Читать книгу Reading the Gaelic Landscape онлайн
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The book will appeal to enthusiasts who seek a deeper understanding of what they study and enjoy in the Highlands. There are sections on landform, ecology, land use, water and cultural landscapes which will interest walkers, naturalists, geographers, anglers and sailors. In the emptiness of much of the mainland Gàidhealtachd, enthusiasts may now know more about the landscape than anybody else, but they may not be so well-informed about place-name meanings.
Given the decline in rural life in many areas, the book may appeal to young native speakers, whose vocabulary may no longer include words which described the working, rural landscape. What is being attempted is a semantic reclamation of a forgotten domain. An attempt to recapture a poetry of place, captured in identities given to landscape by generations of Gaels.
Past place-name publications have tended to emphasise the needs of climbers and walkers and concentrated on hills and mountains in the Highlands. This book is more extensive and so aims to attract a broader readership, enabling a wider reading of the landscape. Munro bagging might be augmented by a new sport of name-spotting.