Feeling Foolish

For two weeks' now we have been talking about being "ready" in Gàidhlig class.  It wasn't until Thursday evening I realised it was also the word for sunwise, oft-used in pagan circles, deiseil.

I can only suppose that when people constantly mispronounce something, and you get used to hearing it mispronounced, that when you encounter it in its language of origin (albeit with a slightly different meaning), you may not recognise it right away.   The fact its often spelt differently in pagan circles didn't help either.  I just felt so foolish when I finally made the connection.

Gaelic Language, Song and Folklore in Canna

2013 sees the launch of a brand new and exciting opportunity to experience the secrets of the Isle of Canna in the Hebrides. Canna House is prepared to give up the secrets of its priceless Folklore Collections of Margaret and John Campbell for the very first time. Take the opportunity to be one of the first people to explore not only the Campbells’ legacy, but also what drew them to Canna and why it is such a special little island. Fiona will be running her 4th Annual course of both Gaelic Song and Gaelic Language on the island itself this October. 

An intrinsic part of this course will be the opportunity to also learn Gaelic, through the revolutionary, intensive, Ulpan method, delivered by well-known tutor Rhoda Meek.  Gaelic was at the heart of traditional Canna life until not that long ago and  learning the language in the shadow of the cliffs of Rum is an ideal way to feel part of that culture and increase understanding of that way of life.

View more details at Fiona Mackenzie.

Words and Language

Was perusing various blogs and came across this:

Words are free and all words, light and frothy, firm and
sculpted as they may be, bear the history of their passage from lip to lip over
thousands of years. How they feel to us now tells us whole stories of our
ancestors.

A quote from Mr Stephen Fry, one of Britain’s modern wordsmiths. I’ve always felt language was important and I have always despaired at my lack of ability to wield my native language fluently and with grace.

I wonder, then, what that might say about me to future generations?

Scots Gaelic: An Introduction to the Basics

Author: George McLennan
ISBN: 1902831888

If only every language had a book like this you could read before undertaking a course in said language.

This is a slim volume, but packed full of useful information, including a brief history of the development of the Gaelic language, pronunciation, why letters are pronounced a certain way, and why it appears this language using more letters than others. Accents are explained as are long and short vowels, the changes for past/present/future tense, prepositions, counting (the old fashioned way) and differences in dialect and a likely explanation as to why they might occur. There is also explanations for words imported from other languages and their spelling and pronunciation.

All of which information gives you a head start when trying to read what's being spoken by your tutor, or sounded from your CD/computer. It all makes much more sense now and I don't feel so lost wondering where the sound originates.

Although this book is only 80 pages long, its a great reference and I will keep it close by whilst I learn Gaelic until I have its contents memorized and can fumble my way through written text, confidently sounding out the words using McLennan's explanations as a guide.

Rating: 5/5.