Gaelic in Nairnshire - when did the local dialect die?

[Gràisg]

Rudeigin a chuir mi an àirde air mo bhlog Bheurla A Gurn from Nurn http://www.gurnnurn.com


According to the last census there were nearly 200 people that could speak Gaelic and another 100 who could understand or read the language but not speak it. Soon we will have the new census figures and it will be interesting to see how the recent growth in the number of learners in the town and the numbers of bairns attending the Millbank Gaelic unit has affected those figures. What will also be interesting will be to see how many people also recorded their abilities to speak, understand, read or write Scots in response to the other linguistic question on the census. But back to Gaelic just now. The term “linguistic relevance” was used recently in the Nairnshire. A loaded term perhaps that means many things to many people. If two people meet in the High Street and have their conversation in Gaelic does that have any less linguistic relevance that other people speaking English nearby or say visitors from Europe speaking a strong dialect of one of the continental Languages? Does a child’s answer to a teacher in Gaelic have any linguistic relevance than that of an monolingual pupil in a nearby class? Does the Gaelic tribute written on one of the wreaths at the war memorial on Sunday have any less linguistic relevance than other tributes in English?

In 1822 research by the Inverness Society for the Poor maintained that 62% of the population of Nairn were Gaelic speakers, 55% in Ard Clach and 75% in Cawdor. The Cawdor figure is significant if compared to a similar figure in the present day for the Back area in Lewis which is considered the strongest surviving community of Gaelic speakers in the remaining traditional areas. In 1854 500 residents of Nairn who wished to maintain Gaelic services in “the only language in which they could be edified” were over-ruled by the Church of Scotland. Gaelic had relevance to the punters in 1854 but the high heid yins were well into the English-speaking way of things. And then we can see the gradual decline of what remains of the Nairnshire Gaidhealtachd from the census figures of 1881 onwards. Those figures have since then always been topped up by Gaelic speakers moving to the area and as mentioned above we now have children in Nairn being educated in the language. One could perhaps safely claim that some Gaelic has been spoken in Nairnshire from the day it first established itself here.

But back to the question – when did the local dialect die? Information in the Survey of the Gaelic Dialects of Scotland published 1997 states that in November1952 Fred MacAulay interviewed a Mrs Fraser in Cooperhill Darnaway. She was aged 90 and had been born in New Inn, Glenferness. Her father was also born in Glenferness but her mother was from Farr, Strathnairn. “When aged 2 Mrs Fraser moved from Glenferness to Terriemore where she was brought up among Gaelic speakers. Her father used to read the Gaelic bible to the family daily, though she feels her mother had better Gaelic.”
Another interesting interview was with Alexander James Johnstone of Easterton, Fisherton just over the Nairnshire border past Ardersier. He was aged 74 “born Easterton, parents Westerton. Fluent but has not spoken Gaelic for a long time apart from a few words with other local speakers in Fisherton.” Interviews took place over August-October 1953.

Within living memory local Gaelic dialects were spoken in the area then. Whatever your attitude towards Gaelic it’s impact on Nairnshire cannot be denied and it continues to exist in the town and with 40 children now being educated in the language its presence will continue in one shape or form for at least the lifetime of the present younger generation.

[tj4234]

I don't think the dialect of Nairn has actually died out, I think it has evolved instead.

A language is something that evolves overtime so a dialect of course does the same thing. The influx of 'foreign' Gaelic speakers into Nairn has of course boosted the numbers, but it has brought with it a wealth of words, spellings and pronunciations.

I recently attended a Gaelic class in Nairn, that was for the parents of the 40 children at Milbank's Gaelic unit. These parents were by no means fluent, indeed I confused someone who asked how I was by responding with 'dè mu do-dheinnsa', but in the limited Gaelic they had there were differences in pronunciation to the way I know. They were following a more Hebridean style of speaking by saying 'naodh' and 'sen' instead of 'naoi' and 'sin'. Their teacher is from Harris but he explained to me that everyone in his class attends another Gaelic teacher as well.

So perhaps the dialect has merely changed. Although Inverness probably swamped all the local dialects in the area. That's what happened to Abriachan (not sure I spelt it right... it's on the shore of Loch Ness) Gaelic I believe...

[Níall Beag]

For it to be a "merging", the Nairnshire accent would have had to have coexisted with the incoming dialects, but the recent increase in Gaelic-from-the-outside is too late to have taken anything up from the local dialect....

[Gràisg]

Upon reflection I suppose that if we ever see a distinctive accent coming out of Nairn as opposed to other places (taobh a-muigh na sgirean tradiseanta) then I suppose we will know that things are really on the way back.
I know also that there was a wifie from Strath Nairn (Inverness Shire) but fairly close to Nairnshire if a conversation I had a few years ago is correct (it was in a pub) died in an old folks home in Nairn in 1975 but she was recorded. It has been suggested to me that that recording might be lying around in a dusty vault in Edinburgh some where. This winter I'll try and get my act together and get on the trail of said recording plus details etc.

Co-dhiù - bha na dual-chainntean ionadail Siorrach Nàrainn beò ann an "cuimhne beò" agus nam bheacdsa cha mhòr nach eil na soidhnichean a leithid na leanas (ann an Sainsbury's spaideil ùr Inbhir Narann) a' seinn dualchas Siorrachd Narann ann an canain a tha fhatast beò, seadh mar choinneal san dhorachadas s dòcha - ach beò fhathast a dh' aindeoin a h-uile càil na h-aghaidh.

IMG_2012 legurnnurn.com, air Flickr

[tj4234]

they must exist because I've heard about recordings as well. The BBC has ones of my great great uncle for example. But he is Abriachan.

[Seonaidh]

Tha agam ri ràdh gun smaoinich mi gu bheil blas ro litricheil air an t-soidhne ud. Dè bhiodh nas fheàrr?

[GunChleoc]

Saoilidh mi gur e mìoneachadh freagarrach a th' ann airson an stuith. Rinneadh "biadh deiseil" no "biadh ullaichte"an gnòthach cuideachd (Fertiggericht sa Ghearmailtis)

[Níall Beag]

Carson "airson" an àite "ri"?

[faoileag]

Colin Mark on 'deiseil'.

deiseil + gus + vb noun = ready to do sth.

BUT has the passive-meaning example

tha am bratan air a reic deiseil gus itheadh - the salmon is sold cooked ready to eat.


deiseil + airson + noun / pron. = ready for

..deiseil airson ionnsaigh sam bith - ready for any offensive.

NO 'ri'.

And no luck with Google.

Not sure if it would be the same as 'Mòran ri dhèanamh', with deiseil being an adjective.

[GunChleoc]

I think "deiseil ri" works, but don't ask me why

ETA: Maybe I got it from: Dè tha ann ri ithe an-diùgh? What's there to eat today?

[faoileag]

That's my problem - 'Dè tha ann ri ithe' is the same principle as 'mòran ri ithe - noun/noun-phrase/pronoun before 'ri'.

'Deiseil' is an adjective - does that also work?

[akerbeltz]

The Poor Man's Corpus says it can, 94 results for "deiseil ri" including "old" one's from MacTalla and Fear-tàthaich nam Beann.

[An Gobaire]

In all my 14 odd years learning Gaelic and my 4 -odd years studying/working among Gaelic natives and other learners, I have never seen or heard "deiseil ri" used together in the same way as "deiseil gu".

A google search, brought up "deiseil rim làimh" from MacTalla, but the "ri" is unconnected grammatically to deiseil, it goes with "làimh", "rim làimh".

[An Gobaire]

Upon reflection I suppose that if we ever see a distinctive accent coming out of Nairn as opposed to other places (taobh a-muigh na sgirean tradiseanta) then I suppose we will know that things are really on the way back.
I know also that there was a wifie from Strath Nairn (Inverness Shire) but fairly close to Nairnshire if a conversation I had a few years ago is correct (it was in a pub) died in an old folks home in Nairn in 1975 but she was recorded. It has been suggested to me that that recording might be lying around in a dusty vault in Edinburgh some where. This winter I'll try and get my act together and get on the trail of said recording plus details etc.

The last native Strathnairn speaker died in the 1980s and his nickname was Dunc Càrn Bàn. My mother was brought up from about the age of 2 - 16 in Flichity, Strathnairn and said she didn't know anyone who spoke Gaelic.

[akerbeltz]

It may be a Canadian innovation, thinking about it. Ignoring blogs and suchlike, Sgeul gu latha, Cunntas air Ceap Breatainn and Mac-Talla are all Canadian.

Dunno where Angus MacDonald was from who wrote in the P&J was from.