By Paul T. Kavanagh
Newsnet Scotland has a commitment to Scottish language and culture. But we have limited time and limited resources, so instead we decided to focus our energies on a single project to promote the Gaelic language, one which would speak equally to Gael and non-Gael alike.
For the first time in Scottish history, Newsnet Scotland is proud to make available a detailed map of Scotland, entirely in Gaelic.
All maps are statements of possession and ownership. They are pictures of a country, but they are portraits which show how the map-maker wants to present his or her subject. The choice of language on a map speaks volumes about the perspective of the map-maker. Most maps of Scotland tell Scots that we can only present ourselves to the world in English, and even that it's only through English that we can present ourselves to each other.
This is a map with a different perspective, one which shows that irrespective of whether we become independent or remain under Westminster, Scotland is already a separate country, and it always has been. That's what makes this a map for all Scots, not just Gaelic speakers.
I started to learn Gaelic when I was a child. My family were not Gaelic speakers, but from an early age I was obsessed with the language. What sparked off my interest was the discovery that all the places around me had names that made sense in Gaelic.
As a wean what I wanted more than anything else was a map of Scotland in Gaelic, that would show me what these places really were. But all the maps of Scotland were in English, showing only the graveyard of Gaelic in the form of place names seemingly made up of collections of nonsense syllables. Gaelic was okay as long as it was dead, was the message of these maps.
But Gaelic is not dead, and it is still a national language of all of Scotland, even if most of us no longer speak it. In order to survive and thrive in the 21st century, Gaelic requires all the resources needed by any modern language if it is to merit the title "national". And that includes a map of the country to which the language is proper. This is a modern Gaelic map for a modern living national language.
Recently a couple of local Gaelic maps have been published which cover certain Highland districts, but apart from these, and a couple of self-consciously artistic maps and a small atlas for school-children which do not show a lot of detail, there are no maps of Scotland in Gaelic. I'm not knocking these maps, they were designed for particular purposes, and they fulfil those purposes very well and very attractively. But they're not really the maps of a modern national language.
The small child who still lives within me wanted a "proper map" of all of Scotland that shows railways and roads and bridges and boundaries. In particular I wanted a map that showed the places where most of us live - the cities and towns of the Lowlands. And last, but by no means least, I wanted a map of Scotland that shows that our country is beautiful, so the map itself must be pleasing to the eye.
As my mammy always keeps saying, if you want something done, you need to do it yourself. So I did it myself. Almost 2 years in the making, the map involved extensive research of Scottish place names. But first of all the map itself had to be drawn, compiling and rescaling information taken from various open-source maps. For regular readers of Newsnet who've been wondering where the Dug has got to of late, now you have your answer. I hope it was an answer worth waiting for.
The map is printed and published in Scotland. It contains around 3000 place names and measures 1189 x 841 mm, or 46.8 inches x 33.1 inches in old money. It shows all of Scotland at a scale of 1:660,000 or 1 cm to 6.6 km, approximately 1 inch to 10.5 miles. The map contains five insert maps showing Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Aberdeen, and the Falkirk-Stirling area at a larger scale of 1:140,000 or 1 cm to 1.4 km, (1 inch to 2.2 miles) giving district names within the urban areas, as well as an insert map depicting local authority boundaries. The map is as up-to-date as possible, and depicts new features like the second Forth Crossing, the routes of the planned Borders railway and Aberdeen by-pass, and of course Edinburgh's infamous tram.
Orkney and Shetland are where they are supposed to be and are shown at the same scale as the rest of the country, not stuck in a wee box off in the corner (which always annoys me). In recognition of the Northern Isles' distinctive heritage, all the names in Orkney and Shetland are shown bilingually in Gaelic and Old Norse. The Gaelic names in the islands are not traditional, but were derived from the Norse names using the same principles that underlie the Gaelic forms of the many Norse names in Gaelic speaking parts of the country.
Gaelic names in Orkney and Shetland, or in other parts of Scotland where Gaelic was never spoken, are not an attempt to "impose" Gaelic on the people of those areas. It's simply a recognition of the fact that as parts of Scotland, these places are important enough for Gaelic speakers to want to discuss them or mention them. And for that Gaelic names are required. If you don't like them, don't use them. Problem solved.
Some will disagree with my choice of form for some names, and there are bound to be errors in any work of this nature, so the names on this map must not be taken as definitive. However all efforts were made to be as accurate as possible.
Place names were taken from the database of Ainmean Àite na h-Alba where available, and I followed the conventions this organisation has established for determining the Gaelic form of names. Where a place name was not in the AÀA database, hours were spent trawling through place names books and checking old maps for older spellings in order to determine the modern Gaelic form. I'd like to offer my sincere thanks to Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh for his assistance.
