How Hard Is It To Learn Gaelic

I am going to do an introductory form in Gaelic starting in February (since i live in Scotland, i feel it would exist a useful matter to know).

I have seen that the spelling looks very difficult to learn, how almost the grammar?

To cook or eat?

I grate the garlic in certain foods, or in my roast dinner I put them in the turkey/chicken or around it and they are actually sugariness. Cooking garlic is quite unproblematic =)

tastes nasty on its ain but good with other foods!

Oh my god.. really..

Information technology is quite hard from what I know OP, difficult to explain but slight variations of words mean unlike things and whatnot. I'one thousand certain you will pick it up though if you lot work at information technology

omfg i read this thread wrong

sorry

It seems to be quite similar to Irish (Gaeilge). I have to say it will be difficult. Information technology bears no resemblance to english like european languages do except for borrowed modern words. There are several irregular verbs and there are grammatic er things for want of a meliorate word that don't occur in English language or French (to be the all-time of my knowledge...only other languages I know). However, there isn't seperate endings for male and female, they are all the one. The order of a sentence is unlike also for case yous project the activity at the start of the sentence 'Thit mé as mo leaba'- I fell out of my bed. Thit (cruel) is the activeness at the first...mé is me and so that'south the subject and then the object is at the end- leaba (bed). 'every bit mo' just means out of my. This is Irish and Gaelic volition take slight changes to that sentence but it will remain almost entirely the same. There are lots of letters that aren't pronounced- for example 'dh' at the end of a word (this is Scots Gaelic now, Irish gaelic has a different fashion slightly) and in that location are some messages that don't be so the linguistic communication substitutes- for instance 'bh' and 'mh' brand the 'v' sound.

The spelling is not the problem, that volition come easily to you once you learn the pronunciation and the difference some messages brand. For example knowing why in that location is a need for the commencement 'i' in 'céilidh' (traditional Irish gaelic trip the light fantastic toe and music group session) means that spelling will eventually exist adequately piece of cake once y'all accept a grasp of the linguistic communication. Céilidh is a cracking example atually- the emphasis over the due east ways the e is pronounced similar the long pronunciation of A, the dh is not pronounced merely it is in that location to indicate that the i is a long i- making an eee sound instead of being like the short i sound. And then if that makes sense that means the pronunciation is kay-lee. You need to get the structure of English out of your head basically.

Whether or not a language is difficult depends entirely on the learner - namely his or her native language.
Anyway, a bit well-nigh the language: It's an Indo-European language from the Celtic branch. It uses our alphabet, and tends to be VSO (verb-subject field-object, distressing if you knew that already).
It'south not what I'd telephone call a phonetic language - it'due south worse than English in that respect, even so one time you get used to it it's non actually too hard to spell the words.
What else... ah yes, mutations. At that place are rules that sometimes dictate that the next word be mutated - basically, if information technology starts with a consonant, you lot add an 'h' afterward the consonant. This changes how the consonant is pronounced.

That'southward just about it, actually.

I was trying to think of the english term for that..mutation, which sounds odd in reference to a linguistic communication. In Gaelic (Gaeilge anyway) this is called a shéimhiú (shay-voo). It adds a gutteral h sound to every give-and-take and the rules governing its use are complicated. At that place is another mutation also, chosen an urú (urr-oo). Yous will enounter both fairly early once verbs take been gone through..

I alive in Scotland too but I think it's a dying language information technology should exist encouraged only if I were going to learn a language I'd choice ane that would allow me to communicate with more than people since there's less than 2 one thousand thousand speakers of the linguistic communication simply props for some pride in your heritage

(Original post past TheCaledonian)
I live in Scotland as well simply I recollect it's a dying language it should be encouraged merely if I were going to learn a language I'd selection one that would allow me to communicate with more people since at that place'southward less than two million speakers of the language but props for some pride in your heritage

Well I study Italian and French so do have languages to communicate with. Subsequently going to Lewis last week, I know that there are at least a few places in the country where the linguistic communication is strong. Thank you, I'm really English though! I very much like living in Scotland though, and feel acquiring gaelic to a bearable level would be fun.

