First steps in Gaelic imperialism

A while ago I announced on this blog that I was working on some Gaelic maps.  Although the overwhelming response from readers was positive and enthusiastic, for my pains frothing Unionists on social media called me a fascist, a blood and soil nationalist, and insisted that Gaelic had never been spoken in X, Y or Z, where X Y Z invariably turned out to be towns or villages with decidedly Gaelic names.  And one particular spittle flecked frother memorably claimed that promoting the Gaelic language as a national language of Scotland was indistinguishable in intent from inciting the Rwandan genocide.  That’s just how hysterical and desperate to claim victimhood status that certain Scottish Unionists are, that they can, without any sense of their own ridiculously breathless hyperbole, liken English speakers in Scotland to victims of genocide.

Some took to Twitter to explain at great length how they, and everyone they knew, and the granny and the dug of everyone they knew, didn’t care about Gaelic, in the process spending so much time and energy that they were unwittingly doing an extremely good impression of someone who cared a great deal.  Others ranted about the needless cost of it all, seemingly unaware or not caring that I’m doing these maps in my own time, and without any funding from them or the Scottish government.  They’re not being asked to contribute in any shape or form.  Others huffed and puffed about Gaelic names being imposed upon them, although they’re not being compelled to buy any of the maps when they’re published, and there is indeed no way that people who’re not interested can be made even to give the maps so much as a glance – nor would I want to anyway – which is a strange definition of forcing something on someone.

Frothing yoon extraordinaire Tom Gallagher took particular exception to the project and said that it was nothing more than Gaelic imperialism.  So for no other reason than to annoy him, and to annoy all those people who know bugger all about the linguistic heritage of Scotland but are still confident enough in their ignorance to proclaim that Gaelic was never spoken in some particular place, I present you with a Gaelic map of Edinburgh.

For the avoidance of any doubt, Gaelic was once present in the Edinburgh area as a mother tongue. There are numerous Gaelic place names in Edinburgh and Midlothian which were created by local Gaelic speakers when Gaelic was spoken natively in the area. That doesn’t mean that Gaelic was once the only language of Edinburgh, the local variety of Northumbrian Middle English (which later gave rise to Scots) continued to be spoken in the district.

The Gaelic and other place names of Edinburgh and the surrounding area are detailed in a study of Midlothian place names by Norman Dixon in 1947 as a PhD thesis.  This Gaelic map of Edinburgh draws heavily on his work. Click on the image to see the full sized map. The full sized image is a high quality high resolution image which can be fitted into an A4 sheet and printed out on glossy paper on your printer if you want a good quality copy of the map which you can frame and keep.

duneideann

Audio version of this blog post, courtesy of Sarah Mackie @lumi_1984 https://soundcloud.com/occamshaver/wee-ginger-dug-20th-feb-2017

If you’d like me and the dug to come and give a talk to your local group, email me at weegingerbook@yahoo.com


Donate to the Dug This blog relies on your support and donations to keep going – I need to make a living, and have bills to pay. Clicking the donate button will allow you to make a payment directly to my Paypal account. You do not need a Paypal account yourself to make a donation. You can donate as little, or as much, as you want. Many thanks.

Donate Button

Or click HERE

If you’d like to make a donation but don’t wish to use Paypal or have problems using the Paypal button, please email me at weegingerbook@yahoo.com for details of alternative methods of donation.


frontcovervol3barkingvol2coverSigned copies of the Collected Yaps of the Wee Ginger Dug volumes 1 2 3 & 4 are available by emailing me at weegingerbook@yahoo.com. Price just £21.90 for two volumes plus P&P. Please state whether you want vols 1 & 2 or 3 & 4. You can also order signed copies of all four volumes for the special price of £40 plus £4 P&P within the UK.

Copies of Barking Up the Right Tree are available from my publisher Vagabond Voices at http://vagabondvoices.co.uk/?page_id=1993 price just £7.95 plus P&P. The E-book of Barking Up the Right Tree is available for Kindle for just £4. Click here to purchase.

