796: Vocabulary of Sounds (2) 796: Briathrachas Fhuaimean (2)

B1 - Intermediate - The Little LetterB1 - Eadar-mheadhanach - An Litir Bheag

Litir shìmplidh sheachdaineach do luchd-ionnsachaidh le clàr-fuaime, tar-sgrìobhadh is eadar-theangachadh. A simple weekly letter to Gaelic learners with audio, transcription and translation.

Tha an litir bheag ag obrachadh leis an fhaclair. Tagh an taba ‘teacsa Gàidhlig’ agus tagh facal sam bith san teacsa agus fosglaidh am faclair ann an taba ùr agus bidh mìneachadh den fhacal ann. The little letter is integrated with the dictionary. Select the tab ‘Gaelic text’ and choose any word and the dictionary will open and you will see the English explanation of the Gaelic word.

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Gaelic & English Text Teacsa Gàidhlig & Beurla

Briathrachas Fhuaimean (2)

Gaelic Gàidhlig

Cuin a chluinneadh tu sgiùcan? Uill, ʼs e sin am fuaim a bhios cearc-fhraoich a’ dèanamh. Sgiùcan. Fàilte oirbh uile. Tha mi a’ dol a thoirt sùil an t-seachdain sa air fuaimean a bhios ainmhidhean a’ dèanamh.

An toiseach – geum. ʼS e sin fuaim a nì bò. Airson‘the cattle are lowing’, canaidh sinntha an crodh a’ dèanamh geum. No tha an crodh a’ geumnaich. A’ geumnaich.

An t-seachdain sa chaidh, thug mi sùil air comhart ‘bark’ agus donnal ‘howl’ – fuaimean aig coin. Tha tabhann ann cuideachd – a bark or yelp. A’ tabhann no a’ tabhannaich ‘barking, yelping’.

A bheil sibh eòlach air an fhacal mialaich? ʼS e sin am fuaim as trice a nì cat. Tha an cat a’ mialaich ‘the cat is miaowing’.

Tha mèilich eadar-dhealaichte bho mialaich. ʼS e mèile no mèilich a nì caora no uan. Bleat, bleating. Tha facal sònraichte againn airson ‘the bleating of a goat’ – meig. Tha am meann a’ meigeallaich ‘the kid goat is bleating’. Tha am meann a’ meigeallaich.

Ach air ais gu mèilich. Nuair a bhios caora a’ mèilich, dè chanas i? Ann an Gàidhlig, bidh i ag ràdh, ‘Mè mè’. Agus seo agaibh dreach Gàidhlig air rann ainmeil.

Mè mè, chaora dhubh, Càite a bheil do chlòimh? Tha an seo, tha an seo, A’ fàs air mo dhruim. Poc’ airson a’ mhaighstir, poc’ airson na maighd’, poc’ airson a’ bhalaich bhig, Tha fuireach suas an gleann.

Bʼ e sin a’ chiad òran Gàidhlig a bha agam riamh. Tha cuimhne agam fhathast air a’ chiad bliadhna agam sa bhun-sgoil. Bha mi a’ fuireach ann am Broughty Ferry, faisg air Dùn Dè. Fhuair an tidsear a-mach gun robh an t-òran sin agam. Thuirt i rium, ‘A Ruairidh, an seas thu air beulaibh a’ chlas, agus an gabh thu “Baa Baa Black Sheep” ann an Gàidhlig? Bha eagal orm, ach ghabh mi e:

Mè mè, chaora dhubh, Càite a bheil do chlòimh? Tha an seo, tha an seo, A’ fàs air mo dhruim. Poc’ airson a’ mhaighstir, poc’ airson na maighd’, poc’ airson a’ bhalaich bhig, Tha fuireach suas an gleann.

Vocabulary of Sounds (2)

English Beurla

When would you hear a sgiùcan? Well, that’s the sound that a [female red] grouse makes. Sgiùcan. Welcome to you all. I’m going to look this week at sounds that animals make.

To begin with – geum. That’s the sound a cow makes. For ‘the cattle are lowing’, we say tha an crodh a’ dèanamh geum . Or tha an crodh a’ geumnaich. A’ geumnaich.

Last week, I looked at comhart ‘bark’ and donnal‘howl’ – dog noises. Their is also tabhann – a bark or yelp. A’ tabhann or a’ tabhannaich ‘barking, yelping’.

Do you know the word mialaich? That’s the sound a cat usually makes. Tha an cat a’ mialaich ‘the cat is miaowing’.

Mèilich is different from mialaich. Mèile or mèilich is the sound a sheep or lamb makes. Bleat, bleating. We have a special word for ‘the bleating of a goat’ – meig. Tha am meann a’ meigeallaich ‘the kid goat is bleating’. Tha am meann a’ meigeallaich.

But back to mèilich . When a sheep bleats, what does it say? In Gaelic, it says, ‘Mè mè’. And here is the Gaelic form of a famous verse.

Baa, baa, black sheep, where is your wool? Here it is, here it is, growing on my back. A bag for the master, a bag for the maid, a bag for the little boy who lives up the glen.

That was the first Gaelic song I ever knew. I can still remember my first year in primary school. I was living in Broughty Ferry, near Dundee. The teacher found out that I knew that song. She said to me, ‘Roddy, will you stand in front of the class, and sing “Baa Baa Black Sheep” in Gaelic? I was scared, but I sang it.

Baa, baa, black sheep, where is your wool? Here it is, here it is, growing on my back. A bag for the master, a bag for the maid, a bag for the little boy who lives up the glen.

Gaelic TextTeacsa Gàidhlig