Gaelic Toolkit
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Introduction This Toolkit aims to make you feel confident enough to speak some Gaelic when meeting people and making them feel welcome. You will be able to speak Gaelic to people who themselves have no Gaelic, but who will appreciate that they are visiting somewhere with a rich and different culture and language. You will also be able to speak Gaelic to people who can themselves speak Gaelic and you will be given ways to end the short Gaelic conversation positively and politely. Gaelic speakers will appreciate that you have made an effort to learn some of their language. Background Gaelic, as one of the Q-Celtic languages, is similar to Irish Gaelic and Manx Gaelic. These languages are very different to the branch known as the P-Celtic languages, which include Welsh, or the old Pictish language of Scotland. It is usually possible for speakers of Gaeilge (Irish Gaelic) and Gàidhlig (Scottish Gaelic) to communicate to some extent, especially when speaking. For example, to say Ciamar a tha sibh? How are you? (polite) one would say: Gàidhlig Scottish Gaelic Ciamar a tha sibh? As with any language, there are variations according to accent and dialect, and you will probably notice differences in Scottish Gaelic according to where the speaker is from. For example, a thirsty Gaelic speaker from Lewis or North-West Sutherland might say, "Bu chaomh leam copan bùrn" (‘I’d like a cup of water’), while Gaelic-speakers from much of the rest of Scotland would say, "Bu toigh leam cupa uisge". This is all part of the rich and varied vocabulary Scottish Gaelic has built up over its long lifetime in Scotland. |