{"id":7600,"date":"2020-11-27T18:20:34","date_gmt":"2020-11-27T18:20:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/?p=7600"},"modified":"2023-11-27T12:15:01","modified_gmt":"2023-11-27T12:15:01","slug":"why-nature-is-at-the-heart-of-the-scottish-gaelic-language","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/why-nature-is-at-the-heart-of-the-scottish-gaelic-language\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Nature is at the Heart of the Scottish Gaelic Language"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/20201127_scottishGaelicNature-1024x683.webp\" alt=\"Natural landscape in Scotland, UK.\" class=\"wp-image-9349\" srcset=\"https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/20201127_scottishGaelicNature-1024x683.webp 1024w, https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/20201127_scottishGaelicNature-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/20201127_scottishGaelicNature-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/20201127_scottishGaelicNature.webp 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><em>uTalk&#8217;s Scottish Gaelic translator, Iona Macritchie, has grown up using one of the last remaining endangered languages of the British Isles. To mark St Andrew&#8217;s Day (Nov 30), she told us all about the dozens of different words Scottish Gaelic has for types of rain, the way the letters of the alphabet are linked to trees, and explained the language&#8217;s enduring bond with its surroundings.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"0-the-gaelic-tree-alphabet\">The Gaelic Tree Alphabet<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A is for Ailm (Elm), B is for Beith (birch) and C is for Coll (Hazel) and so begins the Gaelic Tree Alphabet which contains just 18 letters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.owlscotland.org\/?\/resources\/resource-library\/a-gaelic-alphabet-poster\">According to the Forestry Commission Scotland<\/a>, the Gaelic Tree Alphabet was used to teach Scottish children their letters in times gone by.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are various versions of the Gaelic Alphabet \u2013 some with different\ncombinations of tree names \u2013and they evolved from an alphabet called Ogham used\nin Ireland in the 4<sup>th<\/sup> century AD.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSome people say the Scottish\nGaelic letters were named after trees because their original shapes in Ogham resembled trees\nand branches,\u201d says Iona Macritchie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBut, whatever the reason, the Gaelic Tree Alphabet shows a lovely\nconnection between the language and nature,\u201d she adds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Iona has spoken Scottish\nGaelic since birth, used to teach it at Edinburgh University, works at BBC\nScotland\u2019s Gaelic radio station in Inverness and does translation work in her\nspare time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She says she is often asked\nquestions about the language, especially the meaning of the many Gaelic place names\nand landscape features which are scattered across Scotland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe language has left its\nimprint on so much place names in Scotland,\u201d Iona explains. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cKnowing what different place\nnames originally meant is a really popular gateway for people to get into\nlearning the language,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Modern-day words derived\nfrom Scottish Gaelic include \u2018glen\u2019 from \u2018gleann\u2019 (valley), \u2018loch\u2019 (lake) and\n\u2018inver\u2019 from \u2018inbhir (river mouth) which gives its name to the Scottish city of\nInverness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There is also Glasgow from \u2018Glaschu\u2019 (green hollow), Kintyre \u2018Cinn Tire\u2019 (region\u2019s end) and the River Dee \u2018Uisge Dh\u00e8\u2019 (water of God)!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"1-how-many-words-for-hills\">How many words for hills?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>But where the language really\nexcels is in the many different names it has for landscape features &#8211;\nparticularly hills. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThere are a surprising\nnumber of names for different types of hills according to their size, shape and\neven what grows or doesn\u2019t grow on them!\u201d Iona says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To mention a handful: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>\u2018Beinn\u2019 is a generic word for hill, particularly big which is where Scotland\u2019s iconic mountain Ben Nevis got its name. (Nevis comes from the Gaelic word \u2018nibheis\u2019 and is commonly translated as \u2018venomous\u2019 or \u2018malicious\u2019, presumably as a reference to the danger it poses to climbers.)<\/li><li>\u2018Cnoc\u2019 means a small, rounded hillock.<\/li><li>\u2018Meall\u2019 is a bare, rounded lumpy hill.<\/li><li>\u2018C\u00e0rn\u2019 is a stony hill.