Phrase (as printed): air mo mhionnan…
Phrase (if revised):
Phonetic transcription: /air mo VYOOnain/
Book: FC
pb: 230
hc: 155
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “On my swearing” (I swear).
Phrase (as printed): alagruous
Phrase (if revised):
Phonetic transcription:
Book: OLC Vol. I
pb:
hc: 250
Language: Lowland Scots
Translation: Grim or woebegone.
Phrase (as printed): amadain
Phrase (if revised):
Phonetic transcription: /AMAdain/
Book: FC
pb: 898
hc: 607
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “Oh, fool.”
Phrase (as printed): an amaidan
Phrase (if revised): amadain
Phonetic transcription: /AMAdain/
Book: MOBY
pb: 822
hc: 595
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “Oh, fool”: amadan slenderizes in the vocative case—i.e., takes an extra i in the final syllable. Neither requires a before it or the article.
Phrase (as printed): an athair
Phrase (if revised): athair
Phonetic transcription: /ən Ahər/
Book: MOBY
pb: 354
hc: 256
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “Oh, Father”: athair remains as is in the vocative case, requiring neither the a before it nor the article.
Phrase (as printed): an e ‘n fhirinn a th’aqad m’annsachd?
Phrase (if revised): an e ‘n fhìrinn a th’ agad m’ annsachd?
Phonetic transcription: /ə nyayn EERin ə hakəd MANsəchk/
Book: OLC Vol. I
pb:
hc: 253
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “Is it the truth you have, my love?” In other words, “Are you telling me the truth?”
Phrase (as printed): an fhearr mac Dubh
Phrase (if revised): an fheàrr mhic dhuibh
Phonetic transcription: /ən YAAr veechk ɣui/
Book: OLC Vol. I
pb:
hc: 254
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “Best of the offspring of the Black One”: I’m not altogether sure about this one, but I give you here the translation from the first Companion and what I think it maybe should be in Gaelic.
Phrase (as printed): an gealtaire salach Atailteach!
Phrase (if revised): An gealtaire salach Eatailteach!
Phonetic transcription: /ən GYALtarə saləch AYTaltchəch/
Book: OLC Vol. I
pb:
hc: 247
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “The filthy Italian coward.”
Phrase (as printed): an gille ruaidh
Phrase (if revised):
Phonetic transcription: /ən GEELə ROOaɣ/
Book: FC
pb: 33
hc: 24
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “The rusty(-haired) lad”: this in fact is a nickname of a very good friend of mine who has worked with me for years on Gaelic projects in and around Glasgow and Argyll!
Phrase (as printed): Archibald mac Donagh
Phrase (if revised):
Phonetic transcription:
Book: ABOSA
pb: 1429
hc: 974
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: Curiously, the name Archibald—most often shortened to Archie—comes out in Gaelic as Gilleasbaig/gilESPik/, from which derives the surname Gillespie.
Phrase (as printed): arisaid
Phrase (if revised): earasaid
Phonetic transcription: /yerasatch/
Book: OLC Vol. I
pb:
hc: 244
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: Scots word from the Gaelic (earasaid). Square of cloth, usually tartan, worn over the shoulders of females and fastened with a brooch; female robe.
Phrase (as printed): athair-céile
Phrase (if revised):
Phonetic transcription: /Ahər-KAYlə/
Book: EITB
pb: 395
hc: 280
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “Father-in-law.”
Phrase (as printed): auld besom
Phrase (if revised):
Phonetic transcription: /auld bizm/
Book: ABOSA
pb: 590
hc: 405
Language: Lowland Scots
Translation: Old pest. Besom is an oft-used word in Scots, although it mostly comes out something like /bizm/.
Phrase (as printed): avbhar, coire
Phrase (if revised): aobhar, coire
Phonetic transcription: /Övər, CAWrə/
Book: FC
pb: 1410
hc: 956
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “Reason,” “corrie”: a corrie is like a little depression in among hills. The Gaelic words for this and “kettle, cauldron” are spelled identically and are barely distinguishable from one another in terms of pronunciation; they most probably came originally from the one concept. Compare /kawrə/ with /kohrə/.
Phrase (as printed): bainisq
Phrase (if revised): bainisg
Phonetic transcription: /banishk/
Book: EITB
pb: 923
hc: 655
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “Little old woman.”
Phrase (as printed): bairns
Phrase (if revised):
Phonetic transcription:
Book: FC
pb: 62
hc: 42
Language: Lowland Scots
Translation: Children: rural and Eastern dialects. Not used in Glasgow (see “wean”), this word entered Scottish speech via Scandinavian language, where it is still current in the form barn. Swedish: Har du barn?/“Have you child(ren)?”
Phrase (as printed): balach biodheach
Phrase (if revised): balach bòidheach
Phonetic transcription: /BALəch BOYəch/
Book: OLC Vol. I
pb:
hc: 249
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “Beautiful boy.”
