Gaelic guide for learners

Gàidhlig air a’ choimpiutair

Gaelic, like most languages, uses lengthmarks in its writing system: à è ì ò ù, writes Caoimhín Ó Donnaíle. They are very important for correct pronunciation and for avoiding misunderstanding: Latha na Sàbaid means ‘the Sabbath Day’, whereas Latha na Sabaid means ‘the Day of the Fight’.

How do you write them on your computer? On smart phones and tablets, hold your finger on the letter until a selection of accents appears, then slide to choose one. On Apple Macintoshes, type <Alt+`> followed by the vowel. For Gaelic predictive-text, Google “Swiftkey igaidhlig”.

PCS are easiest of all. Press the grave key ` (left of the number 1), then press the vowel, and the vowel appears with a grave accent. But you must first have Windows set to use the “United Kingdom Extended” keyboard rather than the “United Kingdom” keyboard. To do this, go to the Control Panel, choose Language (or Regional) options, select United Kingdom Extended and remove all others. Avoid the useless “Scottish Gaelic” keyboard. United Kingdom Extended makes no difference to typing English. It should be set as standard on all PCS, especially in schools. lsabhal Mòr Ostaig offers Gaelic learning opportunities on site and by distance learning www.smo.uhi.ac.uk