{"id":648,"date":"2016-04-17T13:53:00","date_gmt":"2016-04-17T13:53:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2024-03-21T21:19:48","modified_gmt":"2024-03-21T21:19:48","slug":"dair-a-bhitheas-mi-n-asaint-is-leodach-mi-a-tale-of-two-iains-part-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dalriada.scot\/en\/dair-a-bhitheas-mi-n-asaint-is-leodach-mi-a-tale-of-two-iains-part-3","title":{"rendered":"DAIR A BHITHEAS MI ‘N ASAINT, IS LE\u00d2DACH MI: A Tale of Two Iains PART 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

IAIN A DH\u00c0<\/b> IAIN #2
\n
\n<\/p>\n

Assynt is one of those areas which seems somehow
\nto have escaped the academic eye. When it comes to the far north of Scotland, you
\ncan start in the south of Rosshire and work your way up, finding most dialects
\ncovered by a monograph or a dictionary or a collection of some kind. Only
\nAssynt and Caithness \u2013ironically the two areas which initially interested me
\nbecause of my family connections- have been left unexamined. I am currently
\ngoing through the Gaelic Linguictic Survey entries for south Caithness with a
\nfine-toothed comb and finding some very interesting features, especially in
\ncomparison with neighbouring dialects. Houston,
\nwe have an isolate!<\/i> Other than that, Caithness will prove a difficult
\none given the lack of supplementary poetry, song or vocabulary, despite the
\nbonus of 126 specifically dialect entries in Dwelly<\/a>!<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dualchainnt Ghollaibh an Dwelly<\/i><\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
A great bonus for areas not covered by
\nmonographs is the Survey of Irish Dialects<\/a>\u2019 entries for the Scottish section.
\nFrom Loch Carrann<\/b> (Lochcarron) up,
\nthe northern dialects are covered by the SID, Ternes\u2019 volume<\/a> on a\u2019 Chomraich<\/b> (Applecross), Wentworth\u2019s
\nastounding work<\/a> in Ge\u00e0rrloch<\/b> (Gairloch),
\nthe terrific little book<\/a> on a\u2019 Ch\u00f2igeach<\/b>
\n(Coigeach) dialect by Domhall Uilleam
\nSti\u00f9bhart<\/b> (Donald William Stewart) and co, the SID again in Assynt and Seumas
\nGrannd\u2019s coverage of MacKay Country with his delightful dictionary<\/a>. On the east
\ncoast, we have Watson\u2019s fascinating study<\/a> of Easter Ross Gaelic and the rightly
\nworld-famous investigation<\/a> into East Sutherland Gaelic by my friend of some 6
\nyears now, Nancy Dorian. There\u2019s a lot of great material to work from for
\npotential revival purposes. But from the perspective of the revivalist, will
\nthat be enough? If not, what\u2019s missing?<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Kenneth Jackson\u2019s insistence on local parentage
\nfor all informants involved in the Gaelic Linguistic Survey<\/a> was a stroke of utter
\ngenius. It means that we have as complete and as reliable a picture as can
\npossibly be imagined -in a Highlands now so dreadfully deprived of dialect
\nspeakers- of how <\/i>native Gaels sounded.
\nIn terms of what they said<\/i>, Jackson\u2019s
\nattitude to word geography left a lot to be desired. The subject appears to have
\nbeen almost looked down upon because of the unpredictability of the results but
\nfor me this simply betrays the cloistered lifestyle of the \u00fcber-academic. The
\nfact of the matter is that for the person on the street, it is words and their
\nvariety that capture the imagination, rarely whether someone said \/a\/ or \/<\/span>\u025b<\/span>\/ or \/\u0259<\/span>\u0263\/ or \/\u0259<\/span>v\/. I mean it\u2019s great to possess
\nthis information and we should be mighty glad to have it as part<\/i> of the picture but over and above
\nthat, no-one in their right mind gives a flying phoneme. My experience is that it is only people who have
\nbeen shut away from the real world their entire lives in universities who believe these concerns to be remotely important. So while phonologists and
\nphonemecists were fighting their fiddly little esoteric battles in the
\ncorridors of imagined power, we were losing dozens upon dozens upon dozens of
\nprecious words for things,<\/span>
\nwhich will never be regained. A-CHAOIDH.<\/b>
\nBheil sibh ga mo thuigsinn?<\/b> (Are you
\nunderstanding me?) A-CHAOIDH!<\/b> (EVER!).<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
SID Volume IV<\/b><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
I must admit, I adore listening
\nto scholars discuss the finer points of lingistics; I could pass hours at it.