Phrase (as printed): balach math
Phrase (if revised):
Phonetic transcription: /BALəch ma/
Book: OLC Vol. I
pb:
hc: 252
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “Good boy.”
Phrase (as printed): ballag buachair
Phrase (if revised): balgan-buachrach
Phonetic transcription: /BALagan BOOACHrach/
Book: OLC Vol. I
pb:
hc: 239
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “Mushroom”: literally “manure bubble.” I am convinced that the concept of a “ball” or “bubble” in this sense has brought about the English slang word “bollock” for the male testicle!
Phrase (as printed): ban-druidh
Phrase (if revised): ban-draoidh
Phonetic transcription: /ban DRÖI/
Book: OLC Vol. I
pb:
hc: 245
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “Female druid”: female sorcerer or worker of magic.
Phrase (as printed): ban-lichtne
Phrase (if revised): ban-lighiche
Phonetic transcription: /ban-LEEichə/
Book: ABOSA
pb: 227
hc: 157
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “Female doctor”: l
ighiche comes from the practice of applying leeches to a patient’s body in order to heal all sorts of ills, real and assumed. Doctors in the early days, then, were literally spoken of as “leechers”!
Phrase (as printed): ban-sidhe
Phrase (if revised): ban-sìth
Phonetic transcription: /banSHEE/
Book: FC
pb: 1205
hc: 817
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “Female fairy”: where we have taken the word “banshee” from, as in to “scream like a banshee,” since banshees were thought to wail before the impending death of a clan member, often a chief.
Phrase (as printed): baragh mhor
Phrase (if revised): baradh mór
Phonetic transcription: /BArəɣ MORE/
Book: OLC Vol. I
pb:
hc: 238
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “A large Baragh”: I’m not altogether sure what this one is! The only thing I can find that resembles it is baradh, which means a “hindrance” or “obstacle.”
Phrase (as printed): bas mallaichte!
Phrase (if revised): bàs mallaichte!
Phonetic transcription: /BAASS MALichtchə/
Book: OLC Vol. I
pb:
hc: 243
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “Accursed death.”
Phrase (as printed): bawbee
Phrase (if revised):
Phonetic transcription:
Book: OLC Vol. I
pb: 910
hc: 253
Language: Lowland Scots
Translation: A Scottish halfpenny.
Phrase (as printed): beannachd leat, a charaid
Phrase (if revised):
Phonetic transcription: /BYAnachk lecht ə CHAridge/
Book: MOBY
pb:
hc: 661
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “Blessings with you, oh, friend.”
Phrase (as printed): bein-treim
Phrase (if revised): banntrach
Phonetic transcription: /BANtrəch/
Book: ABOSA
pb: 502
hc: 344
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “Widow”: I’m not familiar with ban-treim. The word banntrach originally comes from bean deurach/ben-JERach/“tearful woman” and we still use this in Argyll today, although it’s now pronounced /BENjerrach/.
Phrase (as printed): besom
Phrase (if revised):
Phonetic transcription: /bizm/
Book: OLC Vol. I
pb:
hc: 245
Language: Lowland Scots
Translation: Ill-tempered woman.
Phrase (as printed): bi samnach, tha mi seo
Phrase (if revised): bith sàmhach, tha mi ‘n seo
Phonetic transcription: /bee SAvəch, hami’n SHAW/
Book: FC
pb: 925
hc: 625
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “Be quiet (calm); I am here.”
Phrase (as printed): bi socair, mo chridhe
Phrase (if revised): bith socair mo chridhe
Phonetic transcription: /bee SOCHkər mo CHREEə/
Book: FC
pb: 925
hc: 625
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “Be at ease, my heart.”
Phrase (as printed): bioran
Phrase (if revised):
Phonetic transcription: /BEEran/
Book: FC
pb: 1403
hc: 951
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “Little pointed stick”: literally, “little jagged.”
Phrase (as printed): Bliadha Tearlach
Phrase (if revised): Bliana Theàrlaich
Phonetic transcription: /BLEEanə HYARlich/
Book: ABOSA
pb: 669
hc: 459
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “Charlie’s Year”: this refers to the period 1745–46, which culminated in Prince Charles Edward Stewart leading many Gaels to their demise at Culloden. Teàrlach follows another name or noun and so therefore takes the genitive case Theàrlaich. As bliana is nowhere pronounced /BLEEəɣna/, I have removed the dh for ease of learning.
Phrase (as printed): bodhran
Phrase (if revised):
Phonetic transcription: /BOHran/
Book: OLC Vol. I
pb:
hc: 250
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: A flat, circular drum with a stretched-skin head over a wooden frame, beaten with a short double-headed stick.
