Books

Gaelic Language Books

The book listings are divided into four sections.

Language Books are books, tapes, and/or videos, often in multiple book/tape sets, that are meant to teach the language as a whole.
Dictionaries are very important in learning any language and have their own standards of comparison.
Other Language Books include books which deal with aspects of the language other than vocabulary and include grammars and usage books.
Miscellaneous Books are books written in Gaelic and include fiction, non-fiction, children's books, poetry, etc.

Language Courses

These are sets of tapes and books (and in one case, videos) which are meant to give an overall view of the language. Each takes a slightly different approach to the way in which the language is presented – some are more grammatical, some more conversational. Because of these differences, some might be better for a particular person's needs than others. To make the choices even more difficult, availability and prices are quite different. Courses are listed here in alphabetical order.

For the complete beginner wishing to start with easily available, cheap courses we would recommend Teach Yourself Gaelic, a mixed grammatical and conversational approach. (Be sure and get the tapes as well as the book!) This gives a start, without being a huge investment. And it is easily found in many bookstores. If you are interested in a more grammatical course, you may wish to start with Hugo: Scottish Gaelic in 3 Months instead of Teach Yourself Gaelic.

For the complete beginner who is willing to put a little more money and effort into a starter series, Speaking Our Language, the first book and tape set, would be even better. This is a much more conversational course.

In any case, a good dictionary is a must. The Renton-MacDonald dictionary is great for the beginner and readily available.

Gaelic Made Easy by John M. Paterson Gairm	4 books with tapes. This is fairly old-fashioned in content and teaching style. The books are almost pamphlets in length. Probably not recommended for the complete beginner, it is valuable for the more experienced learner, especially the tapes. Has been found in larger bookstores, but probably best ordered by mail. This work is out-of-print.
Gàidhlig Bheo by J.A. Macdonald National Extension College	A complete correspondence course leading to the Scottish Certificate of Education 'O' Grade Examination. 3 books, examination module and 6 tapes. Available from the Books Council, and possibly other sources, and expensive. We have no experience with the course. We would appreciate input from anyone who has. This work is out-of-print.
Gàidhlig Troimh Chòmhradh by Catriona Niclomhair Parsons Gaelic College, Cape Breton	3 sets (purchasable separately) each containing a book and 3 tapes. Highly conversational, the emphasis is on repetitive drills. Not available in bookstores, see the sources page, and in particular the Gaelic College.
Hugo: Scottish Gaelic in 3 Months by Roibeard Ò Maolalaigh DK Publishing	A book which may be purchased with or without 2 tapes. The treatment is grammatical, and the book is an excellent grammar reference. It may be found on E-bay, but this item is now out-of-print..
Speaking Our Language Cànan	Books, tapes, and video tapes and even a CD-ROM available separately or in sets. Conversational approach. The books, videos and audio tapes may each be used separately. The books use a lot of pictures, puzzles, and color and are a lot of fun. They may be ordered from Cànan, and are also available from other sources, although not in your local bookstore.
Teach Yourself Gaelic by Boyd Robertson and Iain Taylor Teach Yourself Books	A book and two tapes. The book may be purchased without the tapes, but not vice versa. A mixed grammar and conversational approach. Very available – often in chain bookstores. Inexpensive, and probably the best choice for the complete beginner.
Can Seo BBC	The Can Seo course has five video cassettes or DVD's which can be borrowed from ACGA. It also consists of a book with cassette tapes which can be found occasionally in used and online bookstores.
Teach Yourself Gaelic by Roderick Mackinnon Teach Yourself Books	Teach Yourself Gaelic by Roderick Mackinnon was first printed in 1971 and is completely different from the more modern version. Some consider it a better text book although it did not originally have tapes with it. It is out of print but copies are found occasionally in used book stores or on the internet. This work is out-of-print.

Dictionaries

Finding a modern, large, Gaelic-English/English-Gaelic dictionary is unfortunately impossible at the present time. You will have to sacrifice something, or have several dictionaries. We have organized the following in order of usefulness to the beginner, rather than alphabetically.

