Has anyone here any taken (Irish) Gaelic classes?

[LostinVA]

[Mutley]

1. No, but I would love to.

[mcctatas]

2. I am doing a computer program to learn Gaelic...

so far after 2 years, I am still frigging lost (although I don't actually get to it that often). My goal is to master it before I die ;)

[coyotespaw]

3. No, but I know a bit about pronunciation...

However a word is spelled in Gaelic, it's pronounced in whatever way makes the least sense. For instance: Khdervliorncnc, is pronounced as "cat".

[Xipe Totec]

4. LOL!

:rofl:

[SoxFan]

5. LOL

Ironically, "cat is one of the few words that are easy to pronounce. It's pronounced "cat".

U2 fans will remember the early and rarely-played "An Cat Dubh (The Black Cat)" from the Boy album.

[KT2000]

9. how would one pronounce

Dubh?

[XemaSab]

11. Hairball

n/t

[SoxFan]

17. "dove"

bh is pronounved like the letter v in English. In Gaelic, Sullivan is spelled Suileabhain.

[KT2000]

18. Thanks

Looks like learning Gaelic from English might be kind of difficult. Sounds good when people speak it though.

[LostinVA]

20. Sorry -- misread

[AlCzervik]

12. like Siobhan is usually pronounced Shivawn. I heard someone cold calling a

possible client a few years ago, "Hello may i speak with Sigh-o-bee-hwan? I almost died from laughing. "Oh yes, i meant Shivawn"

[SoDesuKa]

14. Spelling Rules

Irish spelling follows the unique rules of Irish pronunciation. The name Siobhán is only approximately rendered in English as Shi-VAUN. A native speaker would pronounce it correctly and would also hear the difference when it's pronounced incorrectly.

We are led to believe that Irish spelling rules are unimportant. For instance, the New York Times is very precise about accent marks except with Irish names. They will always spell Carlos Beltrán with the accent over the a. But they don't bother to put an accent on Irish names like Seán or Séamus. It's a cultural slight that they would never make with a Spanish name like José.

[SoDesuKa]

15. That's a Slur

You know next to nothing about the Irish language but you think a slur is witty. I can't imagine you making the same remark about Polish or Dutch or Chinese. It wouldn't be considered funny, and actually it's not.

[LostinVA]

19. hehehehehehehe -- you're actually speaking teh truth!

Sidhe="shee"

[tigereye]

6. another person who intends to, but hasn't been able to find the time

I belong to a local Irish center here, but the classes are always on a bad night for me.


Here's an interesting pronunciation - Samhain is apparently pronounced "souwen."

[mwooldri]

7. I've been exposed to Welsh as a kid...

them wonderful holidays in Wales we had...

Good example Welsh media portal site would be http://www.bbc.co.uk/cymru

In the UK we also have Scottish Gaelic - BBC does programming for this too found at http://www.bbc.co.uk/alba

In Wales, Welsh is compulsory in the school curriculum. I think in most parts of Scotland Scots Gaelic is compulsory too.

In Ireland Gaelic is also compulsory. You can look here for RTE's services: http://www.rte.ie/rnag/ - this is their Irish language channel.

Mark.

[bikebloke]

8. Started Scottish Gaelic

With tapes and a book. Stress from work, compounded with the stress of living in a shitty flat placed it on a back burner. Then I moved, with tapes and book packed in a box waiting for me to eventually dig them out.

"Tha mi sgith" (pronounced ha mee skee)meaning "I am tired". The name of a good Silly Wizard song.

[SoDesuKa]

16. Rankin Family

The Rankin family from Canada does this song Buain a Rainich as part of "Gaelic Medley" on their Fare Thee Well Love CD. The album is out of print, but it's available on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Fare-Thee-Well-Rankin-Family/dp/B000008JRE/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1226838333&sr=1-3

Here are the words which I got from a Canadian folk music website. The English lyrics fit the melody but they're not an exact translation:

Buain a Rainich
Lyrics traditional

Tha mi sgith ' s mi leam fhin buain a rainich, buain a rainich?
Tha mi sgith ' s mi leam fhin buain a rainich daonnan?

