Am Foghar No. 3, 2008

Caoraich Thapaidh Complete Zero to Gaelic Program

Mealaibh Ur Naidheachd! The Board of Directors and Gaelic Education Commit-tee wish to congratulate the three members of Caoraich

Thapaidh who completed the Zero to Gaelic program at last Saturday's Gaelic Intensive Day. Nina Chambers, Sarah Bryc, and Adhaniá Olson received their completion pins and certificates from Chas Talbot, chair of the Gaelic Education Committee.

All three plan to continue pursuit of Gaelic language skills and are brimming with great ideas for enhancing the program offerings for Z2G graduates. Togaibh Ur Bradain!

Mark Your Calendars

November 2nd Annual General Meet-ing and Celtic New Year Céilidh

November 8th New Zero to Gaelic year starts

see page 5 for complete details

Ready to start your journey to the beating heart of Gaeldom and the front page of Am Bradan Fiosa? A new program year of Zero to

Gaelic will start on November 8th! See our Web site at www.slighe.com/z2g for complete details!

Recent Library DonationsAdults

The Discovery of France: A Historical Geography from the Revolution to the First World War by Graham Robb, W.W. Norton & Company: New York, 2007. 978-0-393-05973-1

The land and people of France were little-known to their government until the 18th century when Parisian officials began a campaign to build a uniform French culture. Among other things, this included a campaign to eliminate all other languages and dialects. A fascinat-ing but depressing book.

Bith-Eòlas: a’ Chealla, Gintinneachd is Mean-fhàs by Ragh-nall MacLeòid, translated by Ruaraidh MacThómais, Gairm: Glaschu, 1976. 152 pages.

Although described as introductory this is a serious technical book on biology, circa 1976. The text is all in Gàidhlig and mathematical notation. The brief introduc-tion is in English and there is a bilingual glossary.

Nominations Open for the MacRae Award

The Alexander MacRae Memorial Award for Outstand-ing Contribution to Gaelic Culture will be awarded for the seventh time to a member of Slighe nan Gaidheal at the 11th Annual General Meeting on the first weekend of November. Long-time supporter of Slighe nan Gaidheal, Colin MacRae, donated a beautiful trophy in memory of his father, Alexander MacRae, to recognize and inspire the efforts of Slighe nan Gaidheal members in their ef-forts to further Gaelic culture.In answer to past inquiries about who can be nominated, nominees can include Slighe nan Gaidheal couples or groups, as well as individual members who further the Gaelic cause. We wish to recognize the efforts of those working tirelessly behind the scenes, as well as those actively passing on the tradition.Any person may nominate a member of Slighe nan Gaidheal for this award. Simply write a letter explaining why you believe your nominee has made an outstanding contribution to the Gaelic world and send it by October 15th to SnG Awards Committee, PO Box 31834, Seattle, WA 98103, to the attention of "MacRae Award." You may also submit your nomination online by visiting our Web site at www.slighe.com/awards . Click on the Contact the Awards Committee link and follow the instructions. Be sure to put "MacRae Award" in the subject line of your message.The Board of Directors will select the winner from among the nominees. Any Board member nominated cannot participate in the recipient selection process.

Publication InformationAm Bradan Fiosa is produced on a quarterly basis for the members of Slighe nan Gaidheal by the Communications Committee and additional contributors.Editor Nan Pardew Layout Seumas GagneContributors to this issue: Sarah Bryc, Seumas Gagne, Gary Ingle, Nancy Neveln, and Ted Neveln.Mission Statement: The mission of Am Bradan Fiosa is to provide the membership of Slighe nan Gaidheal with news and information about upcoming events and items of interest to Gaelic language learners, and to document the life of our community.Slighe nan Gaidheal members and supporters are welcome to sub-mit items for publication in Am Bradan Fiosa that are Gaelic-related and meet its editorial guidelines. Publication of such contributions does not imply endorsement of programs or events that are not sponsored by Slighe nan Gaidheal.Next Publication deadline: December 15th, 2008.

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Slighe nan Gaidheal’s Board of Directors

Pandora CableSecretary pandora@slighe.composition 4 • term expires 2010

Chas TalbotGaelic Education Officer chas@slighe.composition 5 • term expires 2010

Mary FearsDevelopment Director mary@slighe.composition 3 • term expires: 2009

Taylor HoltzPresident taylor@slighe.composition 7 • term expires 2008

Margaret Salmi Directormargaretsalmi@slighe.com position 2 • term expires 2009

Geoff SammonsTreasurer geoff@slighe.composition 8 • term expires 2008

Kate FreeburgVice-President katefreeburg@slighe.composition 6 • term expires 2010

Seumas GagneDirector seumasgagne@slighe.composition 1 • term expires 2009

Penny DeGraffDirector penny@slighe.composition 9 • term expires 2008

A chompanaich choir,

It is time once again to elect three new board members for the 2008–2011 term. As usual, the election will take place at our An-nual General Meeting, tentatively scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 1st. More details about the AGM will be available at www.slighe.com as the date approaches.

