Air Seachdain na Gàidhlig, le taic bho Mhaoin nan Tabhartas Beag (Bòrd na Gàidhlig), chùm Buidheann Coinneachaidh Ghàidhlig Ghlaschu seisean airson luchd-labhairt aig gach ìre.

Sgrìobh Andy Beck bhon bhuidheann:

An toiseach, chuir sinn an aithne a chèile ann an Gàidhlig (“Is mise…”, “Tha mi à…”, “Tha mi a’ fuireach ann an…”, amsaa).

An uair sin, chleachd sinn ceistean (m.e. “Cò an gaisgeach na Gàidhlig as fheàrr leat?”), airson còmhraidhean a thòiseachadh.

Às deidh sin, lean sinn air adhart le buidhnean còmhraidh aig gach bòrd.

Thàinig 15 daoine, agus bha sinn a’ bruidhinn sa Ghàidhlig mu 70-75% dhen ùine. Chaidh Beurla a chleachdadh cuideachd airson taic a thoirt do na daoine aig nach robh tòrr Ghàidhlig, neo mar “safety valve”.

Dh’ionnsaich mi / dh’ionnsaich sinn gu bheil e comasach còmhraidhean a chumail far a bheil a’ Ghàidhlig na prìomh chànan. Ach: faodaidh seo a bhith duilich, oir mar as lugha de Ghàidhlig a bhios aig daoine, ‘s ann as motha de Bheurla a bhios a dhìth gus dèanamh cinnteach gun tuigear a h-uile rud. Cuideachd, bha ceistean aig cuid de na daoine ann am Beurla mu ghràmar, dòighean ionnsachaidh, amsaa.

Anns an fharsaingeachd, chaidh an tachartas a rèir a’ phlana. Bha a h-uile duine an sàs gu math anns na h-eacarsaichean còmhraidh, agus chuidich iad a chèile. Cuideachd, bhrosnaich mi iad gu bhith a’ cleachdadh “Ciamar a chanas mi…?” nuair nach robh iad eòlach air facal no gnàthas-cainnt, rud a chum an còmhradh sa Ghàidhlig.

‘S e prìomh bhuaidh an tachartais seo gu bheil barrachd dhaoine anns a’ bhuidheann “Glasgow Scottish Gaelic Meetup Group” air Meetup.com a-nis, agus tha cuid dhiubh anns a’ bhuidheann WhatsApp a th’ againn cuideachd. Thog na daoine sin ùidh ann a bhith a’ tilleadh gu tachartasan eile san àm ri teachd (dà thuras sa mhìos). Bha fear no dhà an làthair aig an tachartas mu dheireadh.

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On Seachdain na Gàidhlig, with support from the Small Grants Fund (Bòrd na Gàidhlig), the Glasgow Scottish Gaelic Meetup Group held a session for speakers of all levels. 

Andy Beck from the group wrote:

We did a round of introductions in Gaelic, so that everyone could say some things about themselves.

Then, we used some questions (e.g. “Who is your favourite Gaelic ambassador?”) as the basis for getting a conversation going.

After that, we continued the conversation groups with general conversation.

The outcome was that 15 people came, and we spoke Gaelic about 70-75% of the time, with English also used for clarification purposes/as a “safety valve”.

I learned/we learned that it is possible to host a meetup where Gaelic is the language that is primarily used. However, this can be a tricky balance to strike, as the less Gaelic that people speak, the more English will be needed to ensure that all activities are understood. Also, some people had questions in English about grammar, learning techniques, etc.

All in all, the event went according to plan. The attendees engaged well with the conversation exercises, and helped one another. They were also encouraged to use “Ciamar a chanas mi…?” when asking for words that they didn’t know, which kept the conversation in Gaelic and kept English off the table.

The main impact of this event is that more people have joined the Glasgow Scottish Gaelic Meetup Group on Meetup.com, and a small WhatsApp group that we have as well. These people expressed interest in returning to future events that we’ll hold (twice a month). One or two did, in fact, attend the latest event.