FAQS
How do I type the Gaelic accents?
You can just copy and paste these
Lowercase letters
Uppercase letters
Keyboard shortcuts
Windows
Some simple ways to type grave accents in MS Windows, depending on which version you use. The grave accent ` is next to the number 1 at top of keyboard
à, è, ì, ò, ù Ctrl+`, release and type letter;
À, È, Ì, Ò, Ù Ctrl+Shift+`, release and type letter
OR
Alt key + character code on the numeric keypad on right of keyboard (laptops will vary). Ensure that the NUMLOCK is on.
à Alt+133 or 0224
è Alt+138 or 0232
ì Alt+141 or 0236
ò Alt+149 or 0242
ù Alt+151 or 0249
À Alt+0192
È Alt+0200
Ì Alt+0204
Ò Alt+0210
Ù Alt+0217
Mac
Push and hold a character to bring up a menu and choose.
E.g. hold the letter e to choose the letter è
What is the Gaelic Alphabet?
> Aa, Bb, Cc, Dd, Ee, Ff, Gg, Hh, Ii, Ll, Mm, Nn, Oo, Pp, Rr, Ss, Tt, Uu
For more information visit LearnGaelic’s Scottish Gaelic Alphabet https://learngaelic.scot/scottish-gaelic-alphabet.jsp
How do I pronounce Gaelic sounds?
SpeakGaelic always gives you a sound file for the word you are learning. For more information on individual sounds, visit LearnGaelic’ Sounds section https://learngaelic.scot/sounds/index.jsp
What are slender and broad vowels?
The slender vowels are e and i.
All the others are broad.
SpeakGaelic says my email is taken and I can’t log in. Can you help?
This is usually because your account has not been properly activated – there should be an email from us with a link to activate your account (remember to check spam / junk folders too). If you can’t find the email, let us know.
If you have already activated your account, you may be on the wrong page. Please ensure you are on the login page and not the registration page.
Can you fix my link SpeakGaelic emailed to activate my account?
Yes – please forward us the email to fios@speakgaelic.scot and ask us to activate your account.
How do I log in after activating my account?
Please make your way to the login page.
Can you help me move on after completing a test?
This commonly happens if you have not logged on. You also need to have passed with 60% correct answers, if you think you have been unfairly treated, let us know. We may have a mistake in that particular test and we will fix it.
My dashboard says I’ve completed X number of topics but I should have more. How do I complete all steps to finish my topics?
You should be able to scroll and expand each topic to see which one has a step missed out. In the following example, all the sections apart from the intro and completed topic section have been completed, so the topic is incomplete.
Go into the incomplete section and follow the all the steps in the section to complete the topic.
How can I see how many steps I have missed out?
You can tell how many steps are in each section by the score on the counter at the top of the page.
How can I see what steps I have missed out?
You can see these by going to the left-hand side of screen of any section and selecting See Lesson Content. Mobile users have an extra fist step, you can see this extra step below.
This will pull out all an index of all the pages and you can see your progress – a completed section will have a big green tick, an incomplete section will be empty. To resolve, navigate to the incomplete pages. If a quiz has not been completed it will be blue. if it is complete, the quiz icon is green.
Extra step for small screens
Mobile users will have an extra step: you have to select the three stacked lines (officially known as the hamburger) beofre the other steps.
How do I report an error?
Either use the contact form or send us an email at fios@speakgaelic.scot. Please send us the page title at the top of page (or URL) with a short description of error. If you can send a screengrab, that will help us identify the issue.
Why isn’t my sound working?
This is usually as something is muted somewhere on your device. Check volume controls, speaker settings and device settings. Please make sure you are pressing the speaker icon.
Why was I marked wrong on this quiz question?
We hate to break it to you, but you might be wrong. Check you have read the question correctly. Please ensure your apostrophes are facing the correct way and finally make sure you don’t have too many spaces.
If you think you have been unfairly treated, let us know. We may have a mistake in that particular test and we will fix it. Either use the contact form or send us an email at fios@speakgaelic.scot. Please send us the quiz title at the top of page (or URL) with a short description of error. If you can send a screengrab, that will help us identify the issue.
Can you translate something for me?
We are a tiny wee team and our main focus is on our resources. There are also professional translators who will talk you through your requirements and provide appropriate translations (some words may be context-dependent). We can send you a list of professional translators if you need them.
I think I’ve found a typo/mistake on the website. How do I report this?
Either use the contact form or send us an email at fios@speakgaelic.scot. Please send us the page title at the top of page (or URL) with a short description of error. If you can send a screengrab, that will help us identify the issue.
