Unit 13 - An important cultural site in the Highlands
Tursachan Chalanais "The Callanish Standing Stones "
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The next conversation takes place out of doors, among the standing stones themselves. Magaidh has some time off from the desk and is giving Duncan a tour of the site in Gaelic. But the wind has come up and they have difficulty hearing each other.
Note the ways in which you can ask somebody to repeat a phrase you have not understood properly, particularly the very polite "Bàillibh?". You might hear close friends saying "dè rud?" (what thing?) to each other, but this should be avoided if dealing with strangers as it is considered to be rather abrupt. Stick to gabhaibh mo leisgeul and bàillibh and you won't go wrong. You may need them rather often when you are in the early days of learning Gaelic!
- Bàillibh?
- pardon?
- gabhaibh mo leisgeul
- excuse me
- dè rud?
- (lit) what thing? (very informal)
Listen to Donnchadh and Maggie's conversation as they walk around the standing stones. See if you can pick out the various forms of pardon and excuse me which they use.
This is the end of Section 13.
If you would like to learn some useful conversation about using Gaelic on the phone and on the internet, go on to Donnchadh and Maggie's conversation Section 14 - Fònaidh mi thugad.