\nIn fact I have several friends\u00a0 <\/span>-they
\nknow who they are!- whose knowledge astounds me and to whom I regularly go for
\nall manner of advice, but c\u2019 mon down to brass tacks with me folks, Scotland
\nhas been putting the cart squarely before the horse for the last 50 years at least. Since
\nthe rumblings of the revival began, we have bent over backwards to keep up with
\nthe Whittingtons, establishing a university, drafting all sorts of rules and
\nregulations, insisting that railway station signs in the middle of Lothian are
\nin Gaelic, putting quantity squarely before quality in terms of speakership,
\nand leaving old people who didn\u2019t come from Skye or the Western Isles, whose
\ndialect didn\u2019t \u201cfit\u201d,<\/span>
\nto quietly pop their clogs in ignominy while the hallowed, well-funded<\/span> halls
\nof esoteria buzz with essential activity<\/i>. All of the above-mentioned things had their place, some of them a very large and important place in fact, but I can’t help thinking that while the bone was being polished to a sheen worthy of the British establishment, the marrow was yet being sucked out from within.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
I\u2019m getting to my point in these
\nblogs by the way, don\u2019t worry… I do have a solution, and it ain\u2019t got sh*t to do with
\nsuits, side-partings and seminars. It\u2019s irreverent, old-fashioned and very cheap. Read on.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
–<\/b><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
STILL YES: taigh ann an Asaint<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
Having scribbled away into my
\nnotebook for a good 15 minutes, I looked up at the sky. It was dimming down and
\nif I didn\u2019t want to be hitting Dornie in the dark and missing my dinner, I\u2019d
\nneed to get moving. I scoured my brain for anything else that was said, pulling
\nbits I\u2019d forgotten from the beginning of the conversation with Iain back to
\nmind and writing them down at the end. Iain had long since closed the door and got back to enjoying his Sunday rest as I turned the car around and set
\noff.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
His directions took me over a different road or two and I drove for
\nwhat seemed like longer than it should have been before hitting a gentle brae between
\nthe moors with their scattered houses which scooped itself back out of a hollow
\nto arrive at the house of Iain
\nMacIllEathain<\/b> (Iain MacLean). It was a neat-looking grey number, clearly
\nkept in decent condition by its owner, with a nice garden round about, but
\nnothing too fancy. The sea was visible from the road and the air was cool and
\nlaced with moisture. I went through the gate, imagining what Iain looked like, mindful as always of disturbing anyone unnanounced in
\nthese days of obsessive organisation.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Robh Iain aig an taigh?<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
I grew up with people coming in
\nand out of the house completely unannounced. You wouldn\u2019t know someone was
\nvisiting our place at Rubh’ B\u00e0n<\/b>
\n(pale point), just north of Taigh na
\nBruaich<\/b> (House of the Bank) until they were already upon you, in the door and
\npractically with their arse in the seat waiting for their coffee before you had
\nany idea they\u2019d arrived. Nowadays<\/span>,
\nif you haven\u2019t Booked someone in the Face, or Grammed them Instantly, or
\nSnapped their Chat, you\u2019re being exceedingly rude. Turn up without texting
\nahead? How very dare you!<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
I\u2019m very rarely apprehensive
\nin the Highlands, but this was Sunday, and Assynt was rather a religious neck
\nof the woods not that long ago. I entered the porch, the front door being open,
\nand saw a nimble grey-haired man in his 70s scampering up the stairs of the
\nhouse. I chapped the glass panel in front of me before he could escape and he
\npeered quizzically through the balustrade, trying to work out if he recognised
\nme.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
I stepped back from the porch,
\nnot wanting us to have to vye for space within it should he see fit to emerge.
