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The Naughty Little Book of Gaelic: All the Scottish Gaelic You Need to Curse, Swear, Drink, Smoke and Fool Around
Scottish Highlanders, and their descendants all over the world, are no better and no worse than any other people where “sinful” behaviour is concerned. Standards of morality and social conventions changed dramatically during the 19th century – and most of the people engaged in recording and commenting upon Highland life and tradition were puritanical ministers and priests who left out the racy bits. So, while there are many useful books that provide a wide range of Scottish Gaelic vocabulary to express many aspects of daily life – except, for the most part, the topics covered in this book.
59 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 1, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
August 29, 2014
Okay, to be clear since a lot of people on Amazon were upset about it, this book is not meant to be a stand-alone Gaelic lesson. It doesn't have a pronunciation guide (although I have doubts about how effectively a printed book could even do that -- Gaelic pronunciation is quite different and i think anyone would need sound files). It's more a supplement to a Gaelic education, based on the idea that cursing and swearing and vulgar language is an essential part of any language and so you can't really expect to revive the language without those pieces in place. It's a fun and interesting, if quick guide. There are some places where I felt more explanation was needed (such as, just how severe an insult is this?), or would simply have been interesting, but it's useful for what it is
July 23, 2021
Hilarious! I'm not sure how much I'll remember or if I'd ever dare use any of these words or phrases, but it was a good skim read.
June 25, 2019
Review to Come
October 1, 2014
Would have been better with a pronunciation guide and better context.
May 1, 2019
Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.
The Naughty Little Book of Gaelic is a no-frills phrasebook for swearing, sexual, offensive, and naughty language in Scots Gaelic. Originally released in 2014, this reformatting and re-release by Nimbus is 46 pages and available in ebook and paperback formats.
My understanding (very very rudimentary) of any sort of Gaelic was limited to my exposure to my grandparents as a child. English was the norm for me growing up, and Gaelic only used when they were discussing things I ought not to understand, or when they were annoyed and swearing. This of course made it endlessly fascinating to me and I would parrot everything I could, despite not understanding what I was saying. Great fun for a 5 year old.
This is a humorous booklet of handy phrases and words, many of them culled from historical references, so of somewhat dubious usefulness in today's world. There is an extensive bibliography provided (circa 10% of the book's page content), which will give the enthusiastic student linguist many further reading resources.
There are people who love to shock foreign language speakers by learning a few naughty phrases in a few languages to sprinkle into conversational voids with native speakers. This book would have very limited usefulness for those readers because 1)there's no pronunciation guide (and honestly, written pronunciation guides for Gaelic of any family are frustratingly useless), and 2) one is not terribly likely to find random native speakers of Scots Gaelic 'in the wild' so to speak. This book is, on the other hand, a really interesting resource for linguists interested in the cultural nuances to be found influencing language, especially in a historical context. The chapter on sexual innuendo has a nifty expostulary paragraph or three on the influence of the church (post 5th century A.D.) on sexual language and expression in writing and ballad.
The illustrations by Arden Powell are a nice touch. They're bold Celtic chromatic line drawings which go along with the text.
Four stars for lovers of linguistics, fewer stars for tourists who just want to test the limits of hospitality when they're backpacking in Scotland.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes
The Naughty Little Book of Gaelic is a no-frills phrasebook for swearing, sexual, offensive, and naughty language in Scots Gaelic. Originally released in 2014, this reformatting and re-release by Nimbus is 46 pages and available in ebook and paperback formats.
My understanding (very very rudimentary) of any sort of Gaelic was limited to my exposure to my grandparents as a child. English was the norm for me growing up, and Gaelic only used when they were discussing things I ought not to understand, or when they were annoyed and swearing. This of course made it endlessly fascinating to me and I would parrot everything I could, despite not understanding what I was saying. Great fun for a 5 year old.
This is a humorous booklet of handy phrases and words, many of them culled from historical references, so of somewhat dubious usefulness in today's world. There is an extensive bibliography provided (circa 10% of the book's page content), which will give the enthusiastic student linguist many further reading resources.
There are people who love to shock foreign language speakers by learning a few naughty phrases in a few languages to sprinkle into conversational voids with native speakers. This book would have very limited usefulness for those readers because 1)there's no pronunciation guide (and honestly, written pronunciation guides for Gaelic of any family are frustratingly useless), and 2) one is not terribly likely to find random native speakers of Scots Gaelic 'in the wild' so to speak. This book is, on the other hand, a really interesting resource for linguists interested in the cultural nuances to be found influencing language, especially in a historical context. The chapter on sexual innuendo has a nifty expostulary paragraph or three on the influence of the church (post 5th century A.D.) on sexual language and expression in writing and ballad.
The illustrations by Arden Powell are a nice touch. They're bold Celtic chromatic line drawings which go along with the text.
Four stars for lovers of linguistics, fewer stars for tourists who just want to test the limits of hospitality when they're backpacking in Scotland.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes
June 1, 2023
I don't have much to say about this one.
