Matheson Collection > Popular tales of the west Highlands > Volume 1

INTRODUCTIOX. CXXl
language of the ancient Britons. I have translated Claidh-
EAJMH, pronounced Claiv, by glave, Traill by thrall,
and so throughout wherever I have thought of an Eng
lish word that resembled a word admitted to be Gaelic.
It is my own opinion, and it is that of Mr. Mac-
Lean, that the Gaelic language is the same from Cape
Clear in Ireland to Cape Wrath in Scotland, though
there are many dialects, and there is much variety.
The language was taught to me by a native of Lorn,
and he was chosen by the advice of men well able to
judge, as a native of the district where the best Gaelic
was then supposed to be spoken. Speaking from my own
experience, I can converse freely in Lorn Gaelic with
Scotch Highlanders in every district of Scotland, and
with natives of Rathlin. I can make my way with
natives of the North of Ireland, but I cannot converse
with the natives of some Irish districts. I could
not make the Manksmen understand me, but I can
readily understand most of the words in Manks and in
Irish, when pronounced separately.
There are a very great many words in AYelsh and
in Breton which I can understand, or trace when they
are separately spoken, but the difference in these is
much wider. Peasants come from Con naught to Islay,
and in a very short time converse freely, though their
accent betrays them; but an Argyllshire Highlander
is known in the north by his accent, just as a York-
shireman would be found out in Somersetshire. An
Islay man is detected in Mull, and a native of one
parish in Islay is detected when he speaks in another ;
but though there are such shades of difference, a High-
lander used to hear languages variously spoken should
have no difficulty in understanding any dialect of
Gaelic spoken in Scotland, and most of the Irish dialects.