\nAnd so it was I met with Iain a Dh\u00e0<\/b> (Iain
\n#2).<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Iain?<\/b> He padded back down the stairs and loomed up to the glass
\nwith a pleasant if confused expression. Nach
\ngabh sibh mo leisgeal<\/b> (Won\u2019t you accept my excuse ie<\/i> excuse me). Thuirt Iain the Gate<\/i> rium gum bu ch\u00f2ir dhomh tighinn
\ngur faicinn<\/b> (Iain the Gate said I should come and see you) I said as Iain tugged the front door open.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00d3 Iain, tha mi tuigsinn<\/b> (Oh Iain, I understand).<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Thuirt e gur sibhse an duine as fhe\u00e0rr air son G\u00e0ilig an \u00e0ite<\/b> (he
\nsaid you were the best man for the Gaelic of the place ie<\/i> local Gaelic).<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00d3 an duirt gu dearbh?<\/b> says MacIllEathain, amused. C\u00f3 \u00e0s a tha u?<\/b> (where are you from?)<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Arra-Gh\u00e1idheal<\/b> (Argyll). Chaidh
\nmo thogail sh\u00ecos taobh Dh\u00f9n Omhann, ann an Taigh na Bruaich<\/b> (I was brought
\nup down Dunoon way, in Tighnabruaich).<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00d3 tha fhios ‘am<\/b> (oh I know [what you mean]<\/span>). Sh\u00ecos
\nan sin, seadh<\/b> (Down there, yes). Bheil
\nholiday<\/i> agad an seo?<\/b> (have you a
\nholiday here?) There must not be that many Argyllmen randomly showing up on
\nIain\u2019s doorstep these days.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Chan eil. Shiubhail mo mh\u00e1ir ‘s chaidh a tiodhlacamh an Gollaibh ‘s cha
\nrobh mi air son a dhol air ais a dh\u2019obair anns an uair<\/b> (No. My mother
\ntraveled ie <\/i>passed away and was buried in Caithness and I didn\u2019t want to go back to work
\nimmediately) ‘<\/b>s mar sin, bha mi los
\nfeuchainn an robh duine sam bith thathast ann an D\u00f9thaich MhicAoidh ‘s Asainte ‘s Sgireachd R\u00f2is aig an robh G\u00e0ilig an \u00e0ite<\/b> (and so I was for seeing
\n[lit. trying] if there was anyone left in MacKay Country, Assynt and Ross who
\nhad the local Gaelic).<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00d3 gu dearbh?<\/b> (oh really?) Chan
\neil m\u00f3ran Gh\u00e0ilig an seo a-nis<\/b> (there\u2019s not much Gaelic here now). Tha i air b\u00e0sachadh air fad ann an seo<\/b>
\n(She\u2019s completely died here). It could bring a tear to a glass cabinet
\nnevermind an eye, this story, heard as it is from one end of the mainland to
\nthe other. An ann \u00e0 Barraigh a tha a’
\nGh\u00e0ilig ‘ads’?<\/b> (is it from Barra your Gaelic is?). That\u2019s a reasonable
\nassumption if you\u2019re from Assynt as my dialect must sound a little outlandish.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Ha-ha, chan ann, ‘s e dualchainnt an \u00e0it’ ris am buin mi fh\u00e9 tha seo.
