Cha do rinn mi móran an-diugh. Rinn mi beagan obair sa mhadainn, agus an déidh lòn chaidh mi chun an oll-mhargadh, agus leugh mi labhar inntinneach mu dhéidhinn mapichean. Tha a’ ghrian a’ deàrrsadh a-nis agus tha mi a’ dol air chuirt.
Ní dhearna mé móran inniu. Rinne mé beagan obair sa mhaidin, agus i ndiaidh lón chuaigh mé go dtí an ollmhargadh, agus léigh mé leabhar suimiúil faoi léarscáileanna. Tá an ghrian ag soilsigh anois agus tá mé ag dul ag spaisteoireacht.
I didn’t do a lot today. I did a bit of work in the morning, and after lunch I went to the supermarket, and read a interesting book about maps. The sun’s shining now and I’m going for a wee walk.
An raoir chaidh mi gu seisean òran ann taigh-samhraidh ann an gàrradh taigh caraid. Bha sinn a’ tionnsgnadh òrain ùr, agus a’ seinn òrain a sgrìobh mise, agus òrain eile tha sinn eòlach aca. Bha spòrs is mireadh againn.
An-duigh chaidh mi gu seisean òran ann an Cemaes faisg air Machynlleth. Bha daoine ann as còraichean ann an Machynlleth, Dolgellau, Aberystwyth, Bangor agus àitichean eile, agus sheinn sinn òrain ann am Beurla agus òrain as a’ Chongo agus as Afraga a Deas. Bha craic math dha-rìreabh ann.
Aréir chuaigh mé chuig seisiún amhránaíocht i dteach samhraidh sa ghairdín teach carad. Sheiftigh muid amhráin, agus chan muid amhráin a scríobh mise, agus amhráin eile atá ar eolas againn. Bhí an-oíche againn.
Inniu chuaigh mé chuig ceardlann amhránaíochta i gCemaes, in aice le Machynlleth. Bhí daoine ann as cóir i Machynlleth, Dolgellau, Aberystwyth, Bangor agus áiteanna eile, agus chan muid amhráin as Béarla agus amhráin ó Chongó agus an Afraic Theas. Bhí sé go hiontach.
Yesterday evening I went to a singing session in the summer house in a friend’s garden. We improvised songs, and sang some of the songs I’ve written, and other songs we know, and we had a great time.
Today I went to a singing workshop in Cemaes near Machynlleth. There were people there from choirs in Machynlleth, Dolgellau, Aberystwyth, Bangor and other places, and we sang songs in English, and songs from Congo and South Africa. It was a very enjoyable day.
On the way to a singing workshop in Cemaes today the word nadgery was used to describe the road. From the context I guessed that it meant winding, but as I hadn’t heard the word before I checked, and was told that it’s a dialect word from the north east of England. It doesn’t appear in the OED or in any other dictionary I’ve looked in, but is used online, often in reference to roads. Have you heard it before, or used it? Do you have others words to describe winding roads?
The Nadgery Road to Cemaes could be the title of a tune and/or a song. Maybe I’ll try to write one using it. There is a song called The Rocky Road to Dublin, after all.
Bha i a’ dòrtadh feasgar an-dé, agus thàinig na Ruisich air ais gu moch. Bhruidhinn sinn ri chéile gu ceann greise, agus an-sin chaidh sinn gu taigh-òsda an Tap & Spile agus dh’ith sinn dinnear an-siud. As déidh sin chaidh sinn gu taigh-òsda eile chun mo chàirdean anns an còmhlan còmhraidh Fraingise a choinneachadh. Cha do bhruidhinn sinn móran Fraingis a dh’innse na fìrinn, ach bhruidhinn sinn gu beag-nithe ann am Beurla mu dhéidhinn an Ruis agus iomadh rudan eile.
Bhí sé ag stealladh báistí inné, agus tháinig na Rúisigh ar ais go luath. Labhair muid le cheile ar feadh tamaill, agus ansin chuaigh muid go dtí teach tabhairne an Tap & Spile chun dinnéar a fháil. I ndiaidh sin chuaigh muid go teach tabhairne eile agus bhuail muid le mo chairde sa ghrupa comhrá Fraincise. Ní labhair muid a lán Fraincis i ndáiríre, ach labhair muid as Béarla den chuid is mó fá dtaobh de an Ruis agus a lán rudaí eile.
