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Gaelic Word of the Week blog – Butterfly – dealan-dè

Each week we publish the text of our Gaelic Word of the Week podcast here with added facts, figures and photos for Gaelic learners who want to learn a little about the language and about the Scottish Parliament – Pàrlamaid na h-Alba. This week our work is butterfly – dealan-dè. It is now Spring – an … Leugh an corr de

Tadhail air Blog Pàrlamaid na h-Alba

Gaelic Word of the Week blog – Easter – a’ Chàisg

Le Oifigear Gàidhlig

Each week we publish the text of our Gaelic Word of the Week podcast here with added facts, figures and photos for Gaelic learners who want to learn a little about the language and about the Scottish Parliament – Pàrlamaid na h-Alba. This week we are looking at Easter – A’ Chaisg. It is currently the Scottish … Leugh an corr de

Tadhail air Blog Pàrlamaid na h-Alba

Gaelic Word of the Week blog – lockdown – Glasadh-sìos

Le Oifigear Gàidhlig

Each week we publish the text of our Gaelic Word of the Week podcast here with added facts, figures and photos for Gaelic learners who want to learn a little about the language and about the Scottish Parliament – Pàrlamaid na h-Alba. This week we are looking at the Lockdown – an Glasadh-sìos. Its roughly a … Leugh an corr de

Tadhail air Blog Pàrlamaid na h-Alba

Guth nan Siarach

Le Gordon Wells

“Guth nan Siarach” (or “Voice of the Westside”) is the name of a new Gaelic community group in Lewis, set up in response to the 2020 publication of the Soillse research book, “The Gaelic Crisis in the Vernacular Community”.

Members of this group recently attended an online Soillse workshop on “New Insights on the Vernacular Gaelic Communities in the Islands”, led by Professor Conchúr Ó Giollagáin. It was a refreshing opportunity for community members to take part in discussion with interested academics from a range of universities, both within the Soillse network and from outwith Scotland.

Some days after the event, Guth nan Siarach members met again on Zoom to record their thoughts, questions, and ideas after hearing Prof Ó Giollagáin’s presentation and taking part in the subsequent discussion. We’re very grateful at Guthan nan Eilean that Jane, Maggie, Christine, Catriona, and Calum were willing to share their thoughts with us.

“Mother tongue” issues are often very close to the heart, and it can take confidence, courage, and no little skill to talk about them openly and with consideration, especially when the language in question has been on the receiving end of prolonged disadvantageous treatment. It’s a privilege to hear the group talk among themselves about issues of concern. We look forward to hearing more in the near future!

We recommend finding the time to watch the full discussion. The contributions are varied, thoughtful, and expressed in good Lewis Gaelic. And thanks to the Gaelic Speech Recognition research team, we’ve added CC Gaelic subtitling, which you can turn on or off as you please – and which will also enable Google translation into other languages:

But if your time is short, you can get a taste of the meeting from these “criomagan”. (CC subtitling also available on this clip.)

And here’s Prof Ó Giollagáin’s presentation:

Tadhail air Island Voices – Guthan nan Eilean

Google learns Gaelic

Le Gordon Wells

Five years ago Island Voices posted about “Google Gaelic“, in wake of the excitement over the recent addition of Scottish Gaelic to the list of languages supported by Google Translate. The move, while welcomed in some quarters, was not an uncontroversial one, with many people voicing fears over how it could be easily misused, for example to the detriment of people working in translation services.

The pitfalls inherent in using Google Translate, in particular to try to generate well-formed Gaelic from English input, are still very much there. However, here’s a good news story relating to translation from Gaelic into English. Our five-year old post gave a sample of English text generated by processing the Gaelic voiceover script for our peatcutting documentary through Google Translate. Five years later we’ve just done the same thing again.

You can compare the two texts here, with 2016 in the left column, and 2021 in the right. The later one is still by no means perfect, but it’s still clearly an improvement on the first version. Google is “learning”, and Island Voices welcomes that, particularly in light of the recent adoption of optional CC subtitles on our Series 1 and Series 2 films, meaning the original Gaelic can be machine translated into scores of other languages at the click of a mouse…

Tadhail air Island Voices – Guthan nan Eilean

Gaelic Word of the Week – British Sign Language – Cànan Soidhnidh Bhreatainn

Le Oifigear Gàidhlig

Each week we publish the text of our Gaelic Word of the Week podcast here with added facts, figures and photos for Gaelic learners who want to learn a little about the language and about the Scottish Parliament – Pàrlamaid na h-Alba. This week we are looking at British Sign language. Sign Language Week will be taking … Leugh an corr de

Tadhail air Blog Pàrlamaid na h-Alba

Caoimhín Ó Donnaíle

Le comanngaidhligghlaschu

Goireasan airson na Gàidhlig air an Eadar-lìon

Bheir an Dr Caoimhín Ó Donnaíle, Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, Oilthigh na Gàidhealtachd is nan Eilean, seachad fiosrachadh agus taisbeanadh beò air cuid de na goireasan Gàidhlig a tha ri’m faighinn air an Eadar-lìon, gu h-àraid air an fheadhainn anns a bheil e fhèin an sàs. Bidh trì pàirtean aig an òraid:

Sealladh gu math farsaing, aithghearr air na goireasan gu lèir: làraichean-lìn, faclairean, làraichean ioma-mheadhan leithid Tobar an Dualchais, iGàidhlig, An Sruth.
Na goireasan aig multidict.net, .i. Multidict fhéin a tha a’ leigeil do dhuine gluasad gu luath eadar a h-uile faclair Gàidhlig a tha air-loidhne – faclairean annasach ’nam measg. Clilstore a tha a leigeil do thidsearan aonad a chruthachadh ann am mionaid no dhà air an Eadar-lìon, le bhideo agus tar-sgrìobhadh agus stuth a bharrachd, agus an tar-sgrìobhadh ceangailte facal-air-an-fhacal ri na faclairean air-loidhne.
Bunadas – stòr-dàta ann an cruth “lìonra” de dh’fhaclan dàimheil (cognates) ann an ioma chànan, gu h-àraid na cànanan Ceilteach. Barrachd is 80,000 facal gu ruige seo. Comasach air craobhan-sinnsireachd a thaisbeanadh do na faclan. Comasach air faclan dàimheach a lorg ann am Manannais no Nua-Ghaeilge no Seann-Ghàidhlig. agus a lorg gu furasta ri faclairean leithid eDIL.