\nG\u00e1ilig Arra-Gh\u00e1idheil<\/b> (no, it\u2019s the dialect from where I come from this,
\nArgyll Gaelic).<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Seadh, ‘s e mac-samhladh de Gh\u00e0ilig nan Eilean a th’ agad<\/b> (Aye,
\nit\u2019s the exact match of the island Gaelic you\u2019ve got). I\u2019m chuffed enough with
\nthat, despite it being out by a good couple of miles… mac-samhladh<\/b>… the likeness\u2019
\nson;<\/i> lovely to hear that expression used. Bha mi se\u00f2ladh chun gu le\u00f2r de na h-Eileanan dair a bha mi sa Mherchant Navy<\/i> <\/b>(I was sailing to
\nplenty of the islands when I was in the Merchant Navy).<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Gu dearbh?<\/b> (Indeed?) It suddenly hit me as always that I should
\ncheck and make sure I wasn\u2019t keeping Iain back from his normal activities. Bheil sibh trang an ceartair, robh sibh am
\nbeachd itheamh no gas, no a’ bheil cothrom againn bruidhinn tacan?<\/b> (Are you
\nbusy just now, were you intending on eating or anything, or have we an
\nopportunity to speak a wee while?)<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00d3 tha. \u00d3, chan eil mi trang an-dr\u00e0st, chan eil<\/b> (Oh yes. Oh I\u2019m not
\nbusy just now, no). Result!<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
‘S e an rud a bh\u2019 ann, bha mi ‘g iarraimh beagan cheistean a chur air
\nmuinntir an \u00e0ite seo a thaobh ghnothaichean a theireamh sibh<\/b> (The thing
\nwas, I wanted to put a few questions on the people from here in terms of things
\nyou would say).<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Chan eil m\u00f3ran ann an Dwelly<\/i><\/a> \u00e1s Asainte<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
<\/div>\n
Tha mi tuigsinn<\/b> (I understand).<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Bha mi fe\u00f2raich de dh’Iain, d\u00e9 theireamh sibh ri na corragan?<\/b> (I
\nwas asking Iain, what would you say to the fingers?). An robh rann s\u00f2nraichte ann an Asainte orra?<\/b> (Was there a special
\nverse in Assynt on them?) Iain
\nMacIllEathain<\/b> looks at me with complete recognition, as if he knows exactly
\nwhat I mean:<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Seadh, bha ainm ac air a h-uile corrag, ach chan eil fhios am\u00b7as d\u00e9 na
\nrainn a bh’ ac a-nis<\/b> (Yes, they had a name on every finger, but I don\u2019t
\nknow what the rhymes they had were now). Oh ye booger, I thought I had them
\nthere. Having gotten home and finally sat down with my notes to write this blog
\nsix months later after a hard winter trying to make ends meet, I have the
\nopportunity to look up the Irish Dialect Survey and much to my disappointment,
\nthe finger names are not listed. It appears as if the people of Assynt referred
\nto them as me\u00f2irean<\/b> and to a single
\none as a miar<\/b>, but there are only
\nthe following individual names for the fingers, the last two of which strike me
\nas Beurlachas<\/b> (Gaenglish): \u00f2rdag<\/b> (little hammer), ____ (no entry),
\n____ (no entry), miar an fh\u00e0inn<\/b>
\n(ring finger), miar beag<\/b> (little
\nfinger).<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Nis, na bh\u2019 againn an Arra-Gh\u00e1idheal, ‘s e seo<\/b> (now what we had in
\nArgyll was this): \u00f2rdag<\/b> (little
\nhammer), corragag<\/b> (little finger), mealla-fada<\/b> (long lump), mac an l\u00f9ba<\/b> (son of the pinkie), l\u00f9dag<\/b> (pinkie). I had gotten this from R\u00e0ibeart Mac a\u2019 Bhiucair<\/b> (Robbie
\nMacVicar), our last native speaker, and for all my lack of formal training have
\ngone over it every time I\u2019ve seen him since to make sure I\u2019ve got the right
\nversion. Apart from a little vascillation over whether it\u2019s l\u00f9dag<\/b> or l\u00f9bag<\/b>, I get the same thing every time, with very little prompting.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00d3, nis, l\u00f9bag, bha sin againn<\/b> (oh, now, l\u00f9bag<\/b>, we had that) Given my experience with Robbie, it\u2019s
\ninteresting that Iain has said this word with a b<\/b> rather than a d<\/b>… ach chan eil cuimhn am\u00b7as air <\/b>(but I
\ndon\u2019t remember on)…<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
…air an fheamhainn sa mheadhan?<\/b> (on the ones in the middle?) I
\nadded.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Chan eil, chan eil<\/b> (I don\u2019t, no.) Och chan eil feadhainn Gh\u00e0ilig ann a-nis ann, chan eil<\/b> (Oh there\u2019s
\nno Gaelic ones here whatsoever, no). Chaochail
\na\u2019 chuid mh\u00f3r aig an robh G\u00e0ilig<\/b> (The biggest lot with Gaelic changed ie<\/i> died).<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Feumaidh gu robh gu le\u00f2r a Gh\u00e0ilig ga bruidhinn bho cheann d\u00e0
\nfhichead bliana?<\/b> (there must have been plenty of Gaelic spoken 20 years
