Rating: 
Summary: celtic languages
Review: I have read the other reveiws, there seems to be some confusion as to the different celtic languages and what they are called. The Irish, scots and Welsh, all spoke Gaelic but in a different dilect. generally the languages are simply called Irish or Welsh but in Scotland the Scots have their own way of speaking and Scots is not a gaelic language, Scots is mainly the lowland language. Gaelic is more highlander and islander at this time, the word gael means highlander. So please be sure of the language you want before you buy any book. Scots Gaelic is the term used for gaelic in Scotland. Le durachdan.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Useful
Review: I have so far found this course to be a very useful aid to studying Scottish Gaelic (Gaidhlig). I have the newer revision with different cover art than the revision pictured here at [...], but the text are nearly identical between the revisions, if not absolutely the same. What's important for a beginner in learning to speak this language are good recordings of native speakers, and this book has two companion tapes to go with it. Be sure you buy them, they will save you lots of trouble with pronunciation - Gaidhlig spelling differs enough from English to confuse and discourage a new learner, but with the tapes, learning becomes not as confusing but teases one into learning more instead. When a learner has a [...] for a live radio news program broadcast in Gaidhlig at 1p.m. EST M-F. This book/tape set has helped me understand the broadcast well enough that I can pick up the gist of a conversation after only about a month's worth of good study time.
Rating:
Summary: Gaelic Learning
Review: I have strong Irish decent from my mother's side of the family and we are going to visit(one of these years)Ireland and Scotland. So, I decided to learn how to speak Gaelic. I know two languages in addition to my native one, and this book is a big help. The language is so interesting. I can't wait to use it in it's native land! Great book.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent beginner's course in Scottish Gaelic
Review: I've been doing a little research on Celtic languages and linguistics, and I got this course to help out with Gaelic, especially the speaking and pronunciation. This is a course in Scottish Gaelic as opposed to Irish Gaelic in the Teach Yourself Series. I've previously had the TY courses for several languages, such as Spanish and Arabic, and they have all been excellent so far, and this one is no exception. The audio tapes are great for teaching you proper pronunciation, and they put to use the vocabulary and grammar that you learn in the book. Each chapter has vocabulary-building lists, a brief grammar section, and exercises and practice drills. Aspects of the language's grammar are typically introduced in the context of a given conversational requirement, so although the coverage of the grammar isn't systematic and especially technical, it's still good and more than adequate to understand the conversational examples and phrases. For those wanting a more rigorous treatment of the grammar of a language, you'll probably want to pick up a separate grammar to accompany the Teach Yourself courses, which is what I do. To give you a little idea of what I've learned so far (much of it from this particular book), Irish belongs to the Celtic language family, the most western of the Indo-European language groups. It is of interest to linguists since it may preserve features of the original Indo-European proto-language. The family has two branches, the first composed of Gaelic and Manx, which are very similar to each other, and the other branch, composed of Welsh, Breton, and Cornish, but they are too different to be mutually intelligible. Irish is known as Gaeilge, and Welsh is called Cymraeg. Breton and Welsh are grouped together as Brythonic languages, while Irish and Scots Gaelic are grouped together as Goedelic languages. Irish and Scots Gaelic speakers can understand each other with some difficulty and also Welsh and Breton speakers. However, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, for a Welsh and an Irish speaker to understand each other. Irish and Scots Gaelic, Welsh, and Breton are still alive, but Cornish and Manx have died out. The other Celtic languages that have died out are Galatian (spoken by Celts in central Turkey), Gaulish, and Celtiberian or Hispano-Celtic. The last three were assimilated into the Roman empire. Lastly, there was Pictish, which may or may not have been a real Celtic language. Irish has a relatively small alphabet compared to most European languages, with only 18 letters. One of the ways Irish gets along with such a small alphabet is that there are complex rules relating to combinations of consonants and vowels, with the vowels affecting the pronunciation of the consonants. You'll learn about all of these in the sections on phonetics and pronunciation. There are several interesting aspects to Irish phonetics. One is that it has what are called slender and broad consonants, or short and long versions of the consonants. An American speaker typically has long consonants, and a Scottish speaker short consonants, but Irish has both. To illustrate this concept, the "l" in the word "leaf" would be "slender," but in the word "feel," broad. Another interesting aspect of Irish phonetics is there are complex rules for mutation of sounds, such as in lenition and eclipsis of consonants. This often happens in the first consonants of verbs and nouns. Lenition means softening, or the replacement of a loud, abrupt sound by a softer hissing or continuous sound, as in the replacement of "c" by "ch." Eclipsis occurs when the sound of a consonant like "c" is overtaken by the sound of the consonant before it, such as a "g." I'm used to this phenomenon being referred to as forward or anterograde assimilation of consonants, and English also has it, as when the "s" in dogs sounds like a "z" because it is being assimilated by the voiced "g" sound. Russian is the reverse, and has regressive or retrograde assimilation of consonants. Irish has masculine and feminine genders, and also something called the genitive singular, which affects different kinds of nouns when they are joined to the previous noun. Irish has similar verb tenses and moods to English, but the habitual past is more important in Irish. There are two perfect present tenses, based on the verbal adjective, or past participle, such as in "written," or the verbal noun, or gerund, as in "writing." Hence, Irish has present, past, present habitual, past habitual, and future tenses. It also has the imperative, conditional, and subjunctive moods, and there is a passive voice, similar to English and most Indo-European languages. Well, I hope you didn't mind my little digression on Celtic and Irish linguistics, but getting back to the present book, this is an excellent book and audio tape combination for the beginning student of Scottish Gaelic. After completing this course, you'll have an excellent foundation in the language and will be ready to advance to the intermediate level in your studies.