If you would like to know more about what the board member job requires or how to run for election, please feel free to contact the Elections Chairperson or any current or past Board member.

To run for election, contact the Elections Chairperson for instruc-tions on writing your candidate statement. As a reminder, outgo-ing Board members who wish to stand for re-election must also submit candidate statements.

Candidate statements are due to the Elections Chairperson on September 30. Please mail your typewritten statement to our PO Box (PO Box 31834, Seattle, WA 98103) or e-mail it to me, the Elections Chairperson.

Is mise le meas,

Sarah Bryc, Elections Chairperson 206-283-9877 sarahbryc@slighe.com

Upcoming Board Elections

Children

These are new acquisitions that have been added to the resources of the children’s playgroup in care of Judith Peacock Cummings.

An t-Ionnsachadh Òg: Materials for Teaching Gaelic to 3-8, by Rosemary McCormack, illustrations by Phyllis MacLellan.

Ms. McCormack has visited Seattle in the past to present at Gaelic Intensive Days. She also lent her beautiful nar-rative voice to the album Nollaig Chridheil.

There are several pages of guidance to teachers with suggestions on teaching Gaelic to children, more than 120 pages of materials such as rhymes, riddles, songs, and stories. In the back, there are lists of further sources for children’s books in Gaelic and other bibliographies and sources.

Tickettyboo: Òrain Chloinne (Songs for Children) by Mairi MacInnes, Greentrax: CDTRAX 211.

Twenty-three modern and traditional songs for children are sung by Mairi MacInnes. English and Gaelic lyrics are included in the liner notes. The Gaelic lyrics do not show the sracs. The production values are high. Copy in the Slighe nan Gaidheal Library.

Leughadh agus Sgrìobhadh: Leabhar-obrach Cloinne by Laurinda Nic Mhathain, illustrations by Kali Harris. Sìol Enterprises, St. Andrew’s, Nova Scotia, 2006.

This evolved from lessons developed by the wife of Trueman Matheson for their two children. Like Ticket-tyboo, it is Canada-centric and the Gaelic diverges from Gaelic Orthographic Conventions to reflect the common dialects of Cape Breton. 74 pages including a vocabulary.

Broidreagan agus a chuideachd by Georges Bideau. An Communn Gaidhealach.

This book looks like it was printed in the 1950s and some of the orthography is old but charming. Broidreagan the Brù-dhearg (Redbreast) is very sad being caged up so two children release him and he experiences freedom. After meeting everybody on the farm and in the woods, he declines a fox’s invitation to dinner and goes home. This provides a great way to learn the names of animals. Here is an excerpt:

Bha an coileach turcach a’ feitheamh mar a b’àbhaist ri sìol innseanach. Thall an siud bha na geòidh, an ràc, agus an linn gu gionach a’ sgobadh a’ bhìdh a thug a bhan-tuathanaich gan ionnsaidh. Nuair a fhuair iad uile riarachadh, bha a’ phiseag deiseil airson a criomagan fhéin.

(Note: the dictionaries of Angus Watson and Colin Mark give coileach-Frangach, eun-Frangach and cearc-Fhrangach as their words for turkey, while the example above uses coileach turcach.)

Book Reviews

Tasgaidh: A Gaelic Thesaurus by Garbhan MacAoidh, 2007: self-published and avail-able at www.lulu.com, 93 pages.

reviewed by Ted Brian Neveln

This modest thesaurus is a good resource for people wanting to write on particular subjects in Gaelic. It is actually a compilation of word lists on varying subjects, including Birds, Fish, Vegetables, Tools and Hardware, Weapons, Parts of the Body, Diseases, Clothes, Vessels, Sports, and so on. Other, more authoritative thesauruses already exist for plants and animals but Tasgaidh is ex-ceptionally handy to use.

A number of concepts have links to extended discus-sions in the defunct but authoritative magazine Gairm on such topics as Religion, Agriculture, First Aid, Peat, Genetics, Piping, Astronomy, Hairdressing, Computers agus mar sin air adhart.

There is also a “Glossary of less common and literary words, including expressions used in the centenary an-thology Tuil, plus idioms from Lewis and other islands.” Would-be writers may also get some use from the English-Gaelic Dictionary of Idioms—again not exhaus-tive, but it can be fun looking up the Gàidhlig for “Far be it from me” or “Move along there!”

An Long Hirteach—St. Kilda Mail-Boat Anne Lorne Gillies 2004 Brìgh Productions (BR003)

One of my best memories of the recent Féis 2008 was listening to a multimedia tour of St. Kilda presented by Anne Lorne Gillies and her husband. We couldn’t resist buying this album, which features the songs she sang at the Féis and other Hiort songs she collected. Hiort is the alternate Gàidhlig name for St. Kilda. The Hiortaich lived in close association with birds and it is said that they spoke and sang Gàidhlig with a bird-like lilt. She cap-tures this quite well in several of her songs, especially tracks one and four. Track one (“Leac na Gàdaig / On a Cliff-Edge”) narrates the ire of a girl whose suitor has not brought his sweetheart a gift of eggs, and how she would like to retaliate by dangling him over a cliff with the birds for company. Track four is a haunting lullabye “Do dhà shùil bheag bhiolach / Your Two Beady Little Eyes,” in which the mother spies a bird creeping around for a larder to raid and promises not to tell on it.

The harp accompaniments are especially memorable. Anne Lorne Gillies does not give the English translations of the songs, instead providing condensed Gàidhlig lyrics underneath. Most of the text describes the background of the songs.

Zero to Gaelic: Toward a More Secure FutureAs the start of another year of Zero to Gaelic events nears, the Gaelic Education Committee is looking for-ward to welcoming both new and returning participants.The committee has also been thinking about the chal-lenges we face and how best to meet them. Every Gaelic intensive day we produced last year lost money. Some of them lost a lot of money. We've gotten away with those kinds of outcomes in the past because Féis Shiàtail made up the difference for us. In 2008 however, Féis atten-dance was down to 2002 levels while costs soared. That was quite a wake-up call for the Féis, the Zero to Gaelic program, and Seirm.

In our committee meetings we worked the math, turned it inside out, and shook out its pockets, but there was no way to avoid raising the costs. To barely meet expenses, each Gaelic intensive day must bring in approximately $960. Charging thirty dollars per person would mean breaking even at 32 participants. Several days last year we didn't make it to 10 people. We also want to share the financial burden fairly and reward folks who have been participating regularly and helping our community progress.

So, in consultation with the Board of Directors, we've devised the following plan: Members of Slighe nan Gaidheal will be able to purchase a full year of Gaelic intensive days (that's 20 hours of classroom instruction) for $200. Pre-registration by October 29th and full pay-ment will be required. Participants who want to attend a single intensive day will pay $50, regardless of their membership status. To help you manage this change, we will be able to accept credit cards in advance via our Web site for your registration. Visit www.slighe.com/z2g for more infor-mation about paying online.

If you've ever attended college you know that not every advertised class happens. If enough people don't sign up, then the class isn't of-fered. Unfortunately, Zero to Gaelic is go-ing to have to do the same. Unless enough participants sign up in advance, we are going to have to cancel one or more levels of the

Committee Chair DirectoryAwards vacant

Communications Seumas Gagne | seumasgagne@slighe.com

Development Mary Fears | mary@slighe.com

Féis Shiàtail 2008 Kate Freeburg | katefreeburg@slighe.com

Gaelic Education Chas Talbot | chas@slighe.com

Gaelic Music Penny McLeod DeGraff | penny@slighe.com Seumas Gagne | seumasgagne@slighe.com

Library and Archives Chas Talbot | chas@slighe.com

Parents and Children Judith Cummings | judith@slighe.com

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program for the full year. In the event that we have to cancel a level for the upcoming year, anyone who has registered in advance for that level will be entitled to a full refund, of course.

We will also do our best to get you in touch with a pri-vate instructor who can help you complete the program

syllabus for that year and stay on track to getting your Zero to Gaelic completion pin.

We know that this is a big change and a lot to take in at once. If you would like to discuss it with a member of the Gaelic Education commit-tee, please contact us through our Web site at www.slighe.com/gaeliceducation . Click on the Contact the Gaelic Educa-tion committee link, and be sure to include "Z2G Pricing" in the subject line of your message.

A Gaelic prayer taken from Dwelly’s Dictionary under the headword talamh-toll. “

Gun gléidheadh tu sinn o thalamh-toll, o mhointichean

‘s o shaighdearan dearga ‘n righ.”

“Save us from quagmires, from peat mosses and from the king’s red soldiers.”

Six Adverbs of Motion and Restby Nancy and Ted Brian Neveln

Nancy was looking at two different diagrams that il-lustrate some verbs of motion and rest and then distilled out the following diagram. The concept is hers but the art is mine. If someone can improve its aesthetics, that would be great.

