Fòram na Gàidhlig

You could also check for classes around Edinbra or Glasgow - shouldn't be too much of a distance. Especially when you're starting out, a weekend workshop can give you a real boost! You could check out http://www.cli.org.uk/ for a day course in your area.

You may also nip into the Gaelic book shop in Glasgow www.gaelicbooks.org and have a look at the books. They have a lot of Dictionaries, grammar and course books, fiction, audiobooks, you name it

Agus tha mi gu math an-diugh, tapadh leat!
And I am well today, thank you

Ciamar a tha thusa?
How are you? (thusa is the emphatic/contrastive form of thu)

Nise, feumaidh mi falbh
Now I have to go

Hi Chris, sorry you feel left out, but I think it's perception, not reality. Gun Chleoc has really given you a lot of very patient help and others have from time to time too.

Remember this is not a teaching forum, but a random community where people post if they have time and have answers. Not everyone has both or even either!

Ther will also ALWAYS be posts you don't yet understand and can't read, or that are too long, and that is normal - just ignore them if they bug you. Lots of us aren't up to the heavy stuff yet, but that shouldn't stop those who are from posting, especially in the Gaelic only section.

You also often post similar entries on various threads, so it gets a bit confusing and I suspect not all of them are spotted. I would suggest you stay mainly with the bilingual thread and maybe the grammar one and it will probably make life easier. That's where most people will see and deal with your posts, rather than in Introductions, Welcomes etc. as well.

The advice to try to get to a course, even for the weekend, is good - it really helps break the barriers and also to get rid of some of the (very common and understandable) frustration that you are not moving quickly enough. (We ALL know that one, however 'advanced' we become!

It's also maybe frustrating to try to do many things at once. Unfortunately, in my opinion, there is no one good coursebook, and you pick different things up from different books, but if you want visible progress, pick one and stick with it. That way you will not (so often) be trying to run before you can walk, and will get more help with grammar, syntax etc.

If you don't like the books, may I suggest TAIC online for systematic grammar. Download and work through a unit at a time. It also teaches you vocab while you learn the grammar. Take it slowly - try to be patient!

http://www.taic.btinternet.co.uk/


Chan eil sin furasta, ach...

Agus tha thu a' dèanamh glè mhath mar thà - nas fheàrr is nas fheàrr!!

Keep posting!

Halò Gunchleoc. Tha mi gu math tapadh leat.

Hello GunChleoc. I am well thank you.

Thanks for all the info you gave me and I will try my utmost to get to Glasgow but I work most days and my car is off the road at the moment.

@ Neoni. Where is Sabhal Mòr? I have never heard of the place.

Mar sin leat an-drasta agus mòran taing.

Sabhal Mòr is a popular abbreviation (others include "An Sabhal" etc.) for an institution kent as "Sabhal Mòr Ostaig". It is part of OGE (Oilthigh na Gàidhealtachd is nan Eilean, or something remarkably similar), a higher education outfit based in Inverness. However, it itself is on Skye (not BBCe...), anns an Eilean Sgiathanach. It runs a canny few short courses ower the summer, for all levels of Gaelic. If interested, visit the web site (http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk).

I have found that you just cannae get the books etc. in bookshops - or libraries - in Fife, and I imagine it's much the same where you are. It's a case of mail-order or travel. Mind, if ye dee gan tiv SMO, you'll find a reasonable selection there.

Le deagh dhùrachdan (he said, being somewhat formal), Seonaidh[/b]

Halò a GhunChleoc. Ciamar a tha thu an-diugh?

Hello GunChleoc. How are you today?

Please accept my most humble apology, I have not been appreciative of the help you have provided to me over the past few weeks or so on here. I feel like a total idiot now.

I have taken on board the help you have given me over the past few weeks and will try my utmost to progress as fast as I possibly can without trying to go to quickly.

Mar sin leat an-drasta agus mòran taing.

faoileag wrote:Hi Chris, sorry you feel left out, but I think it's perception, not reality. Gun Chleoc has really given you a lot of very patient help and others have from time to time too.

Remember this is not a teaching forum, but a random community where people post if they have time and have answers. Not everyone has both or even either!

Ther will also ALWAYS be posts you don't yet understand and can't read, or that are too long, and that is normal - just ignore them if they bug you. Lots of us aren't up to the heavy stuff yet, but that shouldn't stop those who are from posting, especially in the Gaelic only section.

You also often post similar entries on various threads, so it gets a bit confusing and I suspect not all of them are spotted. I would suggest you stay mainly with the bilingual thread and maybe the grammar one and it will probably make life easier. That's where most people will see and deal with your posts, rather than in Introductions, Welcomes etc. as well.

The advice to try to get to a course, even for the weekend, is good - it really helps break the barriers and also to get rid of some of the (very common and understandable) frustration that you are not moving quickly enough. (We ALL know that one, however 'advanced' we become!

