A Very New Gàidhlig Learner

19 It/it's ENG Iad/iadshan, E/esan GLA Ionnsachadh Ghàidhlig (absolute beginner) "Tha mo chridhe-sa briste, brùite 'S tric na deòir a' ruith o m' shùilean."

[fruitbaatt]

Welcome To The Baatt Cave

Hello all and welcome to my new language learning blog; You can call me fruitbaatt or baatt, since I don't particularly like attaching a proper name to my tumblr blogs

This blog was created to document my progress on learning Gáidhlig from absolute beginner to hopefully one day being fluent. You can expect me to make various posts here in both English and Gáidhlig as I begin to understand it well enough to write in it. I will likely often post some things I've learned in a day, and eventually maybe post about random things I like in Gáidhlig, writing or diary entries just to practise. It will inevitably be a bit clunky at first but please bare with me

As well as my own posts, I will also reblog any resources I've found helpful either about Gáidhlig specifically or language learning/self-teaching in general

In terms of my interests outside of all that I love Outlast, House Of Wax, Saw, Invader Zim (TV + Comics), My Little Pony (G4), Moomins (90's + 70's), Fight Club (Film + Book), Johnny The Homicidal Maniac, Good Omens (TV), Our Flag Means Death, What We Do In The Shadows (TV + Film), Hannibal (TV), Interview With The Vampire (TV), and my hobbies include writing, art, knitting, sewing, guitar (a little rusty), gaming and DIY; If You're into any of that and happen to be learning Gáidhlig too, You'll likely feel right at home here

I don't have much of a DNI because I don't believe they work very well, but I do block freely and for any reason I feel like so be warned. I can only ask You to be kind to Yourself and others on my blog, but even that isn't guaranteed to work so I'll curate my online experience on my own whenever necessary and I ask that You don't take it to heart

Asks are always open (anon is on if You're shy, and You can request anon tags), as are messages. I might take some time to get back to You but I will, just be patient. I'm always open to converse in English or Gáidhlig once I understand more of it

That's pretty much all for now! Slàn leat :3

[tobysgarden-deactivated20260107]

Reject structure, embrace chaos with your language learning

A set list of tasks to do every day starts to feel like a chore, and then you get bored so much more easily..

Watch random grammar videos regardless of your level! Go down rabbitholes for a specific topic that's not yet on your self-assigned syllabus! Learn less "useful" vocab! Try to read/translate that page above your level! Do what you want and you'll enjoy the process so much more! Don't restrict your access to a language just because there are things you feel you "should" learn first.

Of course there's value in some structure, but don't let it crush your excitement over a language.

[kutyozh]

I've said it before but I love this post bc I like to look back at what I've previously said. Right now I think I'd choose Russian, Czech, Arabic, Georgian, and Mandarin

[vuon-lan]

for the loooooongest time i’ve only wanted to learn 4 languages: vietnamese, spanish, french, and korean. but with the rise of rednote i think i’ll add mandarin, too!

@fruitbaatt ‼️‼️

[toast-tothe-moon]

language resources on the internet i love you. i cannot believe i can just start learning a language like that. i can lookup any word in seconds. i can find grammar explanations. there are teachers who put out whole videos for me to learn. amazing. i am so lucky.

[fruitbaatt]

Daily Thoughts and Overview #6

Sin thu, mo charaidean! I took a couple day's break because I needed to fix my sleep schedule and wanted to just make sure I got that done, but I am back to it today! Albeit not with anything too revolutionary!

I mainly went over stuff I already had notes on, and I watched one new video in the Learn Gaelic With The Witcher series but it was just about the hidden h sound in some words so didn't really learn much I didn't already know, other than crap mòr which is basically a way to say "a lot, much" but also more literally means "big pile"

I also found a great archive for reading/listening material in Gàidhlig (and Scots, which I've been looking for stuff to read in more as well), and it has a bunch of kelpie stories so I Win Immensely

Mar sin leat :3 that's all for today

[fruitbaatt]

Daily Thoughts And Overview #5

SHIN THU MO CHAIRDEAN I ALMOST FORGOT TO POST A DAILY OVERVIEW!!!

