Seall far a bheil mi gu ruige seo!
Sorry there hasn't been a post for a few weeks. There was no Gaelic class last week and I forgot to post an update the week before.
So far, we've learnt about a few of the different ways of saying 'the'*. The word for 'the' changes depending on whether the noun is masculine or feminine, and whether it is in the nominative case or the dative case.
Masculine nominative
an before c, d, g, l, n, r, s, t
am before b, f, m, p
an t- before a vowel
Examples: an taigh, an ceann, an leabaidh, am peann, am bàta, an t-ìm, an t-achadh
Masculine dative (the dative is used after prepositions)
a' with the following noun aspirated (an h is inserted after the first consonant, except d and t)
an before a vowel
Examples: leis a' pheann, air a' bhòrd, anns an achadh
Feminine nominative
a' with following noun aspirated if starting with b, c, f, g, m, p
(There are more rules but this is all we've learnt so far for feminine nouns)
We've also learnt a few things about the verb Bi (To Be, as featured earlier)
The present tense has four forms:
tha - this is the positive independent form Ex. Tha mi sgìth - I am tired
chan eil - this is the negative form Ex. Chan eil mi sgìth - I am not tired.
a bheil - this is the positive question form Ex. A bheil thu sgìth? - Are you tired?
nach eil - this is the negative question form Ex. Nach eil thu sgìth? - Aren't you tired?
The past also has four forms like the present tense:
bha - this is the positive independent form Ex. Bha mi sgìth - I was tired
cha robh - this is the negative form Ex. Cha robh mi sgìth - I was not tired.
an robh - this is the positive question form Ex. An robh thu sgìth? - Were you tired?
nach robh - this is the negative question form Ex. Nach robh thu sgìth? - Weren't you tired?
The future has four forms, but there is also an extra form after words like question words:
bidh - this is the positive independent form Ex. Bidh mi sgìth - I will be tired
cha bhi - this is the negative form Ex. Cha bhi mi sgìth - I won't be tired.
am bi - this is the positive question form Ex. Am bi thu sgìth? - Will you be tired?
nach bi - this is the negative question form Ex. Nach eil thu sgìth? - Won't you be tired?
cuine (etc.) bhitheas - the relative form Ex. Cuine bhitheas tu air ais? - When will you be back?
*And I thought German was bad... At least der, die and das are a little more different from each other than an, a', an t-, etc.
Tuesday 20 October 2015
Thursday 24 September 2015
Trèanaichean
Over the last few weeks I've been reading the surprisingly interesting blog Trèanaichean, tramaichean is tràilidhean by Alasdair MacCaluim. I say surprising because I wouldn't consider myself someone who is particularly interested in trains. But Mr MacCaluim's blog is very good. It's also all in Gaelic so it's excellent for reading practice. I often read it on the bus where I don't have easy access to dictionaries so I reckon I only understand about 30%, or maybe less, but I do think it's helping me to learn vocab and expressions.
For example, in a recent post he mentions meadhanan sòisealta which I didn't understand at first. But then, given the context of the rest of the post (mentioning Twitter, etc.), I realised that sòisealta sounds a lot like social when said aloud, and meadhanan looks a bit like media. So a reasonable guess would be that meadhanan sòisealta is 'social media' in Gaelic.
A lot of language learning is like this and I find it most effective. I remember similar things happening when learning German, weirdly by knowing the etymological Latin roots of English words and morphemes and thinking of their German equivalents. Who says etymology ain't feumail (useful)?
Anyway, the other reason I like reading the blog is that my nephews (one in particular) are a bit mad about trains. While some of this might just be Thomas-mania, I think they're going beyond that to being interested in trains for themselves, the way they work, where the railways go, etc. So it might come in handy reading all about trèanaichean!
For example, in a recent post he mentions meadhanan sòisealta which I didn't understand at first. But then, given the context of the rest of the post (mentioning Twitter, etc.), I realised that sòisealta sounds a lot like social when said aloud, and meadhanan looks a bit like media. So a reasonable guess would be that meadhanan sòisealta is 'social media' in Gaelic.
A lot of language learning is like this and I find it most effective. I remember similar things happening when learning German, weirdly by knowing the etymological Latin roots of English words and morphemes and thinking of their German equivalents. Who says etymology ain't feumail (useful)?
Anyway, the other reason I like reading the blog is that my nephews (one in particular) are a bit mad about trains. While some of this might just be Thomas-mania, I think they're going beyond that to being interested in trains for themselves, the way they work, where the railways go, etc. So it might come in handy reading all about trèanaichean!
Gaelic class and manly nouns
Well, as I suspected, the class I wanted to go to was cancelled due to a lack of uptake so I moved to the same level but on another night. The unfortunate thing is that this is at the same time as the cearcall so no more cearcall till around Christmas, if not April next year!
The class was fairly simple which is to be expected for the first one. All the same, it did get into some grammar points, yet with an emphasis on speaking. We discussed the dative or prepositional case for masculine nouns.
The rules for the definite article of masculine nouns is as follows:
- if the noun starts with a b, f, m, p (labials), the article is am
- if the noun starts with a vowel, the article is an t-
- if the noun starts with anything else, the article is an
However, if the noun follows a preposition such as air (on), aig (at), anns (in + def. art.), etc., the article and the noun change:
- if the noun starts with a vowel, the article is an (not an t-)
- otherwise, the article is a' plus lenition, e.g. "am muir" after air becomes "air a' mhuir"
I found this very complicated but we went over it several times with conversations and games so I think I have it in my head now. The thing is that's just the masculine nouns! I know it gets more complicated with feminine dative nouns, but that's for another time.
On another note, I watched this sweet programme on the iPlayer last night which combines two of my loves. The programme Trusadh looks at a woman from Uibhist a Deas (South Uist) who knits an Eriskay jumper (geansaidh Èirisgeach) for Pope Francis (am Pàpa)
The class was fairly simple which is to be expected for the first one. All the same, it did get into some grammar points, yet with an emphasis on speaking. We discussed the dative or prepositional case for masculine nouns.
The rules for the definite article of masculine nouns is as follows:
- if the noun starts with a b, f, m, p (labials), the article is am
- if the noun starts with a vowel, the article is an t-
- if the noun starts with anything else, the article is an
However, if the noun follows a preposition such as air (on), aig (at), anns (in + def. art.), etc., the article and the noun change:
- if the noun starts with a vowel, the article is an (not an t-)
- otherwise, the article is a' plus lenition, e.g. "am muir" after air becomes "air a' mhuir"
I found this very complicated but we went over it several times with conversations and games so I think I have it in my head now. The thing is that's just the masculine nouns! I know it gets more complicated with feminine dative nouns, but that's for another time.