I'one thousand learning Gaelic right now and I have to say information technology's not every bit bad as you'd think. For me, it went through stages. At the showtime it was like hitting a brick wall; y'all really, really cannot judge how to pronounce words until you stick with Gaelic for long enough that yous take a reasonable thought. For me that took about a month, but I was getting one-to-1 tuition, basically. You may do it much faster or more slowly, I don't know.

I assumed that I would find it easier since I wouldn't have to change my emphasis much to speak it, just I was wrong. If you're not an islander or something, you lot might find that you have to change your emphasis quite a bit (i.eastward. soften it a lot). My accent'southward quite neutral and I really had to get used to the sort of lilting nature of information technology. Information technology depends on where the person didactics you Gaelic is from, but they're probable to have a scrap of a lilt to their voice. The dialects are very important too - I tin't understand Lewis accents at all, they only audio like they're speaking Gaelic with an overly exaggerated Norwegian accent (the most farthermost speakers of the dialect I mean). There's also an interesting thing where people from the islands can pronounce the "r" in some words as a sort of voiced "th" sound - "De tha cearr ort, a' Mhairi" or "What's wrong, Mairi" is "Dye ha cyarr orst, a' Vathi?" I don't do that, simply it's an interesting thing.

There'south also some sounds that don't exist in English at all. The ane that comes to mind is "dh" in Dha or Dhachaigh and certain other words. It might not be pronounced at all in some words like ceilidh, merely in the two I mentioned it'south pronounced like the "gh" in Afghanistan when an Indian news presenter pronounces it. Information technology sounds absolutely bizarre, I had a hard time getting the hang of it.

As a lilliputian example, "Tha gu dearbh" is "ha goo dyeruv", and "A'bheil thu ag iarraidh drumaichean?" is "A-vil oo (or very slight hoo) ag ayaree drumaychyean".

Interestingly, Gaelic doesn't take a yes or no. Instead, to the question "Did yous play shinty on tuesday?" you lot would answer "Played" or "Did not play". "Are you well?" "Am." "Am not". and and so on.
"An robh thu a'chluich iomain dimairt?" "Chluich" "Cha exercise chluich".

Mercifully, one time you get past the brick-wall of pronunciation, Gaelic becomes quite simple. When you speak Gaelic you'll observe that your clauses and such flow seamlessly together with that wonderful word "agus" for "and". It's hard to depict, it's just one of those languages that you can speak very apace in without much problem.

There'south also a lot of words that are the same every bit they are in English language, they're simply "Gaelicised" e.chiliad. draibhair for driver is pronounced the aforementioned manner. Gaelic vocabulary isn't too hard, nor is spelling. Spelling in Gaelic has some quite uncomplicated rules then you don't have to worry besides much. It'southward a lot easier to spell than English language in some means. Likewise, the grammar isn't too complicated. It'due south only very different to English so you have to go used to proverb things similar "I have a butcher in me" when yous want to say "I am a butcher" and to say "I am in the park" or "I was in the park" you lot say "Be me in the park" or "Was I in the park." "I accept played tennis becomes" "Accept played me tennis". That sounds odd, but the nature of Gaelic is that you lot shouldn't feel like yous're building upwards a sentence with lego like you do when you speak English language or German or Russian. Information technology feels a lot more than natural and uncomplicated, merely in a practiced way.

I would wholeheartedly recommend Gaelic, merely you have to exist committed to it to get past the initial problems. Later on that, y'all're on an upward bend to fluency (hopefully).

Two of my friends are fluent in Gaelic, and it sounds like a pretty tongue-twisting language. I'd imagine it would exist pretty difficult to larn merely it sounds beautiful then I hope you lot stick with information technology

My grandparents are fluent and my parents are slightly conversational, it seems incredibly hard just to pronounce the words.

Ane of my regrets in life is that I never learned how to speak it. It does seem to exist a dying linguistic communication, my whole family has spoken Gaelic For generations yet in my generation none of us speak it. Information technology's quite sad really.

Anyway good luck with information technology!!!

(Original post by Osmond)
I'm learning Gaelic right now and I have to say information technology'southward not equally bad as you'd retrieve. For me, it went through stages. At the beginning it was like striking a brick wall; you lot actually, really cannot judge how to pronounce words until you lot stick with Gaelic for long enough that you have a reasonable thought. For me that took about a month, but I was getting one-to-one tuition, basically. You may do information technology much faster or more slowly, I don't know.

