The Little Letter for Gaelic Learners

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Recent episodes (10)

• 28 May 12: An Litir Bheag 368

  Mon, 28 May 12

  Duration:
  5 mins

  Roddy was in Strathconon in Ross-shire recently. The name Conon is interesting. Part of the River Conon flows through Strathbran. And part of it is in Strathconon.

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• 21 May 12: An Litir Bheag 367

  Mon, 21 May 12

  Duration:
  5 mins

  Roddy told 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. Alexander Nicolson has the same proverb in his collection – Is mairg a loisgeadh a thiompan dhut – pity him who would burn his harp for you. Where did this proverb come from? Roddy has the answer in this week’s letter. Accompanying text is available in both English and Gaelic at bbc.co.uk/litirbheag

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• 14 May 12: An Litir Bheag 366

  Mon, 14 May 12

  Duration:
  5 mins

  Ruaraidh talks of 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. Maol Tobar Leac an t-Sagairt. It’s in the middle of the south of the island. It’s close to the road between Craignure and Fionnphort.

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• 07 May 12: An Litir Bheag 365

  Mon, 7 May 12

  Duration:
  5 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? Find out in this week's Little Letter to Gaelic Learners.

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• 30 Apr 12: An Litir bheag 364

  Mon, 30 Apr 12

  Duration:
  5 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. Accompanying text is available in both English and Gaelic at bbc.co.uk/litirbheag

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• 26 Apr 12: An Litir Bheag 363

  Mon, 23 Apr 12

  Duration:
  5 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 text is available in both English and Gaelic at bbc.co.uk/litirbheag

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• 16 Apr 12: An Litir Bheag 362

  Mon, 16 Apr 12

  Duration:
  5 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 text is available in both English and Gaelic at bbc.co.uk/litirbheag

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• 09 Apr 12: An Litir Bheag 361

  Mon, 9 Apr 12

  Duration:
  5 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 text is available in both English and Gaelic at bbc.co.uk/litirbheag

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• 02 Apr 12: An Litir Bheag 360

  Mon, 2 Apr 12

  Duration:
  5 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 text is available in both English and Gaelic at bbc.co.uk/litirbheag

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• 26 Mar 12: An Litir Bheag 359

  Mon, 26 Mar 12

  Duration:
  5 mins

  Ruaraidh tells a traditional story - The Old Woman of the Nuts and the Tailor of the Boards. An evil Cailleach was living in the Highlands. She got her nickname, 'The Cailleach of the Nuts' because she would always have a bag full of nuts.

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