\nago?) I venture, keen to find out more about the shift in Assynt.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Och seadh, tha cuimhn am\u00b7as air thoiseach, bha G\u00e0ilig ga bridhinn sa
\nh-uile taigh<\/b> (oh aye, I have a memory at the beginning [of Iain\u2019s life],
\nGaelic was spoken in every house).<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Sa h-uile taigh, seamh<\/b> (in every house, yes). This is painfully
\nfamiliar.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
A-nis, chan eil gin de\u00b7n fheadhainn shuas Loch an Inbhir ach mi fh\u00ecn ‘s
\nIain a bhridhneas G\u00e0idhlig, chan eil<\/b> (Now there aren\u2019t any up Lochinver
\nbut myself and Iain that speak Gaelic, no). Chan eil gin ann<\/b> (There aren\u2019t any).<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
“poca-salainn” ann an Asainte<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
Nise, ceist eile a chuir mi air Iain<\/b> ach cha robh fhios aige\u00b7san <\/b>(Now, another question I put on Iain but
\nhe didn\u2019t know). Thuirt e nach do
\nbhruidhinn e mun cuairt air a leithid bhon a bha e na bhalach! <\/b>(He said
\nthat he hadn\u2019t spoken about the like of it [in Gaelic] since he was a boy!). D\u00e9 theireamh sibhse san d\u00f9thaich seo ri spider?<\/i><\/b><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00d3, <\/b>after a moment\u2019s thought,
\nchanainn \u201cpoca-salainn\u201d, ach chan eil mi gl\u00e9 chinnteach<\/b> (Oh, I\u2019d say poca-salainn<\/b> [salt-bag], but I\u2019m not
\nquite certain). That\u2019s the very boy though, the very boy!<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Feumaidh gum bitheamh e car coltach ri sin<\/b> (It must be that it
\nwould be fairly similar to that), bhon
\nsin a th’ aca an Sg\u00ecreachd R\u00f2is co-thi\u00f9<\/b> (for that is what they had in
\nRoss-shire anyway)… bhon a tha a th\u00f2in
\ncar geal<\/b> (because his bum is somewhat white ie<\/i> salty-looking).<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Och seadh<\/b> (oh yes). Gu
\ndearbh feumaidh<\/b> (indeed it must), sin
\na bhiodh an \u00f9is co-dhi\u00f9<\/b> (that\u2019s what would be in use anyway). It seems just
\ndiscussing it a little further has affirmed Iain\u2019s conception of whether the
\nword is right or not. Sometimes it\u2019s dicy to speak further on it, in case an
\nerroneous response is set in stone, but in this case Iain\u2019s word was
\nspontaneous without prompting and can be taken as representative of Assynt. A
\ncheck with the SID entry and we get pocan-salainn<\/b>,
\na diminutive version, and interestingly lacking pre-aspiration. Och, tha m\u00f3ran ann<\/b> (oh there are lots)
\nsays Iain continuing on:<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Na h-e\u00f2in bheag’ an sin; stonechat<\/i> a chanas iad sa Bheurla. <\/b>N<\/span>ach e
\n\u201cclachair\u201d a bh’ ac orr?<\/b> (The little birds there, \u201cstonechat\u201d
\nthey say in English, isn\u2019t it clachair<\/b>
\nthey have on them?) If only I had a couple of days up here to get into all of
\nthis…<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
“clachair”<\/b><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
Och sna lathan air dol seachad, bha ainm ac air a h-uile dithean ‘s a
\nh-uile beothach<\/b> (oh in the days gone by, they had a name on every flower
\nand animal) I reminisce, as if I had been there. That makes Iain think of
\nsomething amusing.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Rud a bha mi smaoineachadh air<\/b> (a thing I was thinking on) he says,
\nd\u00e9 a’ Gh\u00e0ilig a th’ ac air umbrella?<\/i> <\/b>(What\u2019s their Gaelic for
\nan umbrella?).<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Sg\u00e0ilean, cha chreib
\nmi<\/span><\/b> (Shade, I
\nreckon), quoting the standard tongue. Iain nods, but is clearly in thought. The
\nword doesn\u2019t seem too familiar to him.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Tha beagan diofar
\neadar a’ Gh\u00e0ilig ann an Le\u00f3dhas agas Uibhist<\/span><\/b> (there\u2019s a bit of a difference between the
\nGaelic in Lewis and Uist) says Iain, gesticulating towards the sea as if to
\nbring back to mind that there are islands out there to the west.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00d3 tha<\/span><\/b>, I agree, theirinn gu bheil a’ Gh\u00e0ilig an seo<\/b> (I\u2019d say the Gaelic here), gu bheil i nas coltaiche ri G\u00e0ilig
\nLe\u00f3dhais na tha i ri na h-Eileanan eile ge-ta<\/b> (that it\u2019s a little more
\nsimilar to Lewis Gaelic than it is to the other Isles). I\u2019m keen to find out if
\nIain a Dh\u00e0<\/b> thinks so too.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00d3 tha gu dearbh, \u00f3 tha<\/span><\/b> (oh yes indeed, oh it is), he replies.