Cul an tomain braigh an tomain
Cul an tomain bhoidhich,
Cul an tomain braigh an tomain
Huile latha m' onar.

'S tric a bha mi fhin 's mo leannan
Anns a' ghleannan cheothar
'G eisdeachd coisir bhinn an doire
Seinn 'sa' choille dhomhail;

Tha mi sgith ' s mi leam fhin buain a rainich, buain a rainich?
Tha mi sgith ' s mi leam fhin buain a rainich daonnan?

Why should I sit and sigh, broo-in bracken, broo-in bracken?
Why should I sit and sigh all alone and weary?

When I see the plover rising
Or the curlew wheeling,
It's then I'll court my mortal lover
Back to me is stealing.

When the moon begins her waning
I sit by the water
Where the one born of the sunlight
Loved a fairy's daughter

Why should I sit and sigh, broo-in bracken, broo-in bracken?
Why should I sit and sigh all alone and weary?

Tha mi sgith ' s mi leam fhin buain a rainich, buain a rainich?
Tha mi sgith ' s mi leam fhin buain a rainich daonnan?

O na 'm faicinn thu a' tighinn,
Ruithin 'dhol 'nad chodhail,
Ach mur tig thu 'n so g' am shireadh,
Ciamar thilleas dochas?

Anns an t-sithean O gur gsith me;
'S tric mo chridh' 'ga leanoadh
Nuair bhios cach a' seinn nan luinneag,
Cha dean is' ach cronan

Tha mi sgith ' s mi leam fhin buain a rainich, buain a rainich?
Tha mi sgith ' s mi leam fhin buain a rainich daonnan?

Why should I sit and sigh, broo-in bracken, broo-in bracken?
Why should I sit and sigh all alone and weary?

Ah! But there is something wanting.
Oh! But I am weary.
Coming blithe now, bonny treads she,
O'er the knolls to cheer me.

Who is this I see before me
Through the willows peering
A smile as sweet as hawthorn blooming
My love has come to cheer me!

Why should I sit and sigh, broo-in bracken, broo-in bracken?
Why should I sit and sigh all alone and weary?

Tha mi sgith ' s mi leam fhin buain a rainich, buain a rainich?
Tha mi sgith ' s mi leam fhin buain a rainich daonnan?

'S bochd nach robh mi leat a rithist
Sinn a bhitheadh ceolmhor,
Racheainn leat gu cul na cruinne,
Air bharr tuinne seoladh.

Ciod am feum dhomh bhi ri tuireadh,
De ni tuireadh dhomhsa
'S mi cho fada o gach duine
B' urrainn tighinn g' am chomhnadh.

Tha mi sgith ' s mi leam fhin buain a rainich, buain a rainich?
Tha mi sgith ' s mi leam fhin buain a rainich daonnan?



http://www.morgwyddelig.com/caniadau1.html

[ogneopasno]

10. I did a tape course and still remember some of it.

The sounds, certainly not the spelling!

[SoDesuKa]

13. Learning Irish

Irish pronunciation isn't that hard to figure out once you catch on - and catching on isn't really that difficult. The written language follows the spoken language, which has a different grammar from English. Irish is cognitively different from English - why wouldn't it be? The Irish have a completely different culture. Foreigners think they understand who the Irish are, but they really don't. The Irish aren't as accessible as foreigners think. It has to do with a history of being a subjugated people.

A little humility goes a long way when learning a language. People studying Russian or Chinese know they don't know anything about those cultures - and they work to overcome their ignorance. They don't do that when learning Irish because they think they already know who the Irish are. They don't. To learn Irish, you have to approach it like any other foreign language. Admit you don't know these people, and that you don't know how they think. Once you get over that hurdle, Irish is no more difficult than any other language.

[LostinVA]

21. The grammar "protocol" is very different from English, that I know

However, I took Greek in college, and that also has very "weird" grammar -- very akin to German, from what I've been told!

[Parche]

22. I Have Taken Up Gay Lick

:shrug: Does that count?
,
I know I am a Pev...:rofl: :rofl: :rofl::hi: :hug: