891: Sleamhainn

Is sleamhainn a’ chlach a tha an ursainn an taigh mhòir. An cuala sibh an seanfhacal sin riamh roimhe? Is sleamhainn a’ chlach a tha an ursainn an taigh mhòir. Gu litreachail, tha e a’ ciallachadh ‘slippery is the stone that is next to the doorpost of the big house’. Ach tha e co-ionann ris a’ Bheurla – ‘ the powerful make fickle friends’. Mar sin, thoiribh an aire ma tha caraidean cumhachdach agaibh – ’s dòcha nach bi iad cho dìreach no cho dìleas ’s a bhiodh sibh an dùil. Is sleamhainn a’ chlach a tha an ursainn an taigh mhòir.

Tha mi a’ meòrachadh air an fhacal sleamhainn an t-seachdain seo. Ann am Beurla, bidh daoine ag ràdh ‘as slippery as an eel’. A bheil an aon samhla againn an Gàidhlig? Uill, tha. Cho sleamhainn ri easgann. As slippery as an eel. Cho sleamhainn ri easgann.

Rinn mi bith-eòlas aig an oilthigh. Tha deagh chuimhne agam air latha iongantach nuair a rinn sgioba againn tomhas air na bh’ ann de dh’èisg ann an abhainn. Thug sinn leinn uidheamachd airson èisg a chur o mhothachadh. Bha e ag obair le dealain. Bha sinn a’ cruthachadh raon dealain anns an uisge. Nuair a thigeadh na h-èisg a-steach don raon bhiodh iad gun mhothachadh airson mionaid no dhà. Bhiodh iad a’ dol air fleòdradh air uachdar na h-aibhne. Agus bha sinn gan glacadh le tàbh – lìon beag.

Airson adhbhar air choreigin cha robh na bric mhòra a’ faighinn air ais don abhainn agus b’ fheudar dhuinn an ithe! Ach bha na h-easgannan – uill, ’s e stòiridh eile a bha sin.

Aig toiseach gnothaich, dh’fhaighnich an t-òraidiche a bha os cionn a’ ghnothaich – cò bha deònach fad nan easgannan a thomhas le rùilear? Cha robh duine sam bith eile deònach oir bha gràin aca air easgannan agus chaidh mo thaghadh-sa. Chan ann tric nam bheatha a rinn mi obair cho mì-thlachdmhor!

’S e an duilgheadas a bu mhotha a bh’ ann nach robh na h-easgannan a’ fulang uiread ’s a bha na h-èisg eile bho bhuaidh an dealain. Bha iad gun mhothachadh airson dìreach deich no fichead diog. An uair sin bha iad ag iarraidh snàmh air falbh a-rithist. Agus b’ e m’ obair-sa am fad a thomhas le rùilear. Ach bha iad iongantach làidir – agus cho sleamhainn … ri easgann! Cha b’ fhada gus an robh mo làmhan làn rannain – no fish slime. Bha e sgriosail agus cha robh duine eile ag iarraidh thighinn faisg orm! Tha an samhla fìor. Agus chruthaichinn fhìn fear eile. Cho mì-thlachdmhor ri tomhas fad easgainn!

Fhad ’s a tha mi a-mach air samhlaidhean agus am facal ‘sleamhainn’, seo agaibh dà shamhla eile co-cheangailte ris an fhacal sin. Cho sleamhainn ri botal. Agus cho sleamhainn ri glainneachan.

Dè na rudan eile a tha sleamhainn? Deigh, gu cinnteach. Dh’fhaodamaid a ràdh – cho sleamhainn ris an deigh. Agus, leis gu bheil mi measail air a’ chladach – cho sleamhainn ris an fheamainn.

Faisg air Ceann na Creige, ann am Bàideanach, tha beinn air a bheil, mar ainm, Càrn Leacan Sleamhainn. Ma tha sibh shuas air, air latha fliuch, bithibh faiceallach air na leacan. Oir tha dùil a’m gum bi iad sleamhainn.

Faclan na Litreach: a’ meòrachadh air: contemplating; bith-eòlas: biology; òraidiche: lecturer; mì-thlachdmhor: unpleasant; rannan:fish slime; deigh: ice; feamainn: seaweed; Ceann na Creige: Kincraig; Bàideanach: Badenoch; leacan: slabs, ledges.

Abairtean na Litreach: thoiribh an aire ma tha caraidean cumhachdach agaibh: be careful if you have powerful friends; ’s dòcha nach bi iad cho dìreach no cho dìleas ’s a bhiodh sibh an dùil: perhaps they won’t be as straightforward or as loyal as you would expect; rinn sgioba againn tomhas air na bh’ ann de dh’èisg ann an abhainn: a team of us assessed the amount of fish in a river; a’ cruthachadh raon dealain: creating an electric field; bhiodh iad gun mhothachadh airson mionaid no dhà: I they would be unconscious for a minute or two; air fleòdradh air uachdar na h-aibhne: floating on the surface of the river; gan glacadh le tàbh: catching them with a handnet; cha robh na bric mhòra a’ faighinn air ais don abhainn: the big trout weren’t finding their way back to the river; b’ fheudar dhuinn an ithe: we had to eat them; cò bha deònach fad nan easgannan a thomhas le rùilear: who was willing to measure the length of the eels with a ruler; bha gràin aca air: they hated; nach robh na h-easgannan a’ fulang uiread ’s a bha na h-èisg eile bho bhuaidh an dealain:that the eels were not suffering as much as the other fish from the effect of the electricity; deich no fichead diog:ten or twenty seconds; b’ e m’ obair-sa am fad a thomhas: it was my job to measure their length; cho sleamhainn ri botal: as slippery as a bottle; cho sleamhainn ri glainneachan: as slippery as [drinking] glasses.

Puing-chànain na Litreach: chaidh mo thaghadh-sa: I was chosen. This is the traditional way of creating the emphatic form of this passive structure – by using the appropriate emphatic suffix. Chaidh do thaghadh-sa ‘you were chosen’; chaidh ar taghadh-ne ‘we were chosen’; chaidh an taghadh-san ‘they were chosen’. But note that many people are today eschewing the emphatic suffix and employing the emphatic form of the personal pronoun eg chaidh mise a thaghadh, chaidh thusa a thaghadh.

Gnàthas-cainnt na Litreach: Thug sinn leinn uidheamachd airson èisg a chur o mhothachadh: we took with us equipment to stun fish.

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Litir do Luchd-ionnsachaidh

This letter corresponds to Tha an Litir seo a’ buntainn ri An Litir Bheag 587

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