The Gaelic of Arran

Linden MacAoidh 2011

Gaelic hasn’t been spoken on Arran by any large percentage of the population for over 50 years, thelanguage retains a legacy in the abundance of Celtic Place-names, and also in the memory of the island’s Scottish Gaelic tradition, in story and song. Arran’s Gaelic retains a very individual quality which makes it sound rather different from the commonly spoken Gaelic, which is today based on the Minch Dialects. Arran’s language retains some features which make it sound more Irish, particularly like the Irish of the Glens of Antrim, and of Rathlin Island. These dialects are now extinct so perhaps the closest Irish dialect to that of Arran is the one of Gweedore/Gaoth Dobhair in Co. Donegal. Arran’s Gaelic was very close to Kintyre Gaelic, and part of the greater Argyle dialect area.

Sounds:

The word ‘bha’ for example is pronounced /va/ or /vã/, but on Arran it is /vwa/ or /vwe:/ approximately. This isn't so different from other areas of Argyle, but is more obvious in Arran speech.

There are five vowels: a, e, i, o, uThese can be lengthened: à, è, ì, ò, ù. In addition we have: á, é and óÀ is like the ‘a’ in ‘father’È is like a cross between the ‘ai’ in ‘air’ and the ‘a’ in ‘game’, i.e. like the French è.ì is like the ‘ee’ in ‘seen’.Ò is like the ‘aw’ in ‘paw’Ù is like the ‘u’ in ‘moon’.e, i, o, u are pronounced men, been, top, tub. These pronunciations are only approximate, and an Arran ‘accent’ is required to say them correctly. A is pronounced like the ‘a’ in ‘man’ but also like

the ‘e’ in ‘men’. É is like the French é, and ó is like the ‘o’ in gnome. á is similar to é and has been adopted here to avoid confusion with à. E.g. Báta – boat.

Examples: tha mi a’ dol – I’m going; he mee uh dol

Consonants:B, c, d, f, g, h, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, Bh, ch, dh, fh, gh, mh, ph, sh, th

B – as in English C – always hard as in ‘car’D – like English d, or like English ‘j’ when next to e or i.F – like English fG – always hard as in ‘get’H – as in EnglishL, m, n, p – as in EnglishR – rolledS – as in English, but like ‘sh’ when next to e or iT – like English, but like English ‘j’ or ‘tch’ when next to e or i.

Bh – like English v, sometimes this merges to make the surrounding vowels longer, e.g. romh – was. Ch – like the ‘ch’ in loch, like the ‘h’ in ‘Hugh’ when next to e or iDh – like a voiced version of the 'ch' in 'loch’, but like English ‘y’ in ‘yes’ when next to e or i.Fh – usually silent. Gh – like Gaelic dhMh – like ‘bh’ but more nasal. Ph – as in English ‘Phil’ Sh and th are pronounced ‘h’ or like the ‘h’ in Hugh when next to e or i.

Vowel combinations:

Ai – usually like English ‘a’ in ‘and’Ea – like short ‘e’ in ‘men’Ao – like the ‘a’ in ‘game’ or like the ‘ai’ in ‘air.

Some features of Arran pronunciation:

-ch- when slender and between vowels is often dropped-final mh can sometimes become -g-, as in uamh to uag.-the final dh and gh sounds in Arran Gaelic are pronounced [g] when broad-b, m, p are followed by a 'w' sound before broad vowels. -bh occasionally becomes -f-, in words like uabhasach -eu tends to be pronounced 'ia', as in much of Scotland-use of glottal stop where a medial broad -th- is no longer pronounced.

Phrases:

Tha mi a’ craoidsinn – I’m believingBliadhna mháth ùr – happy new yearC’ainm a’ th’ort/oirbh? – What is your name?Thàinig mi – I came

Chunnaic mi – I sawAn t-uisge – the waterBhà/bhá e’a fágail – he was leavingBhá’i fliuch is fuar – it was wet and coldChaidh mi a-mach – I went out [a mwex]tha gaol agam ort – I love youcad thuige? - why? [kad hig]cad é tha u ag ràg? - what are you saying? [kadj e: he u ag ra:g]có aige? - who is it? [ko: ega]D'fhág mi Arainn an-diug – I left Arran today [dwe:g mi eran' an djug]the sinn a' déanag an obair a-nis – we are doing the work now [he sjin a dje:nag an obar anisj]bhá ad a' báthag – they were drowing [vwe: mi a bwe'ag]an d'tusa a th'ann? - is that you? [an dus a han]

In the genitive case (e.g. marking possession: John in: Johns cat, would be the genitive of John, the nouns themselves often change. The masculine articles remain as ‘an’ or ‘a’’., whilst the feminine uses ‘na’ in the genitive. The dative case also survives to a certain extent on Arran.

In the genitive nouns are often slenderised, e.g.: lán duirn – a handful, duirn is the genitive of dorn. Likewise: rìoghachd néimh – the kingdom: : rìoghachd, of heaven: néimh , from ‘néamh’ – heaven.

An example of the dative would be: an do làimh – in your hand, from lámh – hand. There is also a vocative case which is used when calling or speaking to somebody, this generally involves the lenition of the person’s/the noun’s name, as well as making the final consonant slender.Seumas – A Sheumuis! – Seumas!Tomas – A Thomais! Thomas!

Or balach – a bhalaich! – boy!

Arran Gaelic pronouns and other words:

mi – Ithu, tu – thoue – hei – shesinn – wsibh – youad – they

Other words from Arran:

brà – fineciad – firstfitheach – ravensuing – crane (swing)duan – songbhliantan – years

uillt – streamsRósachan – rosesCenntir – KintyreSitheachan, sìomhraichean – faeriesidhche – nightMaighdean mhára – mermaidPlédheadh – playing (at a game)Madraichean – dogsFoighneachd – askingFiannach – giant

Photos and text copyright Linden MacAoidh 2011

references: ‘The Gaelic of Arran’ by Nils M. Holmer.