Get your copy of Barking Up the Right Tree Volume 2 by placing an order on the Vagabond Voices website. Just click the following link.

http://vagabondvoices.co.uk/?page_id=2709

94 comments on “First steps in Gaelic imperialism

  1. alex mckrchnie says:

    When can we purchase and from where ?

    • weegingerdug says:

      The printed maps will be published later this year. There will be maps of Glasgow & Inverclyde, Fife, Kintyre & Arran, Islay & Jura, and Mull. Also possibly a map of Ayrshire if I can get it finished. All these maps will be A1 sized and at a scale of 1:100,000.

      • Scott says:

        Fantastic keep up the Good work.

      • I’d love an Ayrshire one when you get round to it – after you’ve won the Indyref for us, got independence for Catalonia and Ginger’s chased the tories a’ roon’ Scotland before biting their erses farewell at the border. So, just when you’re ready, please wid ye put ma name in your order book 🙂

      • Patience is a Virtue says:

        Tapadh leat! ..great map …’Baile nam Feusgan’ – love it.

        Looking forward to the map of Ayrshire also.. An t-Sron… what… Troon is a Gaelic name… however did that happen.

  2. Carol Sadler says:

    That’s a thing of beauty.I don’t have a word of Gaelic,but I love the look of it and I absolutely love maps so that’s a win,win.Oh, and f**k the frothers.

  3. Weechid. says:

    Can we please have one of Dumfries and Galloway – just to annoy Fluffy:-)

  4. Duncan Mitchell says:

    Well done, Pol.
    From Session Clerk, St. Columba Gaelic Church Glasgow

  5. Bamstick says:

    Brilliant, love maps and to see an area I know very well in Gaelic is a real treat.
    Thank you

  6. William Bryan says:

    Paul Your Dun Eideann map is great. I place myself in the Suidhe Artair area and will certainly by this map when it is published.

  7. benmadigan says:

    Your Gaelic maps are works of art and works of love of Scotland – well done, Paul

  8. Michael Newton says:

    One small thought: given that the “Pent” in “Pentlands” refers to Picts (ie., the boundary of Pictland), you could arguably make this “Monadh nan Cruithneach”

    • weegingerdug says:

      Not according to Dixon it doesn’t. The most likely derivation of the Pent part of the name is from Old Welsh pant ‘valley’. The more recent work BLITON (Brittonic Language in the Old North) also derives it from pant, although it notes that pen ‘head’ is a possibility. The standard procedure that Ainmean Aite na h-Alba suggest for Old Welsh names is to phonetically adapt them to Gaelic. That’s what I’ve done here.

      The Pentland Firth has a different etymology. This name does contain the Norse word for the Picts. It was Petlandsfjörð in Norse – Pictland’s Firth. This name is unrelated to the name of the Pentland Hills.

      • kevan Hubbard says:

        Pen is the Welsh for hill and its Ben in Scottish and Irish.most likely pen,in pentland hills,has Pictish origins as they are said to have spoken a cumbric type of language similar to Welsh,Breton and Cornish.

        • john f headen says:

          the best way to remember which is the ” Q ” or ” P ” Celtic Language is the word for Head——–Pen in welsh and Ceann ( pronounced with a Q ) in gaelic

  9. Weegiewarbler says:

    Gods, I wish my dad was still alive. He’d have loved this. I’ be keeping my eye open for when thee go on sale.

  10. hettyforindy says:

    Great, lovely to see. Would love to buy, is there a plan to do any smaller copies? To frame. Maybe a wee coat pin, or brooch would be nice! 😀

    I love the Gaelic, especially as well Gaelic singing. Tried learning online, very hard for me, but might try again.

    Look forward to rest of the maps.

    • weegingerdug says:

      The Edinburgh map is A4 sized – the size of ordinary computer printing paper. I’ll also be publishing high quality copies of the Edinburgh map, naturally for a lower price since it’s much smaller. The other maps will also be published on heavy glossy paper as wall maps.

  11. Macart says:

    As someone who has worked on his fair share of maps in his time, that’s an epic piece of work right there. 🙂

    Regarding the deniers? As you say, no one is forcing anything on anyone.