I actually did pretty good today I think. I only got through one video taking notes bc my wrist got sore after about an hour (The first in the "learn Gaelic with The Witcher" series by Gaelic with Jason) But I took to it really well I think.

It was super nice to learn terms that felt like they might have niche uses related to my interests (I'm not actually a fan of The Witcher, but I do like fantasy.)!:3 For example I learned how I might say a character is a monster hunter ['S e sealgair nan uilebheistean a th'ann.] which is a type of character I do enjoy a lot!!! So that feels cool and relevant and awesome!!! Like wow. Gabriel Van Helsing s' sealgair nan uilebheistean a th'ann. E seo glè sgionneil... Maybe if I continue on this series I can try rewatching the movie and write some stuff about him as practice!!! That is if it gives me more stuff that happens to be helpful to talk about him anyway lol. Like I say I'm not familiar with The Witcher so I don't know what will likely come up!!!

It's also maybe satisfying the urge to watch videos on random media I'm unfamiliar with HJAHAHAHA. Oh I also achieved the goal I set yesterday of using a Gàidhlig video as my nightly background noise, and I found some more songs in Gàidhlig I really like.

Tha Mi Sgith I particularly like a lot because it's easiest to try and follow a teeny bit with what I do know. The chorus is easy to parrot even the parts I don't actually know the meaning of yet, I can still sing along - and I know it's just "I am tired" at some bits so I can feel good about knowing that off the top of my head when I listen to it LMAO. It's fun!!! And the version I listened to has a very nice little instrumental and vocal combo that scratches my brain just right. Glè mhath. :3 Mànran also continues to go down fantastically I'm straight grooving to em for real

OKAY I'M GOING TO BED NOW. THA MI GLÈÈÈÈÈÈ SGITH. BUT LIKE FOR REAL AND NOT JUST THE SONG LMAO. (I NEED TO FIX MY SLEEP SCHEDULE BUT I WANTED TO GET A LITTLE SOMETHING WRITTEN OUT AT THE VERY LEAST AFTER YESTERDAY'S DISAPPOINTMENTS!!!)

Latha math mo chairdean... May it treat You well wherever You are :3

[fruitbaatt]

Daily Thoughts And Overview #4

Shin Thu, a chairdean! Ciamar a tha Thu? Tha gu dubhach (at least for today; but don't worry, it's nothing too bad haha).

I've been slacking the past two days, which is discouraging so early on!!! BUT! I still got some notes on pronouns to stick them in my mind more and I did a section on SpeakGaelic even though I didn't particularly feel like it. Which is quite impressive when I'm battling an ADHD-cursed dopamine-seeking brain that also needs structure to be consistent about things lol.

My routine has been messed up so it kind of makes sense I'm struggling to go for as long, and I don't want to force myself to go for more than I feel up to because otherwise I'm likely to not take to it as a hobby but rather a chore; and I'd rather enjoy my time with Gàidhlig!!!

I dooo have some attainable goals to get me back on track though: planning to pick something in Gàidhlig to fall asleep to tonight at the very least, and I will maybe watch but not take notes on one of Gaelic With Jason's Youtube videos as some light supplementary stuff today. Though it's late in the day so I'm unsure if I'll have time.

A problem I've encountered so far with Gàidhlig is that there really isn't much in the way of Gàidhlig content about things I'm more typically interested in, other than Scottish folklore (and even that's hard to find in video form) so I think my brain is kinda like "Nooooo why would we watch this video about nature in Gàidhlig when we could watch a Youtube video essay about some random defunct virtual pet game from 2007 in English?". Following my whims has it's downsides HAJHA

I shall try and dedicate maybe half an hour to hunt tomorrow for stuff that's more up my alley. There's a Gàidhlig dub of Moominvalley which would've been FANTASTIC because I already like Moomins but BBC Alba doesn't have it right now unfortunately. I may try again to hunt it down through other means though. Maybe I can also find some physical stuff in Gàidhlig? Reading material is much easier to find than video so far though lol. For now I have a pretty good abundance of music to check out at least. Gotta remind myself of what I DO have access to rather than what I don't or I'll get too discouraged!

