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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not your usual learn-a-language book, 1 Mar 2006
This review is from: Scots Gaelic: A Brief Introduction (Paperback)
Firstly, I must say that if, after buying this book, you are expecting to be able to hold simple conversations in Gaelic, you will be disappointed. There are several books around which will take you through graded sets of conversations - this is not one of them. Personally, I found it far MORE useful. This, admittedly slim, volume attempts to show the absolute beginner the structure of Gaelic, and how it relates to English, to Scots, and to other Indo-European languages. You won't be speaking Gaelic after reading it, but the standard language learning texts make a lot more sense, if you read this first. I only wiah I'd come across it BEFORE embarking on the "Teach Yourself..." version!
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the most useful gaelic books I have, 24 Feb 2008
I would recommend this to anyone learning gaelic that wants to ask questions rather than just do as they are told no questions asked.
I was a bit bemused to see another reviewer giving only 2 stars for something that "does what it says on the tin", so I thought maybe I'd better give a review myself.
It is aimed at a mature audience for which progress in learning gaelic may be hindered by questions that aren't addressed by other texts and courses, like why is bh pronounced like a v, why are some vowels pronounced and some not, why do 2 gaelic people pronounce things very differently etc.
It is indeed a short book, but a great addition to other books or courses. I'm not sure I would have got much beyond the first chapter of a teach yourself book without a face-to-face course, but if I read this first I might have stood a chance.
It doesn't go into great detail, but if detail is needed it can be obtained from other books or even the internet. This at least lets you know what to look for.
Thankyou Mr. McLennan.
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5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Scots Gaelic, 29 Jun 2009
I bought this book, thinking it was language based. It is basically a history of the Scots language with some bits of language added in. It helps to understand the history behind the language so giving you a foundation but this is more of a pre-book to any language study. Still an interesting read though!
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