On another note, I watched this sweet programme on the iPlayer last night which combines two of my loves. The programme Trusadh looks at a woman from Uibhist a Deas (South Uist) who knits an Eriskay jumper (geansaidh Èirisgeach) for Pope Francis (am Pàpa)
Thursday 3 September 2015
Classes booked!
Well, I've finally got the finger oot and booked some Gaelic classes with the Cooncil. I booked them with the Cooncil for two reasons - they're cheap (I'm a stingy kinda guy), and they're round the corner (I'm a lazy kinda guy).
I signed up for the post-beginners' class but, or should I say so, there's a danger it won't go ahead (I imagine a lot of beginners grit their teeth through to the end of their beginners' course then drop it immediately, so the numbers might not be there for the post-beginners). I hope it will go ahead as I doubt I'll be arsed jumping on a bus to Broughton High. What a trek! Two minutes walk? Yes please.
In other news, I'm progressing further with the old Teach Yourself Gaelic course. The millions of exercises mean I'm finally getting to grips with Gaelic's ridiculous definite article system (worse than German, believe me!) and I'm learning some more vocab along the way. I've not looked at SOL for a while but I've been gu math trang of late so I've fallen behind again.
If anyone reading this wants to leave Gaelic comments for me to decipher, bhinn buidheach dhuibh air an son (out on a limb here - corrections welcome! This also applies to every Gaelic word written on this blog).
I signed up for the post-beginners' class but, or should I say so, there's a danger it won't go ahead (I imagine a lot of beginners grit their teeth through to the end of their beginners' course then drop it immediately, so the numbers might not be there for the post-beginners). I hope it will go ahead as I doubt I'll be arsed jumping on a bus to Broughton High. What a trek! Two minutes walk? Yes please.
In other news, I'm progressing further with the old Teach Yourself Gaelic course. The millions of exercises mean I'm finally getting to grips with Gaelic's ridiculous definite article system (worse than German, believe me!) and I'm learning some more vocab along the way. I've not looked at SOL for a while but I've been gu math trang of late so I've fallen behind again.
If anyone reading this wants to leave Gaelic comments for me to decipher, bhinn buidheach dhuibh air an son (out on a limb here - corrections welcome! This also applies to every Gaelic word written on this blog).
Tuesday 25 August 2015
Celeb spotting and other matters...
Uill, my Gaelic learning is progressing slowly but steadily. I'm getting much better at identifying words when I hear them, which is a BIG STEP when learning a new language. It can be very frustrating at first when you can't even seem to discern distinct words let alone get any meaning out of what's being said. Going to the Cearcall has helped because, though I still stumble when saying anything, I can follow most of the conversation unless someone has a particularly odd or mumblesome manner of speaking.
I even ventured to go to a Gaelic play yesterday - I was at the final showing of Proiseact nan Ealan's Sequamur at the Festival. While I listened along to the simultaneous translation (and yes, that is correct) - which was excellent as it conveyed a lot of tone as well as just pure meaning - I also tried to catch some of the Gaelic too.
The play itself was memorable and moving. I highly recommend it.
I also spied Cathy MacDonald from Feasgar at the end of the row. But that's just par for the course during the festival. In previous years I've seen other very very minor celebrities such as Marcus Brigstocke, Jon Richardson and Danny Wallace, and even an extremely dishevelled Rowan Williams, the former Archbishop of Canterbury. But I digress.
Two weeks ago, a kind woman at the Cearcall gave me an older version of Teach Yourself Gaelic, the one by Roderick Mackinnon rather than the newer version by Boyd Robertson and Iain Taylor. It has the disadvantage of using older spellings such as dorus and various apostrophes floating all over the place. However, the great thing about it is that is absolutely chock-a-block full of exercises and drills. A disturbing trend these days, probably in line with dreadful educational premises, is that a lot of language-learning books have precious few exercises. They often look more like a token gesture rather than a real, targeted way of teaching. Meanwhile, the exercises in this book are also thoughtfully crafted. They start off mind-numbingly easy, and then progress to harder sentences while making use of the new grammar point you've just learnt and drawing on vocab from previous lessons. Excellent. The vocab lists are also nice and long, though some of the words do seem a little odd to be learning. But then I remember that people seem to talk about different stuff in Gaelic than in English.
I even ventured to go to a Gaelic play yesterday - I was at the final showing of Proiseact nan Ealan's Sequamur at the Festival. While I listened along to the simultaneous translation (and yes, that is correct) - which was excellent as it conveyed a lot of tone as well as just pure meaning - I also tried to catch some of the Gaelic too.
The play itself was memorable and moving. I highly recommend it.
I also spied Cathy MacDonald from Feasgar at the end of the row. But that's just par for the course during the festival. In previous years I've seen other very very minor celebrities such as Marcus Brigstocke, Jon Richardson and Danny Wallace, and even an extremely dishevelled Rowan Williams, the former Archbishop of Canterbury. But I digress.
Two weeks ago, a kind woman at the Cearcall gave me an older version of Teach Yourself Gaelic, the one by Roderick Mackinnon rather than the newer version by Boyd Robertson and Iain Taylor. It has the disadvantage of using older spellings such as dorus and various apostrophes floating all over the place. However, the great thing about it is that is absolutely chock-a-block full of exercises and drills. A disturbing trend these days, probably in line with dreadful educational premises, is that a lot of language-learning books have precious few exercises. They often look more like a token gesture rather than a real, targeted way of teaching. Meanwhile, the exercises in this book are also thoughtfully crafted. They start off mind-numbingly easy, and then progress to harder sentences while making use of the new grammar point you've just learnt and drawing on vocab from previous lessons. Excellent. The vocab lists are also nice and long, though some of the words do seem a little odd to be learning. But then I remember that people seem to talk about different stuff in Gaelic than in English.
Tuesday 4 August 2015
Updates...
Latha math dhuibh.
Sorry for the quiet period. Work has been gu math trang and I've also been struggling with what to talk about on here. Unbelievably, SOL on BBC Alba seems to have caught up on me. I had been skipping ahead by viewing the next few episodes on YouTube but now I seem to be at the same stage again. I think I need to give each episode a few more listenings as I'm now starting to struggle (which, in my pride, embarrasses me).
I now also go to a conversation meeting every two weeks. That has been helpful even though I am easily at the lowest level of everyone there. But hey, that's why I'm going -I want to improve enough so that it isn't painful for Tormod on the rare occasions he talks to me in Gaelic in person. This learning a new language thing takes ages, doesn't it? You think I'd know that already...
Finally, a big thank you to commenter Alan Cameron for his excellent and clear outline of how to use and understand infinitives in Gaelic. That will be a great reference for me in the future!
Sorry for the quiet period. Work has been gu math trang and I've also been struggling with what to talk about on here. Unbelievably, SOL on BBC Alba seems to have caught up on me. I had been skipping ahead by viewing the next few episodes on YouTube but now I seem to be at the same stage again. I think I need to give each episode a few more listenings as I'm now starting to struggle (which, in my pride, embarrasses me).