Phrase (as printed): bothy
Phrase (if revised): bothie
Phonetic transcription:
Book: OLC Vol. I
pb:
hc: 241
Language: Lowland Scots
Translation: Mountain shack. From Gaelic bothan /BOHhan/.
Phrase (as printed): braw
Phrase (if revised):
Phonetic transcription:
Book: FC
pb: 33
hc: 23
Language: Lowland Scots
Translation: Good. Comes originally from Norse language bra and is still heard daily in Scandinavia today. I have recently been picking up a bit of Swedish, as I have friends from the area, and it’s really remarkable how much the Lowland Scots language and her Scandinavian neighbors have in common, from word order to vocabulary. I can also hear elements of both the Lewis and, believe it or not, Newcastle accents in Scandinavian speech, something which may or may not thrill the denizens of those two rather distinct places!
Phrase (as printed): bree
Phrase (if revised):
Phonetic transcription:
Book: OLC Vol. I
pb:
hc: 253
Language: Lowland Scots
Translation: A great disturbance; also a soup. “Partan bree” is a crab soup.
Phrase (as printed): breugaire
Phrase (if revised):
Phonetic transcription: /BRAYgərə/
Book: ABOSA
pb: 1104
hc: 753
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “Liar”: another example of the north/south Gaelic dialect divide, we in the middle of Argyll would pronounce this as shown, while to the north and in MacKenzie country it would be briagaire/BREEAgərə/.
Phrase (as printed): broch
Phrase (if revised):
Phonetic transcription: /broch/
Book: OLC Vol. I
pb:
hc: 240
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “Iron Age tower”: the predecessor of the Highland castle.
Phrase (as printed): Broch Tuarach
Phrase (if revised):
Phonetic transcription: /broch TOOArəch/
Book: MOBY
pb: 284
hc: 206
Language: Fictional placename
Translation: “North-facing tower”: now, technically the word tuarach doesn’t exist—it would be tuathach/TOOach/“northerly”/—but I happen to think as made-up names go, it seems exactly what a fictional Gaelic word would look and sound like!
Phrase (as printed): brose
Phrase (if revised):
Phonetic transcription:
Book: OLC Vol. I
pb:
hc: 245
Language: Lowland Scots
Translation: Broth, a certain type, often made of barley or kale. Iain Mac an Tàilleir (language advisor for The Outlandish Companion Volume One) notes: “This is not Gaelic, but the brose I and my fellow islanders knew was a stiff mix of the local grain meal—oats or barley, etc.—cooked with water, butter, and salt. Same ingredients as porridge, but much stiffer consistency. Supposed
to be ‘good for you.’ Never liked it myself.”
Phrase (as printed): buidheachas dhut, a Sheumais mac Brian
Phrase (if revised): buidheachas dhut, a Sheumais ‘ic Bhriain
Phonetic transcription: /BOOyachəs ɣoocht, ə HAMISH ichk VREEain/
Book: FC
pb: 119
hc: 81
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “Gratitude to you, James, son (of) Brian”: Brian, a Gaelic name, would be pronounced /BREEan/; mac/machk/ and Brian would also be declined in the vocative case to mhic/veechk/ or ‘ic Bhriain/eechk VREEaiyn/. You sometimes see buidheachas/BOOIYəchəs/ used on album sleeves or books where you might use “acknowledgments” or “thanks to” in English.
Phrase (as printed): buidheachas, mo charaid
Phrase (if revised):
Phonetic transcription: /BOOyachəs mo CHAridge/
Book: OLC Vol. I
pb:
hc: 240
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “Gratitude, my friend.”
Phrase (as printed): burras
Phrase (if revised):
Phonetic transcription: /BOOrass/
Book: OLC Vol. I
pb:
hc: 244
Language: Gaelic (Gàidhlig)
Translation: “Caterpillar.”
Phrase (as printed): cá bhfuil tú?
Phrase (if revised):
Phonetic transcription: /ka fwail too/
Book: ABOSA
pb: 187
hc: 131
Language: Gaelic (Gaeilge)
Translation: “Where are you?”: our Scottish equivalent to this is practically identical: cà’ bheil u? There really is very little difference between Scottish and Irish. In fact, on either side of the Straits of Moyle, the Gaelic was far more similar than that of the northeast and southwest of Scotland—or than the northeast and southwest of Ireland, for that matter—were to each other. It is only politics that has caused any kind of divide. I blether very freely with Irish language speakers, using my own dialect of Scottish and them Irish and worrying none about the little bits we don’t understand. A sublime pleasure, in fact, to share a pint of Guinness and a good Scottish dram and let the conversation flow free!
Phrase (as printed): cack-handed
Phrase (if revised):
Phonetic transcription:
The Companion to the Fiery Cross, a Breath of Snow and Ashes, an Echo in the Bone, and Written in My Own Heart's Blood Page 73