\nTha i nas fhaisg air a’ Gh\u00e0ilig a th’
\nac an sin<\/b> (It is closer to the Gaelic they have there). Ach na bha aid a\u2019 bridhinn an seo, ‘s e
\nse\u00f2rsa G\u00e0ilig eile bha sin<\/b> (But what they were speaking here, it was a
\ndifferent kind of Gaelic). It\u2019s lovely to hear that self-awareness, that
\ndistinctness acknowledged by someone who is still a source of it himself.
\nIain\u2019s kind are on the way out on the mainland, and very, very few people seem
\nto consider it loss enough to get off their backsides and put on the brakes.
\nNative Gaelic in the Scottish mainland will be dead in 30 years. TOPS. Are we
\nready to admit that to ourselves? <\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Nise, d\u00e9 bha sibhse ‘g
\nr\u00e0dh ann an seo<\/span><\/b>
\n(Now, what were you saying here) air
\n\u2013mar a their ead anns a\u2019 Bheurla- how are
\nyou?<\/i><\/b> (on \u2013as they say in English- \u201chow are you?\u201d) D\u00e9 a bh’ agaibh\u00b7se air sin?<\/b> (What did you have on that?). I\u2019m
\nalways curious about this one. We once produced a map here at DROITSEACH
\nshowing where the different phrases were used and I\u2019m keen to settle a debate
\nraised by someone who was sure that cionnas
\na tha u?<\/b> was used all the way from Gairloch north.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00d3, \u201cciamar a tha u?\u201d<\/span><\/b> Iain says without hesitation.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
“ciamar a tha u?”<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
\u201cciamar a tha u?\u201d?<\/span><\/b> I repeat, slightly surprised. Bhon, daoine shuas taobh Dh\u00f9thaich
\nMhicAoidh, their ead \u201ccionnas a tha u?\u201d<\/b> (Because, people up MacKay Country
\nway, they say cionnas a tha u?<\/b>) Ach \u2018s e \u201cciamar\u201d a bh\u2019 agaibh ann an seo?<\/b>
\n(But it\u2019s ciamar<\/b> that you had here?)<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00d3 ‘s e<\/span><\/b> (oh it was).<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Agas ‘s e \u201cciamar\u201d a
\nbh’ aig ur p\u00e0rantan cuideachd?<\/span><\/b> (And it\u2019s ciamar<\/b> that your
\nparents had too?)<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00d3 gu dearbh, ‘s e<\/span><\/b> (oh indeed, yes). That\u2019s that one
\nbeyond any doubt.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Tha sibh ga mo
\nthuigsinn a-nis, nach eil?<\/span><\/b> (you\u2019re understanding me now, aren\u2019t you?). I often try to speak the
\ndialect of the older generation if I\u2019m with them to make sure I come over ok,
\nbut in this case I wasn\u2019t too sure what the dialect of Assynt was like. Unlike
\nthe MacKay Country where I can converse quite freely in the local patois, here
\nI thought while I\u2019d better round out some obvious Dalriadisms, I may well just
\nconfuse matters by starting to make guesses about what might be more
\ncomprehensible. Sure, they\u2019ll say can<\/b>
\ninstead of abair<\/b> (say) and obvious
\nnorthern things like that, but I didn\u2019t want to go out on too weak a branch on
\na first visit. <\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Och tha, tha gl\u00e9
\ncheart a-nis<\/span><\/b> (oh
\nyes, just fine now). I\u2019m off the hook!<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Ach co-thi\u00f9, cha robh
\nmi ach dol seachad<\/span><\/b>
\n(But anyway, I was but going past), tha
\nmi dol s\u00ecos thun an D\u00f2rnaidh a-nochd<\/b> (I\u2019m going down to the Dornie
\ntonight).<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00d3, an D\u00f2rnaidh, tha mi
\ntuigsinn<\/span><\/b> (oh the
\nDornie, I understand).<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Thuirt mi ri Iain, an
\nath uair a bhitheas mi ‘dol seachad<\/span><\/b> (I said to Iain, the next time I\u2019m going past), thig sinn uile comhla ‘s bruidhnidh sinn beagan G\u00e0ilig<\/b> (we\u2019ll all
\ncome together and speak a little Gaelic).<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00d3 seadh, gl\u00e9 mhath, n\u00ec
\nsinn sin ma-th\u00e0<\/span><\/b> (Oh
\nyes, very good, we\u2019ll do that then). There\u2019s no sense of imposition about this
\nidea in Iain\u2019s voice whatsoever, I can tell he\u2019d be more than happy to sit with
\na cup of tea or a dram and blether in the old tongue. Uair sam bith a tha u ‘dol seachad, trobhad a-staigh<\/b> (anytime you\u2019re
