Names, places and sayings

Where Gaelic lives

The best practice of all is Gaelic spoken by the people who speak it. These are the places to find it.

• LearnGaelic — courses, a dictionary and hours of video from native speakers
• Am Faclair Beag — the fullest online Gaelic–English dictionary
• BBC Alba — Gaelic television, radio and news
• Tobar an Dualchais — thousands of recordings of songs and stories from the last century
• An Comunn Gàidhealach — the Royal National Mòd, the festival of Gaelic music and literature, every October
• Fèisean nan Gàidheal — local festivals teaching traditional music and Gaelic, mostly for young people
• Sabhal Mòr Ostaig — the Gaelic college on Skye, with short courses for learners
• Gaelic in Nova Scotia — the Gaelic of Cape Breton, and where to learn it in Canada

Most English first names have a Gaelic form, and many Scots use both. Speaking to someone, the name changes — the vocative: a in front and the name softened, and a man's name made slender too.

• Is mise Maireadis MEE-shuh MY-ryatI am Margaret

  Is

  is

  mise

  I (emphatic)

  Mairead

  Margaret

  🎙 Say it yourself
• Halò, a Chaluimha-LAW, uh KHAL-imHello, Malcolm

  Halò

  hello

  a

  O (calling)

  Chaluim

  Malcolm

  🎙 Say it yourself

r, l and n take no written h, so Ruairidh keeps its spelling — only the a shows it is the vocative. Before a vowel even the a goes: Iain, Eilidh.

Mac is son. A woman's surname takes Nic instead, from nighean mhic, daughter of the son of: Mary MacDonald is Màiri NicDhòmhnaill. The name after Mac or Nic is in the genitive, and usually softened.

A surname without Mac is softened for a woman: Seumas Caimbeul, but Màiri Chaimbeul.

• Màiri NicDhòmhnaillMAA-ree neekh-GHAW-ulMary MacDonald

  Màiri

  Mary

  NicDhòmhnaill

  MacDonald (a woman's)

  🎙 Say it yourself
• Seumas CaimbeulSHAY-mus KAIM-bulJames Campbell

  Seumas

  James

  Caimbeul

  Campbell

  🎙 Say it yourself

Most names on a map of the Highlands and Islands are Gaelic, and a dozen words unlock most of them. The English names are usually the Gaelic ones as an English speaker heard them: Inbhir Nis became Inverness.

In the Western Isles many names are Norse, respelled in Gaelic: the -bhagh of Steòrnabhagh (Stornoway) is Norse for bay.

• Inbhir NisEEN-yir NEESHInvernessThe mouth of the River Ness.

  Inbhir

  river-mouth

  Nis

  Ness

  🎙 Say it yourself
• Dùn Èideanndoon AY-junEdinburgh

  Dùn

  fort

  Èideann

  Eidyn (a name)

  🎙 Say it yourself
• GlaschuGLAS-khooGlasgow

  🎙 Say it yourself
• Port Rìghporsht REEPortreeThe king's harbour.

  Port

  harbour

  Rìgh

  king

  🎙 Say it yourself
• An t-Òbanun TAW-panObanThe little bay.

  An

  the

  t-Òban

  little-bay

  🎙 Say it yourself
• SteòrnabhaghSHTYAWR-nuh-vahStornoway

  🎙 Say it yourself

The islands are where Gaelic is most spoken, and their names are Gaelic first: an English map has them at one remove. Most take an or na — an t-Eilean Sgitheanach, the Isle of Skye — and going to one is a dh'ionnsaigh or simply do: tha mi a' dol do Bharraigh, I am going to Barra, with Barra softened after do.

• Tha mi a' dol do BharraighHA mee uh DOL duh VAR-eyeI am going to Barrado softens the name: Barraigh becomes Bharraigh.

  Tha

  am

  mi

  I

  a' dol

  going

  do

  to

  Bharraigh

  Barra

  🎙 Say it yourself
• Tha i à LeòdhasHA ee aa LYAW-usShe is from Lewis

  Tha

  is

  i

  she

  à

  from

  Leòdhas

  Lewis

  🎙 Say it yourself
• anns an Eilean SgitheanachOWNS un EL-an SKEE-un-ukhon the Isle of Skye

  anns

  in

  an

  the

  Eilean

  island

  Sgitheanach

  of Skye

  🎙 Say it yourself

Sgitheanach is also what you call someone from Skye, as Leòdhasach is someone from Lewis — the island's name with -ach on the end.

Gaelic is rich in proverbs, and they turn up in conversation, in songs and on the walls of Gaelic schools. A dozen that every learner meets sooner or later — each is worth reading word by word, because they use the grammar in this guide in its most compact form. One of them is the saying of the day at the top of this page.

• Tìr gun teanga, tìr gun anam.TCHEER goon TCHENG-uh, TCHEER goon AN-umA land without its language is a land without its soul.

