Example Workshop Sessions

Typical Placename Workshops

The workshops, organised through Assynt Leaisure and Learning, are led by local Gaelic speaker Claire Belshaw.  Claire's wide range of interests and local knowledge help when trying to decide among differing dictionary translations, and her good connections allow her to check especially challenging names.  It is possible that her superb scones and home-made jam also account for the usual good attendance at workshops.

Typically, the workshop attendees choose a particular section of Assynt, and Claire will start off by going over grammatical clues to improve translation, or some other aspect of language that makes the difference between a meaningful place names and clumsy literal translation. This web site helps to choose an area, as we can see from the map page which areas need attention. Attendees then work individually or in pairs to identify, translate and cross-check place names, which are then noted to be listed on this web site.

Dark Workshop

 

The photograph above was taken during the January 2018 workshop, when a power cut was experienced, which explains the torches everyone is holding.  The dedicated place name hunters, though, chose to continue working in the freezing cold Stoer Vilage Hall, working on place names around Inchnadamph.