The Gaelic-English Dictionary [Paperback]

Colin Mark (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 12, 2003 | ISBN-10: 0415297613 | ISBN-13: 978-0415297615 | Edition: 1

This book fulfils a keenly-felt need for a modern, comprehensive dictionary of Scottish Gaelic into English. The numerous examples of usage and idiom in this work have been modelled on examples culled from modern literature, and encompass many registers ranging from modern colloquial speech, to more elaborate literary constructions. The main contemporary terms and idiomatic phraseology, often not available in other dictionaries, provide excellent models for easier language learning. In addition to the main dictionary, the volume contains introductory material, providing guidance on using the dictionary, spelling and pronunciation. There are also twelve useful appendices which cover not only the various parts of speech, lenition and proper nouns, but also address the more difficult issues of expressing time, direction and numerals. The clarity of the design and layout of the volume will greatly ease the process of attaining mastery of the Gaelic language.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Anyone who has tried to learn Scottish Gaelic will be aware of the lack of an up-to-date, practical dictionary. Mr Mark has plugged the gap triumphantly. I heartily recommend it.' - Victor Price, Ross-Shire Journal (31.12.03)

About the Author

Mr Colin Mark, a Classics graduate of Aberdeen University, taught in several schools over a period of forty years. During that time he took up the study of Gaelic and, within a few years, had written Gaelic Verbs (Glasgow University Press, 1986) before embarking upon the present work.

Product Details

• Paperback: 784 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (December 12, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415297613
• ISBN-13: 978-0415297615
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,230,842 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #25 in Books > Education & Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Foreign Language > Celtic
  • #44 in Books > Education & Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Foreign Language > Gaelic
  • #76 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Languages > Instruction > Celtic Languages

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you could have only one Gaelic dictionary, get this one., September 22, 2003

By 

John D. Gressett "daibhidh_ruadh" (Denton, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Gaelic-English Dictionary (Hardcover)

This is by far the most expensive Gaelic dictionary available today. It is worth the price. It has an immense store of idiomatic uses and examples that are found in no other dictionary. The entries for especially important words, such as irregular verbs, are frequently several pages long, and cover many meanings, usages and variations. The appendices alone would make a small, but very useful reference grammar.

There are only three other dictionaries with which it can be usefully compared: the two older dictionaries, those of Dwelly and MacLennan, and the recently published dictionary by Angus Watson. Mark's dictionary is much easier to read than Dwelly's; it has a smaller vocabulary coverage, but the omissions are of words that have become archaic and are now rarely, if ever, used. Examples of usage are far more numerous. MacLennan's dictionary has the advantage of being the only large dictionary with an English-to-Gaelic section. MacLennan's Gaelic-to-English section is totally outclassed by Mark's dictionary. Watson's dictionary has a much smaller vocabulary coverage than Mark's weighty tome, but has a number of definitions which are in some way better, for example "seadh", which in Watson is seen to derive from the older "is eadh", where "eadh" is the now-obsolete neuter pronoun, rendered useless by the demise of the neuter gender. Watson has only two appendices, a table of definite articles and a much longer one of irregular verbs. Mark has no comparable appendix; he puts his extensive information on the irregular verbs in the dictionary entries; he does have an extensive appendix on the Gaelic verb which is quite different from Watson's appendix.

The first dictionary that I use it Watson's - it's small size makes it easier to find an entry, but missing words very frequently send me to Mark's dictionary. Dwelly's is the last resort, when an archaic word or usage must be found. I rarely use MacLennan's dictionary now that I have the ones by Mark and Watson.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely indispensable, December 1, 2005

By 

T. Leigh "Gaelic teacher, MA in Gaelic Studie... (Connecticut, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Gaelic-English Dictionary (Paperback)

This is one of the very best Gaelic dictionaries, and is absolutely indispensable for the serious student of the language. It provides extensive, detailed coverage of the language as currently used in prose and the media, filling the gap between Dwelly's and modern usage. In addition, there are no fewer than twelve excellent appendices, containg all sorts of valuable information on grammar and usage, much of which isn't to be found in other dictionaries or textbooks. If you are a serious student of the Scottish Gaelic language, if you read any Gaelic literature, you need this dictionary. I use it, quite literally, almost every day.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Gaelic -English Dictionary by Colin Mark, December 20, 2008

By 

R. Smith (Gig Harbor, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Gaelic-English Dictionary (Paperback)

Although this will be an asset to add to my Gaelic learning library, it appears to be geared to the more advanced learner. It came recomended for it's grammer and sentence structure lessons. It only offers Gaelic to English but not English to Gaelic. There are other books better for the beginer that give two way translation.