I assumed that I would find it easier since I wouldn't accept to alter my accent much to speak it, just I was wrong. If you're not an islander or something, yous might find that you lot have to change your emphasis quite a bit (i.east. soften it a lot). My accent'south quite neutral and I really had to go used to the sort of lilting nature of it. Information technology depends on where the person educational activity y'all Gaelic is from, simply they're probable to take a bit of a lilt to their voice. The dialects are very important as well - I can't understand Lewis accents at all, they just sound like they're speaking Gaelic with an overly exaggerated Norwegian accent (the most extreme speakers of the dialect I mean). There'south also an interesting thing where people from the islands tin can pronounce the "r" in some words as a sort of voiced "th" sound - "De tha cearr ort, a' Mhairi" or "What's wrong, Mairi" is "Dye ha cyarr orst, a' Vathi?" I don't practise that, but it's an interesting thing.

At that place's too some sounds that don't exist in English language at all. The 1 that comes to listen is "dh" in Dha or Dhachaigh and certain other words. Information technology might not be pronounced at all in some words similar ceilidh, but in the two I mentioned it'southward pronounced like the "gh" in Afghanistan when an Indian news presenter pronounces it. It sounds absolutely bizarre, I had a difficult time getting the hang of it.

As a little case, "Tha gu dearbh" is "ha goo dyeruv", and "A'bheil thu ag iarraidh drumaichean?" is "A-vil oo (or very slight hoo) ag ayaree drumaychyean".

Interestingly, Gaelic doesn't accept a yes or no. Instead, to the question "Did yous play shinty on tuesday?" you would reply "Played" or "Did not play". "Are you well?" "Am." "Am not". and so on.
"An robh thu a'chluich iomain dimairt?" "Chluich" "Cha exercise chluich".

Mercifully, once you get past the brick-wall of pronunciation, Gaelic becomes quite unproblematic. When you speak Gaelic you lot'll find that your clauses and such menses seamlessly together with that wonderful give-and-take "agus" for "and". It's hard to describe, information technology's merely one of those languages that you tin speak very quickly in without much trouble.

There's too a lot of words that are the aforementioned equally they are in English language, they're but "Gaelicised" e.one thousand. draibhair for driver is pronounced the same way. Gaelic vocabulary isn't too difficult, nor is spelling. Spelling in Gaelic has some quite simple rules and then y'all don't have to worry as well much. It's a lot easier to spell than English in some ways. Also, the grammar isn't likewise complicated. It'southward just very different to English and so you lot have to get used to saying things like "I have a butcher in me" when you want to say "I am a butcher" and to say "I am in the park" or "I was in the park" you say "Be me in the park" or "Was I in the park." "I accept played tennis becomes" "Accept played me tennis". That sounds odd, just the nature of Gaelic is that you shouldn't feel like yous're edifice up a sentence with lego like you practice when you speak English or German or Russian. It feels a lot more natural and elementary, but in a skilful way.

I would wholeheartedly recommend Gaelic, but you have to be committed to it to go past the initial issues. After that, you're on an upward curve to fluency (hopefully).

Fascinating! So similar to Gaeilge merely different in spelling. Iarraidh is eer-ee, the negative is ní or níor, question for 'are you' is An bhfuil tú...nosotros use accents- fadas- a lot, it doesn't appear Gaelic does, it compensates in other ways?

(Original postal service by StarsAreFixed)
Fascinating! Then similar to Gaeilge simply different in spelling. Iarraidh is eer-ee, the negative is ní or níor, question for 'are you' is An bhfuil tú...we use accents- fadas- a lot, information technology doesn't appear Gaelic does, it compensates in other means?

Oh sorry, we utilize it in Gaelic a lot, I just don't know how to do them on my keyboard, haha. Information technology's the same as Gaeilge in that respect. Lamentable for confusing yous there.

