Читать книгу Reading the Gaelic Landscape онлайн

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The book asks questions. Why are place-name distributions often uneven for no apparent geographical reason? What happens to place-names at the edge of their cultural range? Why is the Gaelic vocabulary of place so different to English or Scots? How can Gaelic generic place words be related to geographical concepts? What kind of landscape do Gaelic names portray? What kind of plants and animals were present when names were coined? What might be the reasons why certain words are preferred to others in naming? When there are no exact translations of names, how can we know what they mean? How have poets and song writers used place-names in the Highland landscape?

A brief guide to pronunciation, which does not involve having to learn the Phonetic Alphabet, will be introduced, enabling readers to practise their knowledge. Since place-names are usually groups of nouns and adjectives, no comprehensive knowledge of Gaelic grammar will be necessary, beyond an awareness of definite and indefinite articles, plurals and genitives. Actual place-names will be used as vehicles for understanding the rules. Brief guides about the history of Gaelic, cartography and the study of place-names are included, as there are several reasons why care has to be taken in the interpretation of the mapped names.