Why won't you provide your email address in a format I can open?
We will get ambushed by spam! If you email fios@speakgaelic.scot we will get back to you as soon as possible. Please don’t be mean, we are human beings and it will ruin our day!
Need more help or see something that is not working?
Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you see anything wrong or if you want to leave us a message.
Ìrean an rèidh anns na 1990an
Interest rates in the 1990s
Listen to a short excerpt from this recording.
Remember: you can change the speed in the settings.
There is a transcription available on the same page and further information on 10B Duilleag Obrach.
Remember: it doesn’t matter if you don’t understand the whole piece! Tha thu a’ dèanamh fìor math—you’re doing really well!
📕 And if you don’t understand any words, try looking them up in your dictionary or the LearnGaelic faclair. 📕
In this recording from the BBC programme Prògram Choinnich, the finance expert Coinneach MacMhathain (Kenneth Matheson) is talking to Coinneach MacÌomhair (Coinneach Mòr) about the rise in the interest rate(s) back in the Nineties.
Listen to the recording again, grab a pen/pencil and some paper and answer these questions, if you can.
Carson a chaidh ìre an rèidh àrdachadh, a rèir Mgr MacMhathain?
Why was the interest rate raised, according to Mgr MacMhathain (Mr Matheson)?
Thug Coinneach MacÌomhair iomradh air dà eaconamaidh. Dè bh’ annta?
Coinneach MacÌomhair (Kenny MacIver) mentioned two economies. What were they?
Agus seo dhut na freagairtean!
Carson a chaidh ìre an rèidh àrdachadh, a rèir Mgr MacMhathain?
Tha ‘cus airgead aig a’ mhòr-shluagh ga chleachdadh anns na bùithtean a’ ceannach bathar’. Tha seo ri linn ‘s ‘gu bheil grunn mhath dhe na buidheannan togalaich … as motha a tha san dùthaich, gu bheil iadsan air an suidheachadh aca fhèin atharrachadh, agus gu bheil iad a’ dèanamh companaidhean poblach earranta (PLCs).’
The general public have too much money to spend in the shops buying goods. This is because a good number of the … biggest building societies in the country have changed their status, and are forming public limited companies (PLCs).
Thug Coinneach MacÌomhair iomradh air ‘dealbh … air dà eaconamaidh’. Dè bha e a’ ciallachadh?
Mar a thuirt e, ‘Eaconamaidh an fheadhainn aig a bheil an t-airgead, agus an uair sin an fheadhainn aig nach eil càil idir, tha iad a’ dol a dh’fhulang air sgàth seo.’
As he said, ‘The economy of those who have money, and then those who don’t have anything at all, they are going to suffer because of this.’
Ma dh’fhaodte gun do mhothaich thu gun robh grunn eisimpleirean sa chlàradh far nach do chleachdadh cruthan ginideach.
‘S e riadh (interest) cuspair a’ chòmhraidh, ainmear fireann a bhios ag atharrachadh gu rèidh san tuiseal ghinideach.
Mar as àbhaist, ‘s e ìre (an) rèidh a chanar airson ‘interest rate’ ach thuirt an dithis sa chlàradh ìre riadh agus rate an riadh.
Bidh seo a’ tachairt gu tric; bidh daoine a’ bruidhinn gu neo-fhoirmeil, no a’ leantainn riaghailtean rud beag nas laige airson cleachdadh an tuiseil ghinidich.
Thathas ag ràdh gum faic thu adhartas nuair a nì thu na h-aon ‘mhearachdan gràmair’ a bhios luchd-labhairt dùthchasail/fileantaich a’ dèanamh—ann an cànan sam bith, fiù ‘s Beurla!
Tha rèidh cuideachd na bhuadhair a’ ciallachadh ‘flat, level, smooth’, mar sin dh’fhaodadh ìre rèidh a bhith a’ ciallachadh ‘a flat level’—math dh’fhaodte gun robh buaidh aig seo air na thuirt iad sa chlàradh.
Perhaps you noticed that there were several examples in the recording where the genitive forms were not used.
The subject of the conversation is riadh (interest), a masculine noun which changes to rèidh in the genitive case.
Usually, it’s ìre (an) rèidh that would be used for ‘interest rate’ but both people in the recording said ìre riadh and rate an riadh.
This happens often; people speak informally, or follow rules that are a little more lax for the use of the genitive case.
It has been said that you see progress when you make the same ‘grammatical errors’ that native speakers make—in any language, English included!
Rèidh is also an adjective meaning ‘flat, level, smooth’, so ìre rèidh could also mean ‘a flat level’—perhaps this affected what they said in the recording.