An trean grabhaidh - Puinnsean san Sunday Times Scotland

[An Gobaire]

Carson a dh' fheumadh tu d' ainm fhalach co-dhiù? Bha mi a' ciallachadh gum bu chòir e bhith ceadaichte do bhuidhnean Gàidhlig mar ChnaG, a bhios a' faighinn an cuid airgid as leth muinntir na Gàidhlig, a' cur an aghaidh a leithid seo de ghràin-chinnidh, le bhith a' sgrìobhadh gu na pàipearan fo ainm na buidhne aca!

'S iomadh uair a bhios buidhnean poblach na Beurla a' faighinn càineadh sna pàipearan, 's an uairsin , an ceann tacain, tha litir a' nochdadh bho ceannard na buidhne sin, a' dìon obair na buidhne.

Carson nach fhaod luchd-obrach buidhnean Gàidhlig a leithid sin a dhèanamh? Tha na riaghailtean cràicte! Tha mi smaointinn nam biodh Comann na Gàidhlig air ainmeachadh san alt-naidheachd sin gu dìreach, gum biodh litir a' nochdadh sa bhad mar fhreagairt dhan fhear "naidheachd" sin, gus a' bhuidheann aca a dhìon.

[GunChleoc]

Chan eil thu cearr ach cha dèan an luchd-obrach sin seach ceannard na buidhne. Is dòcha gur urrainn do Choinneach moladh a thoirt gu a cheannard? Chan eil fios agam ciamar a tha rian-obrach na buidhne co-dhiù.

[Seonaidh]

Seo e a bhalachaibh - lìtir a dh'Uairean Didòmhnaich

The Editor,
The Sunday Times, 05/10/2008
London
Dear Editor,
BBC Alba article – Allan Brown
Allan Brown's "£50M annual spending on Gaelic" actually boils down to an annual spend, according precisely to the figures he quotes, of £5.5M, that is, a little over one tenth of what he claims. This is, very roughly, £100 per Gaelic speaker.
The biggest spend he quotes is for BBC Alba - £20 million, as a one-off payment, that is, not an annual payment, of which not one penny came directly from any government.
Other one-off payments he includes in this "annual" figure include £15.6 million for educational facilities (a college in Skye, a high school in Glasgow and a first school in Inverness), together with £1.8M for an opera (largely funded by the EU) and 129,000 to produce teaching materials and an on-line dictionary.
The total of everything he quotes is £43.029M - substantially under £50M in any event. And only £5.5M is actually annual expenditure.
His comments on Gaelic being somewhat archaic, having no single word for "yes" or "no" and so forth actually do nothing but demonstrate that he does not understand the principle behind languages. Incidentally, in that sentence, I used 24 words of fairly certain Germanic origin and 8 that were not. In other words, every fourth word in it was not a "native English" word. And he has the audacity to complain that, perhaps, every tenth word he hears of Gaelic speech is not from native Celtic stock! What, then, are the "proper" English words we should be using for, say, physiotherapist, television, canoe, coffee, doctor, bible, engineer, parliament - to name but a smattering? Or what about such words as "eisteddfod" or "mòd"?
Different languages say things in different ways - for instance, while English has three different forms of most present-tense verbs, Gaelic has only one. Does this make English "an archaic anachronism"? Should we all abandon this hideously complex verb structure and start speaking Gaelic? Or is Allan Brown talking through his hat, more out of rank, unbridled prejudice than out of any notion of valid linguistics?
Perhaps your august journal would care to print some rather more accurate information concerning such matters as the amount of money spent on Gaelic and the nature of language.
Yours sincerely,
(Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells...)

[Gràisg]

'S e fìor dheagh litir a th' innte Sheonaidh

[Coinneach Cìr]

'S caomh leamsa litir Sheonaidh cuideachd

A thaobh litir bhon àite far a bheil mi ag obair sgrìobh mi gu ar ceannard mu dheidhinn. Dh'aontaich e gur a gràin-cinnidh a th' anns an artaigeal ach thuir e gum biodh e a toirt cus spèis dhaibh a bhith sgrìobhadh freagairt thuca. Ma 's e sin a tha iad a smaoineachadh chan atharraich aon litir sin. 'S dòcha nach aontaich sibh leam ach tha mise smaoineachadh gu bheil barrachd feum ann a bhith dèanamh cinnteach gu bheil daoine "àbhisteach" cumail taic ri a' chànan seach a bhith ag amas air amaideas mar seo.

[An Gobaire]

Chan eil mi ag aontachadh leat, a Choinnich chòir. Nì aon litir feum dha-rìreabh. Tha Comunn na Gàidhlig ga fhalach fhèin ann an oisean beag bìdeach mar luchag; cho sàmhach ris na mairbh san uaigh, mar a chanas iad. Anns an t-suidheachadh seo, 's ionnan tost is aideachadh.

