Our home is one of the very few in the US in which Scottish Gaelic is being spoken to a child. Having learnt this wonderful language in Scotland as an adult, and expanded my vocabulary somewhat while living in Nova Scotia, teaching it to a child and using it in informal, daily settings is a real challenge. I believe that there are important cognitive, cultural and ethical reasons for raising a child bilingually, especially with a minoritized, indigenous language (as more fully articulated by others such as in this article).
While there are a few resources of which I’m aware that offer some terms and phrases, it seems to me that there are huge gaps in what’s easily available to those of us who are attempting this challenge. I would be glad to be pointed towards useful collections of Gaelic materials, if they exist, but I have exhausted the obvious printed and online materials available to me and found them lacking in the full range of words and usages that are naturally part of parenting a child.
I was able to glean some useful terms from Gaelic-speaking friends during the first year of Róisín’s life while we were still in Nova Scotia. The challenges are complex: there are many aspects of material culture and cultural practice that simply didn’t exist 50 or 100 years ago, when Gaelic communities were still resilient and coining neologisms; social norms and activities normal for parenting and childhood now are quite different from what they were then as well. So, do we search for and repurpose old terms, create new ones based on old roots, or adopt English ones into Gaelic phonology? How does one accommodate the different dialects of Gaelic if there are multiple terms or phrases to choose from, but one does not have any hereditary reason to prefer one over another?
What I hope to do in this blog entry, and a couple more to follow, is to compile some of the common useful terms and phrases that I have collected in the first 15 months of my daughter’s life and feel comfortable sharing with others. I also pose questions and invite corrections in the hopes that other Gaelic speakers and learners can offer their suggestions in adding nuance and further material. (I have marked my own coinages with *.) I will edit contributions and corrections into this text as they are posted in the reply section. I am grouping these phrases and terms according to context and usage, and have tried to accommodate both North American and British Englishes in the translations.
Ages and Stages
Naoidhean: From new-born to crawling age. Màgaran, snàigean, snàgan: A baby of crawling age. Leanabh: Infant (a small child of nursing age?). Cìocharan: “Suckling”, i.e., infant of nursing age. Caodachan: A toddler (at early stage of walking). Pàiste: A child (until what age/stage?). Cnapach: A youngster, pre-teen (boy by default). Cnapach caileig: A female pre-teen. Isean deireadh linn(e): The youngest child in a family. An aona mhullach: an only child.
Aileag: Hiccup. Badan: Diaper, nappie. Cuireamaid badan ùr ort. Braim, bram: Fart. Leig thu braim. Bromag, brùchd: Burp. Leig thu brùchd! Brùchd-bainne*: Spit-up of milk. a' cur a-mach: vomiting Dileag: Pee, urine. Mùn: Urine. Chaill am balachan a mhùn: the wee boy wet himself. Seile, sile: Saliva. Sgeith: Vomit, puke. Sgigean: Baby poo (more appropriate and polite for children than cac.) Sglongaid, splangaid: Mucus, snot.
Bed-Time, Sleeping and Waking
Aodach-oidhche*: Pajamas. Bheir sinn dhiot an t-aodach-latha, is cuiridh sinn aodach-oidhche ort. An d’ fhuair thu norrag(-chadail)? Did you get some sleep? Gabh norrag(-chadail). Take a nap. Tha i ’na leth-chadal. She is dozing lightly. Tha i ’na suain. She is in a deep sleep. cadal a' gheòidh fighting sleep, eyes not totally closed Bha i air chois aig seachd uairean. She was on her feet (ie, awake) at 7 o’clock.
Emotional / Physical State
Dé do chor? How are you? Dé am fonn a th’ ort? What mood are you in? Am bheil thu ann an deagh shunnd an-diugh? Are you in a good mood today? Dé tha cur ort? What is troubling you? Có tha ag obair ort? Who is bothering/annoying you? Tha fonn ciatach ort. You’re in a great mood. Nach tusa tha crosta a-nochd? Aren’t you in a bad mood tonight? busach pouting (with big lower lip) frionasach sensitive, irritable greannach grumpy sona sunndach bright and cheery togarrach cheery, positive, buoyant
Sguir dheth. Stop that. Fàg sin. Leave that alone. Cuir gu taobh sin. Put that aside. Thoir an aire (dha sin). Pay attention (to that). Stad. Stop (moving). (Gabh) air do shocair (e). Take it easy. dèanamh a' ghille showing off, acting out, seeking attention (is this gender specific?) Ìsd! Be quiet! Tha thu cho luasganach ri losgann*. You are as squirmy/wiggly as a frog. Bith modhail (rithe). Be polite / mannerly (to her). Bith laghach (ris). Be nice (to him). Bith ciùin (rium). Be gentle / kind (to me). Chan fhaod thu sin a dhèanamh. You can’t do that. Chan eil sin còir. That’s not nice. Bidh rud ann nach robh ’s an altachadh! You’ll get something that wasn’t in the grace! (a warning to children) Feuch nach X thu. Try not to X. Feuch nach bean thu ris. Try not to touch it. Fuirich far am bheil thu! Stay where you are! Fuirich do chas! Hold your foot still! Spideag: A badly-behaved child. Uilleagan: A spoilt child.
Praise and Reward
Sin thu fhéin! That’s it! Good job! Rinn thu an gnothach! You did it (succeeded)! Cum ort! Keep going / doing. Nach tu am balach! You are the (good) boy! Uragan: Favorite child.
I gleaned quite a lot of useful words and phrases from Goiridh Dòmhnallach, Lodaidh MacFhionghain and Catrìona (NicÌomhair) Parsons at the Office of Gaelic Affairs, especially when Róisín and I came visiting on father-daughter outings. Tapadh leibh, a chairdean!
J. G. MacKay. “Gaelic Idioms.” Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness 36: 9-82.