Sadly, I failed miserably with the one place that's most important to any Scottish person, the place that you come from. Barrachnie in the East End of Glasgow is undoubtedly a Celtic name, but it's not attested until 1580, by which time Gaelic had long been extinct locally. The first part of the name is clearly barr 'hill', but no one knows what the second bit comes from. The name could be either Gaelic or Cumbric. Bleedin' typical, everyone gets to see the Gaelic for where they come from except me.
So I guessed and gave the name as Barr Fhachtna "Fachtna's hill", which suits the phonetics reasonably well (fh is silent in Gaelic). Fachtna is an Old Gaelic personal name and there is absolutely no evidence that anyone of that name once lived in the Barrachnie area, but there are a number of other place names in the district which contain Old Gaelic personal names, so it's not an entirely outlandish suggestion. This is the one instance where I deliberately ignored the official recommendations for determining a modern Gaelic place name. You can give me this one.
The map also shows a number of Gaelic place names in the North of England. Some of these are traditional like Pioraid for Penrith or Dùn Guaire for Bamburgh (although they may have fallen out of use), others are genuinely Celtic and have been Gaelicised in the same way as Pictish or Brittonic place names in Scotland. Others however are modern translations. English speakers have been mucking about with Scotland's Celtic place names for centuries, it's only fair to put the boot on the other foot.
But this map is only the beginning. Soon Newsnet will also be publishing a series of Gaelic regional maps which show Scotland in far greater detail. These maps are at a scale of 1:100,000 or 1 cm to 1 km. So far regional maps in Gaelic for Obar Dheathain (Aberdeen), Dùn Dè agus Aonghas (Dundee & Angus), Alba Mheadhanach (Central Scotland), Glaschu agus Linne Chluaidh (Glasgow & the Firth of Clyde), Ceann Tìre Arrain agus Bòd (Kintyre Arran & Bute), and Ìle agus Diùra (Islay & Jura) have been completed and will be available on sale within the next couple of months. Maps of Ayrshire and Fife are currently in production.
Originally I wanted to do two versions of the same map, one in Gaelic and the other in Lowland Scots. Unfortunately this is proving more difficult than anticipated. Unlike Gaelic, Scots has no agreed spelling, and there is no agreement on the best form of a name where variants exist. But worst of all, for most of the names of smaller places no one has ever bothered to write down the modern Scots name, so without local knowledge the information is just not available. Hopefully this situation will be remedied in the future.
The Gaelic map of all of Scotland will be available for purchase via Newsnet's online shop within a short time, price £30 (and would make a perfect Christmas present!) Funds from the sale of the maps will directly benefit the site. We hope that the map will also soon be available for sale through other outlets. However if you're going to the independence rally you will be able to see a preview of the map, and will be able to place an advance order.
The maps are now available for purchase at our online store - CLICK HERE - the price of £30 reflects the quality and attention to detail that has gone into creating what we believe to be a cultural work of art - those attending this Saturday's rally will find a map framed and on display, speak to the attendants at the stall for information on how to ensure you can guarantee your own copy and for information on our regional maps - coming soon.
Comments
Thank you Mr Kavanagh.....( What's thank you in Gaelic?)
Mòran taing, a' Phòl.
Have you tried the Scots Language Centre about the Scots map? They are not hugely resourced but might be able to help.
I'll hopefully get to see the map in Edinburgh tomorrow.
Will the Newsnet Stall be in the Meadows or Princes Street??
OK at the rally, question answered.
"Sadly, I failed miserably with the one place that's most important to any Scottish person, the place that you come from. Barrachnie in the East End of Glasgow is undoubtedly a Celtic name, but it's not attested until 1580, by which time Gaelic had long been extinct locally. The first part of the name is clearly barr 'hill', but no one knows what the second bit comes from. The name could be either Gaelic or Cumbric. Bleedin' typical, everyone gets to see the Gaelic for where they come from except me"
I was raised around that area too & it never even dawned on me that there was anything odd about the name. I have to say though that I am not convinced about Gaelic names for everywhere, but would be interested in grabbing a copy of the map anyway if even just for novelty value and I like radical concept of placing Orkney & Shetland in their proper place. Well done, I will watch for the stand tomorrow.
NOT a dig as I think this was a great idea but just something I and many others have noticed over the years great job
Will an electronic copy be made available? That would also be an amazing resource and one that would reach many more people.
Scots always gets even less support than Gaelic.