I now also go to a conversation meeting every two weeks. That has been helpful even though I am easily at the lowest level of everyone there. But hey, that's why I'm going -
Finally, a big thank you to commenter Alan Cameron for his excellent and clear outline of how to use and understand infinitives in Gaelic. That will be a great reference for me in the future!
Wednesday 15 July 2015
Help! I need somebody...
...to explain Gaelic 'infinitives' to me.
- Is it the verbal noun that is used in all cases?
- Is it preceded by 'a', and does this 'a' lenite?
- Do direct object nouns and pronouns come before or after the infinitive?
I know that indirect object nouns and pronouns follow the preposition but I'm mightily confused by direct objects.
I've examined this topic in several sources including the excellent Taic but I still find all the various rules confusing.
Generally I've found that, while some parts of Gaelic are easy to grasp and memorise, the use of infinitives and the definite article are almost overwhelmingly complicated and daunting. So any help in this regard is much appreciated, tapadh leibh.
However, despite this obsession with grammar, I am taking steps to actually speak the language to people. I went to a conversation group last week and I plan on going semi-regularly to try out the stuff I've learned. Last week I realised that I need more vocab (cue horrific memories of learning lists of words - bain of my life for the last 10 years!)
Here's a clip of the Latin class in Dead Poets Society. If only learning vocab had been that fun, alas!
- Is it the verbal noun that is used in all cases?
- Is it preceded by 'a', and does this 'a' lenite?
- Do direct object nouns and pronouns come before or after the infinitive?
I know that indirect object nouns and pronouns follow the preposition but I'm mightily confused by direct objects.
I've examined this topic in several sources including the excellent Taic but I still find all the various rules confusing.
Generally I've found that, while some parts of Gaelic are easy to grasp and memorise, the use of infinitives and the definite article are almost overwhelmingly complicated and daunting. So any help in this regard is much appreciated, tapadh leibh.
However, despite this obsession with grammar, I am taking steps to actually speak the language to people. I went to a conversation group last week and I plan on going semi-regularly to try out the stuff I've learned. Last week I realised that I need more vocab (cue horrific memories of learning lists of words - bain of my life for the last 10 years!)
Here's a clip of the Latin class in Dead Poets Society. If only learning vocab had been that fun, alas!
Thursday 2 July 2015
Gumption
When learning a language, you can't be shy. You have to have no fear in cocking up, making mistakes (even embarrassing ones!) and in insisting that native speakers let you practise a bit. You need to put your ego on the line more than you would otherwise.
I remember when I was in Germany and one of my fellow flatmates (called Britta) was overly keen in correcting every. single. mistake. even when I was halfway through a sentence. While it was massively offputting, I ploughed on and now I think I can speak German fluently without too many mistakes.
It's also nice to look back sometimes on old texts you've written in the language and to notice the mistakes you made then. It shows that you've made progress. If you didn't make the mistakes and instead waited for some mythical time when you will suddenly break forth into perfect Gaelic, German, Arabic, or what have you, you'll be dead before you could ever speak it.
That said, whenever a learner of your language speaks to you, there are better and worse ways of correcting them. The best way is to somehow work into your response the correct way of saying what he was trying to say, without explicitly correcting him. This is often how parents correct children too as it doesn't strike a blow to their esteem.
The less good way is to point out the mistake explicitly. This is best done AFTER the attempt at the sentence has been made rather than the moment the mistake is made. Often a learner will realise the mistake before the end of the sentence and will correct himself. Self-correction is more effective than other correction as again it doesn't damage that fragile ego as much.
My ego was in tatters every time I spoke to Britta. My friends and fellow German learners often commiserated with me. But I developed a thick skin and I confidently make up any old sentence and send it to Tormod to decipher. I'm not sure how well it works out for him, but generally he seems to respond to what I say. So I'd say my skin is now thick enough to expose all my Gaelic mistakes online and advertise them on Twitter. So mòran taing, a Bhritta!
I remember when I was in Germany and one of my fellow flatmates (called Britta) was overly keen in correcting every. single. mistake. even when I was halfway through a sentence. While it was massively offputting, I ploughed on and now I think I can speak German fluently without too many mistakes.
It's also nice to look back sometimes on old texts you've written in the language and to notice the mistakes you made then. It shows that you've made progress. If you didn't make the mistakes and instead waited for some mythical time when you will suddenly break forth into perfect Gaelic, German, Arabic, or what have you, you'll be dead before you could ever speak it.
That said, whenever a learner of your language speaks to you, there are better and worse ways of correcting them. The best way is to somehow work into your response the correct way of saying what he was trying to say, without explicitly correcting him. This is often how parents correct children too as it doesn't strike a blow to their esteem.
The less good way is to point out the mistake explicitly. This is best done AFTER the attempt at the sentence has been made rather than the moment the mistake is made. Often a learner will realise the mistake before the end of the sentence and will correct himself. Self-correction is more effective than other correction as again it doesn't damage that fragile ego as much.
My ego was in tatters every time I spoke to Britta. My friends and fellow German learners often commiserated with me. But I developed a thick skin and I confidently make up any old sentence and send it to Tormod to decipher. I'm not sure how well it works out for him, but generally he seems to respond to what I say. So I'd say my skin is now thick enough to expose all my Gaelic mistakes online and advertise them on Twitter. So mòran taing, a Bhritta!
Friday 19 June 2015
Full speed ahead with SOL
I'm carrying on with SOL as I like viewing all the 90s fashions and the pretty places Rhoda visits. Some of the scenarios are ridiculous and quite chucklesome too. Also, I've spied out Tormod a few times in this second series.
Here's what I learnt in the most recent episodes (19 and 20):
Cò ris a tha e coltach? What does he look like? (the t is silent in "coltach")
Tha e àrd agus reamhar. He is tall and fat.
Tha i goirid agus caol. She is short and slim.
A bheil sibh eòlach air Iain? Do you know John?
Tha falt fada dubh oirre. She has long black hair.
Tha suilean gorm aige. He has blue eyes.
Dè ur beachd? What do you think? (polite or plural)
Dè do bheachd? What do you think? (informal)
Tha i glè shnog. She is very nice.
Sguir dheth. Stop it.
Latha na Gocaireachd April Fool's Day
The hilariously bad Aig an taigh is getting a lot more complicated, with words I don't even know yet. Though watching episode 20 before 19 wasn't glic I guess...
Here is the episode on Learngaelic.net
Here's what I learnt in the most recent episodes (19 and 20):
Cò ris a tha e coltach? What does he look like? (the t is silent in "coltach")
Tha e àrd agus reamhar. He is tall and fat.
Tha i goirid agus caol. She is short and slim.
