TL;DR summary / translation: I’m a native Gaelic speaker and it’s been fascinating stumbling across learners on Substack, especially in the historical fantasy genre!
‘S math a rinn thu! Tha e glè inntinneach dhòmh fhèin lorg luchd-ionnsachaidh na Gàidhlig air Substack, gu h-àraidh am measg sgrìobhairean fantasy eachdraidhreal. Cha robh càil a dh’fhios ‘am gu robh mo chiad chànan cho “popular” anns an t-saoghal sin!
Tha mi fhèin à Eilean Leòdhais, agus cha do dh’ionnsaich mi Beurla gun deach mi dhan a’ sgoil. Bith sinn fhathast a’ bruidhinn Gàidhlig aig an taigh. Chan eil mo sgrìobhadh Gàidhlig cho làidir ge-ta, oir gun robh m’fhòghlam gu lèir ‘s a Bheurla. Ach bith mi uaireannan a’ smaoineachadh mu dheidhinn sgrìobhadh ann an Gàidhlig - tha grunn fharpaisean, duaisean etc ann son obair ‘s a Ghàidhlig …
Tha mi an còmhnaidh toilichte còmhradh ‘s a’ Ghàidhlig, no freagart ceistean mu dheidhinn cleachdaidheann no cultair nan Gàidheal!
Tha mise toilichte do choinneachadh! I'm very happy to see that Gaelic-speakers can be found on Substack!
I too found it a tad more difficult to write in Gaelic since it's a language that thrives so much on the oral tradition, but nothing you've shared here was lost on me!
Hopefully we can bring more Gaelic-learners and speakers to the platform and share the love of storytelling!
In all seriousness, I've been trying to learn off and on Gaelic for about 2 years now, I'll have to take note of the books you mentioned in the article and also the academies.
But anyways, I had no idea the language was still spoken in Nova Scotia, can I ask what city or town in particular speaks it and hosts meetings for one to fully immerse in the language? I ask as I'm moving to an area near Nova Scotia in a few months and would like to know as I'd like to incorporate plenty of Gaelic into my own literature and writing.
Next Wednesday I'll have plenty more resources to talk about!
Outside of Scotland, Nova Scotia hosts the most speakers of Scottish Gaelic! It's an option for students other than French if they live close enough to or within areas that speak it.
Antigonish (called Am Baile Mòr in Gaelic, meaning "The Big Town") would be the closest place outside of Halifax to get some Gaelic experience. In addition to the university (St. Francis Xavier) the town has a Gaelic society that hosts the longest running annual Highland Games outside of Scotland, but they also have year-round opportunities for learning and socialization as well. Many of the Gaelic-speaking students at StFX are from Cape Breton which is probably the best place to learn in all of North America, Mabou especially has a lot of native speakers and opportunities to learn. The Gaelic College I mentioned is in St. Ann's and has a month-long immersion course (An Cùrsa Bogaidh) that my Gaelic-speaking friends from StFX have spoken highly of in addition to other in-person events and courses.
Also, if you end up anywhere near Antigonish, StFX hosts the best Celtic literature collection in North America. You will not be disappointed or wanting for any written resources if you go to the library. Pretty much all the best resources I could find for my thesis came directly from the Celtic Collection.
I do plan on returning to Antigonish or at least Nova Scotia so maybe that would be a great opportunity to meet and share some Gaelic!
Sure! I’m hoping to move to Quebec later this year, and it’d be between the US and NS, and hopefully it’d be like you said; easy to meet up and an opportunity for me to take some notes.
Don’t let what you’ve learned slip away. Make opportunities for yourself to be immersed as often as possible, even in if it is a trip back to Nova Scotia or a visit to Scotland once a year. If that’s not possible, I would think that those groups fighting to keep Scottish Gaelic alive would be happy to spend some time conversing with you in any format, remote or in person.
Now that I'm able to start saving up more I'd definitely like to travel for more immersion courses. The online stuff just didn't do it as well for me as dedicated as the instructors are, which is just all the more reason to plan some in-person visits!
I can’t believe how committed and determined you were to learning this language. You put your heart and soul into it and by sheer determination, persevered!
Your devotion to the task of learning a very difficult language you set for yourself and completed successfully is inspirational. Kudos to you!
