DASG Blog

Ball-coise

This morning, in our office at the University of Glasgow, three of us were having a conversation about the series of radio programmes, “Sealladh Eile”, which is being broadcast on BBC Radio nan Gàidheal at this time.  In each of these programmes, the reputable broadcaster, John Carmichael, converses with a special guest and asks this person a lot of questions about his work and about his life in general.  Near the end of the programme, the guest is asked to give the names of the renowned peolple whom he, or she, would invite if he or she were going to hold a dinner-party.

During the conversation which we had, mention was made of many a person, living or now dead, to whom we would give or have given an invitation if we were going to hold such a party:  Oliver Reed; Joan Rivers; Aidan Turner; Christina Hendricks; Liv Tyler; and many others.  Personally speaking, I have to admit that at least one of my guests would have to be very knowledgeable about a particular subject of which I myself am very fond; and that is football.

Although it was from the English language, from the words “foot” and “ball”, apparently, that the name of this sport, ball-coise, came into Gaelic, it is not only in England but throughout the world that this, “the beautiful game”, is played nowadays.  For example, last Saturday night, in Kiev, the capital city of the Ukraine, the Spanish superclub, Real Madrid, overcame the English superclub, Liverpool, in the final match of the European competition which is known in English as “the Champions League” (without an apostrophe on the word “Champions”, I have to say, disapprovingly).  But, if ball-coise is the Gaelic for “football”, what is the appropriate translation into Gaelic of “the Champions League”?

Well, as many people will know, it was from Old French, from the very word “champion”, that this word came into English.  But, before that, it was from Latin, from the word “campio”, that this word came into French.  A soldier who would stand alone against an opponent and fight against him in a field (or “campus”, in Latin) was known as a “campio” (or “champion”, in English).  Therefore, although there are already many words in Gaelic which could be used to mean “a champion”  ---  such as “laoch” and “sonn” and “curaidh” and “gaisgeach”  ---  in my own opinion it would be appropriate to use the word “campasach” when speaking of sport in general and of “the Champions League” in particular.  For this reason, in the language of the Gaels, for the phrase, “the Champions League”, I personally would use “Lìog nan Campasach”.

“Stand up for the champions!  Stand up for the champions!  Stand up for the champions!”

“Olé!  Olé, olé, olé!  Olé, olé!”