Friday, January 25, 2008


Smaointe faoi ag foghlaim Breatnais (as Gaeilge!)

Scríobh mé chuici G.R. Grove ar a bhlog Tre Gwernin faoi ag foghlaim Breatnais areir. Chuir sí orm cúpla focal a rá. Fhreagairt sí go gasta. D'imir cleachtadh intinn aici ag cruinniú briathra agus frásaí nuair bhí sí ag thiomanteáin thríd Deanvír. Is ionadh liom go bhfuil tig léi shileadh na teanga go dúshlánach agus ábalta sí tabhairt aithne uirthi an bóthar ar am céanna!

D'inis GRG scéala ar feadh meanaois go luath leis na cogadhái catharthaí Sacsanaigh agus Ceiltigh eatarthu. Chríochnaigh "Gwernin" dha leabhar le seanchas go An Bhreatain Bheag san ama atá i láthair. Thosaigh siad san am fadó. Níl fhios agam ma léighfeadh sí stair na "Porius" le John Cowper Powys fós.

Dúirt sí go raibh é a chreideamh go "Welsh in Three Months" le Phylip Brake agus Mair ap Myrddin (DK/ Hugo, 1999) go mbeadh ceannach ceart dom. D'imigh sí go Cymdeithas Madog a tógail a cumhacht as Breatnaise; is maith léi go hiontach. Ba mhaith liomsa féin ag dul ansuid lá éigin nuair deánfaidh mé airgead go leor agus gheobhaidh mé leathanta saoire. Tá dúil agam ag cloisteáil an teanga na Bhreatain Bheag Theas, mar sin chuala mé Breatnais ansin an am chead-- agus am amháin, freisin!

Níl foclóir dha teanga agam ag scríobh seo inniu. Tá ghéarrfoclóir agam mise amháin Ghaeilge-Béarla. Is mian liom ag obair tuilleadh inchinn Éireannach agam! Bhain aimsir dom go lag anseo. Bhí sé ag scriófa uair agus ceathracha noimead. Caithfidh mé ag dul ag muintir ar lar anois.

Thoughts on learning Welsh (in Irish!--somewhat of a literal translation)

I wrote G.R. Grove last night at the "Tre Gwernin" blog about learning Welsh. She sent me a few words in reply. She answered quickly! She was playing around mentally with gathering words and phrases while she was driving through Denver. I was surprised that she had the ability to think in a challenging language and to keep her knowledge of the road at the same time.

GRG tells stories during the early Middle Ages concerning the ancient battles between Saxons and Celts. She has finished two books on the old Welsh tales at present. They began long ago. I don't know if she has read the novel "Porius" by John Cowper Powys yet.

She told me that she believed that "Welsh in Three Months" by Phylip Brake and Mair ap Myrddin (DK/ Hugo, 1999) would be a correct choice for me. She went off to Cymdeithas Madog to build up his command of Welsh; she likes it wonderfully. I would like to go there some day when I will make more money and I will get a vacation. I desire to hear the tongue of South Wales, since I heard Welsh first there-- and the only time, so far!

I don't have a bilingual dictionary to write this today. I have an condensed Irish-to-English dictionary only. I need to work more my "Irish" brain! The time went away slowly here. I was writing an hour and forty minutes. I must now go downtown to teach.

Image/ griangraf: www.fletchersaga.net/LWCAD1.html

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