大象传媒

Anns an Litir mu dheireadh bha mi a鈥� beachdachadh air goireas 霉r air an eadar-l矛on 鈥� am聽faclair aig Eideard Dwelly a tha a-nise ann an riochd eileagtronaigeach. Tha e aig www.dwelly.info agus tha e air leth feumail. An latha eile chuir fear a bha a鈥� conaltradh rium le puist-dealain fiosrachadh thugam co-cheangailte ris an fhaclair. Fiosrachadh gu math inntinneach.
Bha e a-mach air siorrachd ann an Alba. Thuirt e rium 鈥� cuir ainm na siorrachd seo a-steach don fhaclair agus cuiridh e iongnadh ort. Rinn mi sin, agus bha e ceart. Chuir e iongnadh orm agus thug e toileachas dhomh aig an aon 脿m.
Ann am priobadh na s霉la, nochd ceud, fichead 鈥檚 a ceithir ceann-fhaclan G脿idhlig. Ann an diog no dh脿, rinn mi rannsachadh a bh鈥� air l脿ithean a chosg, a鈥� coimhead tron fhaclair air p脿ipear. Seo ceithir de na ceann-fhaclan, agus innsidh mi dhuibh 脿s d猫idh l脿imh d猫 an t-siorrachd a bh鈥� ann: c脿l-deanntaig - leaves of the common nettle cooked and聽eaten as cabbage; criarachan 鈥� nest of wild birds before it is lined or finished; geir 鈥� pain聽experienced in the wrist of persons manipulating the pruning hook; agus gnudhadh 鈥� the聽slush from drifting snow in the winter.
Uill, chan eil fhios a鈥檓 a bheil cuid agaibh e貌lach air na faclan sin. Ach buinidh iad uile, a r猫ir Dwelly, do Ghallaibh 鈥� do dhualchainnt na G脿idhlig ann an Gallaibh. Bha iad air an cruinneachadh le fear D貌mhnall MacCoinnich 脿 Killimister, faisg air Inbhir 脵ige. Airson an lorg, chuir mi am facal 鈥淐aithness鈥� a-steach don lorgair air a鈥� choimpiutair.
Agus bu ch貌ir dhomh a r脿dh, ma tha sibh a鈥� coimhead airson nam faclan a dh鈥檃inmicheas聽mi, 鈥檚 mathaid nach bi iad ann am faclair 脿bhaisteach Dwelly. Tha cuid dhiubh bhon e脿rrr脿dh聽don fhaclair. Sin an Appendix to Dwelly鈥檚 Gaelic-English Dictionary, a chaidh a chur聽ri ch猫ile 脿s d猫idh b脿s Dwelly le D霉bhghlas Clyne agus Ruaraidh MacTh貌mais.
D矛reach airson blasad a bharrachd a thoirt dhuibh de na faclan Gallach a th鈥� aig Dwelly, seo ceithir eile. Saoil a bheil fios agaibh d猫 tha iad a鈥� ciallachadh: marag-ge貌idh, r霉dail, sileadh-s霉ith agus upaig. Seo iad a-rithist: marag-ge貌idh, r霉dail, sileadh-s霉ith agus upaig.