    Mibbies they need a hobby? Y’know,… other than twitter raging. 🙂

  12. punklin says:

    I salute your Indy-fatigability! Resourceful and clever, you’re in danger of becoming a national treasure…

    “Psst – wanna buy a map? Good price! And every single one guaranteed to make a yoon froth!”

  13. Cliff says:

    Well done, worthy of higher praise for sure but dam, well done

  14. iain taylor says:

    Braw.

  15. diabloandco says:

    Fantastic Paul and even more fantastic if it annoys those called Gallagher or Gallacher! ( apologies to those Gallaghers/ Gallachers who aren’t Profs)

    The fervent frothers fraternity would be exposed by a fair media but sadly it seems that the media is part of it – Trumps not wrong on everything!

  16. I was at a 50th birthday bash on Saturday at Clydebank Bowling Club in …Dunedin Terrace.
    To deny one’s heritage and history is a terrible thing.
    A superb piece of love, Paul. Thank You.

  17. wendy smillie says:

    A fantastic project. I’m a Gaelic learner, so this is right up my street. I’d love to see a Gaelic map of Stirlingshire, my own home ground, btw!

  18. denmylne says:

    lastest theory, barry cuneliffe, Gaelic was the linga franca of the bronze age, it followed the tin trade and spread FROM britain to the east coast of Europe then up the main rivers westward in to france and Iberia
    This, celtic, Language was displaced gradually by the expansion of Gaulish from the west (the rhine) towards the east and into britain on the back of the trade in iron. (600-500be) This is why brythonic, although a p celtic language like gaulish, is much closer related to gaelic than gaulish. cf
    continental celtic, gaulish, 60% of its vocabulary is cognate with early germanic
    Insular celtic, brythonic and early gaelic, only 30% of its vocabulary is cognate with early germanic
    this 30% difference corresponds to a split, 1000-1500 year prior to 600bce

    the river almond, cramond etc, was the boundary between the Votadini and the kingdom of Mannan, Dail Mheinnidh, Dalmeny was written in earlier scripts as Dalmany, Dalmanyn, Du Mannyn, Dub Manyn, possibly meaning black, (Dubh) but more likely meaning the boggy ground directly below Dun Manyn(castle craig) and Dun Ter, iron age hillforts.

    together with Slamannan and Clachmannan, this encompassed the Kingdom of Mannan. Laterly, the area between the Almond and the Forth at Stirling fell increasingly under the influence of the Votadini and became known as Manau (Manaw) Gododdin (see Cunedda)

    it was permanently destroyed in the 7th century and its territory absorbed into the Kingdom of Northumbria and became known as Lothian

  19. Elizabeth Milne says:

    Just curious – are there any places in Aberdeenshire with names derived from Gaelic?

  20. Betti Angus says:

    Good job, Paul – in all respects!

    Remember the Gaelic map you gave me a wee while back? I’m going to frame it and hang it in the holiday flat (almost finished), so that all my holidaymakers can see that Scotland has a culture and identity all of her own, and they’ve come somewhere special 🙂

    https://www.facebook.com/uppaclose/

  21. Macart says:

    Last day and this outlet could really use the help.

    https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/iscot-magazine-phase-3-the-last-call#/

  22. carthannas says:

    Math dhà rìribh, meall ur naidheachd a Phòl! Brilliant Paul, congratulations!

  23. Brian Powell says:

    Excellent, looking forward to getting copies. Even for those who don’t speak Gaelic the names tell us something about the landscape, as they are descriptive. It’s easy then to look up the meaning of words in on-line dictionaries.

  24. Evelyn Danson says:

    Just blown away by all the work you’re putting into this. Can’t wait to see the finished articles. Regarding those that say they don’t know of any Gaelic speakers, they must lead very sheltered lives as the P1 intake for Gaelic medium schools in Glasgow has been close to 100 for several years now. Don’t know figures for other areas but Gaelic parent & toddler groups, playgroups & nurseries seem to be popping up all over

  25. Fudgefase says:

    I’ll be honest – I don’t like the sound of gaelic, I don’t like the enormous and distracting double road signs (I used to live in the north west) and I think it gets too much coverage. But mainly because hearingit sounds like someone clearing their throat or having a bronchial spasm.