Rating:
Summary: Not horrible
Review: My boyfriend and I are trying to learn Gaelic together, so we picked up this course. The coursebook is constructed badly. There is no index or way to find anything without flipping thru the pages. The audio material isn't bad, but there are no pauses, which means that you are constantly hitting the pause button in order to practice your pronunciation...not a great idea if you are driving. All in all, not bad, but but hard to use unless you sit in front of your audio device with one finger on the pause button and are prepared to rewind/pause/read/flip back to pronunciation guide and buy a Gaidhlig/English dictionary somwhere else.
Rating:
Summary: Not the best format. Heavily book dependent.
Review: Not a terrible course, and probably perfect for the person who is willing and able to sit in front of tape or CD player, book in hand, hitting pause/back/rewind/etc. The tapes are not very effective without the book, so don't get this if you are trying to learn gaelic on your commute or while driving. Also, the format is a little strange. You don't learn phrases like "goodbye" until long after you've learned "do you like Indain food." The book does not include an index or dictionary of the lessons, which makes it impossible to look up grammar or vocabulary. This could be a great course if they were to reorganize it in a new addition and expand the audio material.
Rating:
Summary: Not the best format. Heavily book dependent.
Review: Not a terrible course, and probably perfect for the person who is willing and able to sit in front of tape or CD player, book in hand, hitting pause/back/rewind/etc. The tapes are not very effective without the book, so don't get this if you are trying to learn gaelic on your commute or while driving. Also, the format is a little strange. You don't learn phrases like "goodbye" until long after you've learned "do you like Indain food." The book does not include an index or dictionary of the lessons, which makes it impossible to look up grammar or vocabulary. This could be a great course if they were to reorganize it in a new addition and expand the audio material.
Rating:
Summary: Tha e GLÈ math!
Review: Ò, tha gràdh agam dhut, CHO mòràn,a Ghàidhlig! 'S toil leam seo leabhar glè mòràn agus is miann leam tuilleadh às seo cànain àlainn. Seadh, bidh gràdh agam air seo cànain gu bràth. Feumach air cuideachadh. Ma 's e bhur toil e. I'm only starting this book, but I have learned a LOT. I don't usually do all the excercises, but I make up my own to see how well I can perform. So far, this is an excellent course- wonderfully explained, good use of words, interesting facts about Alba (Scotland), this is just beautifully done. And the language is just SO beautiful! The Celtic languages are MUCH more beautiful and romantic than the latin languages in my opinion. I just can't and won't believe nor accept the frail condition this ethereal tounge is in. The Celtic languages MUST BE SAVED! Tha gràdh agam dhuinn uile cho mòràn, an ceòl agus na diathan sin tha iad. Tha iad uile ceòl, bàrdach, agus Dia fhèin. Ò, bhithinn anns an dùthaich daonnan, sin Alba breagha, an t-Eilean Sgithneach, Inbhir Nis, Glaschu, h-uile rud. M'Alba, tha gràdh agus miann agam dhuit.Buy this course and learn it! You will NOT regret it! Sure, it is hard, but you get the hang of it. I HIGHLY recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Teach Yourself [Scots] Gaelic
Review: Scots-Gaelic is a modern but ancient language of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland (Alba, in Gaelic). Scots-Gaelic (Gàidhlig) is closely related to Irish-Gaelic (Gaeilge) and Manx-Gaelic (Gaelg), all minority languages. Scots-Gaelic can be especially rewarding for Celtic language and Scottish cultural studies, as well as a beautiful language. Many of the areas that speak Gaelic regularly have attractive areas for hill-walkers, so that might be a helpful reason to work on your Gaelic skills, if you are planning on going to those areas of Britain. Teach Yourself Gaelic (at least this edition) is strong on cultural information (which is nice) and is a nice Gaelic course. There is an updated cover with real photographs, also. Another alternative would be Colloquial Scottish Gaelic: The Complete Course for Beginners, of the Colloquial series. These are generally nice books, but I've only used Colloquial Icelandic. I think it was a good buy. If you are interested in Irish-Gaelic, I would not recommend buying Teach Yourself Irish at all, as I found it difficult, stilted and unnatural, and eventually returned it. Irish, however, is a very interesting language with more speakers than Scots-Gaelic, so I would recommend other series' Irish courses. Cheers and good luck.
Rating:
Summary: Good Information
Review: The tapes, accompanied by the book, have been useful in the reading and pronounciation of Scottish Gaelic. I do however, advise purchasing an English/Gaelic dictionary as well. One of the best sources I've found for the Gaelic language.
|
