Learning Gaelic

lordofthestrings · Post by **lordofthestrings** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 9:18 am

Hi, er, Dia daoibh-

I've begun taking Gaelic language night classes at my college. I'm very excited about the class, and I'm even more excited to be learning this great language! Any tips/hints/thinks to keep in mind when learning to speak Gaelic? The focus of the class is speaking and listening, not so much writting.

Thanks! Slan go foill!

djm · Post by **djm** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 9:22 am

Do you mean you are learning Scottish Gaelic, or that you are learning Irish? Have you done a Search to see how many times this has come up before and checked all the great links and information that has already been provided?

djm

lordofthestrings · Post by **lordofthestrings** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 9:24 am

Irish Gaelic, and no, I've done no search. SHAME ON ME

No one else reply to this!!

...kidding

brianc · Post by **brianc** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 9:38 am

lordofthestrings wrote:Hi, er, Dia daoibh-

I've begun taking Gaelic language night classes at my college. I'm very excited about the class, and I'm even more excited to be learning this great language! Any tips/hints/thinks to keep in mind when learning to speak Gaelic? The focus of the class is speaking and listening, not so much writting.

Thanks! Slan go foill!

Which dialect?

A hint for you if it's the Connacht dialect: Speak as though you have a mouth full of hot potatoes and you'll do fine.

lordofthestrings · Post by **lordofthestrings** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 12:16 pm

ya know- I don't actually know what dailect (had the first cals las night). I'll have to ask our prof, I'm not a language expert.

*writting furiously*
mouth... full.... hot..... potatoes..... got it! Thanks!

CHasR · Post by **CHasR** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 6:04 pm

JINGS!!!
I was all set to say 'Ciamar a tha sibh'

mar sin leat.....

Redwolf · Post by **Redwolf** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 7:20 pm

I've been studying Irish for about 3 1/2 years now, and my best advice is, keep a sense of humor!

Here are some good on-line resources:

http://www.irishgaelictranslator.com . Go to the translation forum. We love helping and encouraging newbies, and we have people there who are real whizzes at explaining the more complicated grammatical tangles so they make sense. And we're a lot friendlier than Daltaí.com!

http://www.tg4.ie/ . Click on WebTV. I like the children's programs, such as "Aifric," as they're much easier for a beginner to follow. Most of the programs are subtitled. It's a good idea to listen to the language every day, even if you're not understanding much at first...it will help you get a feel for the flow of the language.

http://w3.lincolnu.edu/~focal/ . This can be a fun way to increase your Irish vocabulary.

http://www.nualeargais.ie . Download the free program "Seans Eile." It's a fun, interactive game that helps you build vocabulary and grammatical skills.

If I can be of any help, do let me know.

As far as dialect goes, don't worry about it. They're not THAT dissimilar, and as a newbie, you have enough on your plate. Chances are that you're learning An Caighdeán ("The Standard"), which is what's typically taught in Irish schools, but do ask your teacher, just in case you run across terms from other sources that confuse you. I'm learning the Ulster dialect, myself.

Bain sult as do chuid ranganna! (enjoy your classes!)

Faolchú Rua (Redwolf)

lordofthestrings · Post by **lordofthestrings** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 8:38 pm

Thanks for the links Redwolf!! Look very good indeed! I'll let you know if (when) I get totally confused. I have a lot of song recordings of people singing in Gaelic, and for most of them, I know what the words in English are. This a good idea, or is the 'lyricalness' and beat of the song boud to throw the language off too much?

JINGS!!!
I was all set to say 'Ciamar a tha sibh'
mar sin leat.....

uh...

Redwolf · Post by **Redwolf** » Thu Sep 06, 2007 12:19 am

lordofthestrings wrote:Thanks for the links Redwolf!! Look very good indeed! I'll let you know if (when) I get totally confused. I have a lot of song recordings of people singing in Gaelic, and for most of them, I know what the words in English are. This a good idea, or is the 'lyricalness' and beat of the song boud to throw the language off too much?

JINGS!!!
I was all set to say 'Ciamar a tha sibh'
mar sin leat.....
uh...

I use songs a lot...they help me remember, for example, which words are masculine or feminine (I also just plain love to sing in Irish!). The one thing you do have to be careful of... a lot of songs use either poetic language or colloquial language, and don't express things as you would (or should) in conversation. So long as you're aware of that, using music is a great way to learn.

One thing you will want to know...when referring to the language in English, it should be called "Irish" (when you're speaking Irish, it's "An Ghaeilge"). "Gaelic" is used to refer to the language spoken in Scotland (An Ghàidhlig), which is related, but still very much a different language. You'll sometimes see the term "Irish Gaelic," which is mostly used outside of Ireland to make it clear that, by saying "Irish," you don't mean that you're learning to speak Hiberno-English (that's why we use it on IGTF), but it's really not the preferred term.

Ciamar a tha sibh is Gaelic (as in the language spoken in Scotland) for "how are you? (plural)" The Irish that is closest to this form is from Ulster, where we say "Cad é mar atá sibh" (ka JAY mar uh-TAW shiv), or, if you're speaking to one person, "Cad é mar atá tú" (ka JAY mar uh-TAW t). If you're learning a different dialect, you may be more familiar with Conas tann tú/sibh (Munster), Conas atá tú/sibh (An Caighdeán) or Cén chaoi a bhfuil tú/sibh (Connacht)...all are valid ways of saying "Hi, Howaya?"

Redwolf

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