    • mogabee says:

      That is the saddest comment I’ve ever read. Don’t you ever travel?

      • inverisla says:

        Last weekend, I was in the co-op checkout in Broadford and two young ladies behind be in the queue was speaking Gaelic. Splendid, love the sound of the language.

        • Willie John says:

          I married a lass who spoke Gaelic before she could speak English. She did try to teach me but I could never get my tongue round the pronunciation and gave up except for a few phrases. It did however come in handy during holidays on the Costas where you would often get accosted by timeshare touts. We just started gabbing in Gaelic and they walked away!

      • Fudgefase says:

        I just don’t like the sound of it’ It’s gutteral. I prefer some of the romance languages.

        • weegingerdug says:

          That’s fine. It’s your subjective emotional response. But it’s not a reason there shouldn’t be bilingual Gaelic signs or that the language shouldn’t be promoted. Whether you like the sound of it or not, Gaelic is still one of Scotland’s national languages.

        • seonaidh says:

          I detest broccoli and cauliflower. It’s akin to eating hogweed IMHO. Can I object to tax payers money being diverted to farmers to dare to cultivate this vile veg? I prefer some of the legume family.

    • Jan Cowan says:

      Have to say, Fudgeface, I love to hear Gaelic spoken as it reminds me of my early childhood in Fasnacloich Glen. There I was fortunate to be surrounded by kindly, Gaelic-speaking people. I wish I could still speak the language with ease.

  26. roddy2013 says:

    Math dha-riridh, a charaid. I’ll certainly be in the market for purchasing maps when they’re printed – look forward to it.

  27. Gwawr Jones says:

    The name ‘Lothian’ comes from Welsh ‘Lleuddin’, fort of Lleu/Lugh, the god of light; feast day August 1st. The Romans called all places dedicated to Lleu ‘Lugudunum’. Therefore Lothian is essentially the same as Lyon (France) where Lleu’s feast day is still celebrated and Leyden (Holland). Dinas Dinlleu (the ‘city’ of Lleu’s fort) here in Gwynedd is an Iron Age fort on the seashore (and half washed away by the tides). Nearby in the Nantlle valley, there are many sites associated with the story of Lleu as told in Y Mabinogi, the collection of very early Welsh fables. The story of Lleu has been used in the Star Wars films. Luke Skywalker = Lleu!

    • Mart says:

      As a near-local let me correct you: Leiden first turns up in writing in Carolingian times, as ‘Leithon’. Although there is some archaeological evidence for Roman activity along the Old Rhine (which flows through Leiden), there is no evidence that the name derives from Lugudunum.

      • Gwawr Jones says:

        Tracing the origins of place-names is like traversing a minefield! Thank you for your comment. In listing Leiden/Leyden I had been following Celtic scholars who have always included it as a former Lugudunum, the most recent being Graham Robb in his book, ‘The Ancient Paths’.
        I can safely add Laon, France, to the list of sites of Lugh worship, however. Lose one, gain one!

        Thank you, Paul, for a work of art.

        • Mart says:

          No problem. It is often hard to piece out these things, and every scholar is liable to want to see things through the lens of their field. A local Classicist (specialising in Roman History) whose blog I follow tends to rant about that extensively 😉

          There’s not a whole lot known of any pre-Roman Celtic activitiy in the Netherlands; since most of it was soggy and marshy river delta, there was a) not a lot of settlement, and b), not a lot of remains, as most of it tends to wash away in such areas. I might have to check, but I think the best thing you’ll find is some Gaulish/Belgic activity in the South/Southeast.

          Even the post-Roman settlement of the Saxons and Frisians in the West and Northwest of the country tended to stick to the high ground; with the Frisians being fairly luckiy in getting a decent bit of territory, and the Saxons mostly deciding “Screw these marshes, we’ll trust our luck crossing the sea” 😉

          (The other major tribe settling here were the Franks, and they tended to stick to the regions of what is now the provinces of Brabant and Limburg, where the worst flood risk was the Meuse river).

  28. Donna says:

    Hi can you add us to your list for the maps of Edinburgh & Mull please. My little girl would love these.

