Teach Yourself Gaelic [Paperback]

Boyd Robertson (Author), Iain Taylor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 30, 2003 | ISBN-10: 0340866675 | ISBN-13: 978-0340866672 | Edition: 3rd

Scottish Gaelic is one of six modern Celtic languages, which, like most other European languages, belong to the Indo-European family of languages. The older versions of the modern Celtic languages were spoken in a large part of Europe at the height of Celtic civilisation. This course is designed for anyone who wants to progress quickly from the basics to understanding, speaking and writing Scottish Gaelic with confidence. "Teach Yourself Gaelic" consists of 23 thematic units progressing from introducing yourself and talking about everyday topics to reporting events and making suggestions. The emphasis is on communication throughout with important language structures introduced through dialogues on the accompanying recording. There are plenty of exercises to practise the language as it is introduced and cultural information sections give useful advice about the culture of Gaelic-speaking people. There is a special section on spelling and pronunciation at the start of the course. The cassette and CD to accompany the course are available separately or in a pack with the book.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Iain Taylor taught Gaelic in the Western Isles and Perthshire (1982-87) before working on curriculum materials at Jordanhill College (now Strathclyde University) in Glasgow (1987-91). He has worked as scriptwriter, editor and producer with Scottish Television and independent producers (1991-98) and also worked on publications and course materials for Sabhal Mor Ostaig in Skye (1999-now). He is a former setter and marker with Scottish Examinations Board (now SQA) and member of Central Support Group for Gaelic (course materials preparation for Standard Grade Gaelic courses). Boyd Robertson is Senior Lecturer in Gaelic at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. Before joining the University, he was Principal Teacher of Gaelic at Oban High School. He has played a leading part in the development of several courses for learners of Gaelic including the Speaking our Language TV series and the Abair E course for secondary schools. He is currently Chair of The Scottish Qualifications Authority Gaelic Assessment Panel and Vice-Chair of the main Gaelic language promotion agency, Comunn na Gaidhlig. He has had extensive involvement in European projects on minority language issues for bodies such as the Council of Europe and The European Cultural Foundation.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Teach Yourself; 3rd edition (April 30, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0340866675
• ISBN-13: 978-0340866672
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,633,891 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Start..., August 19, 2008

By 

K. DeVitto "Ceit" (New Bedford,MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Teach Yourself Gaelic (Audio CD)

I like these books -- I listen to them on my ipod when driving, to get the feel of the language.

5.0 out of 5 stars Read Before You Buy, August 29, 2009

By 

Celtic Crazy - See all my reviews

This review is from: Teach Yourself Gaelic (Teach Yourself Complete Courses) (Paperback)

This is an excellent course aided by the audio pronunciation CDs. However, this is the exact same book and CD set, with nothing added, as the "Teach Yourself Gaelic Complete Course Audiopack" by the same authors, Robertson and Taylor, that Amazon sells as well for $18.45 instead of $47.??. I don't know what's up with that. The ONLY different is one comes in a clear plastic case and one comes in a purple colored case with the "heather photo" on it. Same sturdiness/density of plastic as far as I can tell.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Audio version of Teach yourself Gaelic (Robertson!), March 14, 2006

By 

Seattle Seonag (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gaelic (Teach Yourself Tape) (Audio Cassette)

These tapes ARE the welcome companion to the print ed. _Teach Yourself Gaelic_ (by Robertson & Taylor, c1993, 2003,) with the same "heather" cover. Becasue most Scottish Gaelic texts don't give a hint to the pronunciation, which does not resemble the spelling of the words, the tapes are a must.

(I believe there is an error above. This is NOT by Roderick Mackinnon in this iteration & not a companion to Gaelic, by Roderick Mackinnon.)

Caveat: Both books _Teach yourself Gaelic_ by Robertson & Taylor, & _Gaelic_ by Roderick Mackinnon are Scottish Gaidhlig (not Irish Gaeilge.) Also Mackinnon does include pronunciation guide for each of the vocabulary words.