The adverbs beginning with sh are motionless. (Shhhh, let them sleep.)

Words with ua are “up” and words with io in the middle are “down.”

Suas leis a’ Ghàidhlig.

Thig a-nuas

Theirig suas

Thig a-nìos

Theirig sìos

This diagram is idealized. Not all dialects use all these words.

More complete diagrams of adverbs of motion and rest can be found in Colin Mark’s dictionary on pages 668-72 and on Gary Ingle’s Web site at: www.quidnunc.net/~garyi/quickref/quick.html

Calendar of Events

For the most up-to-date and complete information, always check www.slighe.com/calendar.php

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Saturday, October 4th 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm

Oran nan Car Performance at Issaquah Salmon Days Festival | Join Oran nan Car at this free festival that features tours of Issaquah's historic salmon hatchery, arts and crafts, plenty of ethnic and NW cuisine, a Field of Fun for kids of all ages, Artists in Action, and of course, the Gaelic songs and tunes of Oran nan Car! Location: Historic Downtown Issaquah More information: http://www.oran-nan-car.com

Sunday, October 5th 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm

Board of Directors Monthly Meeting | Members welcome with prior no-tice. Location: Private home

Saturday, October 11th 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm

Caoraich Thapaidh Study Session | Come and study the weekend before the GID. Bring your syllabus, table of correspondence, dictionary and text book as we go over the material to be presented the following Saturday at the Gaelic Intensive Day. This is a beginner's level study group of peers; there are no teachers, assign-ments or homework. We work together to gain a better understanding of what we are about to cover at the GID. Location: Continental Restaurant 4549 University Way NE Seattle, WA

Sunday, October 19th 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm

Gaelic Education Committee Monthly Meeting | Come join the commit-tee as we design and produce the Zero to Gaelic program. Location: Private home

Sunday, November 2nd 1:00 pm to 7:00 pm

Annual General Meeting and Celtic New Year Ceilidh | Join us for our annual general meeting of members (Our 11th!). Elections! Presentations! Scone-off! and a super-fun Celtic New Year Ceilidh featuring Seirm! Location: Venue to be announced

Saturday, November 8th 9:30 am to 4:00 pm

Zero to Gaelic Intensive Day | Time for a new year of Zero to Gaelic to begin! A new group of Gaelic adventurers will start on their way! Richard Hill and Seumas Gagne will present two levels. Our third presenter and pricing information will be available soon. Location: University Heights Center 5031 University Way NE Seattle

Sunday, November 16th 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm

Gaelic Education Committee Monthly Meeting | Come join the commit-tee as we design and produce the Zero to Gaelic program. Locaton: Private home

Trì bho “taibhs’”1. An Trìur Manach Fealla-dhà air a thionndadh bhon t-sean teanga. (Ged a dh'fhaodas tu sgeulachdan a fhaighinn coltach ri seo air feadh an t-saoghail, is math a dh'fhaodte gur e seo am fealla-dhà as sine san teanga gaidhealach.)Bha triùir manach ann a rinn diùltadh don t-saoghal.Chaidh iad anns an fhàsach a chum am peacaidhean a dh'aideachadh nan tost fa chomhair Dhé. Bha iad ann gun labhairt air feadh bliadhna. An ceann na bliadhna sin thuirt fear dhiubh do fhear eile, "Is ann gu math a tha sinn."An ceann bliadhna eile thuirt an dara manach, "Math gu dearbh."Bha iad ann gu ceann bliadhna eile."Dar m'anam," thuirt an treas fear, "mura leigear ciùin dhomh gum fàg mi am fàsach dhuibh uile!"