  29. alasdairB says:

    Dun Eideann and how Gaelic travelled the world….. City of Dunedin South Island New Zealand and port of Dunedin Gulf of Florida . Each settled by Gaelic speaking Scots and named after the capital of their homeland. The anglicised spelling well matches the Gaelic pronounciation. Look forward to the West of Scotland maps when published

  30. Hugh Wallace says:

    Beautiful work Paul. I think I will be purchasing this one as a present for my mother who was born in Dunedin on the other side of the world.

  31. Bill McDermott says:

    Here is an idea that you could consider Paul. I say it as somebody who is not very proficient with verse and music.

    James Kelly gave a link to a French military band playing the Marche des Soldats de Robert Bruce. I have been fairly neutral on the question of the best national anthem for Scotland, but this rendering knocked me out. I think it would do the same for most people on your blog.

    My idea is that somebody translate the words of Scots Wha Hae into all the languages and dialects of Scotland, so that it truly can become an inclusive anthem.

    What do you think?

    Here is the link.

  32. Joan Macdonald says:

    Moran taing! Tha seo sgoinneil!

  33. Robert Graham says:

    More power to yer elbow Paul , and how dare you spend your time adding to the Knowledge of Scots in general , The older i get the more i wonder about some these people who inhabit the place we call Scotland , while most normal folk in different countries will spend hours researching where they come from and the history of their particular Nation , they think its normal not some of our fellow Scots , I really despair sometimes . Maybe the ones who take umbrage about you spending time researching Galic have taken it upon themselves to protect their Union and see anything other than their Union as a Threat ,the mind truly boggles .

  34. seonaidh says:

    Math dhà rìribh.

    Am not sure of your Gaelic fluency so I’ll continue in English, just in case. Duilich, ma tha mi ceàrr!

    As a ‘local’ am just wondering why Dail and not Dùn Mheinidh. ‘Dùn’ can be traced back to circa 1000 and is in current use on Scotrail’s station signage. Ditto LInlithgow. Apparently Gleann Iucha has historical usage in poems and proverbs and again is used by Scotrail.

    Lastly, and in case you ever revise it, there’s also Echline – Each Linn – and Duntarvie – Dùn Tarbhaidh.

  35. mcswordfish says:

    Things you mis-read that are better that way – I initially read Musselburgh as Baile nam Feusagan.

  36. Ealasaid says:

    THANK YOU! xx Always wanted this and will be buying the map when it is ready.

  37. Willie John says:

    Any chance of downloadable jpg’s to incorporate into a website?

  38. Jan Cowan says:

    Great work, Paul. Hope you find the time to consider a Gaelic map for Caithness. George Gunn finished the “Gaelic was never spoken here” idea but a map would settle the argument completely.

  39. In lumina says:

    […] via First steps in Gaelic imperialism — Wee Ginger Dug […]

  40. WP from the Netherlands says:

    Moran taing airson obair. Gle mhath!

    Learning Gaelic isn’t easy for its many unfamiliair sounds, its different grammar etc – which only shows that our languages (English, other Germanic languages) are unfamiliair, different and strange as well, from a Gaelic point of view that is.

    About the guttural sounds – please enjoy the sound of Dutch… Sounds a bit like laryngitis to the untrained ear; the sound of the tongue can be a bit flat (unsurprisingly), but every tongue has its own beauty and its own worlds of the mind.

    • Kevan Hubbard says:

      The Celtic languages are I think closer to the romance languages.interestingly the closest language to English is fresian spoken by a few in the Netherlands,Germany and Denmark.

  41. tintochiel says:

    I’ve always admired your linguistic knowledge, Paul, apart from your bonnie rants.

    Great work again: this will be used to send my few remaining BLiS______d friends into a froth. You know, the same ones who have multiplied organisms about their proud Donegal heritage and think Muriel Gray is an intellectual, but think Gaelic is foreign/imposed/expensive.

    I look forward to the day when our children can be taught Scotland’s historical, linguistic and cultural history once the distorting Britnat Prism has been removed.