\ngoing past, come on in). And once again. There it is!<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Bithidh sin gasta
\nma-t\u00e0<\/span><\/b> (that\u2019ll be
\nsplendid then). I smile as we back away from the house, still chatting.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Tha fliuch!<\/span><\/b> (It\u2019s wet!) adds Iain, as we stand
\nat the gate getting lightly spat on.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Tha, bha fliuch fad an t-Samhraimh<\/b> (Yes, it was
\nwet throughout the summer). Bha dona<\/b>
\n([It] was bad).<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00d3 gu dearbh, bha m\u00f3ran
\nuisg ann<\/span><\/b> (oh
\nindeed, there was a lot of water ie rain). Bha
\nsneachd ann cuideachd.<\/b>
\n(There was snow too). Cha do thiormaich am m\u00f2in a bh’ agam son an tein gu ceart<\/b> (The peat I had for the fire didn\u2019t
\ndry out properly). Uisg uisg uisg!<\/b>
\n(Rain rain rain!).<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
cl\u00e0r-si\u00f9cair air son nan G\u00e0idheal<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
Och seamh<\/span><\/b> (oh aye), ‘<\/b>s e d\u00ecle-bh\u00e0it’ a bh\u2019 ann o cheann gu ceann na m\u00ecos, an July <\/i>mar a
\ntheir ead<\/b> (there was a drowning flood from head to head of the month, in
\nJuly, as they say). It is not common for dialect speakers to know the months of
\nthe Julian calendar, as it was not used until relatively recently. Nise, rud a th’ agam an seo<\/b> (now, the
\nthing I have here), reinn mo bhean
\nbeagan cl\u00e0r-si\u00f9cair son na h-uile duin’ a ch\u00ec mi shuas an seo<\/b> (my wife made
\na little tablet for everyone I see up here).<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
D\u00e9 a th\u2019 ann?<\/span><\/b> (What is it?)<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Tablet.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00d3 gl\u00e9 mhath<\/span><\/b> (oh very good).<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Tha uamharraidh milis<\/span><\/b> (It\u2019s awfully sweet).<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
M\u00f3ran si\u00f9cair ann!<\/span><\/b> (Much sugar in it!)<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
D\u00ecreach<\/span><\/b> (Exactly). Nise, tha mi dol a thogail dealbh bheag dhinn an seo<\/b> leis an taigh
\n(Now I\u2019m going to lift a small picture of us here with the house). Bheil sin ceart gu le\u00f2r?<\/b> (Is that
\nalright?)<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Och tha<\/span><\/b> (oh yes).<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00c0dhamh \u00d3 Broin agas Iain MacIllEathain ann an Asainte<\/b><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
Innsidh do mo chlann
\ngun do thachair mi air G\u00e1idheal, Iain MacIllEathain<\/span><\/b> (I\u2019ll tell my children that I met a Gael, Iain
\nMacLean), shuas taobh Asaint<\/b>e (up
\nAssynt way). The kids always like to hear that there are other people in other
\nplaces who speak their language.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Ha-ha, sin agad e!<\/span><\/b> (there you have it!).<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
And with that, I took my leave, feeling
\ngenuinely buoyed up by this encounter, but more sure than ever of what needed
\ndone. Seven months later and that feeling has only grown. Both Iains, despite
\nthe protestations of Iain #1 to the contrary, were very fluent. Coupled with
\nthe vocabulary contained in the Survey of Irish Dialects, this means that the
\nlocal dialect is absolutely capable of being rescued in the nick of time. All
\nwe lack is the will. Or do we? Is there actually someone out there with
\nconnections to the place, who has learned enough Gaelic to take the work on,
\nwho could become a TOSGAIR for the area and spend a few hours a week learning
\nto speak like the two Iains? Could their tale and that of their language be
\nprevented from its end when inevitably sometime over the next 20-odd years,
\nthey are parted from this world? This may seem like a very personal way to
\nspeak about two people I barely know, but what choice do I have but to take on this
\nresponsibility when very few others will? Don\u2019t tell me that local lore,
\nvocabulary and accent are important and then do bugger-all about it. It\u2019s