<\/li><li>\u2018Sidhean\u2019 is a hill where fairies live! <\/li><li>A hill can also be \u2018garbh\u2019 (rough), \u2018eagach\u2019 (notched), gaoth (windy), \u2018sneachd\u2019 (snowy), \u2018coinnich\u2019 (mossy) or \u2018corrach\u2019 (steep). <\/li><li>While hills which look like a stooped person can also be called a \u2018bodach\u2019 (an old man) or \u2018challeach\u2019 (an old woman). <\/li><li>And the word \u2018coirie\u2019 is commonly used to describe a hill with a glacial hollow.&nbsp; (Curiously the word \u2018coirie\u2019 also means \u2018kettle\u2019 in Scottish Gaelic, perhaps because of the shape.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"2-gaelic-names\">Gaelic names<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Gaelic language is full\nof fascinating nods to its history like the common Scottish prefix of \u2018Mac\u2019\nwhich means \u2018son of\u2019. But it\u2019s not just someone\u2019s surname that gives clues\nabout their genealogy.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Iona, whose family hail from\nthe Scottish Isle of Lewis, explains: \u201cThe islands are a close-knit community\nand family is important. So people are interested not so much in your surname,\nwhich doesn\u2019t tell you that much, but who you are related to. There\u2019s even a\nphrase &#8211; \u2018c\u00f2 leis thu?\u2019 &#8211; meaning \u2018who do\nyou belong to?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf I was in my father\u2019s part\nof the island, for instance, I would introduce myself in Gaelic as \u2018I am Iona,\ndaughter of Callum of the hill\u2019 and they would know exactly whose daughter I am,\u201d\nshe says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSometimes the names can even\ngo back several generations so people might say \u2018I am Donald, son of Calum, son\nof Donald, son of Seumas,\u201d Iona adds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This form of name, which\nreferences your family line, is called a patronymic and, according to Collins\nDictionary is aname \u2018derived from its bearer\u2019s father or ancestor\u2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Your female forebearers can be referenced too, in\nwhich case the name is technically called a matronymic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Iona thinks her father\u2019s\npatronymic came about because he loves being out in the hills and \u2018his friends\nprobably coined it at school\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And, for the record, Iona\u2019s dad\u2019s patronymic references a \u2018creag\u2019 \u2013 which she describes as \u2018a kind of rocky outcrop sort of hill\u2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"3-famous-scottish-weather\">Famous Scottish weather<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If, like us, your heart is starting\nto yearn for this close-knit world of hills and mountains, let\u2019s spare a\nthought for the Scottish weather.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe love to talk about the\nweather &#8211; all different kinds of weather \u2013 but we particularly like talking\nabout bad weather!\u201d Iona says with a laugh. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not that Scotland has so\nmuch of it, it\u2019s just we have lot of words for it. There\u2019s also lots of words\nfor different types of rain, snow, wind and fog.\u201d she continues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe even have a Gaelic\nexpression to describe a day when the weather throws all different sorts of\nthings at you &#8211; it\u2019s called \u2018the day of the seven weathers\u2019 (l\u00e0 nan seachd sian)\u201d Iona adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gaelic words for rain include: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>\u2018D\u00ecle bh\u00e0ite\u2019 \u2013 a heavy downpour<\/li><li>\u2018Sg\u00f9rachadh\u2019 \u2013 misty rain<\/li><li>\u2018Steallan uisge\u2019 \u2013 spatters of rain<\/li><li>\u2018Ce\u00f2ban\u2019 \u2013 misty drizzling rain<\/li><li>\u2018D\u00f2rtadh\u2019 \u2013 pouring rain<\/li><li>\u2018Plom\u2019 \u2013 a spot of rain<\/li><li>\u2018Marchach s\u00ecne\u2019 \u2013 driving sheets of rain<\/li><li><strong>*<\/strong>\u2018Uisge\u2019 &#8211; a general all-purpose word for rain which is used in the Scottish Gaelic content on the uTalk app. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"4-scottish-gaelic-and-utalk\">Scottish Gaelic and uTalk<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Iona first worked on translating the Scottish Gaelic language for uTalk around 14 years ago, starting off with CD-Roms and then progressing to apps, and is a great believer in the importance of language learning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s really exciting that we\nwere able to work with uTalk to make the first Scottish Gaelic app back in 2009\nand that people are now able to learn the language on so many platforms,\u201d Iona\nsays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cLearning Scottish Gaelic is\na really good way for people to connect with Scotland or their Scottish\nancestry and heritage. Gaelic is also much easier to learn than English because\nit\u2019s more logical,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Scottish Gaelic is in the\nsame language family as Irish and, she says, there is enough common ground for\nthem to be mutually comprehensible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Iona explains: \u201cKnowing\nScottish Gaelic means I\u2019ve always managed to get by in the Irish language and\nhad a very warm welcome in Ireland. And, even though there is less language\ncross over with the Gaelic spoken in Wales, as fellow Celts, there is always a\nwarm welcome there for Scottish Gaels too!