Madainn mhath agus fàilte! Tha an clas Gàidhlig an-seo (good morning and welcome, here is the gaelic class).

This is the thread for any mad people interested in learning a little gaelic (scots variety, although I know a little Irish too and they aren't really so different).

Here are some basic phrases to get started and then we'll see how we go on.

Madainn mhath - good morning --- mudinye va

Ciamar a tha thu - How are you (informal) --- kyeemar aha-oo

Ciamar a tha sibh - How are you (plural or formal) --- kyeemar a hash iv

Tha mi gu math - I'm fine --- ham ee g'ma
(grammar note - math means good. Adding gu to an adjective creates an adverb eg. Sgith, tired, gu sgith tiredly / Wearily)

Ciamar a tha thu/sibh fhéin - How are you, yourself --- as above with final word pron. hane

Tapadh leat - Thank you (informal) --- Ta(h)palat - (h) means aspirate the 'a'

Tapadh leibh - Thank you (formal or plural) --- Ta(h)palayeev

There, that'll get us going.

Mar sin leat (bye for now) --- mar shin lat

Allan

Tapadh leat Allan

I would fully reccommend the following program Before You Know It. Just download the software and then you can download the indivdual languages. This only gives you a sample but all the features on it work.

It has various topics in each language that are useful.

It is a very effective way of learning and utilises flash cards and sounds

Tha thu di-beathte! (you're welcome) --- ha-oo djee ba(h) tche


Right here's an idea of how to form the present tense of the verb to be in Gaelic.

There are two ways to say 'to be', we can say 'tha' --- ha, or we can say 'Is', often shortened to 'S --- is / ish / s / Sh depending on context.

So, if we take the personal pronouns as follows:

mi - I --- mee
Thu - you (informal singular --- oo
E - He / It --- Ay
I - She / It --- ee
Sinn - We --- Shin
Sibh - You (plural or formal) --- Shiv / Sheeve depending on accent
Iad - They --- Yud

We can make some sentences. We have to put the verb first, in Gaelic. Thus:

Tha thu beag - you are small --- ha oo bayg
Tha mi sgith (can't find the accent for the i) - I am tired --- ha mee sgyi
Tha sinn fuar - We are cold --- ha shin foo-ar
Tha e an-seo - He is here --- ha ay un-show
Tha Floot an-sin - The floot is there (she's always there... ) --- ha floot un shin.

We can obviously replace the pronoun with a noun, such as:

Tha cat an-seo - there is a cat here (lit. a cat is here) --- ha cat unshow
Tha deoch an-sin - there is a drink there (thank goodness) --- ha djoch unshin
Tha caistealan an Glaschu - There are castles in Glasgow --- ha cashtchulun un glas choo (ch like loch)
Tha taigh an-siud - there is a house over there (lit. yonder) --- ha tuy un shood.

That should be enough to be going on with for a bit!

Allan

Slightly

I have a native Gaelic speaking friend, travelling in Paris, on the undergound, heard two people talking, in Gaelic and being very rude about all the passengers. As she left, she whispered to them
You never know who is listening
In Gaelic - of course.

I have found a phrase or two of Gaelic (my dog is sitting by the fire) useful if being pestered when abroad!

Tapadh leat, Allan