大象传媒

Cuin鈥� a leigeas sinn seachad seann chleachdaidhean gr脿mair dha nach bi a h-uile duine a鈥� cumail an l脿 an-diugh? Deagh cheist, gu dearbh, is chan eil freagairt agamsa air a son, ged a tha e inntinneach me貌mhrachadh oirre. Tha an tuiseal tabhartach iolra anns an t-suidheachadh sin. 鈥橲 e sin, mura h-eil sibh e貌lach air na tuisealan ann an G脿idhlig, an dative plural. An 脿ite tuiseal tabhartach, bidh cuid ag r脿dh tuiseal roimhearach oir bidh ainmearan as d猫idh roimhear s矛mplidh a鈥� dol don tuiseal sin.

Ann an leabhraichean is b脿rdachd is 貌rain an naoidheamh linn deug chithear rudan mar 鈥渢ha na h-e貌in anns na crannaibh鈥�, 鈥済uma sl脿n do na fearaibh鈥�, 鈥渃貌mhdaichte le luideagaibh鈥�. Tha na faclan mar crannaibh, fearaibh agus luideagaibh anns an tuiseal thabhartach iolra, mar a bha e, le 鈥揳ibh aig an deireadh.

An l脿 an-diugh airson crannaibh chanamaid crainn no mar as trice, leis an fh矛rinn innse, craobhan 鈥� tha na h-e貌in anns na craobhan. Chanamaid guma sl脿n do na fir agus c貌mhdaichte le luideagan. 鈥橲 e na th鈥� air tachairt gu bheil an seann tuiseal tabhartach iolra air a dhol 脿 bith. Anns an t-seadh sin tha an c脿nan nas s矛mplidhe na bha i 鈥� is bidh sibh toilichte mu dheidhinn sin, tha mi cinnteach!

Bha mi a鈥� smaoineachadh gu robh an tuiseal sin air a dhol 脿 bith buileach ach gu h-iongantach, thachair mi ri fear turas a bha ga chleachdadh gu n脿darrach. Agus gabhaidh sibh iongnadh nuair a dh鈥檌nnseas mi ca鈥� robh e a鈥� fuireach. Ann an Astr脿ilia! Bha e a鈥� fuireach anns na Beanntan Gorma gu siar air Sydney agus ag obair mar fhear-lagh鈥� ann an Sydney fh猫in. 鈥橲 d貌cha gu bheil e a鈥� d猫anamh sin fhathast oir cha chuala mi guth air airson greis.

Chanadh esan rudan mar fearaibh an 脿ite fir. Agus tha cuimhne agam gun tuirt e seo turas 鈥� 鈥淏ha am B矛oball na mo l脿mhaibh鈥�. Ghabh mi iongnadh aig an 脿m agus thuirt mi sin ris. Agus mh矛nich e dhomh gur e 鈥淕脿idhlig a鈥� Bh矛obaill鈥� a bh鈥� aige, seann Gh脿idhlig, oir bha e air a h-ionnsachadh bho Ghaidheil anns a鈥� choitheanal aige 鈥� an Eaglais Shaor 鈥� agus le bhith a鈥� leughadh an t-seann Bh矛obaill. B鈥� iad na daoine na choitheanal Gaidheil 脿 Alba agus luchd-labhairt na G脿idhlig a rugadh ann an Astr脿ilia fh猫in. Tha gl猫 bheag dhiubhsan air fh脿gail a-nise.

Tha m鈥� inntinn air a鈥� cheist seo an-dr脿sta oir bha mi a鈥� toirt s霉il air an fhaclair Gh脿idhlig 霉r air an robh mi a-mach an t-seachdain sa chaidh 鈥� Am Faclair Gaidhlig-Beurla le Cailean Mark 鈥� agus mhothaich mi gu robh e a鈥� cumail ris an t-seann chruth a th鈥� air an fhacal bean anns an tuiseal thabhartach shingilte 鈥� mnaoi. Chanamaid a鈥� Bhean-ph貌sta NicDh貌mhnaill, ach leis a鈥� Mhnaoi-ph貌sta NicDh貌mhnaill.

