Fòram na Gàidhlig

Nach fhaigh mise fear?
And I don't get one?

How unforgivably selfish of me - of COURSE you get one back! That was uncharacteristically thoughtless of me, and I do apologize ... I shall strive to never be so careless again.

Do you forgive me - one more time?

I've recently learned I'm going to become a grandmother - (ackk!!)

My daughter lives far away, and so we're communicating via e-mail most of the time ... and in discussing the imminent birth, we keep saying "the baby" all the time. It's occurred to me that there is probably a more meaningful and somewhat charming Gaelic colloquialism for "baby" or "unborn child" or such ... (we think she's having a girl, but the ultra-sound could be misleading). I just think saying the word "the baby" all the time is beginning to sound rather sterile ...

So I was wondering how I could introduce a different way to refer to the the first leaf of my daughter's branch of our family tree without it sounding so clinical?? Does anyone have some suggestions??

Much obliged ...

The classic English term for an unborn person is "sprog". According to SMO's Stòr-Dàta Briathrachais, a female baby or infant is "bìodag": however, without the sràc on the i it seems to mean "dagger". The old Briathrachas didn't have an equivalent for "sprog": maybe in Dwelly's...

In Gaeldom you can use the name of pretty much any young animal to refer to a child, such as isean (chick) or cuilean (puppy).

I have never seen references to talking about unborn children much apart from stating the mother is expecting a child. I'm not aware of such a thing in Gaeldom but in many societies there are taboos surrounding talking too much about unborn children or even giving them names before they are older than a year or 5 for the fear of attracting "evil influences" at a stage when the baby is not "mature". It may well have been the case that you didn't "do that" in Gaelic either.

what about "leanabh" for baby? also use "paiste" but i reckon that means an infant - ie older than a leanabh

Wow ... these are all great suggestions!

Thanks, everybody!! I wonder how these things are pronounced? Although, typing them into an e-mail, I'm safe enough to not have to pronounce them ... for a time, anyway.

I'm not finding Gaelic a very easy language to learn - but I'm trying!

leanabh = Lenn-av
pàiste = Pahsh-chah (ch as in 'church')
isean = eesh-an
cuilean = kool-an (with slender 'l')

The 'a' in the second syllable is like the 'e' in 'the', or 'a' in about, although in cuilean it's a clearer short 'ah' sound.

Hope that helps

Indeed, this helps quite a lot, actually. Thank you very much! (What an unusual language, so far ...)

Gaelic? Unusual? Ciamar a chanas tu "unusual"? - dè seorsa "u", dè seorsa "s"? Tha Beurla "unusual" nach eil?

'S e annasach a' Ghàidhlig a th'air 'unusual'.

Annasach is the Gaelic for 'unusual'

When you're learning any language you will tend to find it unusual - English (to a learner of the language) is definitely unusual!

Tha Gàidhlig gu math àbhaisteach ri taobh Latin. (Dè tha Gàidhlig air "Latin" is "compared to/in comparaison to"? Cha d'fhuair mi iad 'san fhaclair).

I absolutely HATE the stòr-dàta Briathrachas dictionary. It gives you the verb root and not the verbal noun, expecting you to magically geuss the verbal noun which is not always possible. I'd kill for an alternative dictionary that's actually, you know, useful.

I presume you mean an ONLINE dictionary that does that? (The print ones tend to give both forms.)

Try the wonderful Dwelly online - eg look up 'compare' Beurla gu Gàidhlig, and you get (among other things) samlaich, a' samhlachadh, or look up coimeas, another possible tr*nsl*t**n given, in Faclair air fad (or G. gu B.) and you get all sorts of variations on it.


www.dwelly.info