  42. Noirin Blackie says:

    Excellent, educated and eminent as ever Paul x

  43. Olivia Smith says:

    This is just a map showing Gaelic translations of non-Gaelic place names. Clearly, Gaelic speakers have lived in Edinburgh for a long time but there’s no evidence that the language was ever spoken “natively”. The geography of the country mitigates against it. Every other source I’ve seen indicates that this region was home to P-Celtic Brythonic rather than Q-Celtic Gaelic. I also think you’d struggle to identify a traditional Gaelic Lothian dialect (though it would be pretty cool if a new one evolved now).

    Learning a language is always a good thing and I can see lots of advantages to instating Gaelic as a second official language but it just isn’t innate to the east coast. It seems daft to construct dubious history in support of a modern movement.

    • weegingerdug says:

      No, this is not just a map showing translations of non-Gaelic names. Certainly it includes many translations, but there are abundant place names in the Edinburgh area which were created in Gaelic, eg Balerno, Currie, Craiglockhart etc. Obviously you’ve not been reading very good sources.

      Scotland’s linguistic history is complex, that’s what makes it interesting. A form of Brythonic Celtic was certainly spoken in the Lothians, but that doesn’t mean Gaelic was never spoken there. Names like Corstorphine, Craigmillar etc. prove that it was.

      • Olivia Smith says:

        This really is not the evidence you are presenting it to be (indeed you have not presented any evidence apart from a map you drew up)!! There is a French name for Edinburgh, a hospital in Little France and a thriving French community here but that does not mean that French was ever indigenous to the area! Despite an overlap in regal history. The east coast was another planet from the average Gael’s perspective (and still is for many, flybe doesn’t stop here).

        I don’t think your aim is a bad one (legitimising the learning of a national language, presumably) but your argumentation is totally wrong and, in an era of “fake news”, it’s frankly dangerous to make unsubstantiable claims.

        Incidentally, I am from one of the suburbs you mention and I know that the etymology of the name is not proven. Gaelicisation is one theory (which I note is now stated as fact on Wikipedia) but not the only one and the truth is that nobody really knows how it got its weird name. I don’t know about the others but I assume that the same is true. Would be interested if you have any killer proof to the contrary but, given that the names date back to the 13th century, I appreciate this isn’t a very realistic request.

        • seonaidh says:

          These names have been extant for 1000 years or more. They often describe the local topography. The plethora of names continues down towards the Borders – Watson in his ‘Celtic Place-Names’ states that there are more names of Gaelic origin around Peebles than of Brythonnic.

          If the spread of these names doesn’t indicate past Gaelic speaking communities then what other explanation is there for them? A Gaelic clan chief from Lochaber ‘translating’ Temple to Baile nan Trodach 800 years ago?

          As to the French, there were French communities in Edinburgh for a period. Hence Little France where French troops loyal to Mary QoS were based and Burdiehouse/ Bordeuxhouse.

          Your east coast arugment ignores the evidence. There were native east coast speakers of Gaelic alive until very recently and possibly some old folk still with a smattering of their mother tongue. Aberdeenshire Gaelic only died in 1984. The east coast is also the source of our oldest written Gaelic, contained in the Book of Deer.

          Gaelic and her culture – from whisky to ceilidhs to tartan to music is and always has been very much a part of Lowland culture.

        • Robert Graham says:

          Olivia go back to bed , why waste your time go and do something useful .

        • weegingerdug says:

          Claiming that a Gaelic map of Edinburgh is equivalent to “fake news” is frankly hysterical nonsense and does not warrant further comment.

          As I said before, there is abundant evidence that Gaelic was spoken in the Edinburgh area, see the works of Nicolaisen, Watson, or indeed the PhD thesis I cite in the blog piece. The fact you choose not to accept this evidence is your problem, not mine.

      • Robert Graham says:

        Oh god you do attract some right ones Paul dont you ,i think this one is missing the point of your post , one of the Awkward Squad i guess oh well thats life Ha Ha , have a nice day now .