  Tìr

  land

  gun

  without

  teanga

  a tongue

  tìr

  land

  gun

  without

  anam

  a soul

  🎙 Say it yourself
• Beagan is beagan, mar a dh'ith an cat an sgadan.BEH-kan is BEH-kan, mar uh YEE un KAHT un SKAT-anLittle by little, as the cat ate the herring.Slow and steady — the learner's proverb.

  Beagan

  a little

  is

  and

  beagan

  a little

  mar

  as

  a

  that

  dh'ith

  ate

  an

  the

  cat

  cat

  an

  the

  sgadan

  herring

  🎙 Say it yourself
• 'S e obair latha tòiseachadh.sheh O-pur LA-uh TAW-shukh-ughStarting is a day's work.Getting started is the hardest part.

  'S e

  it is

  obair

  work

  latha

  of-a-day

  tòiseachadh

  starting

  🎙 Say it yourself
• Is math an sgàthan sùil caraid.is MA un SKAA-han SOOL KAR-itchA friend's eye is a good mirror.

  Is

  is

  math

  good

  an

  the

  sgàthan

  mirror

  sùil

  eye

  caraid

  of-a-friend

  🎙 Say it yourself
• Is binn gach eun na dhoire fhèin.is BEEN gakh AYN nuh GHOR-uh HAYNEvery bird is sweet in its own grove.Everyone is at their best at home.

  Is

  is

  binn

  sweet

  gach

  every

  eun

  bird

  na

  in-his

  dhoire

  grove

  fhèin

  own

  🎙 Say it yourself
• Thèid dùthchas an aghaidh nan creag.HAYJ DOO-khus un UH-ee nun KREKHeritage will go against the rocks.What is in your blood will out.

  Thèid

  will-go

  dùthchas

  heritage

  an aghaidh

  against

  nan

  of-the

  creag

  rocks

  🎙 Say it yourself
• Cha tig às a' phoit ach an toit a bhios innte.kha tcheek AHS uh FOTCH akh un TOTCH uh VEES EEN-tchuhNothing comes out of the pot but the steam that is in it.You get out what you put in.

  Cha

  not

  tig

  comes

  às

  out-of

  a'

  the

  phoit

  pot

  ach

  but

  an

  the

  toit

  steam

  a

  that

  bhios

  will-be

  innte

  in-it

  🎙 Say it yourself
• Is e an t-ionnsachadh òg an t-ionnsachadh bòidheach.shay un tchoon-SUKH-ugh AWK un tchoon-SUKH-ugh BAW-yukhLearning young is beautiful learning.Quoted at children, and at anyone starting late.

  Is e

  it is

  an

  the

  t-ionnsachadh

  learning

  òg

  young

  an

  the

  t-ionnsachadh

  learning

  bòidheach

  beautiful

  🎙 Say it yourself
• An rud nach gabh leigheas, 's fheudar a ghiùlan.un ROOT nakh GAV LYAY-us, SHAY-tur uh YOO-lanWhat cannot be cured must be borne.

  An

  the

  rud

  thing

  nach

  that-not

  gabh

  takes

  leigheas

  curing

  's fheudar

  must

  a

  to

  ghiùlan

  bear-it

  🎙 Say it yourself
• Is fheàrr teine beag a gharas na teine mòr a loisgeas.is YAAR TCHEN-uh BEK uh GHAR-us nuh TCHEN-uh MOHR uh LOSH-kusBetter a small fire that warms than a big one that burns.Enough is better than too much.

  Is

  is

  fheàrr

  better

  teine

  a fire

  beag

  small

  a

  that

  gharas

  warms

  na

  than

  teine

  a fire

  mòr

  big

  a

  that

  loisgeas

  burns

  🎙 Say it yourself
• Is treasa tuath na tighearna.is TRES-uh TOO-uh nuh TCHEE-urn-uhA tenantry is stronger than a landlord.People together outweigh the powerful — a proverb with a long history in the Highlands.

  Is

  is

  treasa

  stronger

  tuath

  a tenantry

  na

  than

  tighearna

  a landlord

  🎙 Say it yourself
• Cha robh dithis riamh a' fadadh teine nach do las eatorra.kha ROH JEE-ish REE-uv uh FAT-ugh TCHEN-uh nakh doh LAS ET-ur-uhTwo never kindled a fire without it lighting between them.Said of two people who keep falling out — or falling in love.

  Cha

  not

  robh

  was

  dithis

  two-people

  riamh

  ever

  a' fadadh

  kindling

  teine

  a fire

  nach

  that-not

  do las

  lit

  eatorra

  between-them

  🎙 Say it yourself

gun (without) is followed by an unchanged noun; is in is math and is binn is the copula saying what something is — see the other verb to be.