For those that speak Gaeilge, can you understand this Scots Gaelic?

Broads.ie · 22-01-2012 01:39PM #1

I'm not fluent in Irish but I can recognize a few words from this. For those of you who are fluent though, can you follow what this lady is saying?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lktt_DlpsJA

Enkidu · 22-01-2012 03:34PM

Maybe others are different, but although I can follow simple sentences, I find full blown Scots Gaelic difficult to understand. It's simple in writing, especially if you know the classical Irish spelling system.

P. Breathnach · 22-01-2012 04:12PM

I found it interesting to watch the video.

First, part of my mind was occupied with observing my own experience, with questions like "do I understand this?" and "what are my aids or barriers to understanding this?". Such questions probably lowered the degree of my comprehension of what was said.

Yes, I did get the general gist of the piece. I was aided by the visuals and the general conventions of televised weather forecasts, but I could also get my head around much of the language.

I also had a minor hiccup with my reliance on visual cues when I saw some placenames in Gaelic, and found them interesting.

Were I to holiday in Scotland and see such a weather forecast, I think I should be better equipped to plan my activities for the following day - except that I am of that generation that was accustomed to unreliable forecasting, and I have never managed to overcome my scepticism.

[I watched the video only once before responding, because in ordinary circumstances you get only one shot at broadcast material.]

Aard · 22-01-2012 06:39PM

Like P Breathnach, I only watched it once. I understood most of it. Like him too, I found myself thinking a lot -- things like "huh, they use fíor too" as in fíor-mhaith. There were parts of it though, like stretches of about 5 seconds where I literally understood nothing. But it wasn't like wow this is some incomprehensible language, it was the kind of lack of understanding when somebody from Kerry speaks extremely fast -- sorta like I should know what this means... but don't!

I've listened to Gaidhlig before, but I gotta say that this was more understandable. Tuning into a radio news progamme OTOH makes things more difficult. No frame of reference.

I wonder how the Gaidhlig speakers get on with understanding Irish...

For those that speak Gaeilge, can you understand this Scots Gaelic?

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