Customer Reviews

Beginner's Gaelic (Hippocrene Beginners Language Series)

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3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a very good book, and every serious student of the Scottish Gaelic language should have it. I do not recommend it as a first book for a new learner, for several reasons:

1. There is no audio material for it. It does have a phonetic system to indicate pronunciation, but like all such that do not use the International Phonetic Alphabet, it is very nearly useless unless the student has already developed an ear tuned to the sounds of the language. There is too much phonetic structure in Gaelic that does not exist in English for simple phonetic systems to be useful. Once the student has learned the sounds of Gaelic as spoken by a native speaker, the phonetic system used in this book can be read and is then quite useful.

2. It predates the spelling reform of modern Gaelic. Although this reform is controversial and is not universally used, much currently published Gaelic uses it, or something similar, including the important dictionaries produced by scholars such as Angus Watson and Colin Mark.

3. It is densely packed with information. This makes it a very useful second book for a learner, but it is a very tough row to hoe for a complete beginner.

Having said all of that, if you have already learned some of the language and can pronounce the sounds, get this book. The huge amount of information in it makes it immensely useful to anyone who has completed an introductory course in the Gaelic language.

If you've got experience in learning other languages; the format is extremely formal and logical. Yet because of this, even just as a beginner, one can find it very useful: the lessons are very condensed, short, and cover a lot of ground for a book of its size. (Mastering 'ty' books can get you back to the airport in a breaze... Mastering this book can have you sharing anechdotes with strangers once you're there.) To avoid grunting: find a friend to help you with more casual grammar and pronunciation. (the only REAL way to do it)

This book is pretty darn comprehensive, especially for something of its size. It wastes no time getting right to the nitty-gritty about the language, but in order to fit so much information into the space available, it's very technical and hard to follow at times. The lessons are best taken in small doses to reduce frustration. Overall it's a pretty decent book, but I would seriously recommend having already learned another (preferably European) language. This book says it's for beginners, but it helps to be familiar with learning another language to make the lessons easier to follow.

Do not buy the 1999 edition. There is a Fourth Edition, published 2003 available.

Earlier reviewers are probably right in suggesting that this may not be the best book for complete beginners. For instance, when this book first appeared nearly a century ago (in 1911), its readers, even with an elementary school education, would probably have had a grasp of basic grammatical concepts that today even most college graduates lack (exceptions being made, of course, for linguists and other students of language). But for someone who has a firm grasp of grammatical concepts and enjoys the systematic approach of a traditional grammar, this book will not disappoint.

Since my interest is primarily in the older written language, it is this book's traditional approach to the grammar of Gaelic that initially attracted my attention. Overall, the presentation of the grammar looks to be fairly thorough. The fact that this book predates the spelling reforms later imposed is an additional definite plus for learning to read the older literature (my own focus being on poetry). There are a total of 54 lessons, exercises in reading and translation, a nice table of irregular verbs, Gaelic-English and English-Gaelic vocabularies, and a key to the exercises.

An earlier reviewer said not to purchase this edition by Hippocrene, 1999, because there was a later edition. In my case I purchased this book yesterday in a local bookstore and find that I have the 4th printing (2006) of this Hippocrene reprint (1999) of the "New Revised Fourth Edition" of 1935. (It's probably safe to assume that the author, James MacLaren, will not be revising this further!)

So while this book does not anticipate the needs of many modern students of Gaelic (how could it?), it does appear to meet my needs and I suspect perhaps the needs of others of a similar predisposition.

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Some comments related to earlier reviews: It's a pity so many reviewers of books on learning foreign languages (I've read a good many here on Amazon over the years) will disparage a book and give it a low rating if it doesn't cater to their particular learning preferences. Why can't people accept diversity and realize that what works for one might be anathema to another?

For example, an approach that makes me want to gag myself with a spoon is the making of vocabulary cards -- been there, done that -- and it never worked for me -- but others report great success! Also, I personally do not like the watered down, look-say, approach of so many current learning materials -- but that does not give me the right to give such items a low rating! To me, to do so would be arrogantly unethical.

In my case, give me a decent grammar, dictionary, and something good to read in the target language and I'm content.

So, to each our own, I say.
Peace and long life!

I found this book to be an invaluble coaster. If mankind had to learn spoken and written languages from this book we would all grunt like apes.