Fòram na Gàidhlig

Artaigil Beurla inntinneach nach eil ro làidir mu atharrachaidhean ann an cànan agus cleachdadh dualchainnt anns an taigh-cluiche.


Caithness Dialect
Some Thoughts on Language
JOHN CAIRNS replies to Barry Gordon’s observations on Caithness dialect in George Gunn’s Fields of Barley

http://www.hi-arts.co.uk/oct09-feature- ... ialect.htm

..........Invasion, invention, discovery and migration all contribute to the change of language over time. This development is not only natural, it is vital. It allows the introduction of new concepts and ideas, the movement of thought, the development of civilization...........

Yes, and

Everyone in the audience who understands every word in a play sees and hears a slightly different version of the story based on their personal experience.

I think this applies not only to plays, books &c, but to understanding words, whether written or spoken, generally. One of my favourite quotations on this (I have also ones from Oscar Wilde and John Steinbeck ) is David Lodge's (or the character, Morris Zapp's) "Every decoding is another encoding".

Anyway, a well-written article.