麻豆约拍

鈥� O gabhaibh mo lethsgeul. Uill, cha b鈥檈 mise a bha a鈥� deanamh an fhuaim, greannach 鈥檚 ged a tha mi uaireannan. 鈥� Nach ist thu! 鈥� Tha sin nas fhe脿rr. Tha e air ais na bhocsa a-nise mar bu ch貌ir.

Nach e fuaim diabhlaidh a bh鈥檃nn? Agus d猫 am beathach a bha ga dh猫anamh? Uill, cuiridh mi geall nach eil m貌ran agaibh air a leithid fhaicinn, neo a chluinntinn, a-riamh leis nach eil e ri lorg ach ann an aon eilean air an t-saoghal, agus tha sin fad air falbh o Bhreatainn. Agus timcheall an dearbh eilein, tha am maorach air an robh mi a鈥� bruidhinn an t-seachdain 鈥檚 a chaidh, a鈥� chluas-mhara, neo abalone, gu math pailt. (Bidh sibh a鈥� cuimhneachadh gu bheilear a鈥� smaoineachadh mun chluas-mhara 脿rach ann an Alba.) Agus d猫 an t-eilean a th鈥檃nn far a bheil an d脿 chuid seo? Uill, 脿ite air a bheil mi-fh矛n gu math e貌lach leis gu robh mi a鈥� fuireach ann iomadach bliadhna 鈥� Tasmania.

鈥橲 e am beathach greannach mamail beag ris an canar an Diabhal Tasmanianach, neo Tasmanian Devil. Ged a bha e uaireigin ri lorg air tir-m貌r Astr脿ilia, chan fhaighear a-nise e ach ann an Tasmania fh猫in. Tha e dubh le ceann m貌r is fiaclan biorach. Agus tha e beag, cho m貌r ri c霉 corgi. Ach cha bhiodh a鈥� Bh脿nrigh a鈥� coimhead cho r矛oghail le diabhal na cois 鈥檚 a tha i le corgi, chanainn! 鈥橲 d貌cha gum faigheadh i barrachd sp猫is, ge-t脿, ann an d霉thchannan eile nuair a bha i a鈥� tadhal orra! Faodaidh an diabhal a bhith gu math fiadhaich.

O chionn bliadhna bha mi ann an c猫idse mh貌r, ann an s霉, ann an Tasmania, c貌mhla ri diabhal airson a ghuth a chl脿radh le inneal-cl脿raidh is miocrof貌n. 鈥淐um a dol a ghluasad,鈥� thuirt am fear-sti霉iridh rium, 鈥渂u ch貌ir dhut a bhith s脿bhailte mar sin.鈥�

鈥淏u ch貌ir?鈥� dh鈥檉haighnich mi. Cha robh mi ro chinnteach co-dhi霉 bu ch貌ir dhomh bhith anns a鈥� ch猫idse idir.

鈥淥 aidh,鈥� ars鈥� am fear eile, 鈥渁ch ma stadas tu, bidh an diabhal a鈥� smaoineachadh gur e ablach a th鈥檃nnad.鈥�

鈥淒矛reach mar mo charaidean aig an taigh,鈥� smaoinich mi rium fh矛n.

鈥溾�橲 e ablaich is closaichean as motha a dh鈥檌theas iad,鈥� thuirt am fear-sti霉iridh rium. 鈥淔e貌il nach eil a鈥� gluasad, 鈥檚 e biadh a th鈥檃nn dhaibh. Na stad!鈥�

Uill, ghabh mi a chomhairle agus tha mi ann an seo fhathast, agus a h-uile corrag is 貌rdag agam cuideachd. Tha iad gu math measail, na diabhalan, air corragan dhaoine mar a tha iad air an leathar a gheibhear ann am br貌gan. Ach 鈥檚 fhe脿rr leam-sa, feumaidh mi r脿dh, na cluasan-mara. Tha an diabhal a鈥� fuireach anns na coilltean; tha a鈥� chluas-mhara ri lorg faisg air l脿imh air creagan anns a鈥� mhuir, faisg air a鈥� chladach ach fo 矛sle mhara. Feumaidh tu d脿ibheadh air an son le snorgal.

