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Teach yourself Gaelic



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Sneachd: snow
Pronounced "shnyack", and while this year is an exception, snow is a lot less common in the Gaelic areas than it used to be. For Gaels, things are described as being as cold as snow, and not as cold as ice: cho fuar ris an t-sneachd (pronounced kho foo-yar rish in tnyack), as cold as snow. A snowflake is bleideag (bled-jack). To say it is snowing, try: Tha e a' cur an t-sneachd (hah e uh koor in tnyack) – literally it is putting the snow, snow is falling.

Ice is deigh, pronounced jay, and slippery is sleamhainn, pronounced shlav-veen.

When enough snow falls, try building a bodach-sneachd (bod-dokh shnyack), literally old man of snow, or snowman.



The full article contains 128 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
Page 1 of 1

  • Last Updated: 26 January 2008 8:49 PM
  • Source: Scotland On Sunday
  • Location: Scotland
  • Related Topics: Gaelic language
 
1

Alasdair91,

Dolair, Siorrach Chlach Mhannainn 27/01/2008 01:44:56
I would use:

"Tha an t-sneachd ann" for "It is snowing".

I have seen plenty of it this year anyway.
2

Hugo of Garven,

27/01/2008 07:39:39
#2
"I totally defend those who wish to speak Gaelic or learn to speak it."

I am glad you said that as I would not have guessed it from your post.

Your lesson in Chinese is appreciated.

However, I think Gaelic needs all the support it can get, especially from us non-Gaelic speakers.
3

Hugo of Garven,

27/01/2008 20:51:57
8 ANGUS OGG /O8

I am still trying to understand the pronunciation of Gaelic words and thus welcome the phonetics. Please be tolerant of us idiots.

Le durachd
4

Finlay Macleoid,

28/01/2008 17:07:00
How can anyone learn a language through translation.
Indeed, a complete Gaelic environment can be created anywhere in the World if you have one or two fluent speakers in a group. Naturally it is more difficult if there is only one but it can be done very easily.

Little wonder we have learners who start every single sentence with THA if all they do is translate from English into Gaelic. I am reminded of the learner who has been trying to learn Gaelic for 55 years and can't string a full sentence togther.

Get rid of reading, writing, grammer, translation and English until you are highly fluent and able to think in Gaelic for at least a month.
Then start on reading, then writing and grammer and finally after two or more years start translating.
It is clear that few who are learning Gaelic do so quickly because of the methods they are subjected to by so called language teachers.
5

S.L.,

Hamilton 29/01/2008 00:02:00
Is this not just a small article about how to say snow in Gaelic?
6

Finlay Macleoid,

TIP 29/01/2008 20:24:01
While I understand this item is about snow and how it is written or translated into Gaelic, surely the main aim of anyone wanting to learn Gaelic is to acquire it as quickly as humanly possible and with as little hassle and cost as possible.
Why do those who are learning Gaelic use the most difficult, time consuming and rarely successful methods to do so.
The translation/grammer method was developed at the time they were translating the Bible from Hebrew, Aramaic, Classical Greek and Latin. Only Aramaic was a community language at the time so what use did the Scholars have for learning to speak or converse in any of these languages.

Gaelic students are now left struggling with language acquisition methods that work only with about 1% of the population leaving 99% stuck in the mud believing they are stupid or simply up to the job. What a waste of time, effort, money with the added pleasure of low self-confidence thrown in as well.

Over the past 4 years I and a number of other people have been developing new strategies to enable Gaelic learners acquire Gaelic through themes that are based in natural learning environments, which are hands on and in Gaelic only learning situations from day one.

Recently, we were asked how many fluent Gaelic speaking tutors we could train in Canada, The USA and
Mexico quickly by 2010 as there is such a shortage.

Well, we would like to train about 250 tutors and at the same time bring 1500 adults who understood Gaelic from childhood but were unable to speak the language to conversing quite happily, on 10 day Gaelic courses.

Naturally, we need to find both the students and the fluent tutors (ability to read and write Gaelic not required). Can you help in locating both studets and tutors and as quickly as possible?.
7

Finlay Macleoid,

30/01/2008 20:13:19
16
'S docha gum bi mi feumach, chan e mhain air aite ach croit cuideachd, leis gu bheil teaghlach ag iarraidh Gaidhlig ionnsachadh aig an aon am sa tha iad ag obair na talmhainn agus timcheall na dachaidh.

'Sann as Na Staitean Aonaichte a tha iad agus mura teid aca coimhearsnachd freagarrach fhaighinn air an taobh seo dhan chuain le sgoil Ghaidhlig dhan chloinn, bi iad a lorg tuathanas ann an Canada neo anns na Staitean far a bheil a' Ghaidhlig aig an fheadhainn leis a bheil i.

Mar is fhaide tha mi an liob inbhich a tha airson Gaidhlig ionnsachadh, 'sann as motha tha saoghal a thaca sgaireadh ann an da champ - Na Hobbyists agus tha na ceudan aca ann, agus na daoine tha airson a' Ghaidhlig a dheanamh mar Chainnt laitheil dhaibh pein.

Chi thu na daoine as an darna camp a lorg cainnt abhaisteach laitheil a chuireas iad an sas le an cuid chloinne as spot agus ni iad a h-uile dichioll tighinn gu comhraidh agus seanchas cho luath sa theid aca.
'Se a tha dhith orra cainnt a chuireas iad an sas as an dachaidh uairean ged a bhitheadh torr mor mearachdan air faire.

A thaobh na hobbyists, ni mar as tric ni rud sam bi a chuis dhaibhsan cho fads' nach eil cus stri na chois.

Nach leig thu fhaicinn dhomh a bheil neo nach eil talamh ann a theid obrach ri taobh neo faisg air an aite agad.
8

Tearlach,

Juneau 01/02/2008 06:48:14
Gun teagamh, 's e bhith fuireach ann an coimhearsnachd far a bheil Gàidhlig fhathast làidir dòigh as fheàrr airson a' chànan ionnsachadh. Ach mura a bheil cothrom agad fuireach sa h-eileanan iar neo dòighean eile, tha an eadar-lìonn air leth feumail. Mar eiseimpleir tha litrichean do luche-ionnsachaidh ann. An rud a rinn mise leotha 's e 's gun do chruathaich mi dhomh fhìn seòrsa de 'total immersion.'
Tha iad a' sìor-chluich gu ciùin ge be sna bha mi a' deanamh. Nuair a bhiodh cothrom agam, bheirinn sùil air an teagsa. Sin do-dhiù an rud a th' air a bhith feumail dhomh-sa a tha a'fuireach fad às.

Ach ma tha cothrom agad sin a dheanamh, tha na dòighean a leithid 'TIP' math fhèin airson Gàidhlig ionnsachadh. Ann an dòigh 's e sin an dòigh sa bhios pàist sam bith a' cleachdadh 'son a chànan fhèin ionnsachadh.

9

Barbara E. Johnson,

USA 20/03/2008 00:04:05
I have been one of those trying to learn from a cd and books to teach myself the language. Sadly, I have yet to find anyone who can "speak" to me so I can learn...make my mistakes,then continue on. It is very difficult to me to play it over and over and have no one to direct my questions to. I welcome new, benificial ways of learning this wonderful language.
Thank you all for this site.

 

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