I should say also that ane thing that may involvement you is that (correct me if I'm wrong) when in Irish, a Gaelic speaking area is called a Gaeltacht, we call the highlands the Gaidhealtachd, but we pronounce the d at the and as a soft "k" sound rather than a sort of "t". Information technology's the same for piobaireachd.

Ahhh right, I've seen the spelling of ceilidh a lot with no fadas- nosotros say céilí and so I causeless the dh is to compensate for no i's and then you lot seemed to confirm this in my head ha. Well the word gaeltacht is pretty harsh- gwale-tockt- so it's not really that different and would probably be the verbal same in virtually dialects. But the d is more pronounced in other words. Weird how languages differ..

Fadas are ctrl+alt+ the vowel. It might depend I suppose on your keyboard settings though, if information technology works or not.

(Original post by Osmond)
I'm learning Gaelic right now and I have to say information technology's non as bad equally you'd remember. For me, it went through stages. At the start it was like striking a brick wall; you really, actually cannot guess how to pronounce words until yous stick with Gaelic for long enough that you have a reasonable idea. For me that took nigh a month, but I was getting one-to-i tuition, basically. You may do it much faster or more slowly, I don't know.

I assumed that I would detect it easier since I wouldn't have to modify my accent much to speak it, but I was wrong. If you're non an islander or something, you might observe that you have to change your accent quite a bit (i.e. soften it a lot). My emphasis's quite neutral and I really had to get used to the sort of lilting nature of it. It depends on where the person teaching you Gaelic is from, but they're likely to have a bit of a lilt to their voice. The dialects are very important too - I tin can't understand Lewis accents at all, they merely audio like they're speaking Gaelic with an overly exaggerated Norwegian accent (the most extreme speakers of the dialect I hateful). At that place'southward likewise an interesting thing where people from the islands can pronounce the "r" in some words as a sort of voiced "th" audio - "De tha cearr ort, a' Mhairi" or "What's wrong, Mairi" is "Dye ha cyarr orst, a' Vathi?" I don't practise that, but it's an interesting thing.

In that location's besides some sounds that don't be in English at all. The ane that comes to mind is "dh" in Dha or Dhachaigh and sure other words. It might not be pronounced at all in some words like ceilidh, but in the two I mentioned information technology's pronounced like the "gh" in Afghanistan when an Indian news presenter pronounces information technology. It sounds absolutely baroque, I had a hard time getting the hang of it.

Equally a footling instance, "Tha gu dearbh" is "ha goo dyeruv", and "A'bheil thu ag iarraidh drumaichean?" is "A-vil oo (or very slight hoo) ag ayaree drumaychyean".

Interestingly, Gaelic doesn't have a yes or no. Instead, to the question "Did you play shinty on tuesday?" you lot would reply "Played" or "Did not play". "Are you well?" "Am." "Am non". and then on.
"An robh thu a'chluich iomain dimairt?" "Chluich" "Cha exercise chluich".

Mercifully, in one case yous get past the brick-wall of pronunciation, Gaelic becomes quite simple. When you speak Gaelic you'll notice that your clauses and such flow seamlessly together with that wonderful word "agus" for "and". It's hard to describe, it's simply 1 of those languages that you can speak very speedily in without much problem.

There'south as well a lot of words that are the aforementioned every bit they are in English language, they're just "Gaelicised" e.g. draibhair for driver is pronounced the same way. Gaelic vocabulary isn't as well hard, nor is spelling. Spelling in Gaelic has some quite simple rules so you don't accept to worry besides much. Information technology'southward a lot easier to spell than English language in some ways. Likewise, the grammar isn't as well complicated. It'southward just very different to English so yous take to get used to saying things like "I have a butcher in me" when you lot desire to say "I am a butcher" and to say "I am in the park" or "I was in the park" you say "Be me in the park" or "Was I in the park." "I accept played lawn tennis becomes" "Have played me tennis". That sounds odd, merely the nature of Gaelic is that you shouldn't feel similar you're building up a sentence with lego like you lot practice when you speak English or German or Russian. Information technology feels a lot more natural and simple, but in a expert manner.

I would wholeheartedly recommend Gaelic, but you have to be committed to it to get past the initial problems. Later that, you're on an up bend to fluency (hopefully).

Thanks for sharing, this has made me much more confident nigh learning my native tongue.