Uill, 鈥檚 e sin a chanadh na seann ghinealaich, ach an l脿 an-diugh? Cha chreid mi gu bheil m貌ran ga r脿dh an-diugh. Chanadh a鈥� chuid mh貌r leis a鈥� Bhean-ph貌sta NicDh貌mhnaill. Agus tha sin a鈥� sealltainn cho doirbh 鈥檚 a tha e faclair a chruthachadh aig 脿m nuair a tha an c脿nan ag atharrachadh gu luath. Chuala mi fear aineolach air an r猫idio an-uiridh, fear a tha fada an aghaidh na G脿idhlig airson adhbhar air choreigin, agus thuirt e gur e an rud a bu mh貌 a bha ce脿rr oirre nach robh i ga h-霉rachadh mar ch脿nan an l脿 an-diugh.

Uill, tha sin cho ce脿rr 鈥檚 a ghabhas. Mar a ch矛 sinn le bean is mnaoi, agus le m貌ran fhaclan eile, tha a鈥� Gh脿idhlig a鈥� s矛or atharrachadh mar a tha a h-uile c脿nan a tha be貌 ann an coimhearsnachd.

Faclan na seachdaine: ainmear: noun; roimhear: adjective; coitheanal: congregation; an Eaglais Shaor: the Free Church; chanamaid: we would say; ginealach: generation; aineolach: ignorant; coimhearsnachd: community.

Abairtean na seachdaine: cuin鈥� a leigeas sinn seachad seann chleachdaidhean gr脿mair: when will we give up old grammatical usages?; dha nach bi a h-uile duine a鈥� cumail: to which not everybody adheres; tha na h-e貌in anns na crannaibh: the birds are in the trees; guma sl脿n do na fearaibh: good health to the men; c貌mhdaichte le luideagaibh: covered in rags; thachair mi ri fear turas: I met a man on one occasion; gabhaidh sibh iongnadh: you will be surprised; bha am B矛oball na mo l脿mhaibh: the Bible was in my hands; b鈥� iad na daoine na choitheanal: the people in his congregation were; luchd-labhairt na G脿idhlig a rugadh ann an Astr脿ilia: Gaelic-speakers who were born in Australia; tha sin a鈥� sealltainn cho doirbh 鈥檚 a tha e faclair a chruthachadh: that shows how difficult it is to create a dictionary; airson adhbhar air choreigin: for some reason or another; nach robh i ga h-霉rachadh: it (fem.) was not being renewed; tha sin cho ce脿rr 鈥檚 a ghabhas: that is as wrong as can be; tha X a鈥� s矛or atharrachadh: X is continually changing.

Puing-ghr脿mair na seachdaine: The thrust of this week鈥檚 letter is changes in the language eg with the dative case. The old dative plural case has now disappeared from everyday usage and some of the specialized or irregular forms of dative singular for feminine nouns are also disappearing eg mnaoi which is the dative singular of bean, a woman or wife. In modern Gaelic, people tend to say bean in the dative singular eg leis a鈥� bhean, rather than leis a鈥� mhnaoi. Another one which is less common than it used to be is cloich, the dative singular of clach, a stone. In many places people would still say air a鈥� chloich but in other communities, they would say air a鈥� chlach. B貌, cow, is another example. It has a dative singular form boin ie air a鈥� bhoin, leis a鈥� bhoin, but increasingly people would say today air a鈥� bh貌, leis a鈥� bh貌. Be aware of these changes when you use older dictionaries and sometimes even modern ones.

Gn脿ths-cainnt na seachdaine: 鈥橲 e na th鈥� air tachairt gu bheil an seann tuiseal tabhartach iolra air a dhol 脿 bith: what has happened is that the old dative plural case has gone out of existence. Tha X air a dhol 脿 bith: X has become extinct, gone out of existence.