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Encouragingly, there is a lot\nmore interest in people learning Scottish Gaelic than there used to be and, as\na former Gaelic teacher, Iona often gets approached by individuals for help\nwith personal translations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOne popular request I get fills\nme with fear and dread,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s \u2018can you translate this into Gaelic\nfor me, I\u2019m going to have a tattoo\u2019. Even when it\u2019s words I am 100% sure of, it\nfills me with anxiety because it\u2019s such high pressure if I got it wrong!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cPeople ask for translations\nof all sorts of things like <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2018Love Scotland\u2019 which is\nquite often requested from people in the US, Canada and Australia who have a\nstrong sense of their Scottish identity,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The sentiment \u2018alba mo ghr\u00e0idh\u2019 (meaning \u2018love Scotland\u2019 but literally \u2018my beloved\nScotland\u2019) is a fitting testimony to the feelings\ninspired by the country. But perhaps the best Scottish Gaelic turn of phrase we\nshould learn is the uplifting answer to the question \u2018how are you?\u2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf someone asks someone how they are, a very common answer is \u2018as happy as a shoe\u2019 \u2013 tha mi cho sona ri bri\u00f2ig\u201d Iona explains. \u201cIt\u2019s because, if you imagine a worn-out shoe with the sole coming away, it looks like it\u2019s smiling!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Want to learn some Scottish Gaelic yourself? Why not start with the uTalk app? <a href=\"http:\/\/utalk.com\/store\/scottish-gaelic\">Just click here to download the app<\/a> (for free!) and you can try it out right away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And keep reading for some more information about the language!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center\" id=\"5-a-five-minute-guide-to-scottish-gaelic-\"><strong>A Five-Minute Guide to Scottish Gaelic<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/1127_natureScottishGaelic2-1024x683.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9573\" srcset=\"https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/1127_natureScottishGaelic2-1024x683.webp 1024w, https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/1127_natureScottishGaelic2-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/1127_natureScottishGaelic2-768x513.webp 768w, https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/1127_natureScottishGaelic2.webp 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"6-history-\"><strong>History <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Scottish Gaelic is considered the\nfounding language of Scotland and is thought to have been introduced by\nsettlers from Ireland around 500AD. These settlers founded a Gaelic kingdom on\nScotland\u2019s west coast in present-day Argyll.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At its peak in 1100 AD, the language\nwas spoken by people all over Scotland as shown by the many Gaelic place names\nwhich are still used today.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"7-role-in-education-\"><strong>Role in education<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Usage of the language declined from the\n17th century when anti-Gaelic laws were passed. In fact, up until the middle of\nthe 20th century, Gaelic speakers attending school education only spoke Gaelic\nin the home because Gaelic wasn\u2019t allowed in school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There is now a Gaelic Language Board\n(B\u00f2rd na G\u00e0idhlig) charged with its preservation and the language is taught in many\nScottish schools. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Official figures from 2018 show that 14\nof Scotland&#8217;s 32 council areas offer some \u2018Gaelic medium education\u2019 (lessons\ntaught in Gaelic). It is also possible to take Gaelic at secondary school level\n\u2013 like people in the UK take English \u2013 and Scottish Gaelic is a university\ndegree subject. And, although the proportion of pupils receiving some kind of\neducation in Gaelic is small (at less than 2% of the student population), it is\ngrowing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Renewed support for the language means\nthat signs and official documents are now frequently written in both English\nand Scotland Gaelic and there are TV and radio shows broadcast in Gaelic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is all important because a 2011\ncensus of Scotland found that only 1.1% of the Scottish population (around\n57,000 people) were Gaelic speakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"8-language-family-\"><strong>Language family<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The languages of Scottish Gaelic,\nmodern Irish (also called Irish Gaelic) and Manx (spoken on the Isle of Man)\nall developed from the same root of Old Irish.