In Irish, “December” is “Mí na Nollag” which is literally “The Month of Christmas” so I feel completely culturally justified in treating today like the beginning of one long holiday, honestly.
In scottish gaelic its ‘an Dubhlachd’ which effectively means the blackness and i feel like this is one of the fundamental differences between irish and scottish gaelic.
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As one of the most puzzling and misinterpreted creature, the wolf has been at the very centre of cults and mythologies throughout history. In ancient times, Roman era, and Greek mythology, to the late Norse age and its depiction of the infamous Fenrir, the wolf has been a key figures in many cultures. Even if it’s not often associated with it, it played a pivotal role in Celtic culture as well. The wolf is not as present as other animals or zoomorphic representations in Celtic art, not like the boar, the eagle or the deer. Even so, there are mentions of the wolf in Celtic lore, particularly the very late one from the Middle-Age. Soon after Cormac mac Airt, the future High King of Ireland, was born, he was carried off and raised by a she-wolf for a period of time in the caves of Kesh, alongside her other cubs. In the tale of Táin Bó Cúailnge, the goddess Mórrígan appears under different shapes to the legendary hero Cú Chulainn, one of these being the shape of a wolf. Interestingly, the wolf plays a key role in the Celtic year cycle as well. It has always been associated with the first part of the year, usually the time around January, in different areas of Scotland and Ireland. Still today, in the Gaelic-speaking Highlands and islands, people refer to the first month of the year as “Faoilleach”, originally associated to a whole period in the Scottish agricultural calendar. The name has a close link to the wolf figure: in fact, “faol” or “faol-chú” means wolf in Gaelic, and it would appear to be a very old term, as wolves have been extinct in Scotland for centuries. In Scotland, the most notable representations of wolves are to be found in the Pictish culture, such as the one majestically engraved on the Ardross stone, 30 miles north of Inverness. This print is a modern reinterpretation of one of the most significant animals celebrated in hundreds of years of lore, legends and stone carvings.
Honestly, it’s so annoying when you speak 2 or more languages that use different keyboards and when you type fast you accidentally hit that globe button that switches keyboards and Прости
Happy St. Pádraig day to my anglophone followers. One of the sorrows of history is the death of languages, whether through capitalism/colonialism, genocide, or natural disaster (though the first two are far more common than the last). I’m too tired to truly reflect on the global scale of tragedy that comes with severing people from their language (and culture), so I will focus only on Celtic culture and language. Both Irish and Socttish Gaelic are endangered languages, arguably because of English colonization of the British Isles. Native languages of the country we call France are also in danger of dying from similar forces, some of which have celtic roots as well. Native languages like Irish, Welsh, and Scottish Gaelic are not just “spicy english” or funny spellings, they are the remnants of a conquered people of England. You can see the scale and severity of endangerment at https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2011/apr/15/language-extinct-endangered
I find myself running into interesting Irish words very frequently, and one I found recently I quite liked was plobaireacht, meaning “blubbering, spluttering or babbling, particularly trying to speak, but being unable to while crying.”
I couldn’t come up with much of an etymology, but this looks a lot like another word piobaireachd,(which is a Scottish Gaelic term that has also been adopted into English), meaning “bagpipe music.” I don’t think the two are related in the slightest, but I suppose bagpipes might also make you difficult to understand whilst trying to speak.
who doesn’t love languages? or free resources? or free! language! resources!?
i was on duolingo, reading a discussion, and saw a link to a free swedish grammar book! and when i checked the website, there were loads of free language books in downloadable pdf form just waiting to be put in a tumblr post. i even used proper capitalisation for the book names! but that was shortlived, as i have a nonchalant online presence to consider.
obvious disclaimer: i don’t own any of the rights etc etc to any of the above etc etc, i just thought i’d share.
and while i’m here, if you want an actual free online course to do, FutureLearn has some language ones (as well as lots of other disciplines too!) i did a few modules of their Italian For Beginners which i really had fun doing and i learnt a lot of the basics- unfortunately they don’t offer those at the moment, but do check back as they introduce new courses all the time!
Open University offers loads of free courses, including some language ones. i haven’t done any language specific ones through OU, but i have done a few history ones which i enjoyed (although personally, i prefer the format and structure of FutureLearn, if i’m being honest).
Open Culture seems to have lots of language courses (48 languages, to be precise), although i have never personally used their resources they have been recommended to me, and they seem to offer a lot of languages not previously covered by any of the above, so it may be worth a look!
YouTube and Spotify also offer some good visual/aural learning resources which really helps with pronunciation, but you’d have to check for your specific target language. i am currently trying to learn swedish and italian (although i have fallen dreadfully behind in the latter) and i’ve found some useful things on both!
So - in short - the oldest Scottish surviving manuscript is the Book of Deer, which famously ends in words: ““Be it on the conscience of anyone who reads this splendid little book that they say a prayer for the soul of the wretch who wrote it.”
