| Reference Number | 9 |
| Title | Sùil air Meanbh-bhiastagan na Gàidhealtachd ’s nan Eilean |
| Author | Anon. |
| Editor | N/A |
| Date Of Edition | 1994 |
| Date Of Language | 20c |
| Date Of Language Ed | 1950-1999 |
| DateMacro | Late 20th c. |
| Date Of Language Notes | |
| Publisher | Acair (for Scottish Natural Heritage, and Western Isles Council) |
| Place Published | Stornoway |
| Volume | N/A |
| Location | NLS |
| Geographical Origins | Unknown |
| Geographical Origins Ed | Unknown |
| GeoMacro | Unknown |
| GeoX | |
| GeoY | |
| Geographical Origins Notes | |
| Register | Education, Prose (Natural History, Insects) |
| Register Ed | Education, Prose |
| Genre | Information |
| Medium | Prose |
| Rating | B
Poster listing Gaelic names for 28 types of insect and other small animals.
A good source of 20th-century Hebridean Gaelic terms for meanbh-bhiastagan, although their precise provenance is unclear.
The text also contains Gaelic vocabulary relevant to publishing. |
| Alternative Author Name | N/A |
| Manuscript Or Edition | Ed. |
| Size And Condition | 68cm x 49cm |
| Short Title | Meanbh-bhiastagan |
| Reference Details | NLS: S.Sh.S.2.94.3 |
| Number Of Pages | Single leaf poster, printed on one side only |
| Gaelic Text By | Unknown |
| Illustrator | MacKenzie, Anne |
| Social Context | Unknown. The poster was produced jointly by Scottish Natural Heritage, Western Isles Council and Acair. |
| Contents | Single leaf poster, printed on one side, containing colour paintings of 28 meanbh-bhiastagan (not to scale), including three types of butterfly, a Hebridean bumblebee, a freshwater shrimp, two types of spider, and a common earthworm. The names are given first of all in English, with the Latin name in brackets and italics beside it. The Gaelic name is given underneath the English and Latin names.
The text is as follows:
Millipede (Strigamia maritimus) Mìle-chasach
Small tortoiseshell [butterfly] (Aglais uriticae) Dealan breac-bhallach
Red Ant (Myrmica ruginodis) Seangan dearg
Hebridean bumblebee (Bombus jonelius Hebridensis) Seillean Mòr
Slater (Porcellio scaber) Corra-chòsag
House spider (Tegenaria domestica) Damhan-allaidh an taighe
Money spider (Erigone altra) Damhan allaidh an airgid
Ladybird (10-spot) (Adalia 10-punctata) Daolag dhearg bhreac
Centipede (Lithobius forficatus) Ceud-chasach
Blue-tailed damselfly (Ischnura elegans) Tarbh-nathrach gorm
Mayfly (Ephemera danica) Lon-chraois
Emperor moth caterpillar (Saturnia paronia) Bratag an Iompaire chorcaraich
Emperor moth (Saturnia paronia) Iompaire corcarach
Tick (Ixodes ricinus) Gartan
Meadow brown [butterfly] (Manidla jurtina) Dealan donn
Ground beetle (Pterostichus madidus) Cearran crè
Daddy-long-legs (Tipula paludosa) Fìdhlear
Midge (Culicoides impunctatus) Meanbh-chuileag
Freshwater shrimp (Gammarus duebeni) Carran fìor-uisge
Common earthworm (Lumbricus terrestris) Boiteag chumanta
Common earwig (Forficual auricularia) Gobhlag Stobach
Dung beetle (Gedtrupes stercorarius) Ceardaman
House-fly (Musca domestica) Cuileag
Large white [butterfly] (Pieris brassicae) Dealan a’ Chàil
Black slug (Arion ater) Cadalag dhubh
Green grasshopper (Omocestris viridulus) Fionnan-feòir uaine
Bluebottle (Calliphora vomitoria) Cuileag mhòr
Machair snail (Helicella itala) Seilcheag a’ mhachaire
At the bottom of the poster are the publishers’ logos along with the following text:
Illustrated by Anne MacKenzie
Dealbhan le Anna NicChoinnich
Printed on environmentally friendly paper
Clò-bhuailte gun chron dhan àrainneachd
Chan eil na meanbh-bhiastagan seo an t-aon mhead ’s a tha iad gu nàdarrach m.e. tha gartan, meanbh-chuileag, seangan dearg tòrr nas motha
The insects on this poster are not to scale. For example tick, midge, red ant are much enlarged |
| Sources | Most of the names given on the poster can be found in Gaelic-English or English-Gaelic dictionaries, which, however, provide different, and often more extensive, terminology than those given here. For example, although Dwelly does not have the terms given on the poster for ‘daddy-long-legs’ or ‘moth’, he does give the term for ‘Hebridean bumblebee’, and also includes terms for 6 different types of bee. On the other hand, Dwelly does not have different types of butterfly, but instead uses the term dealan-dè, which is not used on this poster as a generic term.. The terms given on the poster for Millipede and Centipede do not appear in Dwelly or in the Stòr-dàta; however the Stòr-dàta provides other, sometimes similar, terminology for these creatures, e.g. fiolan nan ceud chas. In some instances, a wealth of other terms for these creatures can be found in these dictionaries - for example, the Stòr-dàta gives 14 different terms for the word ‘spider’. In newer dictionaries, such as Mark (2004), some of the terms not found in Dwelly are given, such as ceud-chasach. Some of the terms on the poster can also be found in Forbes’ Gaelic Names of Beasts (1905), and in Garvie’s Gaelic names of Plants, Fungi & Animals (1999). |
| Language | It is likely that the poster was intended for use in primary schools and therefore represents the modern standardised terminology for these creatures. The poster does not indicate whether the terms are masculine or feminine.
This poster is a useful source of modern Gaelic terminology for such creatures, but it should be used in conjunction with, for example, Forbes, Dwelly, and the Stòr-Dàta, for a well-rounded sample of modern and historical terms.
The poster is also of interest, incidentally, for its Gaelic translation of terminology such as ‘environmentally friendly’, and ‘not to scale’. |
| Orthography | |
| Edition | First Edition. The poster is good quality, the paintings are extremely good and informative, the text is well-laid out, and the Gaelic appears to be accurate. It is likely that the poster was intended for use in schools and that the terminology used here reflects that usage. |
| Other Sources | |
| Further Reading | An Stòr-dàta Briathrachais Gàidhlig, (Sleat, c1993: Clò Ostaig).
Dwelly, Edward, The Illustrated Gaelic-English Dictionary (Glasgow, 1977: Gairm).
Forbes, Alexander Robert, Gaelic Names of Beasts (Mammalia), Birds, Fishes, Insects, Reptiles, Etc. (Edinburgh, 1905: Oliver and Boyd, Norman Macleod).
Garvie, Ellen I., Gaelic names of Plants, Fungi & Animals, (Sleat, 1999: Clò Ostaig).
MacDonald, Annie, A’ Coimhead airson Meanbh-bhiastagan (Stornoway, 1992: Acair).
Mark, Colin, The Gaelic-English Dictionary (London, 2004: Routledge). |
| Credits | |
| Link Label | |
| Link | |
| Download File | |
| NumWords | 235 |
