The Little Letter for Gaelic Learners

In the 17th Century, many people within the church in Scotland were against Gaelic. The Bible was not therefore translated into Gaelic at that time. The situation was better in Ireland, in the 17th Century the Old and New Testaments become available in Irish. There were too many copies of the Old Testament, some were sent to Scotland. Find out more in this week's podcast. Accompanying text is available in both English and Gaelic at bbc.co.uk/litirbheag.

I'm going to read a verse from the Bible. It's from the New Testament. Here it is: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. That is a new translation of the Gospel according to John, Chapter 1, Verse 1. Find out more in this week's podcast. Accompanying text is available in both English and Gaelic at bbc.co.uk/litirbheag

People ask whether Hogmanay is a Gaelic word. Well, it isn't. Hogmanay came into English and Scots from French. Find out more in this week's podcast. Accompanying text is available in both English and Gaelic at bbc.co.uk/litirbheag.

The Gaelic for Christmas is Nollaig. We say, "Nollaig chridheil dhuibh" for "Merry Christmas to you". In the old days, there were two Nollaigs – the Nollaig Mhòr and the Nollaig Bheag. The Nollaig Mhòr was Christmas. The Nollaig Bheag was New Year's Day. Find out more in this week's podcast. Accompanying text is available in both English and Gaelic at bbc.co.uk/litirbheag.

Have you ever heard of faire chlaidh? Graveyard watch. Faire chlaidh. People believed that the spirit of a person who had been buried kept watch over the dead. Find out more in this week's podcast. Accompanying text is available in both English and Gaelic at bbc.co.uk/litirbheag.

The Lochaber Bard, John MacDonald, was recorded by the School of Scottish Studies. He has stories and anecdotes on the Tobar an Dualchais website. It's a new website. Find out more in this week's podcast. Accompanying text is available in both English and Gaelic at bbc.co.uk/litirbheag

Calum MacLean met Iain MacDonald, the Lochaber Bard, in January 1951. Calum was famous for collecting Gaelic folklore. Iain was a famous Bard. Find out more in this week's podcast. Accompanying text is available in both English and Gaelic at bbc.co.uk/litirbheag.

I'm going to finish the traditional story, Billy. This young guy, Billy, was keen on thieving. The gentleman was wanting to set him one more test. Find out more in this week's podcast. Accompanying text is available in both English and Gaelic at bbc.co.uk/litirbheag.

I'm continuing with the traditional story, Billy. Billy was learning thieving. He went home with a hundred pounds from the publican. Find out more in this week's podcast. Accompanying text is available in both English and Gaelic at bbc.co.uk/litirbheag.

Here is the traditional story "Billy". It was collected in Barra in the 19th Century. I hope you enjoy it. Find out more in this week's podcast. Accompanying text is available in both English and Gaelic at bbc.co.uk/litirbheag.

We have a nice song in Gaelic. It's a lullaby. It's name is Uiseag Bheag Dhearg. In the song a child is speaking to a lark. The lark tells where it was sleeping. It slept badly in the bramble bush. It slept badly at sea. But it slept well between two leaves. If it works well, the child will be asleep before the end of the song. Find out more in this week's podcast. Accompanying text is available in both English and Gaelic at bbc.co.uk/litirbheag.

I was telling you about the Bratach Shìth – or Fairy Flag. It's in Dunvegan Castle on Skye. People were saying – when it's raised at a time of conflict, that a fairy host will come. The fairies will give help to the people who have the flag. Find out more in this week's podcast. Accompanying text is available in both English and Gaelic at bbc.co.uk/litirbheag.

The Fairy Flag is famous. It’s on the Isle of Skye. It belongs to the Clan MacLeod of Dunvegan. It’s in Dunvegan Castle. In English it’s called the Fairy Flag. The flag is made of silk. It’s very old. And valuable. Accompanying text is available in both English and Gaelic at bbc.co.uk/litirbheag.

The Gaelic for The Milky Way is Slighe Chlann Uisnich [“the path of the children of Uisneach]. Milky Way came into English from the Latin Via Lactea. Many languages took their name for the Milky Way from Latin. The Romance languages themselves are like that. In Italy, for example, it’s Via Lattea. The German Milchstraße and the Dutch Melkweg are trans-lations from Latin. As are the names in the Slavic languages. Find out more in this week's podcast. Accompanying text is available in both English and Gaelic at bbc.co.uk/litirbheag.

The Scot Gregor MacGregor was in France. He had been involved in fraud. Many people went to Poyais in Central America. MacGregor was praising Poyais. But the country didn’t exist. The people lost a lot of money. Find out more about this scallywag in this week's podcast. Accompanying text is available in both English and Gaelic at bbc.co.uk/litirbheag.