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!

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!

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

To Be or Not To Be...

....or rather, some other kind of 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.

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 ;-) ;-)

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?

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