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).
Thursday, 3 September 2015
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.
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