Not that for me it is some kind of issue of "more people understand Scots", I want both languages to be fully supported and better looked upon as our languages.
Ach, "I wanted to do two versions of the same map, one in Gaelic and the other in Lowland Scots. ... Unlike Gaelic, Scots has no agreed spelling, and there is no agreement on the best form of a name where variants exist"
Eh, yer richt, bit the the "no agreed spelling" is whit a map in Scots cid soart.
Naebiddy kens hoo tae spell the mony sindry kin o variations o furrin leeds as weel. E.g. English his mony dialects an the spellin o thim when scrievit doon is jist weengin it. Scots is jist the same. A first cut at a map in Scots wid open sic a debate aboot the spellin o toons, etc. thit it cid end up a as a muckle contribution tae the unnerstaundin o whit Scots is a aboot.
I’d love to be at the march tomorrow and buy the map, but can’t. As soon as it’s online, I’ll have it.
P.S. Anyone is welcome to correct my spelling of my (mid East-Coast) version of Scots above.
[Online Editor - The map is available in our online store now.
newsnetscotland.com/.../...]
Edit - Thanks, Online Ed, just bought one.
[Online Editor - From the article:
"It contains around 3000 place names and measures 1189 x 841 mm, or 46.8 inches x 33.1 inches in old money."]
from gaelic 's math sin (pronounced smashin) meaning that's good.
Well done Paul and the Dug, will get a copy online now.
While I am here I may as well be greedy and try to get the english translation of the christian name Euchan, pronunced Yochan.
Thanks.
cheers
Paul T Kavanagh
Interesting piece on Scots spelling here: scots-online.org/.../...
hope everyone has a great day at the march tomorrow, guess its today now, got to get to bed
It may not have crossed a mind or two, but as we think in words the language in which we think does have a tremendous bearing on how we see each other and the world in general.
Gaidhlig thinkers do perceive their world in a kinder mental, inclusive way, than the harsh dod-eat-dog world as perceived via beurla.
I know there are parts of Scotland where Gaelic was never spoken, and some people whine about road signs in Gaelic, (I don't) but I'm happy to embrace my brother Gael as a fellow Scot, and celebrate his culture as I celebrate my own.
I have a strange recollection from speaking to some older Gaels from the Hebrides however that the Gaels had a different attitude towards their landcape. For example from some dim recollection, (it was a good malt), I don't think the Gaels named individual hills. Names like Ben MacDui and Aonach Mor etc are Gaelic, but they're not the names given to them by the Gaels. The names only came when when maps were drawn which needed to have them, but prior to that I don't think it was the practice to name the landscape as we do today. Perhaps somebody can correct me?
Another feature of Gaelic is the accents. A Gaelic speaker from Lochaber would know and recognise a Gaelic speaker from Harris merely by his accent, and as far as I know, I don't think that is a feature of the 'normalised' Gaelic we might be taught as as non native speakers or hear on the TV. It gives me the horrible idea that myself learning Gaelic might sound like fingernails scratching a blackboard, and a native gael might prefer it if I stopped my noble effort after a brief hello.
So as a lowland Scot, I do embrace all things Gaelic, and my door is open to all of it.
I'm not a Mc or a Mac or any clan name, but I do know my surname is Scottish in origin and likely to date back to the Roman invasion and time of the Picts. It's Scottish in origin, but older than Scotland itself, does that make sense?
It's a complicated country we live in, and one day I hope we can see the Gael the Pict, the Viking, the Angle,the Celt and all the other tribes I've neglected; - see each one in all of us. We are all of us Scots.
Here's to keeping all our cultures alive and to sharing and learning about them all!
We must never forget our neolithic ancestors from Orkney -
www.youtube.com/.../
And our Picts of course - pictishstones.org.uk/.../...
We have such a rich culture here in Scotland, and that's despite the fact we've lost and forgotten more than we know.
No doubt one of our gaelic speaking friends will be able to shed light on the topic. I remember hearing some time ago that the last remaining speakers of Perthshire gaelic had died within living memory.
I'd love to see a huge revival of gaelic; as any student of Scottish history will tell you, the early Scottish kingdom was always multi ethnic and multi lingual, which must have been one reason for its ultimate success and ability to withstand its much more powerful neighbour to the south.
"I remember hearing some time ago that the last remaining speakers of Perthshire gaelic had died within living memory."
This is true. My grandfather, who I remember well, hailed from Pitleoch, near Trochry, Perthshire. He was raised a gaelic speaker but sadly did not pass that gift on to his children. He served in the Boer War (yes!) as a piper in the Scots Guards but sensibly managed to get a job with Dundee City Police before the Great War. He died in the late 50s.
