857: Clann Lir (1)
Litir sheachdaineach do luchd-ionnsachaidh le clàr-fuaime, tar-sgrìobhadh is mìneachadh. A weekly letter to Gaelic learners with audio, transcription and explanation.
Tha an litir ag obrachadh leis an fhaclair. Tagh an taba ‘teacsa Gàidhlig’ agus tagh facal sam bith san teacsa agus fosglaidh am faclair ann an taba ùr agus bidh mìneachadh den fhacal ann. The letter is integrated with the dictionary. Select the tab ‘Gaelic text’ and choose any word and the dictionary will open and you will see the English explanation of the Gaelic word.
Clann Lir (1)
Gu-bhi-gì, gu-bhi-gò, Gu-bhi-gì, gu-bhi-gò... Dè an t-eun a tha a’ dèanamh fuaim mar sin? Tha i ainmeil ann an dualchas nan Gàidheal. A bheil e agaibh?
’S e sin fuaim na h-eala. Agus seo agaibh a h-òran air fad. ’S e Òran na h-Eala a chanas sinn ris.
Gu-bhi-gì, gu-bhi-gò,
Gu-bhi-gì, gu-bhi-gò,
Gu-bhi-gì, gu-bhi-gò,
Gu-bhi-gì, gu-bhi-gò,
Mo chasan dubh,
Mo chasan dubh,
Mo chasan dubh,
’S mi fhìn glè gheal.
Chreachadh mo nead,
Chreachadh mo nead,
Chreachadh mo nead,
’S mi fhìn an Èirinn
Tillidh sinn gu Èirinn an ceartuair. Tha na Gàidheil a’ tomhas gu bheil guileag na h-eala cho binn ’s a ghabhas. Tha abairt ann – Is binne iad na guileag na h-eala ‘they are more melodious than the lamenting note of the swan’. Is binne iad na guileag na h-eala.
A bheil sibh eòlach air an fhacal lear? L-E-A-R. Lear. ’S e facal àrsaidh a th’ ann, a’ ciallachadh ‘muir’. Cha chluinn sibh ann an còmhradh e. Ach tha e ann am bàrdachd is seann sgeulachdan traidiseanta.
Agus tha e ann an ainm lus beag dùthchasach – an lear-uinnean, gu litreachail ‘sea onion’. Tha an luibh seo car coltach ri uinnean beag bìodach. ’S e spring squill a th’ air ann am Beurla. A’ chiad turas a chunnaic mi lear-uinnean, bha mi ann an Arcaibh, faisg air a’ chladach, ach gu h-àrd air talamh rèidh air cùl bearraidh. Bha mi a’ coimhead airson na sòbhraig Albannaich. Agus lorg mi i. Agus lorg mi an lear-uinnean mar thuiteamas cuideachd.
Ma tha lear a’ ciallachadh ‘sea’, tha a dhreach anns an tuiseal ghinideach –
lir – a’ ciallachadh ‘of sea’. Agus ’s dòcha gu bheil cuid agaibh air an seann stòiridh a chluinntinn – Clann Lir – gu litreachail ‘the sea children’. Ach b’ e an Lear anns an sgeulachd dia pàganach – dia na mara, mar gum bitheadh. Gu tric bithear a’ dèanamh eadar-theangachadh air mar The Children of Lir, ged as e The Children of Lear a bu chòir a bhith ann. Tha an eala an sàs anns an sgeulachd seo.
Tha Clann Lir nas aithnichte ann an Èirinn na tha ann an Alba ach tha Gàidheil na h-Alba car eòlach air. Agus, ged a tha a’ chuid as motha dhen sgeulachd a’ tachairt ann an Èirinn, tha pàirt dhith a’ gabhail àite ann an Sruth na Maoile. ’S e sin an caolas mara faisg air Maol Chinn Tìre – eadar Alba agus Èirinn. Sruth na Maoile.
Co-dhiù, seo agaibh geàrr-chunntas de Chlann Lir. Anns an t-seann aimsir, bha na Gàidheil a’ creidsinn ann an diofar dhiathan. B’ e Lear tighearna na mara. Bha e pòsta agus bha ceathrar cloinne aige. B’ iad an dithis a bu shine dhiubh Fionnuala agus Aodh. Latha a bha seo chaidh iad a shnàmh ann an loch.
Bha iad math air snàmh. Bha giùrain orra a leigeadh leotha anail a ghabhail fon uisge mar a ghabhas iasg. Agus bha spògan-snàmha orra a leigeadh leotha snàmh cho math ri ... uill, cho math ri eala. Cha bu chòir sin a bhith na iongnadh oir bha iad nan cloinn aig ‘rìgh na tìr fo thuinn’. Agus leanaidh mi leis an sgeulachd an-ath-sheachdain.
Faclan na Litreach : eala: swan; guileag: chattering or warbling of birds, the note of the swan; lear: sea (archaic); lear-uinnean: spring squill; Arcaibh: Orkney; sòbhrag: primrose; caolas mara: sea strait; geàrr-chunntas: condensed account; tighearna: lord.
Abairtean na Litreach : chreachadh mo nead: my nest was destroyed; tillidh sinn gu Èirinn an ceartuair: we’ll return to Ireland shortly; sin a gairm a tha car brònach don chlaisneachd againn: that’s her call that is somewhat sad to our ears (hearing); cho binn ’s a ghabhas: as sweet as can be; gu h-àrd air talamh rèidh air cùl bearraidh: high up on flat land behind cliffs; a dhreach anns an tuiseal ghinideach: its form in the genitive case; dia pàganach – dia na mara, mar gum bitheadh: a pagan god – the sea god, as it were; bithear a’ dèanamh eadar-theangachadh air mar: it’s translated as; nas aithnichte: better known; tha pàirt dhith a’ gabhail àite ann an Sruth na Maoile: part of it takes place in the Straits of Moyle (between Scotland and Ireland); bha ceathrar cloinne aige: he had four children; an dithis a bu shine dhiubh: the two eldest of them; bha giùrain orra a leigeadh leotha anail a ghabhail fon uisge mar a ghabhas iasg:they had gills that would allow them to breathe under the water as a fish does; cha bu chòir sin a bhith na iongnadh:that shouldn’t be a surprise; bha iad nan cloinn aig ‘rìgh na tìr fo thuinn’: they were the children of ‘the king of the land under [the] waves’.
Puing-chànain na Litreach : bha spògan snàmha orra: they had webbed feet. There are two ways of saying ‘web-foot’ in Gaelic – spòg-shnàmha ‘swimming foot’ agus spòg-lacha ‘duck-foot’. Lach-spògach can be used as the adjectival form ‘web-footed’. Do you know of any other alternatives?
Gnàthas-cainnt na Litreach : lorg mi an lear-uinnean mar thuiteamas cuideachd: I found the sea squill by chance as well.
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Litir do Luchd-ionnsachaidh
This letter corresponds to Tha an Litir seo a’ buntainn ri An Litir Bheag 553
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