Reading the Gaelic Landscape. John Murray

near or on the measurement contour. Despite their irregular spelling, all can be tentatively translated. Names seem to have been collected from Gaelic speakers, as they have been rendered phonetically with some accuracy by the English speaking team. Less than half can be related to the contemporary map. In a way, this small episode, occurring 100 years before formal OS mapping, encapsulates many of the issues impinging on research into Gaelic toponymy.

       4: A Brief Guide to Gaelic Grammar and Pronunciation

      Several linguistic obstacles impede the Gaelic learner trying to understand Highland landscape through place-names. It is easy enough to learn a basic vocabulary from the guides produced by OS, Scottish Natural Heritage and the National Parks. But the formation of place-names, using nouns and adjectives, and how both change in the genitive and the plural, can make understanding elusive.

      The variety of definite article forms, like a’, an, an t-, am, na, na h-, nan and nam applied to the two genders of Gaelic nouns makes translation difficult. Misunderstanding is commonplace. A well-known angling guide to the lochs and rivers of Scotland includes 5 pages of entries for these 8 forms of definite article in alphabetical order. Of course, English entries are not listed under of, of the and the. Such a misunderstanding makes the guide hard to use and denies an area of potential interest to the reader.

      Pronouncing the written word is often cited as another difficulty in understanding Gaelic. But in comparison to English, the language is more logical and consistent in its orthography. Once the spelling system is understood, it has very few sounds which are difficult to say. Instead of trying to learn pronunciation through lists of vowel and consonants combinations, this chapter uses some common generic place-names as examples. They are also used to illustrate points of grammar.

      Several common Gaelic toponymic terms have come into English and Scots and need little translation. These include brae / bràigh (bry), ben / beinn (byn), cairn / càrn, corrie / coire (CAWryuh), craig / creag (crayk), dun / dùn (doon), glen / gleann (glown), knock / cnoc (crochk), kyle / caol (coeuhl), machar / machair (MACHehr) and strath /srath (srah). Other words such as pàirc (perrk), like the Scots park meaning field, and eilean (EHlan) meaning island, are so close to English that they are easily recognised. Pronunciation is explored along with grammar but the International Phonetic Alphabet, which many find obscure, is not used. In the system used here, the stressed first syllable is shown in capitals.

      The best guide to plurals and genitives of definite and indefinite masculine and feminine nouns and any qualifying adjectives can be found at:

       http://www.akerbeltz.org/index.php?title=Masculine_nouns

       http://www.akerbeltz.org/index.php?title=Feminine_nouns

      Though the genitive is commonplace in place-names recorded in the late 19th century, in contemporary spoken Gaelic, it is falling out of use.

      4.1: Definite Articles, Gender of Nouns and Agreement of Adjectives

      Gaelic has 18 letters. It lacks J, K, Q, V, W, X, Y and Z. So consonants are often combined to make sounds for which there is no single letter. This can make many place-names seem impenetrable to English speakers. The letter combinations Bh and Mh are features of written Gaelic alien to learners. They always sound at the beginning of words like V in English. A’ Bheinn Mhòr (uh vyn vore) - the big mountain, is common. It can be found anglicised to Ben More, near Crianlarich (NN433244). Anglicisation loses the resonance given by the final letters NN. Doubling of the consonant makes a ringing sound like vyn. In this example of a feminine noun, the definite article lenites the letter B to Bh. Its accompanying adjective, mòr agrees with its noun and changes to mhòr. There is no indefinite article in Gaelic.

      Unlike their English counterparts, definite articles in Gaelic change. They vary for masculine and feminine nouns in their genitive, singular and plural forms. Where nouns begin with a vowel or the letter S, the article also changes according to the gender of the noun. So it is better to learn nouns along with their articles, in both their nominative and genitive forms. Usually, but not always, nouns ending in -ach, -an, -as, -ir and -iche are masculine, whilst those ending with -ag, -achd or -eachd and -id or -aid are feminine. Memorising simple place-names with their articles can help. An t-Allt Mòr (Un towlt more) - The Big Stream (masculine), in contrast to An Abhainn Mhòr (Un AHving vore) -The Big River (feminine) is a useful mnemonic.

      Returning to the example of Ben More: anglicisation of Mhòr to More loses the indication that the word for mountain is feminine. Gender is reflected by the lenition of the following adjective mòr, to mhòr, which is why The Big Mountain is A’ Bheinn Mhòr. When feminine nouns beginning with a B, C, F, G, M, or P are lenited, H becomes the second letter, which gives a’ chroit (uh crotch) - the croft, an fhang (un ang) - the sheepfank, a’ ghlumag (uh GHLOOmak) - the puddle, a’ mhòine (uh VAWNyuh) - the peat moor, and a’ phàirc (uh ferk) - the enclosed field. In contrast, an dail (un DAAil) - the haugh, an leac (un lehchd) - the flagstone, an nathair (un NAH-hair) - the snake, an rèilig (un RAYlik) - the grave and an tìr (un cheer) - the land, though they are feminine, have no visible letter H when lenited. But lenition is heard in these examples as a slenderisation of the initial consonant. As in other languages, the grave accent in modern Gaelic results in a lengthening of the vowel. Stress, almost without exception, is always on the first syllable, whether accented or not.

      The article before masculine nouns beginning with a consonant is an. If it occurs before B, M, F or P, it is am, simply because that is easier to say, which explains the way Dumbreck (Dùn Breac) in Glasgow has been anglicised. So An Gleann Mòr (un glown more) - the Great Glen, showing no lenition of either noun or adjective, is masculine. So too is am bràigh. Neither noun, though G and B are lenitable in other circumstances to GH and BH, is lenited because of their masculine gender. The word Loch is also masculine and just as familiar as Ben / Beinn. But unlike the latter, its Gaelic form is intact in both Scots and English. So the small loch is Loch Beag (loch bake), with no lenition of the adjective. Craig / Crag / Creag (crayk) is a feminine example of a common place-name element, which English has borrowed as well. According to lenition rules for feminine nouns, the yellow crag is A’ Chreag Bhuidhe (uh chrake VOOyuh). Bhuidhe is lenited in recognition of a feminine noun.

      Despite what appears to be an alien spelling system, Gaelic orthography adheres to the rules more often than English. Furthermore, there are not many sounds which are unique to the language. CH in Loch is probably the most well known - and exists in all other Germanic languages, but has been lost in contemporary English. It is always pronounced as a breathy abrasive in the rear of the mouth. Linguists must enjoy terming it the voiceless velar fricative. So a loch has nothing to do with canals or doors. An cladach (un clatuch) - the stony shore, which is masculine, and a’ chruach (uh CHROOuch) - the heap, which is feminine, both possess a terminal fricative. But cruach, with its leniting article, has an initial fricative too. Kilchurn, Loch Awe - Caol a’ Chùirn (coehl uh choorn) - The Narrow of the Cairn, has nothing to do with milk.

      However well the Scots voice the CH of loch, many will be unfamiliar with the need to do so with the initial fricative of a’ chruach. The Black Wood in Rannoch, A’ Choille Dhubh (uh CHAWLyuh dhoo), shares that initial rasp. Here we see the definite article leniting the C of a feminine noun to CH and the subsequent adjective leniting in agreement from D to DH. The lenited adjective dhubh illustrates another consonant combination, unknown in both standard and Scottish English. It has a similar sound to CH. GH is pronounced in the same way as DH. But both are more guttural, voiced and nasal than CH; like a stronger version of GH in ghost. This is how the Spanish say Girona or La Giralda, or how the Dutch pronounce the letter G in Den Haag. But before the slender vowels of E and I, both DH and GH are pronounced as Y, a letter unknown to Gaelic. So Beinn Dhearg sounds like byn YERrak. Notice too the softening of G to K, similar to D softening to a T sound. The noun bad in Bad na h-Òige, is pronounced baht un AWkuh, with H in baht sounding like