My late father recalled his father and mother (she was from Muir of Ord) often having heated discussions in gaelic, perhaps so as not to offend the children?
The local Kirk for Pitleoch was at Lagganallachie which, a generation before in 1824, was the scene of a notable stand-off between the people and the State -
"The nominee to the parish was unacquainted with Gaelic, and the Presbytery pointed out that it was the common language of the parish and had been used, though not chiefly, at Little Dunkeld and exclusively at Lagganallachy. At the rebuilding of the church, 25 years before, services were conducted in Gaelic. At Communion seasons, there were Gaelic services in the churchyard simultaneously with English, and that nine out of twelve Table Services were in the former language. The case was brought before the General Assembly and many distinguished advocates appeared in it. Advocate Jeffrey affirmed that Little Dunkeld was not in the Highlands, but only "the mouth." Dr. Andrew Thomson’s retort, it is said, really won the case:- "Whoever heard of a Highland mouth without a Highland tongue," and the General Assembly respectfully told the Officers of the Crown they must find a qualified person for this Cure."
www.visitdunkeld.com/.../
I being a Shetlander cannot speak Gael but for a short couple of sentences best not spoken in polite company.
Iphone apps can now do much the same for local astronomy.
When we were studying RNA in the early 1950's The professor informed us that anyone who has even one hair follicle on the middle finger joint, has viking blood in them
I somehow feel that until such time as Scots speakers agree on *some* sort of common form, it will be tricky to do much. It's very reminiscent of Switzerland and Rumantsch in the early days, when they had not yet agreed the Rumantsch Grischun standard and everything had to be produced in 3 dialects. And we're only talking 60,000 or so speakers.
Meantime the ladies on the stand managed to "guide" me to the other goods and I'm now the proud owner of a Newsnet mouse mat, car window sticker and a T shirt (made by Vango for the more substantial, if vertically challenged frame).
Now I know I met some of you at the gardens as I was wandering around the handing out Newsnet leaflets (and the feedback was excellent) so I hope you all had a great day, I did, but had to bail out early as baby sitting duty called. Great to meet you and hat tip to you all. Especially the lass who said the Vango, size giganticus, was just the job for me.......but that she wouldn’t tell anyone about the size. I love discretion.
In answer to some questions re my Newsnet handle – it’s not pronounced Rob a body (as in Burke and Hare) but Rob abody (everybody) – based on the Terry Pratchett, Wee free men character Rob anybody – blue faced hero of Pratchett’s children’s novels – well you need a hero when chasing boggie men out from under granddaughter’s bed etc. Mind you the Kelda was in charge in the books and that hasn’t changed in my household, I can assure you.
Phew! Now that that’s explained I think, in the light of the comments received today, I’ll change my moniker to something more appropriate.....how about 80bobforme, does that chime?
Amfraeembro-- Euchan is the Galloway gaelic for the name. I am sure that it will equate to Eachan. The Euchan Water runs eastwards from the Galloway side into the river Nith near to Sanquhar.
Paul--- I will take a plouter roon by Drumsmudden soon and see if I can reconcile the territory with the meanings you were kind enough to supply.
thanks.
Sorry tae ma Scots leid freens. Ah cannae screev much in Scots. A Scots version wuid be guid tae.
Good to see this, but a bit pricey for one map. Contrary to the statements, there are other Gaelic maps of Scotland, though perhaps not as professional-looking. One very good map has Scotland, Ireland and the Isle of Man - called Tìr Chaluim Chille by Iomairt Cholm Cille. On the map, Scotland is in Scottish Gaelic, Ireland in Irish (Gaelic), and Isle of Man placenames in Manx (Gaelic).
Just for the record, I published the first ever all Gaelic map of Scotland at 1:1,000,000 scale in 1969 with several upgraded versions over the years. The original price was 6 shillings (30p) and in all its editions it sold some 30,000 copies - something of a Gaelic best seller. It is now sadly out of print. Still in print, however, are black and white Gaelic maps of Lewis & Harris, Arran, Coll and Tiree, Skye, etc. Old Norse map of Orkney and Caithness (Colour) and a somewhat sparse map of Scotland in Scots. All of these are still available (email roy
pedersen.org.uk for list). Gaelic maps have also been produced by others including one of Scotland (in which I had a hand) by Storlann a few years ago for use in schools .
I was also the original editor of the Tir Chaluim Chille Gaelic map of Scotland, Ireland and the Isle of Man which has recently been revised and re issued (see www.colmcille.net).
I wish this detailed Newsnet Scotland version all success.
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