Co-fhaclan
Do you know the word
co-fhacal? ‘Synonym’ in English. A word is a synonym for another word if it means pretty much the same as it. The two words are co-fhaclach or ‘synonymous’.
I was involved in a project [that was]
co-fhaclaireach a few years ago. A co-fhaclair was created. That’s the Gaelic for ‘thesaurus’ – co-fhaclair . You’ll get hold of the thesaurus in an electronic format on the website for Gaelic learners – Learngaelic.scot/thesaurus.
In this Litir, I am going to ask you questions. They are about words in the thesaurus. To begin with, something connected to the environment . There
are a lot of words in Gaelic that mean ‘mountain’ or ‘hill’ or the like. I’m going to give you the synonyms for a word. And I’m going to ask you to say
what headword is in the thesaurus. Here are the synonyms:
cnocan, tom, stacan, tulach, tulachan, sìthean, torran, tolm, toman, meallan, stùc and mulan. Mmm ... it’s not easy, is it?! Well, here it is – gnoban. And the meaning of the word in English – ‘little hill, knoll’. Gnoban.
Here’s another example. It’s a noun. Here are the synonyms for it: troc, sgruibleach, smùrach, aolach, dreamsgal, sgrathal, greallach, draos,
tramasgal, treallaich
and smodal. What word are you thinking of now? Well, the headword for this in the thesaurus is sgudal. Rubbish, trash – sgudal.
And an example of an adjective. Here are the synonyms:
robach, mì-sgiobalta, riapach, liobasta, neo-chumadail, neo-ghrinn, sgraiteach, lùiristeach, leibideach and suarach.It also has an antonym. An antonym is a word whose meaning is directly opposite to the meaning of the headword. The antonym for this is sgiobalta. The headword is luideach, meaning ‘shabby, untidy’. Luideach. Are you sgiobalta or luideach?!
Words are fun, aren’t they? And synonyms are fun. They are very useful if you are writing – say, a novel or poetry. Why don’t you yourself take a look at
the Gaelic thesaurus today? And why don’t you yourself write something creative in Gaelic?
Synonym
A bheil sibh eòlach air an fhacal – co-fhacal? Synonym ann am Beurla. Tha facal na cho-fhacal air facal eile ma tha e a’ ciallachadh an
ìre mhath an aon rud ris. Tha an dà fhacal co-fhaclach no synonymous.
Bha mi an sàs ann am pròiseact co-fhaclaireach o chionn beagan bhliadhnaichean. Chaidh co-fhaclair a chruthachadh. ’S e sin a’ Ghàidhlig airthesaurus – co-fhaclair. Gheibh sibh grèim air a’ cho-fhaclair ann an riochd eileagtronaigeach air an làraich-lìn do luchd-ionnsachaidh – Learngaelic.scot/thesaurus.
Anns an Litir seo, tha mi a’ dol a chur cheistean oirbh. Tha iad mu fhaclan anns a’ cho-fhaclair. An toiseach, rudeigin co-cheangailte ris an àrainneachd.
Tha an t-uabhas de dh’fhaclan ann an Gàidhlig a tha a’ ciallachadh beinn no cnoc no a leithid. Tha mi a’ dol thoirt dhuibh nan co-fhaclan
airson facal. Agus tha mi a’ dol a dh’iarraidh oirbh innse dè an ceann-fhacal – no headword – a tha ann sa cho-fhaclair. Seo na co-fhaclan:
cnocan, tom, stacan, tulach, tulachan, sìthean, torran, tolm, toman, meallan, stùc agus mulan. Mmm … chan eil e furasta, a bheil?! Uill, seo e – gnoban. Agus ciall an fhacail ann am Beurla – little hill, knoll. Gnoban.
Seo eisimpleir eile. ’S e ainmear a tha ann. Seo agaibh na co-fhaclan dha: troc, sgruibleach, smùrach, aolach, dreamsgal, sgrathal, greallach, draos,
tramasgal, treallaich agus smodal. Dè am facal air a bheil sibh a’ smaoineachadh a-nise? Uill, ’s e an ceann-fhacal airson sin anns a’ cho-fhaclair – sgudal. Rubbish, trash – sgudal.
Agus eisimpleir de bhuadhair. Seo na co-fhaclan: robach, mì-sgiobalta, riapach, liobasta, neo-chumadail, neo-ghrinn, sgraiteach, lùiristeach, leibideach
agus suarach. Tha antanaim ann air a shon cuideachd. ’S e antanaim facal aig a bheil ciall a tha calg-dhìreach an aghaidh ciall a’ cheann-fhacail.
’S e an t-antanaim airson seo – sgiobalta. ’S e an ceann-fhacal luideach, a’ ciallachadh shabby, untidy. Luideach. A bheil sibh
fhèin sgiobalta no luideach?!
Tha spòrs ann am faclan, nach eil? Agus tha spòrs ann an co-fhaclan. Tha iad air leth feumail ma tha sibh a’ sgrìobhadh – can, nobhail no bàrdachd. Carson
nach toir sibh fhèin sùil air a’ cho-fhaclair Ghàidhlig an-diugh? Agus carson nach sgrìobh sibh fhèin rudeigin cruthachail ann an Gàidhlig?