[Coinneach Cìr]

Tha Comunn na Gàidhlig ga fhalach fhèin ann an oisean beag bìdeach mar luchag; cho sàmhach ris na mairbh san uaigh, mar a chanas iad.

Chan eil, tha sinn a dèanamh an t-uabhas. 'S dòcha gu bheil e duilich dhut sin fhaicainn ann an Iapan.

[Gràisg]

Dh'aontaich e gur a gràin-cinnidh a th' anns an artaigeal ach thuirt e gum biodh e a toirt cus spèis dhaibh a bhith sgrìobhadh freagairt thuca.

Ok Choinnich a charaid, tha sinn uile a' tuigsinn gur e gràin-cinnidh a th' ann. 'S e sin far a bheil cnag na cuise - tha gràin-cinnidh an aghaidh Gàidhlig ceadaichte sna meadhanan. A bheil e an rud as fhèarr a bhith a' cumail nad thosd a h-uile turas a tha na h-amadan ro dhana ri sin? An e sin aon de na h-adhbharan carson a tha feadhainn a' smaoineachadh nach eil na buidhinn Gaidhlig gu mòran feum (chan eil mise ag aontachadh le sin :-)ach 's e ceist chudromach a th' ann,nach e?) .

Thug Roibeard Ò Maolalaigh iomradh air a’ bheag chuid seo anns an aiste aige.
Ach air an làimh eile tha feadhainn eile ann cuideachd a smaoineachas nach bidh na buidheann mòra riutha, gu bheil iad fad air falbh bhuapa. Is tric a chluinnear a leithid air Ghàidhealtachd mar eisimpleir.1

Thug Gillian Rothach seachad mion-sgrùdadh air stad na Gàidhlig sna h-eileanan agus thachair ise air an aon bheachd.

Ann na còmhradh eile, chaidh a mhìneachadh gun robhar a’ creidsinn ann an seòrsa de ‘mafia’ Gàidhlig, agus gun robh am mafia seo a’ cruthachadh obraichean agus cumhachd dhaibh fhèin. Fior no fallsa, tha feum air na beachdan seo a dheasbad. 2

1. Ò Maolalaigh, Roibeard, ‘ Co-dhùnadh: A’ Ghàidhlig is a’ Ghaeilge’ ann an Gàidhealtachdan ùra/ Nua-Ghaeltachtaí, deasaichte le Wilson McLeod, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann (2007) td118

2. Rothaich, Gillian, ‘Gàidhlig aig an Oir’ ann an Revitalising Gaelic in Scotland: Policy, Planning and Public Discourse, deasaichte le Wilson MacLeod, Duneidin Academic Press, Edinburgh (2006), td233

Tha mi duillich a Choinnich cha mhòr nach eil mise a' toirt cùisean a-steach deasbaid eile ach a bheil an t-àm ann airson guth a thogail no a bheil e nas fhèarr a bhith samhach?

[An Gobaire]

Tha Comunn na Gàidhlig ga fhalach fhèin ann an oisean beag bìdeach mar luchag; cho sàmhach ris na mairbh san uaigh, mar a chanas iad.

Chan eil, tha sinn a dèanamh an t-uabhas. 'S dòcha gu bheil e duilich dhut sin fhaicainn ann an Iapan.

Chan eil mi a-mach air an obair làitheil a bhios sibh a' dèanamh. Tha fios 'am gu bheil tòrr tòrr a' dol leis na sradagan 's a h-uile càil eile.

Ach a' bruidhinn air an t-suidheachadh seo fhèin, a thaobh a bhith a' togail ceann gus cur an aghaidh neach-"aithris" mar seo anns na meadhanan, chan eil guth air na buidhnean Gàidhlig. Chan e CnaG a-mhàin, ach a h-uile buidhean cha mhòr. Bheireadh e togail inntinn do luchd na Gàidhlig gu lèir nam biodh barrachd spionnadh ann a thaobh a bhith a' bruidhinn a-mach as leth na Gàidhlig. Mar a rinn Dòmhnall Moireasdan - air an aon dòigh 's a rinn esan an t-seachdain-sa. 'S e sin air a bheil mi a-mach.

[yellow-ceitidh]

Chan eil faclain airson "yes" neo "no" 'sa Chinese (Sìneach?). Agus tha Chinese cànan glè mhor!

Agus cia mheud chosg Comhairle Northampton air "Automated Traffic Information Systems"? £150,0000 agus chan eil iad ag obiar idir.

[neoni]

500 billion do mhucan calpachais, ach 's e sinne a tha a' goid bhon t-siostam? amadain.

[Gràisg]

Cuir nad chuimhne nach d’fhuair na daoine a chaill an cuid airgead nollaige ann am Fairpack sian a taic bhon Riaghaltas ach cò iadsan an taca leis na bancaichean bochda?