Ach tha iad furasta gu le貌r fhaighinn. Cha leig thu leas ach sgian a thoirt leat airson am faighinn far nan creag. Agus, chan eil iad a鈥� sabaid air ais mar a bhiodh diabhal.

Ach a-nise an ceum as duilghe 鈥� an c貌caireachd. Feumaidh tu an fhe貌il a phronnadh is an uairsin a r貌stadh gu math sgiobalta. Ma n矛 thu gu ceart e chan eil biadh nas fhe脿rr ann. Ach ma r貌stas tu ro fhada i, thig i a-mach cho cruaidh ri leathar. Gun fheum sam bith do dhuine - ach 鈥檚 d貌cha fhathast na bhiadh math do dhiabhal dubh acrach greannach ann an coilltean Thasmania.

greannach: ill-tempered; diabhal,diabhlaidh: devil, devilish; maorach:shellfish; mamail: mammal; tir-m貌r Astr脿ilia: the mainland of Australia; biorach: sharp;sp猫is: respect; c猫idse: cage; s霉: zoo; ablaich is closaichean: carrion and carcases; leathar:leather; d脿ibheadh: diving; snorgal: snorkel; c貌caireachd: cooking; pronnadh: bashing (totenderize); r貌stadh: roasting.

nach ist thu: wont you be quiet!; cuiridh mi geall: I bet; timcheallan dearbh eilein: around that very same island; an d脿 chuid seo: both these things; cho m貌rri c霉 corgi: as big as a corgi dog; faodaidh an diabhal a bhith gu math fiadhaich: the (Tasmanian)devil can be pretty wild; airson a' ghuth a chl脿radh le inneal-cl脿raidh is miocrof貌n:to record its (masc) voice with a recording device and microphone; bu ch貌ir dhut a bhiths脿bhailte: you should be safe; ma stadas tu, bidh an diabhal a' smaoineachadh gur e ablacha th'annad: if you stop, the devil will think you are carrion (but ablach can also be used asan extremely impolite term for another human being, hence the following sentence which isa joke at my own expense); a h-uile corrag is 貌rdag agam: all of my fingers and toes (NB innext week's letter we will look at some of the names of the fingers in Gaelic); fo 矛sle-mhara:below low tide mark; an ceum as duilghe: the most difficult step; cho cruaidh ri leathar: astough as leather.

[bha] mi a' fuireach ann iomadach bliadhna: I was livingthere (for) many years. Have you ever noticed how many instances of plural concepts inGaelic involve the use of the singular form of the noun, where the plural form is used inEnglish. Gaelic learners sometimes make the mistake of pluralising the noun when it is notrequired. A good example is iomadach (or iomadh) bliadhna, NOT iomadach bliadhnaichean.Similarly, corra uair (on some occasions) NOT corra uairean. Many examples are to befound in counting eg fichead turas (twenty times) NOT fichead tursan; d脿 fhichead duine(forty men) NOT d脿 fhichead daoine; m矛le beannachd (a thousand blessings) NOT m矛lebeannachdan. And, of course, the same applies to cia mheud? (how many?) Cia mheud gillea chunnaic thu? (how many lads did you see). Keep your eyes and ears open for otherexamples.

Cha bhiodh a' Bh脿nrigh a' coimhead cho r矛oghail le diabhalna cois 's a tha i le corgi: the Queen would not look as royal with a devil at her feet as shedoes with a corgi. This is one of the idiomatic uses of cas which we looked in Litir 13(August 13 1999). Na cois literally means at her foot, but it can be used to mean in hercompany, along with her. If it was a masculine person eg an R矛gh, we would lenite cois andsay na chois. Chunnaic mi an R矛gh agus bha c霉 na chois (I saw the King and he had a dogwith him). The plural would be nan cois. Chunnaic mi an R矛gh 's a Bh脿nrigh agus bha tr矛coin nan cois (I saw the King and Queen and they had three dogs with them.)