It's also maybe frustrating to try to do many things at once. Unfortunately, in my opinion, there is no one good coursebook, and you pick different things up from different books, but if you want visible progress, pick one and stick with it. That way you will not (so often) be trying to run before you can walk, and will get more help with grammar, syntax etc.

If you don't like the books, may I suggest TAIC online for systematic grammar. Download and work through a unit at a time. It also teaches you vocab while you learn the grammar. Take it slowly - try to be patient!

http://www.taic.btinternet.co.uk/


Chan eil sin furasta, ach...

Agus tha thu a' dèanamh glè mhath mar thà - nas fheàrr is nas fheàrr!!

Keep posting!

Halò a Fhaoileag. Ciamar a tha thu agus dè tha thuse a' deanamh an-diugh? Tha mi ag èisteachd ri ceòl : Celtic songs in Gàidhlig agus òl cofaidh.

Hello Faoileag. How are you and what are you doing today?

Thanks for your advice about coursebooks etc because I desperately need something to help me learn Gàidhlig better - and possibly get a better grasp on syntax and grammar.

Was watching a programme on BBC2 earlier this evening - "Cuairt Air Ais 's Air Adhart" in Gàidhlig with English subtitles. It was about The Highland Economy etc and it was really good.

I felt such an idiot when I read your post on here - I just hadnt realised that othes including Gun Chleoc had given me help without me ever realising it.

Mar sin leat an-drasta agus mòran taing.

Na gabh dragh, a Chris!
Don't worry

We all go through our learning crises now and then, that's part of it, especially when you don't have a course near you.

The point is to keep going anyway!

GunChleoc wrote:Na gabh dragh, a Chris!
Don't worry

We all go through our learning crises now and then, that's part of it, especially when you don't have a course near you.

The point is to keep going anyway!

Halò a GhunChleoc. Ciamar a tha thu an-diugh?

Hello GunChleoc. How are you today?

Thanks so much for your advice and I will keep going despite the lack of courses in my area. Sabhal Mòr is out of the question at this moment in time. I am making enquiries about the availability of books and other learning material.

Hopefully, as you may already know, I'm hoping to go to college in Edinburgh in September to do a Basic Gaelic course ( Level 1 ) then onwards from there.

Mar sin leat an-drasta agus tapadh leat.

Halò GunChleoc. Tha mi gu math agus tha mi doighèil an-diugh.

Hello GunChleoc. I am well today and I am happy.

Ciamar a tha thu an-diugh? How are you today?

I do hope that what I wrote above is correct. If it is not, please feel free to correct any mistakes I have made.

Mar sin leat an-drasta agus mòran taing.

Tha mi gu math, tapadh leat. Bha mi anns a' Dhanmhairg.
I'm well, thank you. I was in Denmark.

Some corrections for you:

tha mi gu dòigheil

an-dràsta

A hint about the accents: They mean the vowel is long. Stress in Gaelic is always on the first syllable, and only stressed vowels can be long. So, if you have an accent, it can only be on the first syllable.

GunChleoc wrote: So, if you have an accent, it can only be on the first syllable.

A bheil thu eòlach air na facail "teicneòlach" agus "teicneòlas"

agus tomàta agus banàna (neo lùpan-buidhe, ma 's math leat )

Agus buntàta...


ach chan e faclan Gàidhlig a th' annta co-dhiù, 's mar sin a tha stràcan neo-riaghailteach aca.

Tha mi cinnteach nach bi Cairistìona no Caitrìona air an dòigh!

One suspects that Christine and Catherine won't be best pleased

Ach tha NoClock ceart gu tric - chan eil sràc air facal ach air a' chiad shyllabubble - mura h-eil e air facal benthyg (ciamar a tha thu ag ràdh "borrowed" anns a' Ghàidhlig?).

But Rifle Timepiece is right usually - there's nae accent on a word but on the first syllabub - unless it's on a borrowed word (Ow yoo say zees een ze Gaelic?).

Uill, bidh ainmean rud beag eadar-dhelaichte gu tric
Names are often somewhat different

Tha Gearmailteach a' coiseachd tro Lunnainn le pìos pàipear beag na làimh.
A German is walking through London with a bit of paper in his hand.

Tha seòladh sgrìobhte air a' phaipear.
There is an address written on the paper.

Tha e a' tachairt ri Sassanach air an t-sràid is a' sealltainn a' phàipeir ris is ga fhaighnich:
He happens on an Englishman, shows him the paper and asks him:

"Gabhaibh mo leisgeul, ach ciamar a dh' fhuaimhneachas mi an t-ainm seo?"
"Excuse me, how do I pronounce that name?"

An dèidh sùil a thoirt air a' phaipear gu mionaideach, ars esan:
After scrutinising the paper, he replies:

"Tha mi duilich, ach chan aithne dhomh am balach siud nas motha!"
"Sorry, I don't know that bloke either!"