Native Speaker looking for spelling help

sineagade · Unread post by **sineagade** » Sat Jan 31, 2009 3:37 pm

Hello

I was born and brought up with Gaelic as my natural language and learned English when I went to school. I never did learn the grammar etc as we just spoke Gaelic naturally and at school we concentrated on English. Gaelic was very much our fireside language. I have taken an interest in it again after many years of only speaking it infrequently. However it doesn't seem to be as informal as I remember it - it seems to be very stilted - or is that just the way I'm reading it? There are so many new words and as for my spelling - it is atrocious as we were told at school that it wasn't important to learn. I would like to improve my spelling so maybe this forum could help? I don't even know how to say "Gaelic is my first language".

Sineagade

Seonaidh · Unread post by **Seonaidh** » Sat Jan 31, 2009 5:36 pm

A Shineagade (if that is something like your name),

Chan eil mòran Gàidhlig agamsa - tha mi ga h-ionnsachadh an-dràsta. Mura gabh dragh ort, sgrìobhaidh mi sa Bheurla a-nis.

Yes, I can well see how a Gaelic speaker, coming back to the language after a few years, might feel it has become formal and stilted. The truth is not many folk speak it that often - in Skye at any rate - and some of those who do have it as a second language rather than a first. That is, they've done what I'm doing and learnt it. When you learn another language, you're crying out for rules and structures to hold on to, so you often stick with them even in situations where they're not altogether appropriate. That may be what's happened with the Gaelic you're hearing.

Another thing - new things keep getting made, e.g. computers, movile phones, whatever. The "fireside" Gaelic tradition would probably just borrow, maybe with superficial sound changes, the English terms for such things into Gaelic, e.g. telebhisean, rèidio and so on. However, now that the "academics" are getting their hands more on the language, you might find Gaelic-based terms coming in for various new things.

So, on this forum, largely populated by folk at various stages of learning Gaelic, you'll probably find some pretty good guidance on how to spell Gaelic, as it's the sort of thing likely to be quite fresh in our minds. You might, indeed, find people arguing over how to spell something - the rules of Gaelic spelling changed a bit a few years ago and not everybody likes the way they changed (classic things are, e.g. "an-dràsda" => "an-dràsta", as well as the way certain accents point on words). So, rather than get confused by such disagreements, just choose whatever way seems best for you - even if it's technically "wrong", people will still understand.

Onywye, fàilte! Chan e Gàidhlig a th' ann a' chiad chainnt agam.
(from which you might be able to work out how to say "Gaelic is my first language" in Gaelic)

Unread post by **GunChleoc** » Sat Jan 31, 2009 9:29 pm

Halò agus fàilte ort!

Hello and welcome

Maybe the best way for you to use this forum would to post stuff bilingually, so we know what you meant to say and then can help with the correcting spelling

Unread post by **Gràisg** » Sat Jan 31, 2009 9:45 pm

Halò agus fàilte chridheil ort

Please don't worry too much about spelling, to me some of the best gaelic you can find today is published in the press and journal and it by no means always follows the new spelling rules. No one here is beyond mistakes and the gaelic you speak would no doubt be the envy of all the learners like myself here.
There are some sites that allow you to look at Gaelic text while you listen to sound files.
If you explore BBC Alba and try the like of 'Làrach nam Bard'
http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/alba/fogh ... hton.shtml
or Litir do luchd-ionnsachaidh
http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/alba/fogh ... lic/litir/
I like Seanchas Ile - but that dialect doesn't hit the spot with everyone lol
http://www.seanchas-ile.net/islay-gaelic.html

There is an on-line course for the grammar etc, 'Cuir Peann ri Pàipear'
but it does cost £225, a pity really it should be a lot cheaper.

Here it is:
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/en/cursaichean/cprp/index.php

Gur math a thèid leat

sineagade · Unread post by **sineagade** » Sat Jan 31, 2009 11:17 pm

Moran taing gun a h-uile duine a bha math gu leor airson tighinn air ais dho. Yes, at the firseside, I would definitely have said replyigadh dho! I think what we did was use the English word but by following the Gaelic spelling rule?

Unread post by **GunChleoc** » Sun Feb 01, 2009 8:01 am

Well, not just the spelling rule, but the grammar, which is why you added the -adh

Beagan ceartachaidh: Sgrìobhar dhomh is chann an dho. Tha a h-uile rud eile ceart! Chan e do chuid litreachaidh dona idir.

neoni · Unread post by **neoni** » Sun Feb 01, 2009 12:20 pm

chan eil

Unread post by **GunChleoc** » Tue Feb 03, 2009 9:27 am

An Gobaire · Unread post by **An Gobaire** » Tue Feb 03, 2009 3:48 pm

Feasgar math, a Shineagade. Bhiodh e math dha-rireabh nam b' urrainnn dhuibh litreachadh Gaidhlig ionnsachadh agus an uairsin taic a chumail ruinn le Gàidhlig nàdarra tac an teine tron fhòraim seo.

Hello, Sineagade. It would be great if you could learn written Gaelic and then start teaching us all natural idiomatic Gaelic through this forum! Once a learner reaches a certain reasonably high stage in language learning, the only way to really continue improving fluency is to have all the idiomatic speech that helps language flow.

Native Speaker looking for spelling help

Native Speaker looking for spelling help

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