TL;DR summary / translation: I’m a native Gaelic speaker and it’s been fascinating stumbling across learners on Substack, especially in the historical fantasy genre!
‘S math a rinn thu! Tha e glè inntinneach dhòmh fhèin lorg luchd-ionnsachaidh na Gàidhlig air Substack, gu h-àraidh am measg sgrìobhairean fantasy eachdraidhreal. Cha robh càil a dh’fhios ‘am gu robh mo chiad chànan cho “popular” anns an t-saoghal sin!
Tha mi fhèin à Eilean Leòdhais, agus cha do dh’ionnsaich mi Beurla gun deach mi dhan a’ sgoil. Bith sinn fhathast a’ bruidhinn Gàidhlig aig an taigh. Chan eil mo sgrìobhadh Gàidhlig cho làidir ge-ta, oir gun robh m’fhòghlam gu lèir ‘s a Bheurla. Ach bith mi uaireannan a’ smaoineachadh mu dheidhinn sgrìobhadh ann an Gàidhlig - tha grunn fharpaisean, duaisean etc ann son obair ‘s a Ghàidhlig …
Tha mi an còmhnaidh toilichte còmhradh ‘s a’ Ghàidhlig, no freagart ceistean mu dheidhinn cleachdaidheann no cultair nan Gàidheal!
Tha mise toilichte do choinneachadh! I'm very happy to see that Gaelic-speakers can be found on Substack!
I too found it a tad more difficult to write in Gaelic since it's a language that thrives so much on the oral tradition, but nothing you've shared here was lost on me!
Hopefully we can bring more Gaelic-learners and speakers to the platform and share the love of storytelling!
Beannachd leat!
In all seriousness, I've been trying to learn off and on Gaelic for about 2 years now, I'll have to take note of the books you mentioned in the article and also the academies.
But anyways, I had no idea the language was still spoken in Nova Scotia, can I ask what city or town in particular speaks it and hosts meetings for one to fully immerse in the language? I ask as I'm moving to an area near Nova Scotia in a few months and would like to know as I'd like to incorporate plenty of Gaelic into my own literature and writing.
Next Wednesday I'll have plenty more resources to talk about!
Outside of Scotland, Nova Scotia hosts the most speakers of Scottish Gaelic! It's an option for students other than French if they live close enough to or within areas that speak it.
Antigonish (called Am Baile Mòr in Gaelic, meaning "The Big Town") would be the closest place outside of Halifax to get some Gaelic experience. In addition to the university (St. Francis Xavier) the town has a Gaelic society that hosts the longest running annual Highland Games outside of Scotland, but they also have year-round opportunities for learning and socialization as well. Many of the Gaelic-speaking students at StFX are from Cape Breton which is probably the best place to learn in all of North America, Mabou especially has a lot of native speakers and opportunities to learn. The Gaelic College I mentioned is in St. Ann's and has a month-long immersion course (An Cùrsa Bogaidh) that my Gaelic-speaking friends from StFX have spoken highly of in addition to other in-person events and courses.
Also, if you end up anywhere near Antigonish, StFX hosts the best Celtic literature collection in North America. You will not be disappointed or wanting for any written resources if you go to the library. Pretty much all the best resources I could find for my thesis came directly from the Celtic Collection.
I do plan on returning to Antigonish or at least Nova Scotia so maybe that would be a great opportunity to meet and share some Gaelic!
Sure! I’m hoping to move to Quebec later this year, and it’d be between the US and NS, and hopefully it’d be like you said; easy to meet up and an opportunity for me to take some notes.
But Antigonish, got it and will remember that
Don’t let what you’ve learned slip away. Make opportunities for yourself to be immersed as often as possible, even in if it is a trip back to Nova Scotia or a visit to Scotland once a year. If that’s not possible, I would think that those groups fighting to keep Scottish Gaelic alive would be happy to spend some time conversing with you in any format, remote or in person.
Now that I'm able to start saving up more I'd definitely like to travel for more immersion courses. The online stuff just didn't do it as well for me as dedicated as the instructors are, which is just all the more reason to plan some in-person visits!
I can’t believe how committed and determined you were to learning this language. You put your heart and soul into it and by sheer determination, persevered!