Letter To Gaelic Learners

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Recent episodes (10)

• 25 May 12 Litir do Luchd-ionnsachaidh 671

  Fri, 25 May 12

  Duration:
  6 mins

  I was telling you about a Gaelic proverb in the book by Thomas Garnett: Is mairg a loisgeadh a thiompan ris. Pity the man who'd burn his harp for him. The proverb is based on an old story. Here's how Thomas Garnett reported it. Find out more in this week's podcast. Accompanying Gaelic text, grammar points and vocabulary are all available at bbc.co.uk/litir.

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• 18 May 12: Litir do luchd-ionnsachaidh 670

  Fri, 18 May 12

  Duration:
  6 mins

  Here is an interesting place-name from Mull – Maol Tobar Leac an t-Sagairt. The bare hill of the well of the flagstone, or gravestone, of the priest. But who was the priest? And why was the well named for him?

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• 11 May 12: Litir do luchd-ionnsachaidh 669

  Fri, 11 May 12

  Duration:
  6 mins

  There is a statue of Donald Dewar, Scotland’s first First Minister, at the top end of Buchanan Street in Glasgow. But more than two hundred years ago, a memorial was nearly erected there to somebody else. Who?

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• 04 May 12: Litir do luchd-ionnsachaidh 668

  Fri, 4 May 12

  Duration:
  6 mins

  Thomas Garnett wrote the book Observations on a Tour Through the Highlands and Part of the Western Isles of Scotland. He was on a journey in the Highlands in 1798.

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• 27 Apr 12: Litir do Luchd-ionnsachaidh 667

  Fri, 27 Apr 12

  Duration:
  6 mins

  Do you know Loch Innis mo Cholmaig? It’s an unusual place. Why? Well, the name of the loch in English is the Lake of Menteith. “The only lake in Scotland” as people often say – although it’s a “loch” in Gaelic. Accompanying Gaelic text, grammar points and vocabulary are all available at bbc.co.uk/litir

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• 20 Apr 12: Litir do luchd ionnsachaidh 666

  Fri, 20 Apr 12

  Duration:
  6 mins

  Roddy was thinking about Thomas Garnett the other day. Garnett was in the Highlands at the end of the eighteenth century. He wrote a book about his journey – Observations on a Tour Through the Highlands and Part of the Western Isles of Scotland. But why was Roddy thinking about Thomas Garnett? Find out in this week’s podcast. Accompanying Gaelic text, grammar points and vocabulary are all available at bbc.co.uk/litir

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• 13 Apr 12: Litir do luchd-ionnsachaidh 655

  Fri, 13 Apr 12

  Duration:
  6 mins

  There is a seiche in Loch Ness from time to time. Seiche is a word from Swiss French. It looks like seiche in Gaelic. But it doesn’t mean an animal’s hide. It means big waves in a loch. Accompanying Gaelic text, grammar points and vocabulary are all available at bbc.co.uk/litir

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• 06 Apr 12: Litir do Luchd-ionnsachaidh 664

  Fri, 6 Apr 12

  Duration:
  6 mins

  Roddy was looking at old newspapers the other day. They were on the internet. He saw this from the Derby Mercury in November 1755. The report was from Amsterdam. What was in the report? Why did it interest Roddy? Find out in this week's letter! Accompanying Gaelic text, grammar points and vocabulary are all available at bbc.co.uk/litir

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• 30 Mar 12: Litir do luchd-ionnsachaidh 633

  Fri, 30 Mar 12

  Duration:
  6 mins

  Roddy has traditional story for us in this week's letter - The Old Woman of the Nuts and the Tailor of the Boards. An evil Cailleach (old woman )was living in the Highlands. She got her nickname, 'The Cailleach of the Nuts' because she would always have a bag full of nuts.Find out more in this week's letter. Accompanying Gaelic text, grammar points and vocabulary are all available at bbc.co.uk/litir

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• 23 Mar 12: Litir do Luchd-ionnsachaidh 662

  Fri, 23 Mar 12

  Duration:
  6 mins

  Have you ever heard the English word – graddaning? It comes from the Gaelic gradan. It means a method of making flour. Do you know the old ways of making flour? People were flailing the corn. They were winnowing it. In addition to the grain, they were getting chaff and straw. The straw was useful as food for cattle. It was also useful for bedding and house thatch. Find out more in this week's letter. Accompanying Gaelic text, grammar points and vocabulary are all available at bbc.co.uk/litir

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