An Litir Bheag 795

Dè am fuaim a bhios luchag a’ dèanamh? Am bi i a’ beucaich no a’ comhartaich? No am bi i a’ crònan, no a’ donnalaich? A bheil e gu diofar ma tha an luchag toilichte seach mì-thoilichte? No misneachail an àite eagallach? Uill, feumaidh mi aideachadh nach eil mi ro eòlach air cainnt nan luchag. Ach faodaidh mi a ràdh nach bi luchag a’ beucaich no a’ comhartaich!

Canaidh sinn bìogail no bìdil ris an fhuaim a bhios luchag a’ dèanamh – squeaking no chirping. Bidh eòin bheaga a’ bìogail cuideachd. 

Dè tha ann am beucaich, ma-thà? Ann am Beurla, canaidh sinn roaring no bellowing ris. ʼS e beucaich am fuaim a nì a’ mhuir air latha stoirmeil. Bidh sinn cuideachd ag ràdh ‘beucaich’ ris an fhuaim a bhios boc-earba a’ dèanamh.

Agus comhartaich? ʼS e sin am fuaim a nì cù. Agus crònan? Tha crònan a’ ciallachadh ‘the buzzing of a fly or bee’. Nan cluinneadh luchag crònan, ʼs dòcha gum biodh i a’ gabhail eagail. Carson? Uill, tha e cuideachd a’ ciallachadh an fhuaim a nì cat nuair a tha e toilichte. Tha seanfhacal ann: ʼS ann air a shon fhèin a nì an cat crònan ‘it’s for itself the cat purrs. ʼS ann air a shon fhèin a nì an cat crònan.

Dè mu dheidhinn donnal no donnalaich? ʼS e sin am fuaim àrd a bhios cù a’ dèanamh nuair a tha e ann am pian. Howling. Bidh madaidhean-allaidh a’ donnalaich gu nàdarrach.

Agus dè chanas sinn ris an fhuaim mhòr a bhios daimh a’ dèanamh? ʼS e sin langanaich. Lowing, bellowing. Langanaich. Aig àm na dàra, canaidh sinn bùirich ris. Bùirich – loud bellowing.

Dè am beathach eile, a bharrachd air damh, a bhios a’ bùirich? Chanainn fhèin – tarbh. Agus ʼs dòcha ailbhean. Ach tha facal eile ann – blosg no a’ blosgadh ‘a’ dèanamh fuaim mar thrombaid’. Agus dùdaireachd – am fuaim a bhios dùdach – bugle no hunting horn – a’ dèanamh. ʼS dòcha gur e sin a chanas sinn ri fuaim ailbhein. Ach chan ann tric a chì sinn no a chluinneas sinn ailbhean ann an Alba!

What sound does a [wee] mouse make? Does it roar or bark? Or does it hum or howl? Does it make a difference if the mouse is happy rather than unhappy? Or confident instead of fearful? Well, I must admit I’m not too familiar with the speech of mice. But I can say that a mouse doesn’t roar or bark!

We call the sound a mouse makes bìogail or bìdil – squeaking or chirping. Little birds also squeak.

What is beucaich, then? In English we call it ‘roaring’ or ‘bellowing’. Beucaich is the sound the sea makes on a stormy day. We also call the cry that the roebuck makes ‘beucaich’.

And comhartaich? That’s the sound [bark] a dog makes. And crònan? Crònan means ‘the buzzing of a fly or bee’. If a mouse heard crònan, perhaps it would be scared. Why? Well, that’s the sound a cat makes when it’s pleased. There is a proverb: ʼS ann air a shon fhèin a nì an cat crònan ‘it’s for itself the cat purrs. ʼS ann air a shon fhèin a nì an cat crònan.

What about donnal or donnalaich? That’s the loud sound that a dog makes when it’s in pain. Howling. Wolves howl naturally.

And what do we call the great sound that stags make? That’s langanaich. Lowing, bellowing. Langanaich. At the time of the rut, we call it bùirich. Bùirich – loud bellowing. 

What’s the other animal, in addition to the stag, that bellows? I’d say myself – a bull. And perhaps an elephant. But there is another word – blosg or a’ blosgadh ‘making a sound like a trumpet’. And dùdaireachd – the sound a dùdach – bugle or hunting horn – makes. Perhaps that’s we [should] call an elephant’s sound. But it’s not often we see or hear an elephant in Scotland!