Scottish Gaelic or Abair! by R.W.Renton and J.A.MacDonald Hippocrene Books/Gairm	This dictionary has gone through several titles and cover designs. It's usually called 'Renton-MacDonald', or 'that little dictionary.' It's small, but has a surprising number of words in it and is easy to carry around. It is modern, both English-Gaelic and Gaelic-English, and has a handy table of irregular verbs in the back. It also will tell you the forms of a noun, the definite article for the form, verbal nouns, and comparatives for adjectives. It's available in lots of stores and cheap. Start with this one.
The Modern Gaelic-English Dictionary Am Faclair Ùr Gàidhlig-Beurla by Robert C. Owen Gairm	Only Gaelic-English, but bigger than Renton-MacDonald and also modern. This and the next one (Thomson) make a good pair, and should be your next step up from Renton-MacDonald. Good coverage of idioms, pronunciations, and a great set of pages on regular and irregular verbs in the back. You will probably have to order this one.
The New English-Gaelic Dictionary by Derick S. Thomson Gairm	This is actually more a word list – with no indication of how words are used. But it makes a good mate with Owen above. Modern, and good-sized. Usually needs to be ordered.
Gaelic Dictionary by Malcolm MacLennan Acair and Aberdeen University Press	This is not modern but it does go both to and from the Gaelic and it has pronunciations. Easier to read than Dwelly's (below), and quite hefty. Can be found in bookstores occasionally.
Dwelly's Illustrated Gaelic to English Dictionary by Edward Dwelly Gairm	This is the serious paperweight. Only Gaelic-English and most definitely not modern (first published in 1901), but you can find the odd spelling variant of the irregular genitive construction you were puzzling over in this one. Not for the beginner, the faint of heart, or the weak of sight. Can occasionally be found in the very big bookstore.
Faclair na Pàrlamaid. The Dictionary of 6,000 Terms of Public Business. Funded by the Scottish Executive, Comunn na Gàidhlig and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.	The dictionary of 6,000 terms of public business was produced to help standardize the terms that might be most commonly used in Gaelic in formal discussion and debates, and thus to make it easier for Gaelic-speakers to use Gaelic in public business and reports. It is hoped that the set of terms and the conclusions of the production team will be acceptable to Gaelic users in the print and broadcast media, in publishing and in education. To request a copy of this book send an E-mail to William Fox or visit http://www.scotland.gov.uk. There is no charge for the publication or shipping.

Other Language Books

Here are some other language books which can be quite useful, but aren't classes or dictionaries.

Bun-Chursa Gàidhlig by Bill Blacklaw Roinn nan Cànan Ceilteach, Oilthigh Ghlaschu	Although the title says it's a Gaelic course, I've put it here because it doesn't come with tapes. A good grammar reference. Not available in the US except through mail-order.
Cothrom Ionnsachaidh by Ronald Black University of Edinburgh	Cothrom Ionnsachaidh is a very comprehensive, step by step explanation of Gaelic grammar. Although originally developed for students in the Department of Celtic, University of Edinburgh, it is accessible to all adult learners. Exercises with an answer key are included. There are also cassettes, which can be bought seperately, but are not essential to the book. It, unfortunately, is also out-of-print.
Everyday Gaelic by Morag MacNeill Gairm	Not a dictionary, but a phrase book. This is a very useful book, for both beginners and more experienced students. It has things like lists of the days of the week, how to head a letter, and other useful stuff. Sometimes seen in larger book stores, but best ordered by mail.
English-Gaelic Phrase Book. by Failte	Not a dictionary, but a phrase book. It contains a short pronunciation guide then continues to list English words and phrases with their Gaelic equivalents by topic. The book can be purchased through www.gaelicbooks.net.

Miscellaneous Books

The Gaelic Books Council 22 Mansfield Street, Glasgow Scotland G11 5QP phone: 0141 337 6211 fax: 0141 341 0515 email: sales@gaelicbooks.net http://www.gaelicbooks.net	Every Gaelic book in print. They also run a book club. Fast service and secure ordering on the web.
Siol Cultural Enterprises P.O. Box 81, St. Andrew's Nova Scotia, CANADA B0H 1X0 phone and fax: (902) 863-0416 email: siol@gaelicbooks.com http://www.gaelicbooks.com	Tapes, books, videos, music. Lots of Cape Breton material.
Thistle & Shamrock Books PO Box 42 Alexandria, VA 22313 phone: (703) 548-2207 fax: (703) 548-6162 email: rory@his.com http://www.his.com/~rory	Gaelic books, and other learning materials, and music.

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