New Zealand Ghosts & Other Haunts

Hi all

You already know how to greet someone:
Ciamar a tha sibh?
If we split the word up, we get:
Ciamar a - How
tha - are
thu - you

Another form of the word is: Ciamar a tha sibh?
In english this still means "How are you" but in gaelic there is a difference.
"Sibh" and "thu" both mean "you" but which form you use depends on who you are talking to.
Sibh is plural and formal
Thu is singular and informal

For example if i was talking to a friend, i would use Ciamar a tha thu? because that is informal. If i was talking to a group of friends i would Ciamar a tha sibh? because there is more that one person so i would use the plural form.

In response, you would normally respond with "Tha gu math" ( sometimes written as Tha mi gu math) This means "i am well" or " i'm good".
You can also reply with:
Glè Mhath - very good
Chan eil dona - not bad

The full response is usually, "i'm well, thank you". Thank you is "tapadh leibh" and "tapadh leat" depending once again on who you're speaking to.
Tapadh leat is singular and informal (used in response to Ciamar a tha thu?)
Tapadh leibh is plural and formal (used in response to Ciamar a tha sibh?)

To return a question, you simply add "fhèin" at the end of a question hence: Ciamar a tha thu fhèin? or Ciamar a tha sibh fhèin?
"Fhèin" (or fèin) means "yourself"

A conversation between a boy and teacher would be:

teacher: Ciamar a tha sibh?
Boy : Tha gu math, tapadh leibh. Ciamar a tha sibh fhèin?
teacher: Chan eil dona, tapadh leibh.

Pronouncation and vocabulary:
Ciamar a tha thu? (Kimmer a ha oo) - How are you? ( sing. & inform.)
Ciamar a tha sibh? (Kimmer a ha shiv) - how are you? (plur. & formal.)
Tha gu math (ha goo ma) - i'm fine/well
Glè mhath ( gley va) - very good
Chan eil dona (ch-an eel don-a) - not bad
tapadh leat (taapa let) - thank you (sing. & inform.)
tapadh leibh (taapa le-ev) - thank you (sing. & inform.)
fhèin (hay-in) - yourself

Hints:
The letters "bh" and "mh" are pronounced as a "v"
The letters "ch" are pronounced hard from the back of your throat like "loch ness" or the german "Bach"
For formal and informal- if you get confused, i remember it as if its got a "v" sound (bh) in it, its formal like tapadh leibh and sibh are both formal and plural.

Like i said before, if you need any help with anything just P.M or Post a messege to me, some of the stuff can be difficult to understand or take in. I hope this helps, i'll try to post another lesson soon.

Mar sin leat ( i'll cover goodbyes next lesson )

Taye
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a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.but you can all ways try paranormal investigation much more intersting.
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