I was asked on another thread for some advice on selecting a good Scottish Gaelic dictionary. Well, I will tell you about the dictionaries I have and what I think of them. I will rate them at the end of each description with * being bad up to ***** being best.
For Beginners:
1) Scottish Gaelic by R. W. Renton and J. A. MacDonald
Advantages:
This dictionary is small and compact. You could carry it in your shirt pocket. For this reason, it would also be great for intermediate/advanced students who are travelling and and just want a small dictionary to carry around with them!
It is both Gaelic to English and English to Gaelic.
Contains many modern and up-to-date words.
It is relativley inexpensive. (Around $8.95 when I bought mine)
It is commonly available in the US. I found mine in a local book store!
Disadvantages:
Because of its small size there aren't as many words as in the larger dictionaries, but for a beginner I would say it is probably the best bargain
Rating: ***
2) Gaelic-English English Gaelic Dictionary by Dougal Buchanan
Released in Europe under the title Abair!
Advantages and Disadvantages: Same as dictionary 1) above, but slightly thicker and slightly more expensive (around $12.95)
Rating: ***
For Intermediate Students:
3) The Modern Gaelic-English Dictionary by Robert C. Owen
Advantages:
Contains more words than dictionaries 1) and 2) above, but still relatively small.
Contains many modern and up-to-date words.
Gives a pronunciation guide for each word which is very good!
The index in the back of this book which shows tenses for all of the irregular verbs is worth the price of the book alone!
Still relatively inexpensive (though more than dicitonaries 1) and 2) above). Around 7.95 British pounds (not sure what that translates to in US dollars - probably around $15-25)
Disadvantges:
Not commonly available in the US. Has to be special ordered.
It is only Gaelic to English. However it was to desgned to be used as part of a set with 4) below
Rating: ****
4) The New English-Gaelic Dictionary by Derick S. Thomson
Advantages:
Contains more words than the first two dictionaries, but still relatively small.
Contains many modern and up-to-date words.
Still relatively inexpensive. I can't remember how much it cost but I believe it is about the same as 3) above
Probably the most complete and up-to-date English to Gaelic dictionary available (at least until the new Angus Watson E-to-G dictionary comes out)
Disadvantges:
Not commonly available in the US. Has to be special ordered.
It is only English to Gaelic. However it was to desgned to be used as part of a set with 3) above.
Rating: ****
5) The Essential Gaelic-English Dictionary by Angus Watson
Advantages:
Contains many modern and up-to-date words. Pretty thorough. An excellent dictionary
Disadvantges:
This is a large hardbound book.
Expensive. Can't remember how much, but I'm thinking in the $25-$35 range.
Not commonly available in the US. Has to be special ordered.
It is only Gaelic to English. However it was to desgned to be used as part of a set with Angus Watson's new English to Gaelic dictionary which is set to be released sometime this year (I CAN'T WAIT TO GET MY GRUBBY LITTLE PAWS ON THIS ONE!)
Rating: *****
For Advanced/Expert Students or Fluent Speakers:
6) The Gaelic-English Dictionary by Colin Mark
Advantages:
Contains many modern and up-to-date words. Pretty thorough. An excellent dictionary
Disadvantges:
This is a large, thick book.
Expensive. Can't remember how much, but I'm thinking in the $35-$45 range.
Not commonly available in the US. Has to be special ordered.
It is only Gaelic to English. However it is probably one of the best dictionaries available today in my humble opinion.
Rating: *****
7) Dwelly's Illustrated Gaelic to English Dictionary by Edward Dwelly
Advantages:
Probably one of the most extensive dictionaries available. However it was compiled around 1901-1911, so there aren't many modern words.
Disadvantges:
This is a large, thick book.
It is cram-packed with so much information that the print is pretty small and hard to read.
Expensive. Can't remember how much, but I'm thinking in the $35-$50 range.
Not commonly available in the US. Has to be special ordered.
It is only Gaelic to English. However in my humble opinion no Gaelic student's reference library would be complete without it. Definitely get this one if your intentions are to become fluent, but my advice would be to wait and get it later.
Rating: ***.5
8) A Pronouncing and Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language by Malcolm MacLennan
Advantages:
It is both Gaelic-English and English-Gaelic
Disadvantges:
This is a large, thick book.
This dictionary was first printed around 1925, so there aren't many modern words.
Expensive. Can't remember how much, but I'm thinking in the $30-$40 range.
Not commonly available in the US. Has to be special ordered.
It attempts to give pronunciation keys for the words, but for what dialect I don't know because these keys are incomprehensible to me!
Of all the dictionaries I own, this and 9) are the least used in my Gaelic reference library. I can truly say that I wish I had not bought it.
Rating: *
In a category all its own:
9) Faclair Na Pàrlamaid - Dictionary of Terms
This dictionary deserves to be in a category all its own. When Scotland finally got its own Parliament, they discovered there weren't enough words in the Scottish Gaelic language to cover all of the topics Parliament would need to discuss for governmental issues, so this dictionary was compiled to serve as a reference book for that body. It is, for that reason, very modern, but it is also limited in scope and usefulness since it only covers topics that would come up in Parliament. Though I don't use this one much, it has the distinct advantage of being FREE! All you have to do to receive your copy of this dictionary is send an e-mail request to this address:
[email protected]
Don't forget to include your name and mailing address in the e-mail!
This dictionary can be viewed in pdf format at the following address:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/dictionary/_bin/
Rating: **
Dictionaries To Watch For:
I recently heard that the people who publish the Teach Yourself language books are getting ready to put out a Scottish Gaelic dictionary to accompany their popular Teach Yourself Gaelic book! I think this is a good idea, since the Vocabulary Key in the back of their book is so crummy. I think this book will also have some advantages: I would say it will be commonly available in the US since the TYG book is. Also I would say it will most likely be very affordable, probably around $14.95 like the TYG book iteslf. Also according to a review I read, it also promises to be Gaelic-English AND English-Gaelic! I will DEFINITELY be watching for this one!
To Order:
If you want to order some of these books, I commonly buy mine from Sìol Cultural Enterprises out of Canada. Their address is http://gaelicbooks.com/
Tell Trueman Matheson, the owner, that Allen Alderman/WizardofOwls sent ya!
If anyone knows of other good sites for obtaining Gaelic books, please post those here also!
I hope that this information has been of some use to you! Please let me know what you think! I would love to hear your comments/feedback/opinions on this!
If anyone else has any of these books and would like to comment on them please feel free to do so! Please don't be afraid to disagree with me! These are only my opinions, and I may not be in the majority of opinion on them! I am not by any means an expert on the topic!
Also, I have only talked about those dictionaries that I currently have in my Gaelic personal reference library. I do not, by any means, have every Gaelic dictionary available! If anyone has any information conerning additional dictionaries, please feel free to post it here! I would love to read about them as I am always in the market for other dictionaries!