A bheil sibh eòlach air Iain? Do you know John?
Tha falt fada dubh oirre. She has long black hair.
Tha suilean gorm aige. He has blue eyes.
Dè ur beachd? What do you think? (polite or plural)
Dè do bheachd? What do you think? (informal)
Tha i glè shnog. She is very nice.
Sguir dheth. Stop it.
Latha na Gocaireachd April Fool's Day
The hilariously bad Aig an taigh is getting a lot more complicated, with words I don't even know yet. Though watching episode 20 before 19 wasn't glic I guess...
Here is the episode on Learngaelic.net
Tuesday 9 June 2015
To Be or Not To Be...
UPDATED: see is below....
I've been doing some study on the use of is and tha. And oh my, it seems so very complicated! :-(
Having never had the pleasure to learn Spanish formally, I was never instructed on the differences between estar and ser. But I'm not sure that would have helped anyway. I just mentioned it because the beginner learner course on LearnGaelic.net seems to mention it, somewhat gratuitously too.
Anyway, here are some of the rules that I've learned concerning the uses of tha and is.
Is is used:
-to say I am George, he is Norman, etc.: Is mise Seòras, is esan Tormod
Here we have a pronoun and a noun being linked, so is is used (also tusa is used rather than thusa)
- to say James is the teacher, they are the Gaelic class, etc.: 'S e Seumas an tidsear, 's e iad na poileasmain
Here we have a noun linked to a definite noun, so is is used
See note below*
- to say James is a teacher, they are a Gaelic class, etc.: 'S e tidsear a th'ann an Seumas, 'S e poileasmain a th'annta
Here we have a noun linked to an indefinite noun, so is is used in the 's e [indefinite predicate] a th'ann an [subject] construction.
Tha is used:
- to say I am tired, we are ill, etc.: Tha mi sgìth, tha sinn tinn
- in various combinations with prepositions to give different meanings, e.g. with aig 'at' to mean 'to have': Tha taigh aig Dòmhnall 'Donald has a house'.
No doubt there are many more ways both are used. Writing this post has actually helped me to organise the uses I've learnt so far in my head, so woohoo! Hopefully I can remember them and show off to Tormod (in texts anyway - I'm still pretty silent when it comes to speaking out loud :-/ which is a pity as I love how Gaelic feels in my mouth (that sounds weird but it is a thing. Believe me)).
Anyway, air ais aig obair I guess... Meanwhile, here's something for Là Chalum Cille (9th June):
* A helpful reader contacted me on Twitter to let me know that "is e" is not used, but rather it is contracted to form " 'S e ". Many thanks to him. He also pointed out some great resources to which I've linked at the side.
Friday 29 May 2015
Gabhaibh air ur socair, SOL!
I apologise for the delay since my last post, but this is kind of a #sorrynotsorry apology as I've been having lots of fun on holiday. I've still managed to squeeze in some Gaelic though.
I'm at episode 13 now as I found them all on YouTube and so I'm skipping ahead of what's currently on BBC Alba. And it's really picking up the pace in terms of what you learn. Here are some of the phrases from episode 13:
B'aill leibh? - Pardon?/Come again?
Gabhaibh air ur socair - Take it easy/Slow down (polite/plural)
Gabh air do shocair - Take it easy/Slow down (informal singular)
Can sin a-rithist - Say that again
Dè thuirt sibh? - What did you say?
Chan eil mi a' tuigsinn - I don't understand
Chan eil fhios agam - I don't know
Dè tha sin a' ceallachadh? - What does that mean?
As you can see, the phrases are becoming more complicated. I was laughing with Tormod about this episode and about the silly scenarios that you see in them. In one of the scenarios for Gabh air do shocair, a young boy is stuffing his face with a sandwich when his mother says "Gabh air do shocair". I can only imagine the directional instructions to the boy:
"OK, now I want you to take that sandwich, and keep taking bites out of it without swallowing until the "mother" tells you to slow down. Got it? Really jam it in your craw. OK. And aaaction!"
More to come once I'm back at home in the real world again... While I've been on holiday I've really taken the instruction gabh air do shocair to heart ;-) ;-)
I'm at episode 13 now as I found them all on YouTube and so I'm skipping ahead of what's currently on BBC Alba. And it's really picking up the pace in terms of what you learn. Here are some of the phrases from episode 13:
B'aill leibh? - Pardon?/Come again?
Gabhaibh air ur socair - Take it easy/Slow down (polite/plural)
Gabh air do shocair - Take it easy/Slow down (informal singular)
Can sin a-rithist - Say that again
Dè thuirt sibh? - What did you say?
Chan eil mi a' tuigsinn - I don't understand
Chan eil fhios agam - I don't know
Dè tha sin a' ceallachadh? - What does that mean?
As you can see, the phrases are becoming more complicated. I was laughing with Tormod about this episode and about the silly scenarios that you see in them. In one of the scenarios for Gabh air do shocair, a young boy is stuffing his face with a sandwich when his mother says "Gabh air do shocair". I can only imagine the directional instructions to the boy:
"OK, now I want you to take that sandwich, and keep taking bites out of it without swallowing until the "mother" tells you to slow down. Got it? Really jam it in your craw. OK. And aaaction!"
More to come once I'm back at home in the real world again... While I've been on holiday I've really taken the instruction gabh air do shocair to heart ;-) ;-)
Thursday 21 May 2015
Justify yourself!
***Warning! This post contains very little Gaelic and is rather ranty!***
Anyone learning a language will often reflect on why they are bothering to learn it. This often happens once the sheen of a language wears off - the little things about a language that send a exquisite shiver of excitement up your spine every time you encounter it. Then you need to persevere, and you consider whether it's worthwhile persevering. In most cases, it is simply enough to say to oneself, "I'm learning this because I want to speak the language". Just wanting to learn it is sufficient reason to carry on.
However, when mentioning to others that you are learning a language, they will ask which language you are learning and why you want to learn it. Parroting Billie Piper "Because I want to" doesn't usually satisfy your interlocutor.
When I say to others that I can speak French and German, they usually don't inquire to much as to why I learnt these languages because they are standard languages to learn at school. (Or at least they were - German has basically been phased out across Scotland. Idiotic.) Most people view utility as an acceptable reason to learn a language. Learning Spanish? That's ok - it's such a global language. Learning German? Well Germany is an important economic driver in Europe. Polish? Hmm. Well the Slavic countries are quite important in Europe and there are many Poles in the UK.
"Gaelic?" Cue blanched looks and sideways glances. "Seems a bit pointless."
I hate this. Why do we have to justify learning a language that is native to the country? I'm learning it because I want to, because I like the language, because it opens me up to part of my native culture. Because it's beautiful and expressive. Because because because.