Historians and archeologists alike have been desperately trying to find the remains of the monastery where it has been written. Now, they unearthed a board game that just might lead them in the right direction. Read more
Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, the national centre for Gaelic language and culture, recently worked with BBC Alba to produce videos, audio and a website called SpeakGaelic.
There’s videos, an online course, support for tutors, multiple new podcasts, Youtube, various things airing on TV. The actual self-taught online course is only one part of how much this resource has to offer! So here’s some of the things I’ve been looking at.
This is just the whole website: explore at your leisure! At the moment they have finished up to around A2 level, and are working on producing higher level content.
Each topic has a series of 8-10 mini-lessons that are sometimes more duolingo style, and sometimes with videos.
I…actually prefer to use the teaching resources for tutors (linked below) than this course for a few reasons. My main problem is that the vocabulary they present to you is far too fast (in one lesson they might give you 20 words for different Scottish towns), which is fine if you just need to choose the relevant words for where youare from, but in order to pass the quiz to get to the next level you have to get ALL of them right. And Gaelic spelling takes a while to get used to…
There’s also no writing / spelling practice, but to pass the level requires you to write things. Which. Feels counterintuitive! You can learn any level without passing the tests, but it’s annoying because it means your progress isn’t saved to an accurate place. I emailed them about it and got a friendly response back, but this isn’t something they are planning to change.
Now THIS is where it gets exciting. These are materials designed in theory for tutors - full lesson plans, worksheets, everything - but they are accessible to learners too. In fact, I think they’re much better than the online course.
Why? Because everything is STRUCTURED. You are given practice, and told what to do, and there are grammatical explanations. (NB: all of these exist in the online course, but not in one handy document for you to look over in one place.)
You have all of the learner content….
…and you ALSO have teacher content:
‘If learners need more time and practice with the vocative case’ > that’s me! And it shows you then exactly what you should do next. Whereas the online course doesn’t have that option for customisation at all. Most of the worksheets are included in the lesson plan, and some are on the main page. Absolute bliss.
(If you don’t have Spotify, you can just search ‘SpeakGaelic’)
This is an audio version of the lessons above, and goes into more detail - with information from three different native speakers - into some of the grammar things that the course doesn’t really cover in that much depth. There’s conversations you can listen to, and it’s all targeted at complete beginners. If you listen to any other Gaelic podcasts you’ll recognise the presenter, John Urquhart!
After each episode, there’s also a special episode - scroll down to the bottom - with conversation about different topics relevant to the day’s lesson with two of the presenters. Great for providing extra information!
Ok, so there’s a LOT of content here. First you have the A1-A2 lessons, around 30 minutes each. Despite what the name suggests, these are notthe same as the audio podcasts. They have Joy (who presents the online course) but they also give some extra video clips and information about cultural things too!
They’re a little slow, but a good supplement to the material given above. As far as I can tell, there are only 13 of this particular series (and 13 for A2) but the YouTube channel SpeakGaelic itself has hundreds of episodes of everything that goes into the online course. All the videos can be found there.
This includes all audio and conversations, as well as snapshots on individual learners and some cultural information.
Once you’re a little further on in your journey (I…can’t understand these yet), there are a few other podcasts on Spotify also by the BBC Radio nan Gàidheal. This is one! This is totally in Gaelic, but spoken fairly slowly and designed for intermediate learners.
Check it out! I…actually prefer this site and the way it teaches. It has some bonuses over the old one - good vocabulary sections, plus a really great directory of Gaelic courses online and in person, as well as a dictionary, and so on.
It goes all the way up to B2, so is a better choice if you have more than a little Gaelic.
It’s also a brilliant directory of media in Gaelic - you can watch lots of videos with transcripts in Gaelic with a dictionary, as well as finding native-level material. You can sign up to their newsletter and get weekly Gaelic information too.
It also has links to Speaking Our Language!! Which is an absolutely wonderful resource from the 90s teaching Gaelic one conversation at a time, and also goes up to a fairly high level. These are all updated for The Modern Age: i.e., they all have PDFs and transcripts, as well as links to the grammar points for whatever lesson you’re listening to. Far more advanced than anything the new site currently has.
I might do another post once I’ve explored this website a little more!
He has a whole bunch of free Youtube videos, but I’m actually doing his paid online course - it’s by the best value for money I know from any course, Gaelic or otherwise. If you have the money for it and like immersive learning with a board and just being chatted to, I’d highly recommend you give it a go. He also has loads of Gaelic books for learners, which are wonderful too, and a folktales and traditions course for intermediate learners. Can’t talk about this man enough. (https://gaelicwithjason.thinkific.com)
—
Once again, I’d really encourage you to check out the teaching materials: I personally find them way more useful than the online course for learners specifically. I’m looking at the teaching materials in conjunction with the audio on YouTube and then the podcasts on Spotify.
Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, the national centre for Gaelic language and culture, recently worked with BBC Alba to produce videos, audio and a website called SpeakGaelic.
There’s videos, an online course, support for tutors, multiple new podcasts, Youtube, various things airing on TV. The actual self-taught online course is only one part of how much this resource has to offer! So here’s some of the things I’ve been looking at.
This is just the whole website: explore at your leisure! At the moment they have finished up to around A2 level, and are working on producing higher level content.
Each topic has a series of 8-10 mini-lessons that are sometimes more duolingo style, and sometimes with videos.
I…actually prefer to use the teaching resources for tutors (linked below) than this course for a few reasons. My main problem is that the vocabulary they present to you is far too fast (in one lesson they might give you 20 words for different Scottish towns), which is fine if you just need to choose the relevant words for where youare from, but in order to pass the quiz to get to the next level you have to get ALL of them right. And Gaelic spelling takes a while to get used to…
There’s also no writing / spelling practice, but to pass the level requires you to write things. Which. Feels counterintuitive! You can learn any level without passing the tests, but it’s annoying because it means your progress isn’t saved to an accurate place. I emailed them about it and got a friendly response back, but this isn’t something they are planning to change.
Now THIS is where it gets exciting. These are materials designed in theory for tutors - full lesson plans, worksheets, everything - but they are accessible to learners too. In fact, I think they’re much better than the online course.
Why? Because everything is STRUCTURED. You are given practice, and told what to do, and there are grammatical explanations. (NB: all of these exist in the online course, but not in one handy document for you to look over in one place.)
You have all of the learner content….
…and you ALSO have teacher content:
‘If learners need more time and practice with the vocative case’ > that’s me! And it shows you then exactly what you should do next. Whereas the online course doesn’t have that option for customisation at all. Most of the worksheets are included in the lesson plan, and some are on the main page. Absolute bliss.
(If you don’t have Spotify, you can just search ‘SpeakGaelic’)
This is an audio version of the lessons above, and goes into more detail - with information from three different native speakers - into some of the grammar things that the course doesn’t really cover in that much depth. There’s conversations you can listen to, and it’s all targeted at complete beginners. If you listen to any other Gaelic podcasts you’ll recognise the presenter, John Urquhart!
After each episode, there’s also a special episode - scroll down to the bottom - with conversation about different topics relevant to the day’s lesson with two of the presenters. Great for providing extra information!
Ok, so there’s a LOT of content here. First you have the A1-A2 lessons, around 30 minutes each. Despite what the name suggests, these are notthe same as the audio podcasts. They have Joy (who presents the online course) but they also give some extra video clips and information about cultural things too!
They’re a little slow, but a good supplement to the material given above. As far as I can tell, there are only 13 of this particular series (and 13 for A2) but the YouTube channel SpeakGaelic itself has hundreds of episodes of everything that goes into the online course. All the videos can be found there.
This includes all audio and conversations, as well as snapshots on individual learners and some cultural information.
Once you’re a little further on in your journey (I…can’t understand these yet), there are a few other podcasts on Spotify also by the BBC Radio nan Gàidheal. This is one! This is totally in Gaelic, but spoken fairly slowly and designed for intermediate learners.
Check it out! I…actually prefer this site and the way it teaches. It has some bonuses over the old one - good vocabulary sections, plus a really great directory of Gaelic courses online and in person, as well as a dictionary, and so on.
It goes all the way up to B2, so is a better choice if you have more than a little Gaelic.
It’s also a brilliant directory of media in Gaelic - you can watch lots of videos with transcripts in Gaelic with a dictionary, as well as finding native-level material. You can sign up to their newsletter and get weekly Gaelic information too.
It also has links to Speaking Our Language!! Which is an absolutely wonderful resource from the 90s teaching Gaelic one conversation at a time, and also goes up to a fairly high level. These are all updated for The Modern Age: i.e., they all have PDFs and transcripts, as well as links to the grammar points for whatever lesson you’re listening to. Far more advanced than anything the new site currently has.
I might do another post once I’ve explored this website a little more!
He has a whole bunch of free Youtube videos, but I’m actually doing his paid online course - it’s by the best value for money I know from any course, Gaelic or otherwise. If you have the money for it and like immersive learning with a board and just being chatted to, I’d highly recommend you give it a go. He also has loads of Gaelic books for learners, which are wonderful too, and a folktales and traditions course for intermediate learners. Can’t talk about this man enough. (https://gaelicwithjason.thinkific.com)
—
Once again, I’d really encourage you to check out the teaching materials: I personally find them way more useful than the online course for learners specifically. I’m looking at the teaching materials in conjunction with the audio on YouTube and then the podcasts on Spotify.
![IN [LANGUAGE] WE DON'T SAY ...](https://64.media.tumblr.com/avatar_84ac7e4b41dc_30.png){kind=avatar}