&nbsp; Over the centuries they\ndeveloped their own separate identities but they still share some common elements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Scottish Gaelic also has language\nrelatives in Canada after many Gaelic speakers from Scotland emigrated there\nbetween 1773 and the 1850s.&nbsp; Many of these speakers settled in Canada\u2019s\nNova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Scottish Gaelic is also related to\nWelsh, Cornish and Breton but the ties between these languages aren\u2019t quite as\nclose as with Irish and Manx.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"9-future-of-scottish-gaelic-\"><strong>Future of Scottish Gaelic<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>It is listed as \u2018threatened\u2019 by the\nEndangered Languages Project and \u2018endangered\u2019 by UNESCO.&nbsp; Fears for the\nlanguage\u2019s survival are also regularly in the news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Native speaker and former Gaelic\nteacher Iona Macritchie explains: \u201cLots\nof Gaelic communities and heartlands are struggling with depopulation and an ageing\npopulation. So the challenges of keeping the language going are tied in with\nthe challenges of lots of rural parts of the country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBut there are lots of\npositive signs \u2013 the Gaelic medium schools are all really popular and well\nsubscribed, lots of people are taking Gaelic classes and loads of people using\napps like uTalk,\u201d she adds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"10-other-languages-in-scotland-\"><strong>Other languages in Scotland<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Scottish Gaelic (G\u00e0idhlig) is one of\nthe four languages recognised by the Scottish government as customarily spoken\nin Scotland. The others are Scots, English and British Sign Language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Approximately 30% of the population in\nScotland are believed to speak Scots, one per cent speak Scottish Gaelic and\n99% speak a variety of English (also known as Scottish English).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"11-the-scots-language-\"><strong>The Scots Language<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>While Gaelic is said to be the oldest\nsurviving language in Scotland, it tended to be concentrated more in the\nHighlands and Islands of Scotland particularly after the 16th century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many people in Scotland\u2019s Lowlands and\nNorthern Isles instead spoke &#8211; and continue to speak &#8211; what we now call\nScots.&nbsp; Scots traces its origins back to the tongue of the Angles who\nsettled in Lowland Scotland and North-East England around AD 600. The version\nspoken in Scotland gradually grew apart from its sister tongue in England and\nby the 15th century had developed its own identity. Today Scots is officially\nrecognised in the UK under the European Charter of Regional or Minority\nLanguages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"12-utalk-and-the-languages-of-scotland-\"><strong>uTalk and the languages of Scotland<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The uTalk \u2013 Learn Any Language app features <a href=\"https:\/\/utalk.com\/store\/scots\">Scots<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/utalk.com\/store\/english-scottish\">Scottish English<\/a> as well as <a href=\"https:\/\/utalk.com\/store\/scottish-gaelic\">Scottish Gaelic<\/a>. Usefully, people who already speak Scots, Scottish Gaelic or Scottish English can also learn any of more than 150 new languages (e.g. French or German) from their native language as translation is always available. (Many thanks to Iona Macritichie and all our lovely translators!) <\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>uTalk&#8217;s Scottish Gaelic translator, Iona Macritchie, has grown up using one of the last remaining endangered languages of the British Isles. To mark St Andrew&#8217;s Day (Nov 30), she told us all about the dozens of different words Scottish Gaelic has for types of rain, the way the letters of the alphabet are linked to &#8230; <a title=\"Why Nature is at the Heart of the Scottish Gaelic Language\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/why-nature-is-at-the-heart-of-the-scottish-gaelic-language\/\" aria-label=\"More on Why Nature is at the Heart of the Scottish Gaelic Language\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9349,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[296,781,783,784],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7600"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7600"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7600\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9575,"href":"https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7600\/revisions\/9575"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9349"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7600"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7600"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/utalk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7600"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}