2. Cosnadh Peacaidhean (Feuch Iob 1:1)Bha ministear ann an tìr àraidh dom b'ainm Bob; agus bha am ministear sin coileanta agus dìreach, agus na neach air an robh eagal Dhé, agus a sheachainn olc; agus bha e ana-dhèidheil air a' ghoilf.Madainn Domhnaich a bh'ann ghabh an t-Urr. Bob sear-monachadh dian lasanta air a' cheann-teagaisg "Cuimh-nich latha na sàbaid..." Thug an co-thional aire gheur air a fhaclan le gnogaidhean-cinn agus pailteas "Amén!"Thachair gun robh aimsir bhreagha ann, agus an deidh na seirbhise thàinig miann is buaireadh air Bob turas goilf a dhèanamh. Bha a mhaileid-chamain anns a' chàr aige. Chaidh e sios don raon goilf is thug e sùil uime; cha robh duine sam bith ri fhaicinn. Thuirt e ris fhéin "Cha dèanadh e cron ma dhèanainn turas beag leam fhín nam aonar." Mar sin thòisich e air an turas, agus e a' coimhead uimesan fad na h-ùine gun fhios nach tigeadh fear da cho-thional ga fhaicinn anns a' pheacadh bheag sin.Aig an àm, shuas air nèamh, bha Naomh Peadar a coimhead sios air an talamh, agus chunnaic esan na bha a' tachairt. Ruith Peadar suas gu Dia agus thuirt, "A Dhia, feuch dé tha am ministear Bob a' dèanamh, agus e a' bristeadh na sàbaide mar sin." Thug Dia sùil air Bob agus a mhaileid-chamain agus am balla aige air a cheud tee. Thuirt Esan ri Peadar "Gabhaidh mi fom chùram-sa a' chuis seo. Faodaidh tu tilleadh dha na Geataichean Neamhnaide." Ach bha Naomh Peadar leisg air falbh, gus am faic e ciod e am peanas a bheireadh Dia air an truaghan.Ghabh am ministear caman; thug e buille air a' bhalla, agus anns a' bhad dh'éirigh cnap-gaoithe a thog am balla suas agus a leig tuiteam e dìreach a-steach anns a' cheud tholl.

"Dar an Tighearna," ars am ministear, "toll-air-aon!" Thu-irt e ris fhéin, "Tha e coltach gu bheil na tha mi 'dèanamh an-diugh na chuis toileachais ann an sealladh an Tig-hearna." Chum am ministear air aghaidh agus thachair an aon rud aig gach toll: thogadh cnap-gaoithe am balla agus leigeadh e a-steach anns an toll e. "Tha mi beanna-ichte gu dearbh an-diugh," smaoinich Bob. An gèama a's fheàrr de mo bheatha."Shuas air néamh cha robh toileachas idir aig Naomh Peadar, agus ghlaodh e, "A Dhia, carson a thug Thu duais luachmhor dha, an àite peanais do a pheacaid-hean?" Dh'fhreagair Dia, "Cha tug; 's e peanas geur agus uallach mhór a thug mi air.""Chan eil mi 'tuigsinn," ars Peadar."Smaoinich mionaid," ars Dia, "is e an gèama a's fheàrr a chluich e sa bheatha; agus có dha a's urrainn dha ga innseadh?"

3. Pebble BeachThàinig Maois agus Iosa Crìosd a-nuas don talamh air-son turus goilf a chluich aig Pebble Beach. Air a' cheud tee thug Iosa a-mach caman 2-iarunn agus bha Esan gus am balla a bhualadh suas don fhaiche air a cheud bhuille."Cha bu choir dhuitsa an 2-iarunn a chleachdadh air a' cheud tee anns an raon seo," arsa Maois.Dh'fhreagair Iosa "chunnaic mi Arnold Palmer sin a dhèanamh air a' mhachair seo," agus thug E buille làidir air a' bhalla. Gu dé a thachair ach gun deach am balla dìreach a-steach anns an fhairge."Gheibh mise do bhalla dhuit" arsa Maois. Ruith e sios agus chaidh e a dh'ionnsaigh na fairge agus shìn e a-mach a làmhan os cionn nan uisgeachan, agus sgar na h-uisgeachan bho chéile, agus thug Maois greim air a' bhalla. Thug e air ais do Iosa e.Chuir Iosa am balla a-rithist air an tee agus thog E an 2-iarunn. Arsa Maois, "saoil chan fheuch thu sin uair eile?" ach dh'fhreagair Iosa "ma's urrainn do dh'Arnold, 's urrainn dhomhsa" agus splais! Chaidh am balla dì-reach anns an uisge an dara turus.Chaidh Maois sios le òsna gu iomall na fairge agus shìn e a-mach a-rithist a làmhan agus sgar na h-uisgeachan bho chéile agus thog Maois am balla mar a rinn roimhe.Dh'fheuch Iosa an aon chleas air an treas uair. Arsa Maois, "chan fhaigh mi air ais e an uair seo; 's ann ort fhéin a bhitheas a' chuis!"Chuàc! Chaidh am balla mar a chaidh, dìreach anns an fhairge, agus siud iad, Iosa a' coiseachd air uachdar nan uisgeachan, am balla air grunnd na mara agus Esan a' coimhead a-nuas air fo imcheist.An-sin thàinig dithis Ameireaganach gus an tee. Arsa fear dhiubh, "Who does that guy think he is, Jesus Christ?" Dh'fhreagair Maois gu crosta, "No! He thinks he's Arnold Palmer!"