    • seonaidh says:

      No, the many placenames of Edinburgh and the Lothians are testament to the past Gaelic speaking communities that lived here. I’m in the west of the city and nearby we have Cas Chaolas (what Queensferry was called before yon queen), Dalmeny (originally dun), Corstorphine, Echline, Duntarvie, Craigie, Ratho, Dalry, Ardmillan, Balgreen, Balerno, Bonaly as well as the islands of the Forth – InchGarvie etc…

      I once read a paper by a place-names expert from East Lothian (Ferguson perhaps?) who had studied the Gaelic names of EL. Many are no longer on maps but many are still extant – Drem, Gullane, Dunbar and Ballencrieff. His opinion was that Gaels moved south from Fife around the year 1000.

      As to the east coast – there were many EC Gaelic speakers until recently in places such as East Sutherland, This is well documented and I attended a class with two sisters some years back who were ‘semi native’ speakers as their mother was a Golspie Gael.

  44. emilytom67 says:

    Why do the dissenters hate anything about Scots/Scotland,it is a very short journey down south,ffs go.Learning any second language is a positive never mind one that is linked with our history/culture whether they like it or not.Never ever do you hear anything positive from the unionists nothing/nada,sad fcukers.

  45. I’m baffled about the objections to maps in Gaelic. I can only imagine their outrage if they were to travel overseas and discover that there are maps of Scotland available in languages such as German and French.

  46. Craig P says:

    Thanks for this work Paul. Just for fun, I don’t suppose you’d like to enlighten us which language the name ‘Gallagher’ comes from?

    • weegingerdug says:

      It’s an Irish name, that would be Irish Gaelic. It’s Ó Gallchobhair in older Irish, Ó Gallachóir in modern spelling. It means “the helper of the foreigners/English speakers” and I swear I didn’t make that up.

  47. webmasterhill says:

    Glè mhath! I’m a non-speaker and I too have been spittle-flecked by those who methinks protest too much.

  48. ‘S toigh leam mòr mapa Dùn Èidean! 🙂

  49. An Islander Abroad says:

    Great map, although I’m not overly familiar with Edinburgh, so I’m struggling to get most of it. I began my learners Gaelic in Tobermory Primary School under a well-known Mod soloist at the time and continued on to do S grade and Higher. After I left school I found people didn’t speak Gaelic in the real world that I’d became a part of, so I lost so much of it.

    It is studying maps and interpreting the meaning of the placenames that has allowed me to hold on to what I have left. Well done for producing it, it’s really fun interpreting the meanings of your surroundings as you’ve given Edinburgh learners an opportunity to do.

  50. Seòras says:

    Tapadh leat gu dearbh agus dùrachdan às a ‘Phòlainn, dìreach airson innse dhuibh gu bheil thu a’ cur luach air an seo. Tha an nota seo fhathast le cead bho Google eadar-theangachadh, ach TEAGASG-leabhar fhèin air an sgeilp a ‘feitheamh airson beagan ùine shaor.
    Agus do dhaoine eile (greis) teanga-cheangail:

    And for others (temporarily) tongue-tied:
    Thank you so much and greetings from Poland, just to let you know that you are appreciated here. This note as yet courtesy of Google translate, but a teach-yourself book on the shelf is waiting for some spare time.

  51. Brian Fleming says:

    Perfect timing Paul, especially given that 21 February is the UN’s ‘mother tongue day’. I’ve seen no reference to this day on any English-language news outlet. I wonder why. 🙂 The only reference I’ve seen was on yesterday evening’s Sami language news programme here in the Nordic countries, which I generally find a source of more interesting news than the main Finnish news programmes, which are just about as parochially hegemonistic as the BBC guff, albeit perhaps not so prone to outright lying.

  52. emilytom67 says:

    It,s probably easier to lie in English.

  53. Seosamh Mac Phádraig says:

    And to think that I once thought all unionists/British settlers lived in Ireland.

  54. Seph says:

    Have you thought of contributing Gàidhlig placenames to OpenStreetMap?

  55. Steve Asaneilean says:

    Excellent stuff Paul – put down for hard copies when available.

    Did you get my wee contribution to the west Central Scotland names?

    😊

  56. weegingerdug says:

    A message for “Jack Glendinning”. I’ve already blocked you on social media for wilfully mispresenting what I said. You don’t get to come crawling back under a different ID and then complain that I’m not going to engage with you.

Comments are closed.