December Meeting

Tha mi duilich!  (I'm sorry!)  The meeting notice is very late this month because I have been swamped with school work and finals.  

The December meeting is Sunday the 14th at 3 pm.  Because Sundays are very busy at our usual location we are branching out and will be at the West side Starbucks which is across from the Georgia Perimeter mall.

Starbucks @ Loop 10
10 Huntington Rd
Athens, Ga 30606

We will be there from 3 to 5 pm.  If you can't stay that whole time, feel free to just drop by for a few minutes.  Look for the small group of people with tartan scarves and a big stack of Gaelic books.  We shouldn't be too hard to find!

Meeting Tomorrow! Am bheil sibh a'tighinn? (Are you coming?)

Here is a great picture of two of our younger members working on our Gaelic coloring sheets and wordfinds.  We have been coming up with lots of things to make learning fun.  At the last meeting we introduced the color by number sheets, one that had Gaelic numbers and the other had Gaelic colors.  There were two versions of the wordfind - a full page version and a smaller one for the kids.

Tomorrow we have our monthly meeting at Hendershot's coffee in Athens, GA.  It will start at 3 pm and run until approximately 5 pm.  We will have learning materials for beginners and some games for the adventurous.  

Parking might be an adventure since there is a UGA game tomorrow but we have been told that the Bottlework's parking lot behind the coffee shop is reserved for Bottleworks customers - which will be us!

Looking forward to November

The November meeting has been scheduled!

When:  Saturday, Nov. 15th at 3 pm

Where:  Hendershot's coffee in Athens, GA

Note:  This is a UGA home game day.  However, the Bottleworks where Hendershot's is located has a dedicated parking lot that will be open only to Bottleworks customers.  This parking lot is behind the building.  You can walk across the street and into the back entrance of the coffee shop.

Am bu chòir do dh’Alba a bhith na dùthaich neo-eisimileach? (Should Scotland be an independent country?)

The vote for Scottish independence has been a fascinating topic of conversation for some time now.  We gossiped about it at the Gaelic society meeting last week and chortled over some of the stories, exchanging our views and opinions.  I am not altogether certain that we have a right to strong opinions since none of us live in Scotland, but opinions we have.  While I and my daughter are cheering on the Yes! vote from our comfy view across the pond, in the end what I truly want for Scotland is whatever is best for the people that live there.

The debates and news stories have made an interesting lack of enthusiasm in discussing the role of the Scottish Gaelic language during all the hubbub.  You have to search a bit to find anything related to Gaelic and the independence vote, but it makes for some interesting reading.  Here is what I found:


Referendum 2014 FAQ - the party stance on Gaelic in an independent Scotland.

The Telegraph article - Restating the party stance above, but with some neat tidbits about the decline of spoken Gaelic over the years.

University of Edinburgh article: Lost in Translation - A controversial article regarding the fact that the ballot for the Independence vote will not have a Gaelic component.

The Scotsman article: An article in Gaelic that talks about the lack of Gaelic on the voting ballot.

While I enjoyed reading the works above, getting my hopes up with the official party quote and having them dashed in disappointment over the ballot, the true gem of it all has been finding The Caledonian Mercury.  This small, independent news website has a Gaelic section.  It's not news stories translated into Gaelic though, or even news stories written originally in Gaelic.  It's much, much better.  These are articles about specific Gaelic words, their use and some bits of cultural and historical significance attached.  

The Caledonian Mercury: Gaelic section - If you're interested in Gaelic, you need to see this!

Useful Gaelic word: Clo - Just a sample to whet your appetite.  Learn about this word and it's cultural significance.

September Meeting (update!)

Meeting change!  Due to high volumes of people at Hendershot's Sunday brunch we are changing our time/date and location this weekend.  We will now be meeting on Saturday the 13th at 4 pm.  Come to the Starbucks on the Atlanta Hwy in Athens, GA.  As always, kids are welcome!

This is just an informal meeting of Scottish-minded people who are interested in learning a bit of the Gaelic.  There is no cost involved unless you want some yummy caffeine from the coffee shop that is our location.

