Learning Scots Gaelic
- Thread starter Cranborne
- Start date
enfieldspares
Well-Known Member
Many years ago I read in a book an account of two Scots soldiers who escaped from Nazi occupied France by crossing into Spain across the mountains. Now whether this was immediately after the Germans reached the coast in 1940 post Dunkirk and the Highland Division was surrounded and Rouen I can't remember. Not a lot know that not everybody made it to Dunkirk either. However the account was that they were challenged by German soldiers that encountered them in the Pyrenees and replied back in Gaelic. And the Germans assuming they were Basques from Spain who had wandered by accident over the frontier and were returning to Spain let them pass.
Can well believe that, my late mother was fluent in Irish and told me that she could understand most of what was said when she visited the Basque Country.
I’m fascinated by languages and love the diversity within them and the fluidity across them (and vice versa!)
This is a great watch and listen:
This is a great watch and listen:
Sinistral
Well-Known Member
Sorry but this couldn't be more wrong, just can't let it pass. Most of Scotland was once Gaelic-speaking, and Gaelic, alongside Scots, is now an official language supported under the Scottish Languages Act 2025. According to the 2022 census of Scotland 49.6% of those who use it everyday as their main language are now concentrated in the Western Isles. While there aren't any mono-lingual speakers left, 130K (2.5% of Scots) have skills in Gaelic. Most of these reported that they could speak it, and the rest answered that they 'understood the language', but did not speak, read, or write in it.
I hope that the OP continues his efforts, as learning a language other than your own is always worthwhile.
This OS link on place-names is a gem which might interest those who stalk or live in Scotland. It ends with a guide to the vocabulary and grammar that can be skipped, but I picked out the most difficult aspects for me. There doesn't seem to be any other way to put this, but maybe a native speaker thinks in Gaelic like no-one else can. They have to wait until the spoken sentence ends, take it apart, and reassemble all the bits in English.
https://getoutside.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/guides/the-gaelic-origins-of-place-names-in-britain/
There is no indefinite article 'a' in Gaelic e.g. ' cù ' translates as 'dog' or 'a dog'.
Nouns are masculine or feminine, and adjectives follow nouns.
There are several words for the English definite article 'the'.
Nouns can't be made plural just by adding 's'.
(a) dog - the dog - the dogs
= cù - an cù - na coin
(a) horse - the horse - the horses
= each - an t-each - na h-eich
(a) man - the man - the men
= fear - am fear - na fir
(a) woman - the woman - the women
= bean - a'bhean - na mnathan
Almost everything in Gaelic is back to front :-
The order of words in the English sentence is Subject - Verb - Adjective - Object.
The order of words in the Gaelic sentence is Verb - Subject - Object - Adjective.
take a simple sentence in English . . . . . ' I saw a black dog ' . . .
in Gaelic is ' Chunnaic mi cù dubh ' . . ' Saw - I - (a) dog - black '.
Me mam was born tuam Ireland in 1924 her first language was Gaelic when I was little if a was working me sell as a often did when the Gaelic came out it was time to quickly get out her way 
Formidable woman she was ! She was fetched up in the magderlan homes with her younger sister through no fault of there’s
She was just starting to learn me a lil bit of Gaelic but sadly she died when a was 12 years old
Formidable woman she was ! She was fetched up in the magderlan homes with her younger sister through no fault of there’s
She was just starting to learn me a lil bit of Gaelic but sadly she died when a was 12 years old
At least Helicopter in Gaelic could have gone the route of West Papua Pidgin "Mixmaster belong Jesus-Christ", rather than the unimaginative "heileacoptair".
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On a very random link and with apologies to the OP......
An acquaintance from many years ago went off to be a missionary on PNG. Part of his training involved a bit of legal "guidance" as well a the language skills. He was warned if he ran one of the locals down, it was frowned upon, but generally paid off with blood money.....However if you ran one of their pigs or cattle down to get out of there as quickly as possible as they still had some remnants of their head hunting traits left in them!
