Each day a new Breton sentence (would this work for Gaelic?)

[Níall Beag]

There's already resentment among some about the exam board "hijacking" the language.

Then they should stop sitting around on their fat arses and go out and do something for/with Gàidhlig. People like that annoy me intensely.
...
Taking cheap shots from the side just doesn't cut it.

If I said that some of these people are active writers and teachers, would you be any less vitriolic...?

[akerbeltz]

Probably

Interestingly, it highlights our near total reliance on the education system to produce the next generation of speakers...

[Graineag]

A bit off topic, but this reminded me of the first day of the Ìre 7 class with Alasdair "a' bhocsair" Caimbeul that I took at Sabhal Mòr over the summer. It had been at least three years since I'd said more than a few words of Gaelic to another living, breathing human being, and I was very nervous. First thing that comes out of my mouth is "Madainn mhath, a h-uile duine. 'S mise Channing," to which Alasdair immediately interjected and admonished the class never to say "madainn mhath" or "Is/'S mise" on pain of death. (Unless we were television presenters for the BBC.) "Tha mi sgith a' cluinntinn 'madainn mhath'', he said. Far better to make a comment about the weather, and to that end, he spent much of the next hour getting us to come up with pithy comments about the weather, such as "Tha a' ghrian a' sgàineadh nan creag" or "Tha 'n dìle bhàtht' ann."

I asked an Irish speaking friend about this later, and she said she almost never heard people say "madainn mhaith" in her home village either, though working for the BBC in Belfast, she heard people say it there quite a bit.

[akerbeltz]

Yes, the Irish traditionally use Dia dhuit and Dia 's Muire dhuit.

The problem I've always had with first utterances in Gaelic that no native speaker to date has been able to suggest to me a traditional opener that is appropriate to a stranger. Most people I've talked to to date suggested that the weather opener (or things like dé do naidheachd?) is one they use for people they know personally. But whenever I ask someone what they'd say to a stranger, they can't think of an appropriate answer...

It would be interesting to find out if Mr Boxer would say latha math a th' ann, nach e? to a stranger...

[Seonaidh]

My dear Dr. Bilk, to a stanger (or even stranger) your average Gaelic speaker would, if they chose to speak, say something like "Morning good - it's myself so-and-so - who yourself?" Presumably a typical Irish còmhradh would go something like:-
God wi'you
God and Mary wi'you
God and Mary wi'you - and Patrick
(etc.)
A typical English one, of course, would be something like:-
Nice weather for ducks
Innit
(etc.)
Welsh would probably say something like "Sut mae?" (which can come out like "Shwmai"), unless one of the Oppressed, who would probably just address a strangler in English.

The point being, your typical Gaelic speaker is unlikely to assume that a stranger would speak Gaelic, and so would use English.

Sin proiseact air ur sonse - nuair a bhios sibh a' bruidhinn ri neach nach aithne dhuibh, feuchaibh Gàidhlig.

[Graineag]

Mr. Boxer did indeed say that "Latha math" would be acceptable (don't forget the heavy South Dell Niseach accent), although one of the other Sabhal Mòr teachers, Eardsaidh Caimbeul, joked that he wouldn't even say that...

Wonder how Gaeilgeoir atheists greet eachother...

[Níall Beag]

As stated, there isn't much of a chance to be formal with strangers. I'd take a Lewisman's formal any day (I'm guessing they're pretty formal with their meenisters). A guy on Barra once told me he'd just say something like 'S tus' a th' ann (or was it Nach tus' a th' ann?)but that's got to be pretty informal....

[faoileag]

In our once Gaelic-speaking corner of the North East we traditionally also don't say 'Morning' or any of the other 'times of day' greetings, in English. My parents and grandparents would only say 'Oh, it's yourself! ' or 'Oh, Mary, come away in' etc to a known person, and 'Lovely/Terrible day (weather)' to a stranger, eg passed on a quiet road.

'Good morning' etc would have seemed artificial and 'English' (as in Sasannach, not Beurla).

It has changed a bit, but I would still say the 'Morning' type greeting is not as common in reality as it is in the language class, for English and for Gaelic. 'Hallo' and 'Hi' are the more common currency.

[akerbeltz]

Feumaidh sinn beagan perspective an-seo, chanainn-sa. Chan eil mi dol às àicheadh gu bheil rudan mar mhadainn mhath/feasgar math stèidhichte air a' Bheurla gu ìre (ged a tha ceist ann, mur eil an fheadhainn seo Gàidhealach, carson nach eilear a' fàgail an aon rud air oidhche mhath) ach...

Ma chuireas sinn sùil mun cuairt, chì sinn gun dèan abairtean mar sin cuairt mhór eadar nan cànan. Anns a' Ghearmailtis fhéin mar eisimpleir gheibh sinn tschau (< ciao na h-Eadailtis), servus (Laideann) agus hi (Beurla).

Tha iomadh facal beag eile ann mar sin sa Ghearmailtis, a bharrachd air an fheadhainn gus fàilte a chur air cuideigin.

'S e slang a tha seo agus ann an slang sam bith, bidh daoine air tòir an fhacail as ùire, as "cool" agus as neònaich fad na tìde. Agus cha chuirear casg air sin, tha sin gu tur gun rian ann an cànan beò.

Agus mus fàg cuideigin sin orm - chan eil mi a' brosnachadh Gàidhlig a chaidh a stèidheachadh air a' Bheurla bho bhun gu barr ach saoilidh nach iad atharrachaidhean beaga mar seo an duilgheadas as motha a tha romhainn agus anns a' chùis seo fhéin, cha chreid mi gu bheil madainn mhath a' truailleadh a' chànain.

[Seonaidh]

Och, 's e ceann tana an wedge! an-diugh, "madainn mhath" agus a-maireach "math mhadainn"...ac an sin "good madainn"...obh, caite am bi seo a' cruichneachadh? "Och aidh, tha mi a' speakadh na Gaelic reet good" (no 's docha "A bheil thu a' sprechen die Gaidhlig?"...)

Tha mi a' creidsinn gu bheil Gobhardhubh ceart an seo - 's urrainn dhan Ghaidhlig accommodate rudan mar "madainn mhath" gun call a dealradh.

[Níall Beag]

Feumaidh sinn beagan perspective an-seo, chanainn-sa.
...
cha chreid mi gu bheil madainn mhath a' truailleadh a' chànain.

It was an example, and one that was easy to explain. If a phrasebook/grammar book can make such a simple error (even if it has since become accepted as "normal") then how can it be trusted with other stuff?

[akerbeltz]

Rud car eadar-dhealaichte, bidh mi ag éisteach ri stèisean Māori air an lìon. Tha torr dhiubh ann an SN agus thachair mi air rud air a bheil "It's cool to kōrero" (= bruidhinn), am meadhan nam prògraman Beurla aca. Bidh iad a' toirt dhut facal no abairt glé ghoirid ann an 10 diogan, ach nì iad sin 2-3 tursan san uair le facal ùr.

Coincheap inntinneach, feumaidh mi ràdh, tha e a' cur ri mo bhriathrachas sa chànan gu mór.

Saoil nan cuireamaid soundbites mar sin, "The cainnt is cool", air Radio Scotland?

Seo an stèisean ma sibh airson éisteachd ris sibh fhéin:
http://www.awafm.co.nz/ (Listean Live aig barr na duilleig air an taobh dheis)