Each meeting we work on learning a few new words, practice our pronunciation and introduce a teeny tiny bit of grammar.  There are always reference sheets to help.  We have also been play testing a few games which usually end up with hilarious results.

I hope that you will come and join us!

Anyone a Monty Python fan?

I ran across this site a while back when I was searching for obscure references in Scottish Gaelic.  (Don't ask why - it's a thing I do when I'm bored.)  Omniglot is a fun and slightly nerdy website for language related stuff.  One of the best parts is the page with translations of "My hovercraft is full of eels" into over 70 languages, including Klingon.  The icing on the cake is, of course, the translation into Scottish Gaelic.

Here you go: "Tha mo bhàta-foluaimein loma-làn easgannan."

If you're interested in less esoteric Scottish Gaelic information, Omniglot has a Scottish Gaelic page with lots of great stuff.  

Meeting tomorrow, y'all!

Yes, it's true.  It came upon us all faster than expected, but our next meeting is tomorrow!  Same place (Hendershot's coffee) and same time (3 p.m.).  Please join us.  If you want to learn Gaelic, we can teach you.  If you're already a fluent speaker then maybe you would be willing to correct our grammar.  Everyone is welcome.

This time we will have a gaelic language game to play which should be fun and educational at the same time.  Add people and caffeine for hilarity to ensue.

Air Cuan Dubh Drilseach - The First Scottish Gaelic Sci-fi novel

                  This.  This is one of the reasons I have to learn Gaelic.  Not just a little bit of conversational-phrases-Gaelic, but whopping novel-reading-ability-Gaelic.  I want to read this novel.  And it's only being published in Gaelic.  Personally I think that is pretty awesome.  It's a bold stroke for any novelist to restrict the publication of their brainchild to a language that most people in the world don't even know exists.  It's even more incredible when you realize that Tim Armstrong is not even a native Gaelic speaker.  He's an American who moved to Scotland and fell in love with the language.  Read about this novel and it's author through the links below:

Gaelic Sci-fi Novel Wins Award - The Scotsman

Award Winning First Novel Has Scottish Gaelic Twist - Heraldnet.com

Talking to Tim Armstrong, Author of Air Cuan Dubh Drilseach - Arcfinity (includes some interesting discussion on translating scientific language into Gaelic)

Gaelic Sci-fi Novel Wins Saltire First Book of the Year Award - Island News and Advertiser (Has some great quotes on why Sci-fi is needed in Gaelic)

Am bheil sibh a'tighinn?

It's meeting time!  Am bheil sibh a'tighinn? (Are you coming?)

The place:  Hendershot's Coffee in Athens
The time: 3 p.m.
The date: Saturday 04/19/2014 (that's tomorrow!)

Your friendly, frazzled founder will be wearing a tartan sash for easier recognition.  If you have no clue how to speak Gaelic, don't worry for I will have a pronunciation guide handout.  This is just an informal meet and greet with the added side benefit of learning/speaking some of the Gaelic.  I'm looking forward to the chance to practice some rusty pronunciation skills!

Hendershot's is located in The Bottleworks at 237 Prince Ave.  in Athens, GA.  There is plenty of parking in the Bottleworks lot just behind the building.  Want a map? Click here.

Have questions?  Contact me at NegaGaelic@gmail.com

Failte!

Failte!  (Welcome)

This website is all about the Scottish gaelic language.  There isn’t much here yet because we are just getting started, but eventually it will be a resource of Gaelic learning links and interesting facts.    

Our monthly meetings are open to those with all levels of interest in Gaelic, from those who don’t speak a word to those who are writing a Gaelic-language novel.  We can help each other with pronunciation, learn new words and phrases and possibly be wild enough to play games in gaelic!  If you’ve ever been curious about Gaelic or just wanted to know how to pronounce it, come and join us.

It is free to join our group - there are no fees or dues required.  Our first meeting will be held at Hendershot’s on April 19th at 3 pm.  If you have any questions you can contact us at negagaelic@gmail.com.