At a mere 61 pages, this was a lightning fast read. Had I known it was so short, I probably wouldn't have requested this one on Netgalley.
Even more egregious than its brevity, however, was the lack of a pronunciation guide. It was incredibly frustrating to me that one wasn't provided--learning how to say these words was my whole point in wanting to read it! I've been dabbling in learning Scottish Gaelic via Duolingo, but--aside from a rare word here and there--most of this is far beyond the little I've learned. I basically glanced at the Gaelic parts, and quickly moved on to the translations.
Here's an example:
Suffice to say I was terribly disappointed with this one.
I received an advance reading copy of this book courtesy of Nimbus Publishing via Netgalley.
At a mere 61 pages, this was a lightning fast read. Had I known it was so short, I probably wouldn't have requested this one on Netgalley.
Even more egregious than its brevity, however, was the lack of a pronunciation guide. It was incredibly frustrating to me that one wasn't provided--learning how to say these words was my whole point in wanting to read it! I've been dabbling in learning Scottish Gaelic via Duolingo, but--aside from a rare word here and there--most of this is far beyond the little I've learned. I basically glanced at the Gaelic parts, and quickly moved on to the translations.
Here's an example:
(Excerpt from Ode to the Snuff Box)
Gaelic:
Fàilt’ ort fhéin, a bhogais
’S do chleite mhath maille riut:
Tomb à ca math biorach donn
Chuireas braim á gearran.
Unless you're fairly familiar with the language, there's zero chance of being able to correctly pronounce/read any of this.
Translation:
Welcome to you, O box
And your good powder along with you:
Good, sharp, brown tobacco
Which causes a workhorse to fart.
I suppose the translation is good for a giggle, at least...
Suffice to say I was terribly disappointed with this one.
I received an advance reading copy of this book courtesy of Nimbus Publishing via Netgalley.
May 8, 2019
Ever traveled to a new country with a little language reference guide that houses inoffensive phrases like "Where is the library?" or "I'll have the spaghetti please?" The Naughty Little Book of Gaelic is NOT that book, unless you're excited by the idea of angering Highlanders. It's a humorous little guide, chock full of offensive, crude, and downright bizarre curses, swears, and phrases.
While the lack of a pronunciation guide is a letdown for people who have no Gaelic exposure, it's worth it just for the laugh out loud expressions. Recommended for Caledophiles or people versed in Gaelic who want to introduce a little variety.
***I was given a copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Nimbus Publishing.***
While the lack of a pronunciation guide is a letdown for people who have no Gaelic exposure, it's worth it just for the laugh out loud expressions. Recommended for Caledophiles or people versed in Gaelic who want to introduce a little variety.
***I was given a copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Nimbus Publishing.***
May 14, 2019
I was given this book by NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.
This book was super short. I enjoyed reading all the Gaelic phrases and words included in the book. I do wish there was a pronunciation guide though. I now know how they are spelled and what they mean in English but I have no clue how to say them. LOL.
This book was super short. I enjoyed reading all the Gaelic phrases and words included in the book. I do wish there was a pronunciation guide though. I now know how they are spelled and what they mean in English but I have no clue how to say them. LOL.
April 1, 2021
Wonderful, funny along with being educational culturally. I found this book to be a great window into my ancestors of Scotland. They had many words for the clitoris - goes to show you that even back then we saw the importance of this particular area. :)
May 22, 2021
I can recommend this book to anyone who speaks Scottish Gaelic or is studying the language (like me). It offers some nice little vocabulary!
If you don't know the language at all, I think the book is irrelevant to you.
If you don't know the language at all, I think the book is irrelevant to you.
March 27, 2019
A bit disappointing. It's generally historic expressions from over a hundred years ago. Doesn't seem to touch upon current expressions.
September 5, 2019
Wonderful, funny and thought-provoking!
May 23, 2020
Very funny!
A very amusing little book! Currently learning gaelic and it was full of new words to learn! Would definitely recommend
A very amusing little book! Currently learning gaelic and it was full of new words to learn! Would definitely recommend
May 25, 2020
Saulustig! Leider viel zu kurz
October 30, 2020
Es fantástico. Ojalá no fuera tan little e incorporara más cositas.
November 17, 2021
Much shorter than I thought it might be but as a Gaelic learner has given me some new vocabulary that Duolingo and other educational sources haven't touched on 😅
January 28, 2022
A wee useful book providing some lesser known scots gaelic. A quick read, and insightful.
July 31, 2022
i don't know if i could live my life fully without knowing the word for cold can also mean sperm
October 14, 2023
A quick, bawdy read. Appreciate the research and the Gaelic to English translation. #1433
January 10, 2015
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Although on the small side, it has a ton of information inside =)
May 21, 2016
Uno de los libros más desternillantes que tengo, muy educativo y práctico.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews