gaelic in the landscape

Durness
Diùranais
Lochinver
Loch an Inbhir
Gaelic in the landscape
Place names in the North West Highlands
Ullapool
Ulapul
Gairloch
Geàrrloch
Kyle of Lochalsh
Caol Loch Aillse
Inverness
Inbhir Nis
A’ Ghàidhlig air aghaidh na tìre
Ainmean-àite ann an Iar-thuath na Gàidhealtachd
The Gaelic language has an intimate relationship with
the beautiful landscapes of North West Scotland.
Although speakers of other languages also contributed
to the area’s place name legacy, the North West
Highlands remain fundamentally what they have
been for many centuries – a Gaelic landscape. The
nomenclature used by the Gaels to describe their
land is very rich – the maps of Scotland reveal, for
example, over seventy different Gaelic words for ‘hill’
or ‘mountain’ – and a number of landscape terms used
in English, such as ‘corrie’, ‘glen’ and ‘loch’, are derived
from Gaelic. In this booklet, journalist, broadcaster and
hillwalker, Roddy Maclean, who has roots in Applecross,
gives us a taste of the richness of the Gaelic
environment of the North West Highlands.
Tha dlùth-chàirdeas eadar a’ Ghàidhlig agus tìr
bhrèagha taobh an Iar-thuath na h-Alba. Ged a chuir
luchd-labhairt chànanan eile ri dualchas ainmean-àite
na sgìre, tha Gàidhealtachd an Iiar-thuath fhathast mar
a bha i fad iomadh linn – na dùthaich Ghàidhealach.
Tha beartas iongantach aig na Gàidheil co-cheangailte
ris na h-ainmean a thug iad don dùthaich aca – mar
eisimpleir, tha còrr is seachdad facal ann an Gàidhlig
airson a leithid ‘cnoc’ no ‘beinn’ – agus tha grunn
fhaclan Gàidhlig ann, leithid ‘coire’, ‘gleann’ is ‘loch’,
a chaidh a-null don Bheurla mar fhaclan-iasaid. Anns
an leabhran seo, tha am fear-naidheachd, craoladair is
fear-coiseachd nam beann, Ruairidh MacIlleathain, aig a
bheil buinteanas don Chomraich, a’ toirt blasad dhuinn
de dh’àrainneachd Ghàidhealach an Iar-thuath.
ISBN 978 1 85397 530 1
Print code: A2.45K0910
Price: free
www.snh.gov.uk