Little by Little Beag air Bheag

Introduction

Fònadh mi thugaibh

I’ll phone you

This Unit deals with using Gaelic on the phone, in letters and on the internet. You might be surprised at the extent to which Gaelic is used as a medium of electronic communication, not only in Scotland but among Gaelic-users throughout the world. Here is some vocabulary to get you started:

Phoning People

Fònadh mi thugaibh

I’ll phone you

To say we are phoning somebody, we can either say tha sinn a' fònadh gu… or tha sinn a' cur fòn gu… Note that the preposition gu (to) has some prepositional pronouns, a particular construction in Gaelic which combines the preposition with pronouns. Here they are. Listen to them carefully in order to determine their pronunciation, particularly the difference between thuige, thuice and thuca:

a' fònadh gu

phoning

a' cur fòn gu

phoning

Prepositional Pronouns

Conversation 1

Now listen to Pàdraig and Anna, having a simple phone conversation.

Conversation 2

The next conversation takes place in front of the computer. Eilidh is surfing the internet and showing John websites. She also shows him how to send an e-mail message. Note that teachdaireachd is a feminine word so that we use the feminine third person singular prepositional pronouns - innte (in her) and oirre (on her):

Conversation 1

Listen to the conversation:

Pàdraig:

An i Anna a tha sin?

Is that Anne

Anna:

Is mi. Cò th' ann?

Yes (it's me). Who is it?

Pàdraig:

Pàdraig. Ciamar a tha thu?

Peter. How are you?

Anna:

Tha gu math, a Phàdraig. Dè tha a' dol agad?

Fine, Peter. What's doing with you? (lit. "at you")

Pàdraig:

Chan eil mòran. Bha mi a' fònadh thugad a-raoir.

Not much. I was phoning for you last night.

Anna:

Thugamsa?

For me?

Pàdraig:

Bha, ach bha am fòn agad trang fad na h-ùine.

Yes, but your phone was busy the whole time.

Anna:

O, seadh. Bha mi air an eadar-lìon.

Oh, yeah. I was on the internet.

Pàdraig:

A bheil coimpiutair agad a-nis?

Do you have a computer now?

Anna:

Tha. Tha e math.

Yes. It's good.

Pàdraig:

Co-dhiù, chuir mi fòn gu Donnchadh.

Anyway, I phoned Duncan.

Anna:

Ciamar a bha Donnchadh?

How was Duncan?

Pàdraig:

Chan eil fhios agam. Dh'fhòn mi thuige, ach cha robh e ann.

I don't know. I phoned him, but he wasn't there.

Anna:

An do bhruidhinn thu ri duine sam bith?

Did you speak to anybody?

Pàdraig:

Bhruidhinn mi ri Cairistìona. Chuir mi fòn thuice.

I spoke to Christina. I phoned her.

Anna:

A bheil fòn-làimhe aig Cairistìona?

Does Christina have a mobile phone?

Pàdraig:

Tha. Tha fòn-làimhe aice a-nis.

Yes. She has a mobile phone now.

Anna:

Math fhèin, cuiridh mi fòn thuice a-nochd fhathast.

Great, I'll phone her tonight. (lit. "I'll phone her tonight yet")

Conversation 2

Listen to the conversation:

Eilidh:

Seo a-nis. Seo làrach-lìn as toigh leam.

Here we are. Here is a website I like.

Iain:

Colaiste a th'ann. Tha iad a' teagasg Gàidhlig.

It's a college. They teach Gaelic.

Eilidh:

Tha e air a' Ghàidhealtachd.

It's in the Highlands.

Iain:

Tha. Agus tha cùrsaichean samhraidh aca.

Yes. And they have summer courses.

Eilidh:

Cuiridh mi teachdaireachd thuca.

I will send them a message.

Iain:

Ciamar?

How?

Eilidh:

Tron phost-dealain.

By e-mail.

Iain:

Ciamar a nì thu sin?

How will you do that?

Eilidh:

Seall. Tha mi a' cruthachadh teachdaireachd ùr.

Look. I am creating a new message.

Iain:

Seadh. Dè an uair sin?

Uh-huh. What then?

Eilidh:

Tha mi a' cur seòladh oirre.

I am putting an address on it.

Iain:

Is an uair sin tha thu ga cur.

And then you send it.

Eilidh:

Tha. Bruthaidh mi "send".

Yes. I'll press "send".

Iain:

Dh'fhalbh an teachdaireachd.

The message left.

Eilidh:

Dh'fhalbh. Agus gheibh cuideigin aig a' cholaiste i.

Yes. And somebody in the college will get it.

Iain:

Dè sgrìobh thu innte?

What did you write in it?

Eilidh:

Obh obh!

Oh dear!

Iain:

Dè?

What?

Eilidh:

Dhìochuimhnich mi. Cha do sgrìobh mi dad!

I forgot. I didn't write anything!

Writing a letter

Fònadh mi thugaibh

I’ll phone you

Conversation 3

The next conversation takes place in a Gaelic-speaking office where Seònaid (Janet) and Cairistìona (Christine) are drafting a letter to an important client. This will introduce some of the vocabulary associated with writing a letter in Gaelic:

This is the end of Unit 14. Why not test yourself to see how much you've learnt?

If you would like to learn some useful phrases about sport, go on to Unit 15 - Abair spòrs.

Beannachd leibh!

Conversation 3

Listen to the conversation:

Cairistìona:

A bheil thu deiseil?

Are you ready?

Seònaid:

Tha.

Yes.

Cairistìona:

Gu Maighstir Uilleam Mac a' Ghobhainn, seach-deug Sràid na Bànrigh, Obar Dheathain.

To Mr William Smith, 17 Queen Street, Aberdeen.

Seònaid:

Seadh.

Okay.

Cairistìona:

"A Mhaighstir Mhic a' Ghobhainn, a charaid"

"Dear Mister Smith"

Seònaid:

Seadh.

Okay.

Cairistìona:

"Tha mi toilichte leis a' phrìs a dh'ainmich sibh"

"I am pleased with the price you named"

Seònaid:

“… a dh'ainmich sibh." Seadh?

“… you named." Yes?

Cairistìona:

"Agus bu toigh leam dà cheud coimpiutair a cheannach"

"And I would like to buy two hundred computers"

Seònaid:

Tha sin agam.

I have that.

Cairistìona:

Dè eile a sgrìobhas mi?

What else will I write?

Seònaid:

Uill, bha e tinn an t-seachdain sa chaidh…

Well, he was ill last week…

Cairistìona:

Seadh. Cuir rudeigin ann mar "tha mi an dòchas gu bheil sibh nas fheàrr a-nis."

Aye. Put in something like "I hope you are now better."

Seònaid:

Cuiridh. Dad eile?

Okay. Anything else?

Cairistìona:

Nì sin an gnothach.

That'll do.

Seònaid:

Agus dè chuireas mi ann aig an deireadh? "Le gaol…"?

And what will I put in at the end? "With love…"?

Cairistìona:

Cha chuir gu dearbh, a Chairistìona! Dìreach cuir "le meas mòr"!

You will certainly not, Christine! Just put "with great respect"!

Seònaid:

Dè mu dheidhinn "le deagh dhùrachd"?

What about "with best wishes"?

Cairistìona:

Chan eil mi cho eòlach sin air. Nì "le meas mòr" an gnothach.

I don't know him that well. "With great respect" will do the job.