大象传媒

An t-seachdain sa chaidh bha mi a鈥� bruidhinn mu Tannochbrae, Balamory agus Glendarroch. 鈥橲 iad tr矛 脿iteachan ficseanail air pr貌graman telebhisein Albannach. Tha na h-ainmean uile G脿idhlig no leth-Gh脿idhlig.

聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Tha Balamory a鈥� riochdachadh Baile Mhoire. Tha e st猫idhichte air Tobermory, no Tobar Mhoire, ann am Muile. Agus chan eil e uile-gu-l猫ir ficseanail. Tha Balmory ann an Eilean Bh貌id.

聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Tha am facal cill(e) uaireannan ceangailte ri Moire. Tha m貌ran 脿iteachan air a bheil Cille Mhoire 鈥� Kilmory no Kilmuir ann am Beurla. Tha iad eadar An t-Eilean Sgitheanach agus Siorrachd 脌ir. Tha a鈥� chuid as motha aca ann an Earra-Gh脿idheal.

聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Bha Glendarroch anns a鈥� phr貌gram Take the High Road. Bha am filmeadh air a dh猫anamh ann an Lus, taobh Loch Laomainn. Tha Glendarroch a鈥� tighinn bho Gleann Darach 鈥済len of oaks鈥�.

聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Cha tuirt mi c脿il air d脿 phr貌gram eile air an telebhisean 鈥� Hamish MacBeth agus Monarch of the Glen. Bha Hamish MacBeth st猫idhichte ann an Lochdubh. 鈥橲 e sin deagh ainm G脿idhlig! Agus chruthaich Compton MacCoinnich 脿ite macmeanmnach air an robh Glenbogle. Bha sin airson a nobhail Monarch of the Glen. Tha e 脿s a鈥� Gh脿idhlig, ach chan eil fhios agam d猫 tha e a鈥� ciallachadh. 鈥淕leann na Boglaich鈥� 鈥檚 d貌cha?

聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Tha teachdaireachd an seo, nach eil? Ma tha sibh airson ainm baile a chruthachadh a tha aithnichte mar 鈥淎lbannach鈥�, d猫anaibh cinnteach gu bheil e st猫idhichte air a鈥� Gh脿idhlig!

聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Ach a bheil sin f矛or anns na bailtean m貌ra? Tha River City st猫idhichte ann an Glaschu. Chruthaich iad ainm sg矛re airson a鈥� phr貌graim 鈥� Shieldinch. Chanainn gu bheil a鈥� chiad ph脿irt bhon t-seann Bheurla, a鈥� ciallachadh 鈥渂othain aig iasgairean鈥�. Agus an d脿rna p脿irt? 鈥淩iverine meadow鈥� 脿 G脿idhlig no Breatannais.

聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Agus d猫 mu na caractaran cart霉in, na Broons agus Oor Wullie? Airson iomadach bliadhna, cha robh iad ag ainmeachadh a鈥� bhaile aca. Anns na naochadan, ge-t脿, th脿inig an t-ainm a-mach 鈥� Auchenshoogle. Ainm G脿idhlig 鈥� Achadh an t-Seagail 鈥渇ield of the rye鈥�.

Last week I was talking about Tannochbrae, Balamory and Glendarroch. They are three fictional places in Scottish television programmes. The names are all Gaelic or semi-Gaelic.

聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Balamory represents Baile Mhoire. It鈥檚 based on Tobermory, or Tobar Mhoire, in Mull. And it鈥檚 not entirely fictional. There is a Balmory in Bute.

聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The word cill(e) is sometimes linked to Moire. There are many places called Cille Mhoire 鈥� Kilmory or Kilmuir in English. They are between Skye and Ayrshire. Most of them are in Argyll.

聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Glendarroch was in the programme Take the High Road. The filming was done in Luss, by Loch Lomond. Glendarroch comes from Gleann Darach 鈥済len of oaks鈥�.

聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 I haven鈥檛 said anything about two other programmes on television 鈥� Hamish MacBeth and Monarch of the Glen. Hamish MacBeth was based in Lochdubh. That鈥檚 a good Gaelic name! And Compton MacKenzie created an imaginary place called Glenbogle. That was for his novel Monarch of the Glen. It comes from Gaelic but I don鈥檛 know what it means. 鈥淕len of the Bog鈥� perhaps?

聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 There鈥檚 a message here, isn鈥檛 there? If you want to create the name of a village that is recognised as 鈥淪cottish鈥�, make sure it鈥檚 based on Gaelic!

聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 But is that true in the cities? River City is based in Glasgow. They created an area name for the programme 鈥� Shieldinch. I鈥檇 say that the first part is from old English, meaning 鈥渇ishermen鈥檚 bothies鈥�. And the second part? 鈥淩iverine meadow鈥� from Gaelic or British [Cumbric].

聽聽聽聽聽聽 And what about the cartoon characters, The Broons and Oor Wullie? For many years they weren鈥檛 naming their town. In the nineties, however, the name came out 鈥� Auchenshoogle. A Gaelic name 鈥� Achadh an t-Seagail 鈥渇ield of the rye鈥�.