Local band Angus Mohr get a great writeup!

[OC Richard]

Our local boys Angus Mohr, a Colorado based Celtic rock band

The band might be great but it puts me off somewhat when people use Gaelic words but mispell them.

A local Firefighter Pipe Band had an incorrect Irish phrase on their logo (both in spelling and in choice of words) and explaining the situation to them didn't seem to have any impact.

I guess it's like the t-shirts I see Japanese tourists wearing which have misspelt nonsensical quasi-English phrases on them. When I was in Japan I looked and looked but all I could find were shirts with correct English on them!

[chrisupyonder]

The band might be great but it puts me off somewhat when people use Gaelic words but mispell them.
!

It's not Gaelic, it's old French.

The word fairy derives from Middle English faierie (also fayerye, feirie, fairie), a direct borrowing from Old French faerie (Modern French féerie) meaning the land, realm, or characteristic activity (i.e. enchantment) of the legendary people of folklore and romance called (in Old French) faie or fee (Modern French fée). This derived ultimately from Late Latin fata (one of the personified Fates, hence a guardian or tutelary spirit, hence a spirit in general); cf. Italian fata, Spanish hada of the same origin.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy

In Gaelic...

Scottish: sìthiche, bean-shìth (female)
Irish: síog

[Morris at Heathfield]

It's not Gaelic, it's old French.

I believe OC Richard was referring to the German-looking "Mohr" in "Angus Mohr". Unless it's a pun, it would be a misspelling, although "Angus" is not really Gaelic either, but an Anglicized form of the Gaelic Aonghas. Fully Anglicized, however, you would expect the band's name to be written something like "Angus More".

"Aonghas Mòr has been called "the first MacDonald" by one historian,[1] namely because he was the first of the dynasty created by his father to rule Islay."

His father, of course, being Donald (Domhnall).

[Shullamuth]

Hello Everyone,

Wow . As mentioned above, I write a bit about the band Angus Mohr. So I guess I'm curious about the sources for correct and incorrect spelling, especially when it comes to Gaelic. I thought h was an aspiration and where you put it depends a lot on your accent.

As for the presumption that a band (or person for that matter-- I've seen my name spelled Shullamith, but I'm not inclined to change now) is spelling their name incorrectly, here is a link to a published text with the spelling "Angus Mohr."

http://books.google.com/books?id=NiY...istory&f=false

Angus Mohr is a brilliant band, and they put on an amazing show. So, yeah, I'm partisan, but I'm not trying to be obnoxious. I'm just honestly curious about the source information.

[Morris at Heathfield]

Hello Everyone,

Wow . As mentioned above, I write a bit about the band Angus Mohr. So I guess I'm curious about the sources for correct and incorrect spelling, especially when it comes to Gaelic. I thought h was an aspiration and where you put it depends a lot on your accent.

As for the presumption that a band (or person for that matter-- I've seen my name spelled Shullamith, but I'm not inclined to change now) is spelling their name incorrectly, here is a link to a published text with the spelling "Angus Mohr."

http://books.google.com/books?id=NiY...istory&f=false

Angus Mohr is a brilliant band, and they put on an amazing show. So, yeah, I'm partisan, but I'm not trying to be obnoxious. I'm just honestly curious about the source information.

Well, then, there's a historical precedent for the spelling. In the modern standard spelling of Scottish Gaelic, however, the spelling would be Aonghas Mór. I don't believe the mór should be aspirated, as Aonghas doesn't end in a vowel. If it were aspirated the Gaelic spelling would be Aonghas Mhór.

Oops! sorry. I did not read the post properly. Mohr is a german surname and I think has Celtic roots in one of the Celtic languages of which Gaelic is only one of several, which include Welsh, Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Bretton, Manx and Cornish and have their source in central Europe. So it is not misspelled Gaelic. I cannot see any problem with the name and the band is Great, love their music.

In the context of the band's name, unless it has a double meaning, I believe "Mohr" is from the Scottish Gaelic mór, meaning "great", used as an appellation for a particular man named Angus (or Aonghas) who lived in the thirteenth century. I am not familiar with the use of "oh" to indicate the long o in Scottish Gaelic, but as Shullamuth has pointed me to one source from the 19th century, I'm open to the possibility that it was once a possible spelling, even if it is not considered standard now.

And I'm sure they're a great band. I'm not knocking their musical talent.

[chrisupyonder]

I believe OC Richard was referring to the German-looking "Mohr" in "Angus Mohr". Unless it's a pun, it would be a misspelling, although "Angus" is not really Gaelic either, but an Anglicized form of the Gaelic Aonghas. Fully Anglicized, however, you would expect the band's name to be written something like "Angus More".


His father, of course, being Donald (Domhnall).

Oops! sorry. I did not read the post properly. Mohr is a german surname and I think has Celtic roots in one of the Celtic languages of which Gaelic is only one of several, which include Welsh, Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Bretton, Manx and Cornish and have their source in central Europe. So it is not misspelled Gaelic. I cannot see any problem with the name and the band is Great, love their music.

[OC Richard]

I believe OC Richard was referring to the German-looking "Mohr" in "Angus Mohr". Unless it's a pun, it would be a misspelling, although "Angus" is not really Gaelic either, but an Anglicized form of the Gaelic Aonghas. Fully Anglicized, however, you would expect the band's name to be written something like "Angus More".