Àm:	7.30f, Diardaoin 28ᵐʰ dhan Mhart
Àite:	Coinneamh tro mheadhan Zoom. Facal-faire: ri thighinn
Cànan:	Gàidhlig

Dr. Caoimhín Ó Donnaíle, Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, University of the Highlands and Islands, will do a live presentation and talk about some of the Gaelic resources that are available on the Internet, especially the ones that he is involved with himself. There will be three parts to the talk:

A broad and short overview about what’s available: websites, dictionaries, multimedia sites like Tobar an Dualchais, iGàidhlig, An Sruth.
The resources at multidict.net, -i. Multidict itself that lets people move quickly between all the available Gàidhlig online dictionaries – including some uncommon dictionaries. Clilstore that allows teachers to create units on the Internet in just a few minutes, with a video and transcription and supplementary materials while the transcript is linked word for word with the online dictionaries.
Bunadas – a “network” database of related words (cognates) in multiple languages, with focus on the Celtic languages. Already contains more than 80,000 words. It has a feature to display trees for the words’ ancestry. You can research related words on Manx or Irish or Goidelic and find the easily in dictionaries like eDIL.

When:	7.30pm, Thursday 28^th March
Where:	Via Zoom meeting. Password: will be posted on the day
Language:	Gaelic

Tadhail air Comann Gàidhlig Ghlaschu

Gaelic Word of the Week – St Patrick’s Day

Le Oifigear Gàidhlig

Each week we publish the text of our Gaelic Word of the Week podcast here with added facts, figures and photos for Gaelic learners who want to learn a little about the language and about the Scottish Parliament – Pàrlamaid na h-Alba. This week we are looking at St Patrick’s Day. Next Wednesday, the 17th of … Leugh an corr de

Tadhail air Blog Pàrlamaid na h-Alba

Tramfordh Kambronn ha Rysrudh! #gàidhlig

Le alasdairmaccaluim

Tha ùidh mhòr air a bhith agam ann an cànan is eachdraidh na Cùirne fad mo bheatha. Tha mi air grunn leabhraichean a leughadh mu rathaidean-iarainn na dùthcha, beag is mòr, fosgailte is dùinte, an lìonra nàiseanta agus loidhnichean glèidhte. A dh’aindeoin seo, cha robh fhios agam gu seachdain no dhà air ais gun robh slighe-trama anns a’ Chòrn uair.

Fhuair mi a-mach mu dheidhinn ann an dòigh inntinneach. Bha mi gu bhith a’ dol air turas gu Pensans/Penzance aig toiseach na mìos seo ach bha agam ri a chur dheth mar thoradh air a’ chorònabhìoras. Bha mi gu math brònach mu dheidhinn agus mar sin, cheannaich mi leabhar mu thramaichean mar phrèasant dhomh fhèin agus mhothaich iomradh air an Cambourne and Redruth Tramway.

Bha mi air mo bheò-ghlacadh agus chan fhada gus an robh mi air leabhar a cheannach mu dheidhinn.

Dh’fhosgail an t-slighe-trama ann an 1902 agus ’s e loidhne caol-ghèidse (narrow gauge) a bh’ innte, le gèidse de 3’6″ a bha 3 mìle dh’fhaid. A bharrachd air a bhith a’ ceangal an dà bhaile ri chèile do luchd-siubhail, bha an loidhne cuideachd a’ giùlan bathar bho mheinnean ionadail gu ionad-leaghaidh meatailt tro na sràidean. Mar sin, bha locothan dealanach aig an loidhne a bhiodh a’ tarraing trèanaichean tro na sràidean.

Coltach ri tòrr loidhnichean trama eile ann am bailtean beaga, cha do mhair i ro fada. Às dèidh a’ Chogaidh Mhòr, dh’fhàs an t-einnsean-losgaidh inntearnail (internal combustion engine) agus an taidhr pneumatach agus bha busaichean tòrr na bu saoire ri ruith na tramaichean.

Dhùin an loidhne do luchd-siubhail ann an 1927 agus do bhathair ann an 1934.

Trèana bathair, Slighe Trama Cambourne is Redruth

Is toil leam seann chairtean-puist mar seo!

Tha mi an dùil is an dòchas gum faigh mi cothrom a dhol dhan Chòrn ann an 2021!

Alasdair

Tadhail air Trèanaichean, tramaichean is tràilidhean

Gaelic Word of the Week – International Women’s Day

Le Oifigear Gàidhlig

Each week we publish the text of our Gaelic Word of the Week podcast here with added facts, figures and photos for Gaelic learners who want to learn a little about the language and about the Scottish Parliament – Pàrlamaid na h-Alba. This week we are looking at International Women’s Day. International Women’s Day is Monday 8th … Leugh an corr de

Tadhail air Blog Pàrlamaid na h-Alba