02/03/2009

A bheil sibh eòlach air an abairt b’ àill leibh? Ma chanas cuideigin rud nach tuig sibh, dh’fhaodadh sibh a ràdh ris, “B’ àill leibh?” I beg your pardon? B’ àill leibh? Tha e modhail. Tha e nas modhaile na “eh?” no “dè rud?”!

Tha am faclair ainmeil aig Eideard Dwelly a-nise air an eadar-lìon. Chaidh mi don làraich. Tha i aig www.dwelly.info. Chuir mi “I beg your pardon” ann. Agus fhuair mi “B’ àill leibh?” agus am fiosrachadh seo: “B’ àill leibh?” ... is often used as an equivalent of I beg your pardon? when one speaker has not understood a remark made by another and wishes it repeated.

Tha an goireas ùr air leth math. Mar leabhar, tha Dwelly a’ dol bho Ghàidhlig gu Beurla. Ach, air an eadar-lìon, faodaidh tu facal Beurla a chur ann agus na faclan Gàidhlig fhaighinn air a shon.

’S e dithis a rinn a’ chuid a bu mhotha dhen obair ann a bhith a’ cur Faclair Dwelly air an eadar-lìon. ’S iad Mìcheal Bauer agus Uilleam Mac-Dhonnchaidh. Thòisich Mìcheal air an obair o chionn aona bhliadhn’ deug. Thòisich Uilleam air an aon rud ann an 2005. Cha robh fios aig an dàrna duine gun robh am fear eile ag obair air. Thàinig iad còmhla ann an 2008. Chuir iad crìoch air a’ phròiseact gu luath.

Fhuair mi post-d an latha eile. Bha an duine a’ moladh Dwelly air an eadar-lìon. Thuirt e – cuiribh am facal Beurla seo ann, agus gheibh sibh caog-ad ’s a seachd (57) faclan Gàidhlig air a shon.

Seo agaibh cuid de na faclan Gàidhlig. Saoil dè am facal Beurla a bha ann?: cliabhach, cliùin, gladaman, glaoidheaman, leidire, sidheach, siog-ach agus uilbh. A bheil fios agaibh? Chan eil? Uill, seo tuilleadh fhaclan: faol, faol-allaidh, faol-ulaith agus mac-tìre.

A bheil e agaibh a-nise? Mura h-eil, seo faclan eile: coille-chù, cù-allaidh, cù-fàsaich, fiadh-chù ... madadh-allaidh. Tha fios agaibh a-nise. Tha iad uile a’ ciallachadh wolf. Sin eisimpleir dhen bheartas ann am Faclair Dwelly.

Do you know the phrase b’ àill leibh? If somebody says something you don’t [won’t] understand, you might say to him, B’ àill leibh? I beg your pardon. B’ àill leibh? It’s polite. It’s more polite than “eh?” or “what?”

Edward Dwelly’s famous dict-ionary is now on the internet. I went on the site. It’s at www.dw-elly.info. I put “I beg your par-don” in. And I got “B’ àill leibh?” and this information. “B’ àill leibh?” ... is is often used as an equivalent of I beg your pardon? when one speaker has not understood a remark made by another and wishes it repeated.

The new facility is very good. As a book Dwelly goes from Gaelic to English. But, on the internet, you can put an English word in and get the Gaelic words for it.

It’s two people that did most of the work in putting Dwelly’s Dictionary on the internet. They are Michael Bauer and Will Robertson. Michael started on the work eleven years ago. Will started on the same thing in 2005. The first [second] man did not know that the other was working on it. They came together in 2008. They finished the project quickly.

I got an e-mail the other day. The guy was recommending Dwelly on the internet. He said – put this English word in, and you’ll get fifty-seven Gaelic words for it.

Here are some of the Gaelic words. What do you reckon the English word was?: cliabhach, cliùin, gladaman, glaoidheaman, leidire, sidheach, siogach and uilbh. Do you know? No? Well, here are more words: faol, faol-allaidh, faol-ulaith and mac-tìre.

Do you have it now? If not, here are [some] other words: coille-chù, cù-allaidh, cù-fàsaich, fiadh-chù ... madadh-allaidh. Now you know. They all mean wolf. That’s an example of the wealth in Dwelly’s Dictionary.