How to Translate a Date Into Scottish Gaelic

Translating a date into Scottish Gaelic requires knowledge of how to write the cardinal and ordinal numbers and months of the year. It is also important to understand the convention for writing a date in the United Kingdom which differs from that used in North America. Scottish Gaelic is an ancient Celtic language still spoken widely in the Islands of Scotland. In recent years its popularity has increased and there is an increasing number of Gaelic speakers living in other parts of Scotland. Scotland's two largest cities, Glasgow and Edinburgh, both have Gaelic language schools for young people aged 4 to 18 years and many colleges around Scotland offer beginners language courses to adult students.

Things You'll Need

  • English/Gaelic translations for cardinal and ordinal numbers and months
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Instructions

    • 1

      Understand the convention for writing dates in Gaelic which differs from that used in North America and the United Kingdom.

      In Gaelic the date is written literally as "the xth day of [the month]." For example, March 18th in North America would be written as 18th day of March in Gaelic.

    • 2

      Understand how to write the ordinal numbers (first, second, third) in Gaelic. Here are some examples, but you can find translations for all numbers through the link in the resources section.

      First: a' chiad

      Second: an dàrna

      Ninth: an naoitheamh

      14th: an ceathramh deug

      21st: an t-aonamh ar fhichead

      31st: an t-aonamh deug ar fhichead

      Take note that the noun splits the ordinal phrase as in the translation of "the 31st day" which is "an t-aonamh latha deug ar fhichead" where "latha" means day. Also, there are two ways of writing numbers depending on the gender of the subject so check the translations carefully.

    • 3

      Understand how to translate months from English into Gaelic. Note that all months from January to August are masculine and the remaining months feminine. There are alternative names for some months but those listed below are the most commonly used:

      Am Faoilteach: January

      An Gearran: February

      Am Màrt: March

      An Giblean: April

      An Céitean: May

      An t-'gmhios: June

      An t-Iuchar: July

      An Lùnasdal: August

      An t-Sultain: September

      An Dàmhair: October

      An t-Samhain: November

      An Dùbhlachd: December

    • 4

      Translate the date you wish into Gaelic using the words you have translated and using the convention indicated in step one. You will also need to know the Gaelic word for day which is "latha" and "of" which is "dhen."

      For example the 16th of March translates as "An siathamh latha deug dhen Mhàrt."

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