Dunwaters
Well-Known Member
Do you have just the one word, cu, for dog?Sorry but this couldn't be more wrong, just can't let it pass. Most of Scotland was once Gaelic-speaking, and Gaelic, alongside Scots, is now an official language supported under the Scottish Languages Act 2025. According to the 2022 census of Scotland 49.6% of those who use it everyday as their main language are now concentrated in the Western Isles. While there aren't any mono-lingual speakers left, 130K (2.5% of Scots) have skills in Gaelic. Most of these reported that they could speak it, and the rest answered that they 'understood the language', but did not speak, read, or write in it.
I hope that the OP continues his efforts, as learning a language other than your own is always worthwhile.
This OS link on place-names is a gem which might interest those who stalk or live in Scotland. It ends with a guide to the vocabulary and grammar that can be skipped, but I picked out the most difficult aspects for me. There doesn't seem to be any other way to put this, but maybe a native speaker thinks in Gaelic like no-one else can. They have to wait until the spoken sentence ends, take it apart, and reassemble all the bits in English.
https://getoutside.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/guides/the-gaelic-origins-of-place-names-in-britain/
There is no indefinite article 'a' in Gaelic e.g. ' cù ' translates as 'dog' or 'a dog'.
Nouns are masculine or feminine, and adjectives follow nouns.
There are several words for the English definite article 'the'.
Nouns can't be made plural just by adding 's'.
(a) dog - the dog - the dogs
= cù - an cù - na coin
(a) horse - the horse - the horses
= each - an t-each - na h-eich
(a) man - the man - the men
= fear - am fear - na fir
(a) woman - the woman - the women
= bean - a'bhean - na mnathan
Almost everything in Gaelic is back to front :-
The order of words in the English sentence is Subject - Verb - Adjective - Object.
The order of words in the Gaelic sentence is Verb - Subject - Object - Adjective.
take a simple sentence in English . . . . . ' I saw a black dog ' . . .
in Gaelic is ' Chunnaic mi cù dubh ' . . ' Saw - I - (a) dog - black '.
We have at least 3, cú, meaning a hound, gadhair, again is a hound but probably a scenting dog, and madra would be a generic dog/mutt.
Freeforester
Well-Known Member
Our region native tongue is Doric, which has far more common traits and words with Danish and Norwegian, and though the former sounds little like Doric, when written the similarities are plain.
Gaelic hasn’t been much in use East of the Spey for three hundred years, despite the best efforts of the SNP to push it down our throats, with signage and ambulance and police cars clearly bi-lingual; this hit its peak nonsense when the local train station was laughably renamed as Hunnaidh ( Huntly): itself a more recent imposter for the original, Raws o’ Strathbogie, suggesting that despite the current encouragement of what was hitherto only the ‘dominie’s’ language in the schools, ie Doric, the Natsi’s would prefer we adopt their chosen lingua franca.
At school fifty years ago, the toun bairns spoke only Scots, most had no idea of the language of the countryside outwith.
Sinistral
Well-Known Member
Indeed there are others, but Irish is different. This happens to be the shortest and most commonly used one in texts, so easy to remember.
Even with my lousy pronunciation 'Hoonik-mee-coo-doo' does trip off the tongue.
Dunwaters
Well-Known Member
Go raibh maith agut.Indeed there are others, but Irish is different. This happens to be the shortest and most commonly used one in texts, so easy to remember.
Even with my lousy pronunciation 'Hoonik-mee-coo-doo' does trip off the tongue.
Sinistral
Well-Known Member
You're very welcome.Go raibh maith agat (Irish)Gun robh math agad (Gaelic)
I had to work out your reply from an ancient device called a textbook.
' Is é do bheatha ' is exactly the same in both languages which I didn't expect.
Dunwaters
Well-Known Member
Both languages are similar and there was always a lot of trade between the two countries.You're very welcome.
I had to work out your reply from an ancient device called a textbook.
' Is é do bheatha ' is exactly the same in both languages which I didn't expect.
To my ear the Irish from the South and West of Ireland is more poetic and easy to listen to than the Irish from the North and Northwest where the influence of Scots Gaelic is more pronounced.
Like the difference between Scotch whisky and Irish whiskey, neither is better or worse than the other, they suit different tastes.
Sinistral
Well-Known Member
I have all attachments to SD posts, and YouTube blocked. Just can't stand the sight of blood.
The link is worth saving elsewhere for educational purposes - 'How To Curse In Erse'.
Many thanks.