Exactly... mor means big or great. There's no such word as "mohr" in Gaelic- in fact there could not be because it violates the spelling rules.

What's happened, I suppose, is that the "h" from mhor got accidentaly shifted over one space, as it were.

Same thing in dubh (black) which is often misspelt dhub or dhu.

With the firefighter pipe band, what they were trying to do was translate "honor the fallen" into Gaelic. First problem, "fallen" is a euphemism for "dead" in English but evidently not in Gaelic, where I'm told it simply means literally something which has fallen down. Second, they used the singular. Third, they didn't use the right voice, so that

"Honor the Fallen"
came out
"The Honoring of the One who Fell Down"

They did end up correcting it on one of their logos, but not others.

[Shullamuth]

"[QUOTE=OC Richard;974358]Exactly... mor means big or great. There's no such word as "mohr" in Gaelic- in fact there could not be because it violates the spelling rules.

What's happened, I suppose, is that the "h" from mhor got accidentaly shifted over one space, as it were.

Same thing in dubh (black) which is often misspelt dhub or dhu."

OC Richard, I appreciate your tone of conciliation, and I can see where word choice within a motto or phrase can create confusion. However, I just want to clarify that Angus Mohr did not accidentally misspell their name. They were aware of the more traditional spelling, but for a variety of reasons chose Mohr.

Given its association with personal identity and cultural pride, it's no wonder we become so attached to the nuances of language.

[Paul McDaniel]

I'm Paul McDaniel, bandleader and frontman for the Highland Rock and Roll Band Angus Mohr, and after watching the progression of comments regarding our name I'd like to clear things up.

When we decided to play Celtic music and introduce Scottish bagpipes and Irish whistles into our existing Rock and Roll band, which was known for its beefy sound, we wanted to honor tradition while blending it with our professional style. We also wanted a name which evoked strength, was easy to remember, and rolled well off the tongue.

The beefiest and strongest name we liked was Angus, and began searching for the best name to accompany and compliment it. After much discussion we decided Mohr (or Mhor, or Moore, or Moor, and even More) was the best fit.

We had researched the various possible spellings and found, in a credible Scottish source, the previously quoted book of Scottish Surnames by William Anderson from 1877. We were very pleased to find that Angus Mohr (the man) had a notable history which was not only real, but impressive. His accomplishments made us not only pleased to find his name was spelled the way it was (more about that below), but gave us inspiration to create strong music with an emphasis on honor, courage, and valor. We hope, in fact, he would be proud to be remembered and honored through music we feel reflects his spirit and world view.

We had deliberately chosen the M-o-h-r spelling as we were well acquainted with the Glengarry Bhoys, a Canadian Band who use the “h” in question prominently in their name and promotional materials. We decided honoring them with professional respect and courtesy confirmed the choice of the spelling we use.

We in turn, are honored to have created a following which has become more of an extended family than simply a fan base, as that is what we have striven toward for more years and more musical efforts than I care to mention. For better or worse, right or wrong, politically correct or not, we are and will be proud to remain, Angus Mohr (the band).

Sincerely,

Paul McDaniel
For Angus Mohr

[Nighthawk]

I'm Paul McDaniel, bandleader and frontman for the Highland Rock and Roll Band Angus Mohr, and after watching the progression of comments regarding our name I'd like to clear things up.

When we decided to play Celtic music and introduce Scottish bagpipes and Irish whistles into our existing Rock and Roll band, which was known for its beefy sound, we wanted to honor tradition while blending it with our professional style. We also wanted a name which evoked strength, was easy to remember, and rolled well off the tongue.

The beefiest and strongest name we liked was Angus, and began searching for the best name to accompany and compliment it. After much discussion we decided Mohr (or Mhor, or Moore, or Moor, and even More) was the best fit.

We had researched the various possible spellings and found, in a credible Scottish source, the previously quoted book of Scottish Surnames by William Anderson from 1877. We were very pleased to find that Angus Mohr (the man) had a notable history which was not only real, but impressive. His accomplishments made us not only pleased to find his name was spelled the way it was (more about that below), but gave us inspiration to create strong music with an emphasis on honor, courage, and valor. We hope, in fact, he would be proud to be remembered and honored through music we feel reflects his spirit and world view.

We had deliberately chosen the M-o-h-r spelling as we were well acquainted with the Glengarry Bhoys, a Canadian Band who use the “h” in question prominently in their name and promotional materials. We decided honoring them with professional respect and courtesy confirmed the choice of the spelling we use.

We in turn, are honored to have created a following which has become more of an extended family than simply a fan base, as that is what we have striven toward for more years and more musical efforts than I care to mention. For better or worse, right or wrong, politically correct or not, we are and will be proud to remain, Angus Mohr (the band).

Sincerely,

Paul McDaniel
For Angus Mohr

Well, Paul! Good to see you on here, man! You should pop into the newbie section to say hello as well! (Oh, and as you learned... there can be a lot of quibling over details on this forum... You've missed most of the discussion on flat caps being worn with kilts! Good gods, what a conversation that turned into! And it still ghosts it's way in from time to time! )