Gàidhlig / English
Faclan Ghallach

Faclan Ghallach

Posted by Calum on 27th June, 2019
A blog was published about Gaelic in Caithness on twitter recently and it was a very interesting blog. In a connected picture the places where people spoke Gaelic daily where marked. According to the picture itself Gaelic was spoken from the east of Thurso to the west of Halkirk and Clayock to Watten, south to Badlipster, Upper Campster and Roster to Blackness and Bruan, if one was to make a “separation” between the two languages. There is a big debate about whether Gaelic was spoken in Caithness but, in Fielwork Recordings there is a point or two recorded about Gallaibh and Gallach (Caithness).
 
There are many words Dwelly had recorded from a Gollach or two, as one from Easter Ross would say (I am a bit biased there, being a Rosach!) that were very interesting and local, to an extent.
  • Abharadach – This is an equivalent of feòrachail (curious) and deismireach (inquisitive).
  • Biotag – This is said for a bad man or woman.
  • Brad – “Brad” in this sense means a laying-goose, but “brad” is recorded with William MacKay from Armadale, Sutherland, that is recorded in the recording “Conversation with Willaim MacKay”. “Brad” means “good”, it comes before the noun in this case; this was commonplace in East Sutherland and Easter Ross. [Read “Saoghal Bhana-mharaiche” agus “Proverbial Lore in Embo and the other Gaelic-speaking fisherfolk communities of East Sutherland” (School of Scottish Studies, vol. XIV) for more information].
  • Casarmachd – This means to be bare-footed.
  • Ceannarmachd – This is used to mean “baldness”.
  • Creachadair – This means “fàsgadair” (Skua).
  • Diongmhalt – This is the equivalent of stubborn and self-willed.
  • Duaineail – Bad or mis-behaved; “Chan eil e duaineail idir” (He’s noy behaved at all). I have seen the word “duinealach” from the group “Droitseach” for “diongmhailt”.
  • Langadan – This is connected with “fetter”, but it is not quite connected for milking.
  • Rùdail – This means the rumbling of the insides and intestines.
  • Sìthichte – This is the equivelant of content and happy.
  • Spat – The word “meall” is used in Easter Ross in this case. It means a large quantity or amount of something, such as a “spat-uisge”, a large quantity of rain.
  • Upaig – This is said to to a useless person in your way or path; “Tha e ’na upaig” (He’s a useless man”.
I will keep with this sort of blog another week because there is many things to say about a dialect as interesting as this. Do you know any of the words above? Do you know any other words, in your areas or have you heard any other different words? Let us know on facebook or twitter, and our own website and we might use one or two of your notes in the next blog, so why not write to us!

 
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