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Thinking In Gaelic II by Sítheag Nic Trantham bean Bochanan Feasgar math dhuibh, Well, since last week we have been thinking about the way our ancestors thought, and how it was represented in the Gaelic language. Tonight, I am going to focus on some idioms that occur in the language which reflect unique qualities of thought. The Gaels are very much an aware group of people spiritually. This is reflected primarily in an idiom which many beginning learners have a hard time correlating to anything in English. This idiom is expressed in the word 'ann', which is pronounced OWn (rhymes with 'gown'). Idiomatically speaking, this word means 'in it'. For example:
Abair gu bheil uisg' ann!...(Say that there is rain in it!) What a downpour! So, on certain days, a Gael could be 'in it' as well as 'out of it'. To be 'ann' one was at rights with things. The weather was almost always described as being 'ann' as opposed to the day being described as the weather. So, in English, 'The day is windy.' In Gaelic, 'There is wind in it today!' This idiom leads us to realise that the Celts a distinct feeling that they were existing in an environment that changed sometimes subtly, and sometimes not so subtly, but on many different levels. And most importantly that this environment that they were 'in' had its own agenda, of which they were but a small part. And if someone were not 'ann', then where were they? According to the interpretations, it could range from being out of sorts, to being ill, to being insane, to being dead. Another idiom which is fascinating to study is also listed in the phrase above: Abair gu bheil uisg' ann!...(Say that there is rain in it!) What a downpour! 'Abair gu bheil' or 'say that...' is a Gaelic idiom that has actually been passed down to the American tongue. It was a very common exclamation in the fifties to say, 'Say, what's swingin' my man?' Basically, 'abair gu bheil' is a similar exclamation that demands verification of the subject at hand to emphasise its import or to stress the subject. This demand for vocalisation of the facts is evidence of the power the Gael put into the spoken word. By requiring another person to verify vocally the state of things as you see them, it re-inforces that fact in your head, and the self-same fact registers on a higher level with the person who answers in the affirmative. Thus a subtle memorization occurs, and the power of the spoken word asserts itself in a quite unique fashion. One other unique idiom before I turn in is the usage of the Gaelic word 'aig' (abbreviated as a'). This preposition literally means 'at', and in Gaelic, one is never doing something, one is AT doing something, once again indicating the transitory: Bha mi trang a' sguabadh 's a' glanadh... (I was busy at sweeping and at cleaning...) This idiom has found its way into the mountain and backwood speech of people who are considered in America, 'hicks'. These, 'hicks', however, are keeping the idiomatic usage of their Gaelic language close to their hearts by saying such as: I was busy all day a-sweeping and a-cleaning... Wisdom is found in the weirdest places, no? Anyway, before end this article just to let y'all know, these lessons on 'Thinking in Gaelic are just introductory lessons'. We will start actually posting the vocabulary and drills not in the next article, but in the article folowing the third one. In the next article, I will summarise the 'Thinking In Gaelic' introdution, and we will discuss what truths lay therein. prepared by Sítheag Nic Trantham bean Bochanan |
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