Anyway, I don't care what people think when I say I'm learning Gaelic. I'm a language geek. I can get away with it ;-)
I'm going to turn the horrible question on you now. Why are YOU learning Gaelic?
Anyone learning a language will often reflect on why they are bothering to learn it. This often happens once the sheen of a language wears off - the little things about a language that send a exquisite shiver of excitement up your spine every time you encounter it. Then you need to persevere, and you consider whether it's worthwhile persevering. In most cases, it is simply enough to say to oneself, "I'm learning this because I want to speak the language". Just wanting to learn it is sufficient reason to carry on.
However, when mentioning to others that you are learning a language, they will ask which language you are learning and why you want to learn it. Parroting Billie Piper "Because I want to" doesn't usually satisfy your interlocutor.
When I say to others that I can speak French and German, they usually don't inquire to much as to why I learnt these languages because they are standard languages to learn at school. (Or at least they were - German has basically been phased out across Scotland. Idiotic.) Most people view utility as an acceptable reason to learn a language. Learning Spanish? That's ok - it's such a global language. Learning German? Well Germany is an important economic driver in Europe. Polish? Hmm. Well the Slavic countries are quite important in Europe and there are many Poles in the UK.
"Gaelic?" Cue blanched looks and sideways glances. "Seems a bit pointless."
I hate this. Why do we have to justify learning a language that is native to the country? I'm learning it because I want to, because I like the language, because it opens me up to part of my native culture. Because it's beautiful and expressive. Because because because.
Anyway, I don't care what people think when I say I'm learning Gaelic. I'm a language geek. I can get away with it ;-)
I'm going to turn the horrible question on you now. Why are YOU learning Gaelic?
Monday 18 May 2015
Laithean-Saora!
I'm going on holiday and I hope to learn some more Gaelic while I'm away. I think I need to be a bit more systematic in learning it. I've decided I'll listen to An Litir Beag more often, noting down vocabulary. I think this is the best way to learn vocabulary and certain common grammar structures.
I also plan to nag Tormod a bit more about speaking Gaelic. We don't really chat in Gaelic at all when we meet, but I would like to try out some sentences on him. I want to make sure that my pronunciation is acceptable at least. Once of my biggest uncertainties is the pronunciation of the slender "r", i.e. the "r" when preceded or followed by "e" or "i". When listening, I often hear a sort of soft "th" sound, but at other times I hear a more normal-sounding "r".
I also hope to talk about Gaelic resources and their available and usefulness, especially when compared to resources for learning other languages.
Till then, here's Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh
I also plan to nag Tormod a bit more about speaking Gaelic. We don't really chat in Gaelic at all when we meet, but I would like to try out some sentences on him. I want to make sure that my pronunciation is acceptable at least. Once of my biggest uncertainties is the pronunciation of the slender "r", i.e. the "r" when preceded or followed by "e" or "i". When listening, I often hear a sort of soft "th" sound, but at other times I hear a more normal-sounding "r".
I also hope to talk about Gaelic resources and their available and usefulness, especially when compared to resources for learning other languages.
Till then, here's Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh
Monday 11 May 2015
Transformers and Dieticians
I met up recently with my very good friend Dàibhidh and I tried to explain to him the whole Seòras/Sheòrais thing - a feature of Gaelic that I love. The whole explanation ended up being complicated and I don't think I did a good job, unfortunately. Nevertheless, I'm going to try and outline the principles involved here.
As a language geek, I don't shy away from the proper terminology used for grammatical phenomena, although I do sometimes find it obfuscatory rather than illuminating. The features that take place in the Seòras/Sheòrais thing are called lenition and slenderisation.
Let's start with lenition*.
Lenition is when the letter H is inserted after the first letter of a word. However, not all letters can be lenited - vowels can't, nor can L, N or R.
The effect of this is that the pronunciation is transformed. Hence the "sh" sound in Seumas becomes a "h" sound in Sheumais. The "d" in "Dàibhidh" becomes a voiced gutteral sound a bit like the throaty French "r" (so Dhàibhidh sounds a bit like the French ravi). Màiri with an "m" becomes Mhàiri with a "v". Etc. etc. But Ruairidh stays Ruairidh.
Now for slenderisation.
Slenderisation is when the letter I is inserted before the final consonant in the word, or the last broad vowel is changed to a slender one (usually to "i" as far as I can tell). This also affects the pronunciation, "slimming" the final S in Seumas and Seòras turn into a "sh" sound in Sheumais and Sheòrais. This is why Seumas and Hamish are technically from the same Gaelic name for James.
In personal names, this only happens for male names and it doesn't happen if the final vowel is already an I as in Iain.
These rules happen elsewhere, often separately from each other, according to various other grammar rules which I will talk about once I've actually learnt them ;-)
*Help on how to pronounce the words lenite and lenition would be greatly appreciated. Is the first I long like the pronoun I or short as in it?
P.S. I apologise for this rather dry and bland post. Something better next time - promise!
Here's some Skipinnish
As a language geek, I don't shy away from the proper terminology used for grammatical phenomena, although I do sometimes find it obfuscatory rather than illuminating. The features that take place in the Seòras/Sheòrais thing are called lenition and slenderisation.
Let's start with lenition*.
Lenition is when the letter H is inserted after the first letter of a word. However, not all letters can be lenited - vowels can't, nor can L, N or R.
The effect of this is that the pronunciation is transformed. Hence the "sh" sound in Seumas becomes a "h" sound in Sheumais. The "d" in "Dàibhidh" becomes a voiced gutteral sound a bit like the throaty French "r" (so Dhàibhidh sounds a bit like the French ravi). Màiri with an "m" becomes Mhàiri with a "v". Etc. etc. But Ruairidh stays Ruairidh.
Now for slenderisation.
Slenderisation is when the letter I is inserted before the final consonant in the word, or the last broad vowel is changed to a slender one (usually to "i" as far as I can tell). This also affects the pronunciation, "slimming" the final S in Seumas and Seòras turn into a "sh" sound in Sheumais and Sheòrais. This is why Seumas and Hamish are technically from the same Gaelic name for James.
In personal names, this only happens for male names and it doesn't happen if the final vowel is already an I as in Iain.
These rules happen elsewhere, often separately from each other, according to various other grammar rules which I will talk about once I've actually learnt them ;-)
*Help on how to pronounce the words lenite and lenition would be greatly appreciated. Is the first I long like the pronoun I or short as in it?
P.S. I apologise for this rather dry and bland post. Something better next time - promise!
Here's some Skipinnish
Tuesday 5 May 2015
Corrections and comments welcome!
BTW, just a quick post on the fact that I'm bound to make lots of mistakes, embarrassing mistakes on here.