Chì mi a-rithist Thu, and I will hopefully have better news by then!!!

[fruitbaatt]

This is a language blog but this is also my little enclosure where I rock back and forth and try my level best to write in very very basic Gàidhlig that doesn't make a lick of sense on my padded cell wall. Probably

[fruitbaatt]

Daily Thoughts And Overview #3

Dè tha dòl mo chairdean! Okay today I was worried I might not get too much done because I made a late start BUT the SpeakGaelic video with subtitles was actually better than I expected. I did spend more time than I initially meant to on it which meant I had to move some plans I had forward an hour or so but we can't win em all HAHAJJHAJH.

It was maaaaiinnnly basics I already knew but it did use some words I'm not familiar with which is GOOD!!! I remember the randomest things sometimes so I'm sure they will help me later lol. Picking up random words like a baby listening to everything their parents say and having their first word be domhainn out of nowhere lawl.

AND! I didn't have those basics written down bc they were in that podcast yesterday so I only knew how to say them not write them. Which is not very good because I believe a big part of my Gàidhlig learning will rely on writing because I write more than I speak even in English HAJHAAH (Though I'll obv have to speak to practice SIGHHHH)

Fave word I learned today is tìoraidh cause I remember it SUPER easily it's literally said like cheerio without the and has the same meaning. I am curious if cheerio originated in Gàidhlig and they just changed the spelling tbh lol

Anyway. Productive day for me win for me. Tìoraidh!

[fruitbaatt]

I have to get fluent in the language I'm learning because how else am I supposed to post about my babygirls (fictional old men) accurately?

I need to become well-versed in idioms because otherwise I can't find the closest approximation of "sad wet cat of a man" and weave it into my vocabulary so that I may refer to them with ease

I will find new and even more insane ways to post about my blorbos in my third language

I can do it. I have to do it for them

[seiji-langs]

any scottish gaelic langblr blogs?

[fruitbaatt]

Lord please let my dumb ass figure out how to configure my keyboard on my laptop for the grave accent and not the acute one or I fear for what I'll do

[fruitbaatt]

Daily Thoughts And Overview #2

Hàlo chàirdean!

I unfortunately didn't get as much done today as I'd hoped, but that's okay! I had a few appointments that messed up my schedule (and I also slept badly last night, through my own fault because I stayed up haha.)

However, I still managed to listen to the first episode of the SpeakGaelic podcast which I'll revisit and take notes on properly tomorrow, and did about 20 minutes or so of very mild revision.

From the podcast, my favourite thing I learned was that when mentioning a name, the name doesn't "belong" to someone as it does in English, but instead is "on them". There was also a section on a couple simple turns of phrase that I'm excited to review.

My one problem with SpeakGaelic's podcast is that there aren't subtitles on it, which I already ideally need in English to process words to the fullest extent. And I'm kind of not sure how to write what I do remember from it for now lol (probably gonna use the site for written stuff HAJAHA). I might also watch their YouTube videos, as I think they have subtitles. But they don't go over all the same stuff so I might have to brave the subtitle-less podcast and figure it out... LMAO. I'll also try their site.

Nevertheless... Still good listening practice, and it provided at least understanding as they explained things very well I feel.

Anyway thoughhhh. That's about all for today, I've rambled on enough. The long and short of it is I didn't learn as much as I hoped for the day but I still learned a couple helpful/fun things, and as I posted about earlier, discovered a song I really like lol.

Slan lèat :3 I swear there was a more casual way to say goodbye but I forgot it lol

[fruitbaatt]

Daily Thoughts And Overview

Shin thu mi cháirdean!!! :3 Ciamar a tha thu? Doing well I hope!!

