Rinn mi sgrùdadh air lèirsinn-dhathan anns a’ Ghàidhlig, agus ciamar a tha i eadar-dhealaichte bho leirsinn-dhathan Bheurla, gu sònraichte a thaobh fiamh agus gleans. Tha cultaran eile le leirsinn-dhathan coltach ris a’ Ghàidhlig, mar an t-Seann Ghreugais, mar a sgrìobh Gladstone air Homer. Leis a’ phrìomh rannsachadh ann an raon leirsinn-dhathan, tha an rannsachadh ga dhèanamh tro speuclairean Beurla, gun a bhith mothachail air sin.
Bha an luchd-rannsachaidh a’ sireadh dhathan co-ionnan ris a’ Bheurla. B’ e an trioblaid a bu mhotha nach robh iad a’ dèanamh sgrùdadh air briathrachas dhathan ann an co-theacsa dualchas nitheil a’ chultair. Ged nach eil briathran eadar-dhealaichte airson ‘blue’ agus ‘green’, neo briathran fa leth co-dhiù, tha e soilleir bhon dualchas nitheil, mar eisimpleir dealbhan ann an làmh-sgrìobhainnean leithid Leabhar Cheannanais, gun robh cleachdadh-dhathan eadar-dhealaichte eadar an dà dhath, le cleachdadh agus samhlachas sònraichte.
Mar a bha mì-thuigsinn agus claon-bharail air cultar Gàidhlig tron eachdraidh oir cha robh co-ionnanachd ann leis a’ mhòr-chultar Shasannach, am broinn an raon leirsinn-dhathan, tha e cudromach cuideachd a bhith a’ sireadh co-theacsa airson a’ chultair, agus a bhith a’ cleachdadh ar sùilean Gàidhlig airson taobhan eadar-dhealaichte fhaicinn.
'S e seo a' chiad seiminear ann an sreath de sheiminearan rannsachaidh a chaidh a chur air dòigh aig an t-Sabhal Mhòr as t-earrach, 2024.
TIOTAL AN T-SEIMINEIR:
Sùilean Gàidhlig, Speuclairean Beurla: Dathan ann an Litreachas agus Dualchas Nitheil
ÒRAIDICHE:
Caitlin Powell, Sabhal Mòr Ostaig
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My research began with Gaelic colour perception and use, and how this is distinct from English-language colour perception, particularly in regard to hue and brilliance. The use of aspects other than hue in colour perception is actually quite common around the world, as Gladstone unwittingly demonstrated in his writing on the colour use of Homer. The research foundational research in colour perception was done in English, using English colour distinctions, and asking solely about hue, with no context for the object the colour was attached to. This is an excellent and problematic example of research conducted through an English lens, with no awareness of how this affects the research itself.
When exploring other languages and cultures, it is a mistake to look only for equivalencies with English, or even the dominant Western cultural values. In the example of colour perception it is a mistake to assume that although a culture does not distinguish linguistically between blue and green, that there is no cultural or practical distinction, and worse, that the culture in question is less developed because of this. As can be seen in the portraits of the evangelists in the Book of Kells and the Lindisfarne Gospel, as just one example from material culture, there is a distinct separate symbolism for green and blue, connected with John and Mark, respectively. This is despite Gaelic having no one set term to distinguish blue, green, and grey.
Through history, the Gaels have suffered from misunderstanding at best, and prejudice and oppression at worst stemming from an attempt and failure to find equivalent markers of culture and sophistication as the majority-culture English values of the incomers. Context is always necessary when studying an abstract concept such as colour, and without the examples of practical application of colour found in material culture, much can be overlooked or outright ignored. With the field of colour perception and use making up only a tiny example of the depth and richness of the Gaelic language, it is important that we retain our Gaelic way of seeing the world, instead of allowing the English lens to become the universal one.
This is the first in a series of research seminars that took place at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig in the spring of 2024.
SEMINAR TITLE:
Through Gaelic Eyes: Colour in Literature and Material Culture
SPEAKER:
Caitlin Powell, Sabhal Mòr Ostaig
Негізгі бет Sùilean Gàidhlig, Speuclairean Beurla | Caitlin Powell | Sabhal Mòr Ostaig
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