him for his epic novels. Actually, it is
(Scottish) Gaelic, and it means: "I love you".
However, the meaning of the three-times-repeated "iffany" remains
unclear. I have consulted various dictionaries, but "iffany" does not
seem to be an existing word in any language, neither Gaelic nor
"Tolkienish" or any other. However, I am quite sure that the "iffany"
is nothing but an intentionally corrupted form of the female name
"Tiffany". To me it looks as if the name's first letter has been
deliberately omitted to make it, in combination with the Gaelic phrase
and a triply repetition, look more cryptic and confusing. But it is
also possible that the person using this corrupted form of the name
wants to make an innuendo, based upon something private, maybe an
insider joke, that only a particular addressee will ever be able to
understand.
Just for the sake of completeness: There is a rather small possibility
that the hidden "iffany"-allusion refers in some way to the Greek
origin of the name Tiffany: "Epiphany", which means "God will appear".
I assume that you found the complete expression here:
http://www.thestranger.com/current/isu.html
(TheStranger.com: Personals)
Should that not be the source where you found it, it might
nevertheless be interesting for you to encounter that phrase there.
Sources:
English-Zone.com: I Love You in many Languages
http://www.english-zone.com/funstuff/iloveyou.html
Parents Place Baby Name Finder: Tiffany
http://www.parentsplace.com/pregnancy/babynames/name/0,,11323,00.html?name=Tiffany
Search terms used:
"Tha gradh agam ort" iffany
://www.google.de/search?hl=de&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&q=%22Tha+gradh+agam+ort%22+iffany&btnG=Google-Suche&meta=
"Tha gradh agam ort"
://www.google.de/search?hl=de&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&q=%22Tha+gradh+agam+ort%22&btnG=Google-Suche&meta=
tolkien language invented gaelic
://www.google.de/search?hl=de&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&q=tolkien+language+invented+gaelic&meta=
iffany
://www.google.de/search?hl=de&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&q=iffany&meta=
tiffany origin name
://www.google.de/search?q=tiffany+origin+name&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=de&meta=
Hope this helps!
Best regards,
Scriptor |