Today I got a bunch of notes on phrases (social media section of LearnGaelic), but found it hard to memorise themmmm. Not gonna be too too hard on myself though, I'm new to Gáidhlig AND self-teaching language so not everything I try out is gonna be the most helpful for where I'm at right away. I remember cháirdean well because it means friends. and those are important to me. I also have no trouble remembering bréagha (lovely) because that's the name of my friend's dog and I do remember tha gaol agam air an seo (I love this) decently well but I do keep forgetting the air an. I suspect that might get easier the more I learn about like. General sentence structure?

Speaking of sentence structure I also watched a short video on how to structure a basic sentence with a table that made the general order super easy to remember (verb, subject, anything else).

I like the word shin thu better than hello because it reminds me of hoo noo broon coo from the way it's said lol. And also because it feels more whimsical. Like yes. I can go "SHIN THUUUUUU" and feel the same as I do when I go "HELLUUUUU" or "HAIIIIIIIII" So I guess I'll probably frequent that instead of hálo a lot because I'm some kind of sick freak lol. I do like dé tha dól so I'll try and commit that to memory as well.

I expect that memory is gonna be one of the harder parts of this but I think building subconscious knowledge like generally understanding what the pronunciation should be just from how something's written the way I mostly could in English may help combat that a bit.

[fruitbaatt]

Found out that shin thu (otherwise spelled sin thu? Not sure what the correct spelling is or if it's both. I looked up spelling stuff and it looks like it's to do with one of the reforms which is probably gonna make this a little confusing since I'm using multiple sources and LearnGaelic seems to be in the old spelling but WE BALL I'LL FIGURE IT OUT ANYWAY) is more of an "IT'S YOUUUUUU" than a "HAIIIIIIII" though still used to greet people sooooo noting this to myself. Still gonna use it in much the same way because I love my friends and get excited when I see them and it IS a way of greeting someone. Tha gaol cháirdean agam air an seo MWAH MWAH MWAH MWAH MWAH SHIN THU THA GAOL MO CHÁIRDEAN :3 (my attempts at conveying my personality probably will not be the most helpful in making things easier for me but it will sure make it more interesting in my mind lol)

[fruitbaatt]

STARTED LISTENING TO A RANDOM PLAYLIST OF GÀIDHLIG SONGS JUST TO GET IN SOME EXTRA TIME HEARING THE LANGUAGE AND SHIT RIGHT... Tell me why this absolute banger comes on right away like Oh Okay. Banished to my personal playlist with ye. I can hit the yoinky sploinky to this for shure

It was Fios by Mànran btw I recommend You give it a listen even if You don't speak/aren't learning Gàidhlig it just sounds nice n dramatic and is catchy lol :3

[fruitbaatt]

Daily Thoughts And Overview #1

Shin thu mi chàirdean!!! :3 Ciamar a tha thu? Doing well I hope!!

Today I got a bunch of notes on phrases (social media section of LearnGaelic), but found it hard to memorise themmmm. Not gonna be too too hard on myself though, I'm new to Gàidhlig AND self-teaching language so not everything I try out is gonna be the most helpful for where I'm at right away. I remember cháirdean well because it means friends. and those are important to me. I also have no trouble remembering brèagha (lovely) because that's the name of my friend's dog and I do remember tha gaol agam air an seo (I love this) decently well but I do keep forgetting the air an. I suspect that might get easier the more I learn about like. General sentence structure?

Speaking of sentence structure I also watched a short video on how to structure a basic sentence with a table that made the general order super easy to remember (verb, subject, anything else).

I like the word shin thu better than hello because it reminds me of hoo noo broon coo from the way it's said lol. And also because it feels more whimsical. Like yes. I can go "SHIN THUUUUUU" and feel the same as I do when I go "HELLUUUUU" or "HAIIIIIIIII" So I guess I'll probably frequent that instead of hálo a lot because I'm some kind of sick freak lol. I do like dè tha dòl so I'll try and commit that to memory as well.

I expect that memory is gonna be one of the harder parts of this but I think building subconscious knowledge like generally understanding what the pronunciation should be just from how something's written the way I mostly could in English may help combat that a bit.