It poured down yesterday afternoon, and the Russians came back early. We chatted for a while, then went to the Tap & Spile for dinner. After that we went to another pub to meet my friends in the French conversation group. We didn’t actually speak much French, but chatted in English about Russia and various other things.
I spoke a bit of Russian with the couch surfers yesterday and today, but we spoke mostly in English. They said that my Russian pronunciation is good and they could understand what I was saying, which is encouraging. I can talk about myself and my family in Russian now – those were the things I was focusing on yesterday morning, but can’t say much in Russian about other things. I also learned some Russian words and phrases from them, and quite a lot about Russia and Russian culture, which was very interesting.
I think that focusing on learning language for specific situations is a useful thing to do, and if you write down and/or record the things you learn, you’re more likely to remember them. However I like to talk about a wide range of subjects, so it would take quite a while to learn the relevant language. One subject/topic at a time might be the way to go.
Thàinig na couch surfers Ruiseach aig uair an-diugh, agus an déidh còmhradh goirid, chaidh iad gu Beaumaris agus timcheall Anglesey. Bidh sinn a’ coinneachadh ri chéile anocht ann an taigh-òsta, agus bidh mi a’ feuchainn Ruisis a’ bhruidhinn riutha.
Tháinig na couch surfers Rúiseach ag an haon a chlog inniu, agus i ndiaidh cómhrá gearr, chuaigh siad go Beaumaris agus timpeall Anglesey. Beidh muid ag teacht le cheile anocht sa teach tábhairne in Bangor, agus bhainfidh mé triail as Rúisis a labhairt leo.
The Russian couch surfers arrived at 1pm today, and after a short conversation, they went to Beaumaris and around Anglesey. We’ll meet up again tonight in the pub, and I’ll try to speak Russian with them.
I have a couple of Russian couchsurfers coming to stay with me today, so this morning I am focusing on Russian. They both speak English, but I’d like to speak at least some Russian with them. I’m trying to think of things I might say – particularly about myself, my family and my work, and asking them about those kinds of things – and working out how to say them in Russian. I’m also listening to Голос России (The Voice of Russia) to get tuned in to the language.
Do you use this technique of focusing on learning the words and phrases you might need for particular situations? Does it work for you?
I haven’t studied much Russian recently as I’ve been focusing on other languages, and when I got to the test section at the end of lesson eight in my Russian textbook I realised that though I can understand most of the language used, I’m not so good at producing it as my grammatical knowledge is somewhat shaky. I need to go back and learn the noun declensions and verb conjugations.
Bha seisean math nam thaigh an-diugh, agus bha ceathrar againn ann an t-seachdain seo. Sheinn sinn measgachadh de puirt-cruinn, ridhleachan, córn-phìoban agus puirt eile air caochladh innealean-ciùil, mar is àbhaist.
A-màireach bidh dithis couchsurfers às an Ruis a’ fuirich leam, agus bidh fàth agam Ruisis a’ bruidhinn riutha. Tha fadachd orm ris.
Bhí seisiún maith ann i mo theach inniu, agus bhí ceathrar againn ann an tseachtain seo. Sheinn muid meascán de poirt, ríleanna, cornphíopaí agus foinn eile ar uirlisí éagsúla, mar is gnách.
Amárach beidh beirt couchsurfers as an Ruis ag fanacht liom, agus beidh deis agam Ruisis ag labhairt leo. Tá mé ag súil go mór leis.
We had a good music session in my house today, and there were four of us this week. We played a mixture of jigs, reels, hornpipes and other tunes on a variety of instruments, as usual.
A couple of couchsurfers from Russia will be staying with me tomorrow, and I’ll have a chance to speak Russian to them. I’m looking forward to it.
An-diugh chlaraich mi òran eile anns a’ Ghàidhlig na h-Éireann ris an canar Cailín na Gruaige Báine. Rinn mi deannan clàraidhean, agus chan eil mi làn sàsta dhiubh fhathast. Bidh mi a’ feuchainn clàradh nas fhearr a dhèanamh a-màireach, ‘s dòcha.
Inniu chláraigh mé amhrán Gaeilge eile darb ainm Cailín na Gruaige Báine. Rinne mé roinnt taifeadtaí a dhéanamh, agus níl mé go hiomlán sásta leo go fóill. B’fhéidir bainfidh mé triall as taifeadadh níos fearr a dhéanamh amárach.
Today I recorded another song in Irish called Cailín na Gruaige Báine. I made quite a few recordings, but am not completely satisfied with them yet. Maybe I’ll try to make a better recording tomorrow.