Fòram na Gàidhlig

Now of course I'm no etymologist, but it seems to me that the welsh word Merlota (pony-trekking) could have a similar descent from March/ marc'h.
Of coure the discussion is veering a bit from the original subject, although this is interesting.

This is a good example of how many languages change over time. gradually what is slang or colloquial becomes more and more acceptable in a greater variety of settings and hence the slang becomes proper. For example, the formal latin word for horse was equus, but the word on the streets was Cavallus....

Now what about the use of the pronoun 'tu' instead of 'thu'?
From what I can pick up by ear, it seems that people put 'tu' after select verbs verbs in a particular mood. Perhaps this is incorrect. for example Faodaidh tu.... (you can...)

Am faod cuideigin daingnich seo? Can anyone confirm this?

This explanation accounts for a lot. Tapadh leibh, I am using the Teach Yourself Gaelic Book, which I think is very good, only they list gam, gad, ga, ga, ... as "Direct Object Pronouns"

Could someone explain the reason why the object pronouns in the present tense are different from those in the past tense? (gam,gad,ga,gur,gar...vs. i,e,iad, mi...)

Hallò, tha mi nua an-seo, ach 's mise Nate agus tha mi ag ionnsachadh Ghàidhlig.