I’m back to work but missing life on Lewis. Glasgow can be an ugly place to live sometimes and I don’t know the next time I’ll be able to fly a kite, walk a dog along a beach or fish a beautiful loch. So it’s back to pubs, clubs and acts of random violence…
To keep me busy I’m going to learn a bit of the Gaelic. I did a wee bit in school and my pronunciation is probably pretty good having listened to enough folk speak and sing it over the years but it should make for a good challenge.
I’ve started with Teach Yourself Gaelic which is a CD and book covering the very basics to begin with. I’m also about to sign up with An Cùrsa Inntrigidh at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, an access to Gaelic distance learning course over the next year or the Gaelic 1/2/3, the Gaelic open learning course at Lews Castle UHI.
So this week’s lesson is the joys of broad and slender vowels, dipthongs and consonants!
If you’re a non speaker too and fancy learning a few words then have a click through Beag Air Bheag or go sign up for a course yourself.
PS Now this I did not know: Scottish Gaelic is written with just 18 letters each of which can be ascribed to a tree.
| A a | B b | C c | D d | E e | F f | G g | H h | I i |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ailm (Elm) |
Beith (Birch) |
Coll (Hazel) |
Dair (Oak) |
Eadha (Aspen) |
Fearn (Alder) |
Gort (Ivy) |
Uath (Hawthorn) |
Iogh (Yew) |
| L l | M m | N n | O o | P p | R r | S s | T t | U u |
| Luis (Rowan) |
Muin (Vine) |
Nuin (Ash) |
Oir/Onn (Gorse) |
Peithe (Guelder Rose) |
Ruis (Elder) |
Suil (Willow) |
Teine (Furze) |
Ur (Heather) |
So there you go.
The Croft 
Aye Cove! as they say in these parts “There you go!”
See! I even have the non-gaelic patter down pat. Give my love to the blone!
Hi – i’m also a Gaelic learner – i started with Teach Yourself Gaelic, and then An Cùrsa Inntrigidh – it’s a good course, especially if you’re not living somewhere with regular Gaelic classes. You get out of it what you put in really – I never seemed to have enough time to do the recommended 12 hours a week! Ulpan is very good for improving speech and conversation – you can find out if there are classes in your area at http://www.cli.org.uk. I’ve found Ulpan to be the most useful and seen the biggest difference in my own confidence speaking through this course.
Good on you for giving it a go – as you said, you probably already have the pronunciation down fine, which is the hardest part for many learners.
If you’re interested in Gaelic culture, I’m working on a new Gaelic arts portal – maybe you could add a link here? http://www.gaelic-arts-portal.com
Thank you very much for the information, particularly the Ulpan methods which I will definitely look into. Ceud taing!
If you live in Glaschu there are plenty of classes available. Monday nights from 7 – 9pm and Saturday mornings from 10.30 – 12.30 at the Gaidhlig School on Berkeley Street. Monday afternoon classes at Stow college from 1 – 3pm. You can learn also on Monday and Wednesday nights in Hope street from 7 – 9pm, theres also classes on Tuesdays and thursdays in giffnock from 10.30 – 12.30 in the morning. Theres a class in Barrhead too on Wednesday nights but im not too sure of the details. Some of these classes are free and some will cost just £3 per lesson. If you want anmymore info just e-mail me,
neilyoung288@btinternet.com