\neither worth something, or it\u2019s not. There is no in between.<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Asaint nan Loch ‘s nan Creig<\/b><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
And so I left Assynt feeling that while I had
\nspent barely three hours there, I had got under the turf, down to the peat of
\nit a little. The Land of MacLeod lived yet as it was, but was barely hanging on
\nby the skin of its teeth. I had dug under the myth of Neil the Traitor and I
\nhad heard the tongue of his people, who for better or for worse had stuck it
\nout in Assynt ever since, through Clearance, poverty and war. The whole
\nexperience had been very moving.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Dair a bhitheas mi ‘n
\nAsaint<\/span><\/b> (When I am
\nin Assynt), as Rob Donn MacAoidh<\/b> (MacKay)
\nput it, Is Le\u00f2dach mi<\/b> (I am a MacLeod).
\nWhatever area I enter, I become one of the people. I never feel like I am an
\noutsider because I value deeply all that every nook and crannie of the Scottish
\nHighlands has to offer and I can\u2019t help but take the demise of its culture as a
\npersonal injury. My journey took me back across to Lochinver and I was struck
\nby how rugged the land was, pocketed with wildly uneven lochs and hollows, puntuated
\nvertically by jagged rock and bluff, green and grey and ginger with dying
\nbracken under a film of kissing rain. This land is the physical expression of
\nthe language that our Iains speak and when these men cease to speak, the land
\nwill fall silent forever, another corner of the Highlands will go dark, its
\ncultural life\u2019s blood will cease to pump through local veins, will reach no
\nmore these extremities, withdrawing out to the Isles where it will meet a
\nsimilar fate in little over 50 years, if we are not very, very, careful
\nand more importantly, indefatigable in our determination to resist.<\/span>Monographs, dictionaries, manuals -however good- are but a single cornerstone, not a whole house.<\/span><\/p>\n

Scholars, academics, researchers -however smart- must be as slaves to the wisdom of our elders.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dair a bhitheas mi ‘n Asaint, is Le\u00f2dach mi<\/b><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
\nTo putting the horse back before the cart, in the land of MacLeod and beyond,<\/span> ur sl\u00e0inte mh\u00f3r!<\/span><\/b>– <\/span>
\n<\/span><\/b>
\n“Beautiful gripping writing.<\/span><\/b>
\nShould be a book, not just a blog”<\/span><\/b>
\nAlastair McIntosh<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

IAIN A DH\u00c0 IAIN #2 Assynt is one of those areas which seems somehow to have escaped the academic eye. When it comes to the far north of Scotland, you can start in the south of Rosshire and work your way up, finding most dialects covered by a monograph or a dictionary or a collection […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":547,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-648","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"blocksy_meta":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"gutentor_comment":7,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dalriada.scot\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Caithness-2Bentries.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dalriada.scot\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/648","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dalriada.scot\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dalriada.scot\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dalriada.scot\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dalriada.scot\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=648"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/dalriada.scot\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/648\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1303,"href":"https:\/\/dalriada.scot\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/648\/revisions\/1303"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dalriada.scot\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dalriada.scot\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dalriada.scot\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=648"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dalriada.scot\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}