Uill, seo na tha iad a鈥� ciallachadh ann am Beurla, fear mu seach: marag-ge貌idh 鈥� pudding made in the stomach of a goose, consisting of the blood and fat of the goose with聽seasoning; r霉dail 鈥� rumbling noise in the bowels; sileadh-s霉ith 鈥� rain percolating through聽the sooty thatch of a house and falling in large black drops indelibly staining everything it聽comes in contact with; agus upaig 鈥� old and useless person, one regarded as being in the聽way. Uill, cha tuirt mi gun robh iad PC鈥�
Buinidh am fear a chuir am fiosrachadh thugam mu na faclan Gallach sin do shliochd muinntir Ghallaibh. Bha G脿idhlig aig na sinnsirean aige. Tha esan a鈥� tuigsinn gun聽robh, agus gu bheil, 脿ite m貌r aig a鈥� Gh脿idhlig ann an dualchas Ghallaibh, gu h-脿raidh anns聽an leth as fhaide s矛or is deas dhen t-siorrachd.
Uaireigin bha tr矛 dualchainntean 脿raidh gam bruidhinn ann an Gallaibh. Dh鈥檉halbh an Lochlannais o chionn fhada. Chan eil cuimhne aig duine be貌 air a鈥� chainnt sin a chluinntinn. Dh鈥檉halbh a鈥� Gh脿idhlig o chionn ghoirid. Tha cuimhne aig daoine oirre, agus tha fiosrachadh mu a deidhinn cl脿raichte. Agus tha dualchainnt Ghallach na Beurla Gallta,聽no Albais, fhathast ann am bith.
Tha dualchas 脿raidh 鈥� agus beartach 鈥� aig Gallaibh. Agus tha a鈥� Gh脿idhlig mar ph脿irt dheth. Feumaidh sinn d猫anamh cinnteach nach bi d矛leab nan G脿idheal ann an Gallaibh air a d矛ochuimhneachadh. Cuidichidh Dwelly Air-Loidhne le sin.

siorrachd: county; diog: second; ceann-fhaclan: headwords; 鈥檚聽mathaid: perhaps; e脿rr-r脿dh: appendix; Gallach: Caithnessian (noun and adjective).

bha mi a鈥� beachdachadh air goireas 霉r: I was considering/givingan opinion on a new resource; a tha a-nise ann an riochd eileagtronaigeach: which is nowin electronic form; fear a bha a鈥� conaltradh rium le puist-dealain: a guy who wascommunicating with me by email; cuiridh e iongnadh ort: it will surprise you; thug etoileachas dhomh aig an aon 脿m: it gave me pleasure at the same time; ann am priobadh聽na s霉la: in a twinkling of an [the] eye; rinn mi rannsachadh a bh鈥� air l脿ithean a chosg: I did聽research that would have taken days; buinidh iad uile do Ghallaibh: they all belong to聽Caithness; bu ch貌ir dhomh a r脿dh: I should say; ma tha sibh a鈥� coimhead airson nam聽faclan a dh鈥檃inmicheas mi: if you鈥檙e looking for the words I name; a chaidh a chur ri聽ch猫ile: which was put together; airson blasad a bharrachd a thoirt dhuibh: to give you a bit聽more of a taste; saoil a bheil fios agaibh d猫 tha iad a鈥� ciallachadh: do you reckon you know聽what they mean; anns an leth as fhaide s矛or is deas: in the western and southern half;聽uaireigin bha tr矛 dualchainntean 脿raidh gam bruidhinn: at one time three unique dialects聽were spoken; tha fiosrachadh mu a deidhinn cl脿raichte: information about it is recorded;聽ann am bith: in existence; nach bi d矛leab nan G脿idheal air a d矛ochuimhneachadh: that the聽legacy of the Gaels will not be forgotten.

The Litir this week is about the wonderful new resource聽(mentioned last week) of Dwelly鈥檚 Dictionary Online (www.dwelly.info) which allows the聽user to make electronic searches for words, and to use it as an English-Gaelic dictionary.聽Prompted by a contact whose people hail from Caithness, and who is proud of his Gaelic聽heritage, I put the word 鈥淐aithness鈥� in the search-engine and found 124 entries in聽Dwelly鈥檚 collection (some of which only appear in the printed Appendix, not in the聽original dictionary). It is an indicator of the richness of the Caithness dialect of Gaelic,聽and an encouragement to the many Caithness folk who feel that the Gaelic heritage of聽their county has been poorly represented, and even disregarded, by a number of public聽figures in recent times. The linguistic heritage of Caithness is rich, diverse and聽fascinating, and Gaelic forms a considerable part of it.

fear mu seach: one (masc) after the other.
Tha 鈥淟itir do Luchd-ionnsachaidh鈥� air a maoineachadh le MG ALBA