Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
the 1770s to the 1850s, which forced thousands to migrate to central Scotland's new
industrial belt or emigrate to North America. Although efforts were made to halt the
decline in the first half of the nineteenth century, the 1872 Education Act gave no
o
cial recognition to Gaelic, and children were severely punished if they were caught
speaking the language in school.
he 2001 census put the number of Gaelic-speakers at under 60,000 (just over one
percent of the population), the majority of whom live in the
Gàidhealtachd
, though
there is thought to be an extended Gaelic community of perhaps 250,000 who have
some understanding of the language. Since the 1980s, great efforts have been made to
try and save the language, including the introduction of bilingual primary and nursery
schools, and a huge increase in the amount of broadcasting time given to Gaelic-
language and Gaelic music programmes, and the establishment of highly successful
Gaelic colleges such as Sabhal Mòr Ostaig (
W
smo.uhi.ac.uk).
Gaelic grammar and pronunciation
Gaelic is a highly complex tongue, with a fiendish, antiquated
grammar
and, with only
eighteen letters, an intimidating system of spelling.
Pronunciation
is easier than it
appears at first glance; one general rule to remember is that the stress always falls on the
first syllable of a word. he general rule of syntax is that the verb starts the sentence
whether it's a question or not, followed by the subject and then the object; adjectives
generally follow the word they are describing.
SHORT AND LONG VOWELS
Gaelic has both short and long vowels, the latter being denoted by an acute or grave accent.
a
as in c
a
t; before nn and ll, as in cow
à
as in b
a
r
e
as in p
e
t
é
like r
ai
n
i
as in
si
ght
í
like fr
ee
o
as in p
o
t
ò
like enthr
a
l
ó
like c
o
w
u
like sc
oo
t
ù
like l
oo
VOWEL COMBINATIONS
Gaelic is littered with diphthongs, which, rather like in English, can be pronounced in several different ways depending on
the individual word.
ai
like c
a
t, or p
e
t; before dh or gh, like str
ee
t
ao
like the sound in the middle of colonel
ea
like p
e
t, or c
a
t, and sometimes like m
a
te; before ll
or nn like c
o
w
èa
as in h
ea
r
ei
like m
a
te
eu
like tr
ai
n, or f
ea
r
ia
like f
ea
r
io
like f
ea
r, or shorter than street
ua
like w
oo
er
CONSONANTS
The consonants listed below are those that differ substantially from the English.
b
at the beginning of a word like the
b
in big; in the
middle/end of a word like the
p
in pair
bh
at the beginning of a word like the
v
in van;
elsewhere it is silent
c
as in cat; after a vowel it has aspiration before it
ch
always as in loch, never as in church
cn
like the
cr
in crowd
d
like the
d
in dog, but with the tongue pressed
against the back of the upper teeth; at the beginning
of a word or before e or i, like the
j
in jam; in the
middle or at the end of a word like the
t
in cat; after i
like the
ch
in church
dh
before and after a, o or u is an aspirated
g
, rather like
a gargle; before e or i like the
y
in yes; elsewhere silent
fh
usually silent; sometimes like the
h
in house
g
at the beginning of a word as in get; before e like the
y
in yes; in the middle or end of a word like the
ck
in
sock; after i like the
ch
in loch
