I went home and promptly told my mom that I was given Scotland to study. She promptly told me that we were English, but Scotland was close enough. I don't think she fully understood the assignment. We didn't get to pick the country that our ancestors came from, we were assigned countries to study. Nevertheless, over the next few days, it really bothered me that we were actually English. I had been reading about what the English did to the Scots and I have to tell you, I started crying! My dad was there in the living room, and he saw me struggling with the situation. He wasn't much for words, my dad, but this time he decided to sit on the floor with me and go over a few things that I don't even know if my mom knew!
Dad told me that we may very well be English on my mom's side of the family, but as far as he was concerned, Stringfellows were Scottish! He said he would agree that there were some English Stringfellows too, but that the land between the two countries was mostly owned or occupied by the Scots for many years until they were overtaken by the English. The bordering lands were where the Stringfellows lived; therefore, in his mind and in his heart, he said that he would rightly consider all Stringfellows to be Scottish! He didn't walk me to the library to verify that bit of information. He didn't need to. I knew the way. I had been walking myself the mile-long road from 2212 N. Mueller to 3500 N. Mueller for years by that time. I think I was four almost five when I first journeyed that path!
Scottish we are! Mom can be English is she wants to be. She's an Edwards, and her mother's maiden name was Free, there are some Hagues in there and so forth. My dad's family the Stringfellows all originated in the Scottish borders from 760-1660 and before that they were more or less Scandanavian. His mother is another story. She was a Bullington. We won't go there; it only adds sorrow to my spirit to have to admit that she too was primarily English! When I got older I did the whole DNA thing and found out that I'm 47% Scottish and slightly more you know what, but that the good news is, we are on both sides of my family, CELTIC vs. Angleo Saxon. That fact made me jump with glee in my soul! If I can't be fully Scots at least I know I am more than 94% Celt!
What did the Celtics speak? Well, they spoke a number of Proto-Celtic languages of which one which has survived these thousands of years, is Scots Gaelic. I'm not Irish so I won't try to learn Irish Gaelic. They are similar of course, having only a few miles of sea between the two countries, and there was a time (many times) when the peoples of both areas intermarried, intermixed, and inter-everything. My people are who my people are, and I love them even if I don't know them really. I'm learning more now of course, than I did when I was 9, but that's another blog. I'm blogging today about learning how to speak Scots Gaelic.
This has been a very long journey for me really. About five years ago I decided to learn to speak Scots Gaelic, and again, I have no reason for it other than it was the language of my ancestors. Literally, only 5% or less of all living Scots still speak it, and less than 1% on a daily or usual basis. It could be one of those things I do so I can speak about someone I don't like and say what I really want to say, but that would be so rude; wouldn't it? (Still fun, but really rude) The lessons began as they usually do, with me going to the library to find books. The books are good, but with the invention of the internet, I found YouTube videos, CDs I can buy on Amazon, and so much more. I'm not anywhere near where I want to be. I think I can read Scots Gaelic at the 1st-grade level, but I can't confidently speak it to non-Scots let alone try my best in front of a real one! (Agony!)
The best thing happened to me in the form of a man named Jason Bond. I'll give you a link to his sites at the bottom of the blog. Jason is fun! He is cute! He is adorable in his mannerisms! You will fall in love with him as your Scots Gaelic teacher; and hopefully, you'll want to take all of his courses. He's a certified language instructor and teaches online now at the University of Dundee (remotely). He's been to Scotland many times and has taught there as well. He's full of surprises and makes learning easy. He helps with my confidence for sure. Let me tell you, I'm not an introvert. I am the biggest extrovert I know, but even I was and am apprehensive about speaking Scots Gaelic out loud. Now, within the confines of my office at home, I am speaking it to my dog and to Jason online (but he can't hear me since he's inside a YouTube video) and I'm doing the hand gestures he suggests to get my brain wrapped around the words for memory! LOVE IT.
I'm finding that the language is so much more difficult than it should be. I've been quoted as saying that men must have put the letters and rules together for Scots Gaelic because it just does NOT make sense to put a letter in front of the letter "h" and then that front letter does not have a sound! Just don't put it there! It's not even the same as our "ph" making the "f" sound; the freaking letters in front of the "h" don't have a sound! Oftentimes, in Scots Gaelic, if there is an "fh" or "mh" or "bh" in the middle or end of a word the sound is that of an "oo" or "v" and that could be regional, and it could be just because that's the way the person was first taught it. It's not easy, but nothing worth doing is usually easy - - this is a love quest and I'm going to make it happen!
There you have it, or "Sin agad e", if you will permit me. That last statement was not pronounced as it is written. It's more like "Shin gat a". The way I remember the SH sound on those words is to remember that the name SEAN is pronounced SHAUN. You have to do a lot of reminding in this language and there are some really cool researches going on as well to help with the understanding of where to put that one inside my brain, churn it around a bit, and spit it back out to make a bit of sense. Jason has a few books he has written too, and they are easy to obtain through Amazon. I'm halfway through the first (it's only taken 6 months) and I'm about to start over to see how far I can read without stopping and looking something up online! VICTORY!!! You have to take them where you can!
Gus an ath thuras, beannachd leat agus tha mi an dòchas gum bi beatha bheannaichte agad. (Until next time, goodbye and I hope you have a blessed life.)
Photo Credit: Jason Bond (Best Gaelic teacher EVER)
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