In that regard, I welcome absolutely any comments and corrections from anyone, though I do favour those from native or experienced Gàidhlig speakers. I'm a balach mòr, I can take it. I once spent an entire semester in Germany where a fellow Mitbewohner used to correct my German on the spot, even interrupting what I was saying. While I found this highly irritating, not to mention unhelpful and discouraging, it did give me a much thicker skin when it comes to receiving criticism when speaking a language that isn't English*. Criticism should ideally be polite and respectful and it should come at the end of my poorly constructed sentence, not halfway through it. Give me time to think, Britta!!
[repress... deep breath... and carry on a Sheòrais]
Ahem, anyway, I exhort, encourage and enjoin you to leave comments and criticism.
Here's some Julie Fowlis to cheer you up this dreich feasgar Dimàirt.
* I accept corrections in English less kindly
In that regard, I welcome absolutely any comments and corrections from anyone, though I do favour those from native or experienced Gàidhlig speakers. I'm a balach mòr, I can take it. I once spent an entire semester in Germany where a fellow Mitbewohner used to correct my German on the spot, even interrupting what I was saying. While I found this highly irritating, not to mention unhelpful and discouraging, it did give me a much thicker skin when it comes to receiving criticism when speaking a language that isn't English*. Criticism should ideally be polite and respectful and it should come at the end of my poorly constructed sentence, not halfway through it. Give me time to think, Britta!!
[repress... deep breath... and carry on a Sheòrais]
Ahem, anyway, I exhort, encourage and enjoin you to leave comments and criticism.
Here's some Julie Fowlis to cheer you up this dreich feasgar Dimàirt.
* I accept corrections in English less kindly
Sunday 3 May 2015
Upstart verbs
This dreich Sunday morning I've decided to talk about verbs.
Verbs are a contradiction for me. I love verbs and I hate them. They make or break your skill in a language. They can be simple or horribly complex. With this all in mind, let's take a look at the verb system in Gaelic...
The first main feature of Gaelic verbs is their position. The upstart things come first in a sentence or clause unless following a question word or negation words or such like. For example:
Tha mi sgìth - I am tired
Chunnaic i am balach - She saw the boy
Tha (from "to be") and chunnaic (from "to see") come first in the above sentences, even before the pronouns mi (I) and i (she). I still find this very hard to get used to as it makes every sentence sound like a question in my mind. Even though I've learnt languages like German where the verb shifts about from the second position to the final position depending on whether it is a conjugated verb, in a subordinated clause, etc., or Latin where the verb is usually at the end, the position at the front seems to mess more with my head because it occupies the verb "question position" in English and so many other foreign languages. That said, I am getting more used to it the more I read and listen to Gaelic.
So how does Gaelic form closed questions if the verb is at the beginning already? It does so by a form of conjugation into a "question form" of the verb and preceding it with the question particle "an" ("am" before labials). E.g.:
A bheil thu sgìth? - Are you tired?
Am faca e an nighean? - Did he see the girl?
Am bheil can also be seen though a bheil seems to be more common. The same process also occurs for negating verbs, where cha(n) is placed before the negative form of the verb. The negative question form is formed in a similar way with nach:
Chan eil i sgìth - She is not tired
Chan fhaca sinn an cù - We did not see the dog
Nach eil iad sgìth? - Aren't they tired?
Nach f(h)aca sibh an cat? - Didn't you see the cat?
This way you have all of the essential ways of using a verb positively or negatively and in statement or question form. I'll take a look at tense and other verb aspects in due course. Meanwhile it's time for mo bhracaist.
Verbs are a contradiction for me. I love verbs and I hate them. They make or break your skill in a language. They can be simple or horribly complex. With this all in mind, let's take a look at the verb system in Gaelic...
The first main feature of Gaelic verbs is their position. The upstart things come first in a sentence or clause unless following a question word or negation words or such like. For example:
Tha mi sgìth - I am tired
Chunnaic i am balach - She saw the boy
Tha (from "to be") and chunnaic (from "to see") come first in the above sentences, even before the pronouns mi (I) and i (she). I still find this very hard to get used to as it makes every sentence sound like a question in my mind. Even though I've learnt languages like German where the verb shifts about from the second position to the final position depending on whether it is a conjugated verb, in a subordinated clause, etc., or Latin where the verb is usually at the end, the position at the front seems to mess more with my head because it occupies the verb "question position" in English and so many other foreign languages. That said, I am getting more used to it the more I read and listen to Gaelic.
So how does Gaelic form closed questions if the verb is at the beginning already? It does so by a form of conjugation into a "question form" of the verb and preceding it with the question particle "an" ("am" before labials). E.g.:
A bheil thu sgìth? - Are you tired?
Am faca e an nighean? - Did he see the girl?
Am bheil can also be seen though a bheil seems to be more common. The same process also occurs for negating verbs, where cha(n) is placed before the negative form of the verb. The negative question form is formed in a similar way with nach:
Chan eil i sgìth - She is not tired
Chan fhaca sinn an cù - We did not see the dog
Nach eil iad sgìth? - Aren't they tired?
Nach f(h)aca sibh an cat? - Didn't you see the cat?
This way you have all of the essential ways of using a verb positively or negatively and in statement or question form. I'll take a look at tense and other verb aspects in due course. Meanwhile it's time for mo bhracaist.
Thursday 30 April 2015
Latha Twitter na Gàidhlig....
'S e latha Twitter na Gàidhlig a th'ann an diugh! Head on to Twitter and take a look at the #Gàidhlig feed!
#Gaidhlig Tweets
#Gaidhlig Tweets
Monday 27 April 2015
SOL goes meta...
...in episode 4 no less!
One of the clips from the drama Aig an taigh has a man, a potential employer of Mrs MacLeod, saying that he is learning Gaelic from Speaking Our Language. How can he do that?? If he's as far as we are (and he can't be further on than us, as it's not been broadcast yet), how does he know tha mi ag ionnsachadh Gàidhlig on telebhisean le Speaking Our Language (I am learning Gaelic from TV with SOL)?? It blew my mind.
Another clip in the programme showed Tormod's brother sitting in the car listening to a SOL tape.
In the programme, I learned how to say:
Cò às a tha sibh? - Where are you from?
A bheil Gàidhlig agaibh/agad? - Do you speak Gaelic? (literally: do you have Gaelic?)
Tha Gàidhlig agam. - I speak Gaelic.
Another bombshell from the programme was the fact that the English word "galore" comes from the Gaelic gu leòr, which means "aplenty" or "enough". Hence Whisky Galore - Uisge-beatha gu leòr.
In other news, I came across An Litir Bheag, The Little Letter, which are short podcasts of Gaelic spoken slowly for listening practice. They are pretty interesting - the most recent one is about a quick trip to visit Eilean Donan, that ubiquitous image of a castle by a loch made famous around the world on shortbread tins.
I also watched three episodes of Torcuil's Guide to Being a Gael, a comedy sketch about Gaelic life with Tony Kearney as the eponymous presenter. 'Twas chucklesome indeed.
One of the clips from the drama Aig an taigh has a man, a potential employer of Mrs MacLeod, saying that he is learning Gaelic from Speaking Our Language. How can he do that?? If he's as far as we are (and he can't be further on than us, as it's not been broadcast yet), how does he know tha mi ag ionnsachadh Gàidhlig on telebhisean le Speaking Our Language (I am learning Gaelic from TV with SOL)?? It blew my mind.
Another clip in the programme showed Tormod's brother sitting in the car listening to a SOL tape.
In the programme, I learned how to say:
Cò às a tha sibh? - Where are you from?
A bheil Gàidhlig agaibh/agad? - Do you speak Gaelic? (literally: do you have Gaelic?)
Tha Gàidhlig agam. - I speak Gaelic.
Another bombshell from the programme was the fact that the English word "galore" comes from the Gaelic gu leòr, which means "aplenty" or "enough". Hence Whisky Galore - Uisge-beatha gu leòr.
In other news, I came across An Litir Bheag, The Little Letter, which are short podcasts of Gaelic spoken slowly for listening practice. They are pretty interesting - the most recent one is about a quick trip to visit Eilean Donan, that ubiquitous image of a castle by a loch made famous around the world on shortbread tins.
I also watched three episodes of Torcuil's Guide to Being a Gael, a comedy sketch about Gaelic life with Tony Kearney as the eponymous presenter. 'Twas chucklesome indeed.
Tuesday 21 April 2015
Features of Gaelic 1: Orthography and Brown or White Bread
I've figured out that there are only two episodes of SOL a week on BBC Alba, meaning that I never missed an episode last week. Last night I learnt how to say where I am from:
Càit a bheil sibh a' fuireach? Where do you live?
Dùn Eideann Edinburgh
Dè an seòladh a th'agaibh? What is your address?
Dè an aireamh fòn a th'agaibh? What is your phone number?
One of the interesting and unusual features of Gaelic is its spelling. To the outsider, it seems as though there are far too many letters for the corresponding sound. And yet, the spelling makes more sense and is more consistent than English orthography. Many of the letters are there due to what I think of as the like-for-like rule, or the brown bread/white bread rule.
It's all about sandwiches
When you make a sandwich, you usually use two slices of the same type of bread. If you have a slice of white bread at the bottom, you'll use another slice of white bread on top. The same goes for brown bread, and it would be strange to mix the two. The same applies to consonants and vowels in Gaelic.
There are two groups of vowels in Gaelic and each group has a different effect on the pronunciation of the adjacent consonant. The two groups are called broad vowels and slender vowels.
Broad vowels are a, o and u.
Slender vowels are e and i.
Now, unlike other languages such as English or Italian, vowels in Gaelic have an influence over the preceding consonant as well as any following consonant. For example, the letter t changes from the t in 'toast' to a sound more akin to the t in 'tune' (what is called palatisation, or the insertion of a y after the sound). This means that the word càit (where) above is pronounced similar to the English word 'catch' by virtue of the i preceding the t. Make sense? Basically vowels are more 'influential' over adjacent consonants than in English or Italian. Easy, I'd say.
Yet there is a problem. What would happen then if you had a consonant with two different types of vowels on either side? Would you pronounce it broad or slender?
Gaelic's solution to this problem is to make sure that each consonant is only surrounded by the same type of vowel. It only uses the same type of bread on either side of the filling. White with white, brown with brown; slender with slender, broad with broad.
This is why fuireach (stay/live) above has an i before the letter r and an e after the r, even though neither are really pronounced distinctly in the word. Their purpose is to indicate how the r is to be pronounced (in this case, it is approximate to the 'th' sound in 'father', but lighter and less distinct - blooming difficult!)
Anyway, I'm sure my explanation is horribly complex and there are easier ways of doing it, but I like the white/brown bread idea. It also explains why there are so many vowels all over the place which aren't even pronounced.
Càit a bheil sibh a' fuireach? Where do you live?
Dùn Eideann Edinburgh
Dè an seòladh a th'agaibh? What is your address?
Dè an aireamh fòn a th'agaibh? What is your phone number?
One of the interesting and unusual features of Gaelic is its spelling. To the outsider, it seems as though there are far too many letters for the corresponding sound. And yet, the spelling makes more sense and is more consistent than English orthography. Many of the letters are there due to what I think of as the like-for-like rule, or the brown bread/white bread rule.
It's all about sandwiches
When you make a sandwich, you usually use two slices of the same type of bread. If you have a slice of white bread at the bottom, you'll use another slice of white bread on top. The same goes for brown bread, and it would be strange to mix the two. The same applies to consonants and vowels in Gaelic.
There are two groups of vowels in Gaelic and each group has a different effect on the pronunciation of the adjacent consonant. The two groups are called broad vowels and slender vowels.
Broad vowels are a, o and u.
Slender vowels are e and i.
Now, unlike other languages such as English or Italian, vowels in Gaelic have an influence over the preceding consonant as well as any following consonant. For example, the letter t changes from the t in 'toast' to a sound more akin to the t in 'tune' (what is called palatisation, or the insertion of a y after the sound). This means that the word càit (where) above is pronounced similar to the English word 'catch' by virtue of the i preceding the t. Make sense? Basically vowels are more 'influential' over adjacent consonants than in English or Italian. Easy, I'd say.
Yet there is a problem. What would happen then if you had a consonant with two different types of vowels on either side? Would you pronounce it broad or slender?
Gaelic's solution to this problem is to make sure that each consonant is only surrounded by the same type of vowel. It only uses the same type of bread on either side of the filling. White with white, brown with brown; slender with slender, broad with broad.
This is why fuireach (stay/live) above has an i before the letter r and an e after the r, even though neither are really pronounced distinctly in the word. Their purpose is to indicate how the r is to be pronounced (in this case, it is approximate to the 'th' sound in 'father', but lighter and less distinct - blooming difficult!)
Anyway, I'm sure my explanation is horribly complex and there are easier ways of doing it, but I like the white/brown bread idea. It also explains why there are so many vowels all over the place which aren't even pronounced.
Wednesday 15 April 2015
Is mise Seòras
I missed yesterday's episode of Speaking Our Language with good old Rhoda but I made up for it with a few texts from Tormod which were almost entirely in Gaelic. I wasn't too fussed about missing yesterday's episode as it is still covering very basic Gaelic.
I've just finished watching today's episode which covered the following:
Is mise (Seòras). - I am (George).
Dè an t-ainm a th'oirbh? - What is your name? (polite)
Thig a-steach. - Come in.
Tapadh leat. - Thank you. (informal)
As I said, the level is extremely basic but I enjoyed watching it as it is nice to know I understand these basics now. I also learn proper pronunciation from the programme. Before today, I would have pronounced thig a-steach as [hig uh-shchukh] whereas the programme has taught me that it is more like [hig uh-shchay-ukh].
An entertaining aspect of this episode of SOL is the ubiquity of Tormod's brother Màrtainn in the various clips, including the basic "soap" Aig an taigh (At home).
Finally, I've decided on Seòras as my Spraff Learns Gàidhlig pseudonym. Although I'm not a fan of the name George in English, I quite like the sound of Seòras (pronounced Shoras). I also don't know any Georges in real life whereas I know people whose names would be Seumas (James), Iain (John) Eòghann (Euan). I also wanted a name where lenition and slenderisation would make a difference in the pronunciation (i.e. Seòras becomes Sheòrais, pronounced Horash), which is a feature I love about Gaelic. So is mise Seòras an seo.
Dè an t-ainm a th'oirbhse? What's your name?
I've just finished watching today's episode which covered the following:
Is mise (Seòras). - I am (George).
Dè an t-ainm a th'oirbh? - What is your name? (polite)
Thig a-steach. - Come in.
Tapadh leat. - Thank you. (informal)
As I said, the level is extremely basic but I enjoyed watching it as it is nice to know I understand these basics now. I also learn proper pronunciation from the programme. Before today, I would have pronounced thig a-steach as [hig uh-shchukh] whereas the programme has taught me that it is more like [hig uh-shchay-ukh].
An entertaining aspect of this episode of SOL is the ubiquity of Tormod's brother Màrtainn in the various clips, including the basic "soap" Aig an taigh (At home).
Finally, I've decided on Seòras as my Spraff Learns Gàidhlig pseudonym. Although I'm not a fan of the name George in English, I quite like the sound of Seòras (pronounced Shoras). I also don't know any Georges in real life whereas I know people whose names would be Seumas (James), Iain (John) Eòghann (Euan). I also wanted a name where lenition and slenderisation would make a difference in the pronunciation (i.e. Seòras becomes Sheòrais, pronounced Horash), which is a feature I love about Gaelic. So is mise Seòras an seo.
Dè an t-ainm a th'oirbhse? What's your name?
Monday 13 April 2015
Cast list
I suppose to start with, I should give you a brief overview of where I am at the moment in terms of Gaelic-learning.
- I try to watch Speaking Our Language on BBC Alba each evening.
Happily, the whole series restarted this evening so I can finally watch the earlier episodes which lay the ground work. While I knew everything the episode was about (ciamar a tha sibh? Tha gu math, tapadh leibh. Madainn mhath, feasgar math. That was all), it was nice to get the explanation for why some letters were always written in blue/green. SOL also takes me to my next (and probably main) Gaelic source.
- I chat to my friend who is a native Gaelic speaker.
We mainly chat by text, though I have ventured an odd (rather bumbling and poorly constructed) sentence or two when we meet up in person. For the sake of this blog, he is called Tormod. He appears very very occasionally in the little practice clips throughout the second and third series of SOL, ordering lunch and what not, which is rather amusing. I'm not sure if he's in the first series, and I know he's not in the fourth.
- I watch other stuff on BBC Alba.
I like listening to it and trying to identify some of the words I know. I know I am improving as my recognition has definitely increased. What I now find difficult is identifying all the little words that have a lot of meaning in terms of tense and other grammatical function, such as tha/bha, gam/gad etc.
- I read Gaelic learning resources such as Gaelic in 12 weeks by Roibeard O'Maolalaigh and Everyday Gaelic by Morag MacNeill. I also use Am Faclair Beag and LearnGaelic.net.
So these are my main resources. I can get by through a few texts, though long complicated structures are still beyond me. Luckily Tormod seems to be patient enough with me and regularly texts me in Gaelic without my asking. I was worried about using him as a kind of practice buddy as I didn't want him to become a magister involens which I have been to others on occasion. Friend first, Gaelic helper second.
My aim is to eventually be able to hold a decent conversation in Gaelic rather like myItalian French skills (which have greatly deteriorated, sadly), or hopefully even better. I'd also like to be able to write decent length posts in Gaelic. Aim high, Spraff!*
*I think I may have to give myself a different pseudonym as a Gaelic learner just so I can do all the lovely lenition and slenderisation that make Gaelic so wonderfully interesting. I'll get back to you on that.
- I try to watch Speaking Our Language on BBC Alba each evening.
Happily, the whole series restarted this evening so I can finally watch the earlier episodes which lay the ground work. While I knew everything the episode was about (ciamar a tha sibh? Tha gu math, tapadh leibh. Madainn mhath, feasgar math. That was all), it was nice to get the explanation for why some letters were always written in blue/green. SOL also takes me to my next (and probably main) Gaelic source.
- I chat to my friend who is a native Gaelic speaker.
We mainly chat by text, though I have ventured an odd (rather bumbling and poorly constructed) sentence or two when we meet up in person. For the sake of this blog, he is called Tormod. He appears very very occasionally in the little practice clips throughout the second and third series of SOL, ordering lunch and what not, which is rather amusing. I'm not sure if he's in the first series, and I know he's not in the fourth.
- I watch other stuff on BBC Alba.
I like listening to it and trying to identify some of the words I know. I know I am improving as my recognition has definitely increased. What I now find difficult is identifying all the little words that have a lot of meaning in terms of tense and other grammatical function, such as tha/bha, gam/gad etc.
- I read Gaelic learning resources such as Gaelic in 12 weeks by Roibeard O'Maolalaigh and Everyday Gaelic by Morag MacNeill. I also use Am Faclair Beag and LearnGaelic.net.
So these are my main resources. I can get by through a few texts, though long complicated structures are still beyond me. Luckily Tormod seems to be patient enough with me and regularly texts me in Gaelic without my asking. I was worried about using him as a kind of practice buddy as I didn't want him to become a magister involens which I have been to others on occasion. Friend first, Gaelic helper second.
My aim is to eventually be able to hold a decent conversation in Gaelic rather like my
*I think I may have to give myself a different pseudonym as a Gaelic learner just so I can do all the lovely lenition and slenderisation that make Gaelic so wonderfully interesting. I'll get back to you on that.
Bloga ùr
Well, I've decided to dust off the old password and look into blogging again. This time I'm going to try and document, with no particular regularity or frequency, my progress in learning probably one of the hardest languages I've bothered trying to learn.
I frequently change the language I want to learn but I keep coming back to Gaelic with some regularity. Now that I actually know a Gael with whom I can practise, I've decided to give it a serious shot.
So here goes!
(I would have liked to insert a Gaelic phrase here, but I'm not at that point yet)
I frequently change the language I want to learn but I keep coming back to Gaelic with some regularity. Now that I actually know a Gael with whom I can practise, I've decided to give it a serious shot.
So here goes!
(I would have liked to insert a Gaelic phrase here, but I'm not at that point yet)
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