#I’ve been making linguistics trees because every dog name is just SO SIMILAR | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

honeylikewords · 4 years

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Oh. My. God. So i started learning Gaelic on Duolingo (pray for me). And i just got slapped in the face by my friend who was like, imagine David teaching you Gaelic while you teach him English. Imagine Highlander AU! David who has a farm going and loves those really pretty highland cows who have lovely eyelashes, and makes his own butter and wears a kilt 👀💯👌 and David and his lady love sit on a hillside and tell stories about forest fey and say pretty words of love in both languages 💞💓

Pt.2 And then theyre both excited to be learning together and she points at a potato and shes like "buntàta!" And David looks at her all rosey cheeked like, yes little bear thats a potato im so proud of you, youre doing so well 💞💓

Aww! I’m so glad you’re learning a new language! Languages can always be hard, but I have confidence that you’ll do well! Plus, it’s a great way to spend your time and keep your brain flexible (especially now, during quarantine)! Do let me know how it’s going as you head along on your linguistic journey!

And this is a really sweet idea! I love people using their own unique languages and backgrounds to build their relationship!

But I think there’s been a little bit of confusion; David is Irish, not Scottish, and Gaelic traditionally refers to the Scottish language. Kilts are typically associated with the Scottish (though the Irish do have them!), Highland cows are Scottish, and “the Highlands” (and, thus, the title of “Highlander”) refer to the Scottish Highlands.

Scotland and Ireland are actually two separate areas, with Ireland being a separate island slightly to the west and south of Scotland!

Pilgrimage takes place in Ireland (though I can’t quite recall which exact area the movie is set in, it says that the movie was filmed largely on the West Coast of Ireland, such as Galway and Mayo, which seems to me to be rather distant from Scotland), so I assume the characters depicted are Irish (though, since David is kind of mysterious in his origin in the film, it’s perfectly reasonable to suggest he could come from somewhere else!).

While the two languages do have a lot of overlap and come from similar roots as Goidelic languages, they are considered to be rather distinct! Since you reference “buntàta”, I’m guessing you’re referring to Scottish Gaelic!

I will admit that from what I have read, “Gaelic” can refer to both languages, at times, since they have some transfer between one another, and many outsiders (myself included!) can have difficulty tracing what came from where, who holds claim to what, et cetera, and because “Gaelic” also refers to the overall of anything that is descended from the Gaels. There’s a lot of discussion about which terms mean what and who gets referred to as what, so I’ll leave that specificity to people who actually are Irish, Scottish, or have studied the topic more intensively than I.

But I will say that what I know from my time in the UK (and being in Scotland) is that the Scottish and Irish people do have completely distinct cultures, very, VERY much do not enjoy being conflated as one identity, and are very protective of being seen as separate, unique peoples.

So while I do agree that the Highlands are very romantic (I’ve been, and it’s lovely!), and David would do well in such an area, for the sake of keeping David distinctly Irish, maybe we can rework some of these ideas for romanticizing the Irish countryside and Irish languages!

He could definitely have a lovely farm in Ireland, and I imagine he loves cows! Cows and horses, specifically, because he’s a big fan of the larger animals that he can steer around and herd, likely with a nice, big dog by his side. I think he farms sheep, cows, horses, a few chickens, but no pigs (he can’t stand pigs, not even to eat, excepting a few rare occasions when he’ll accept a slab of smoked bacon at market), and loves to take care of his herds and flocks as best as he can.

He’s quite good at making butter because of his upper arm strength and patience, so he can just sit there for hours, working the cream and the churn, just utterly silent. Someone who didn’t know him might find it offputting or creepy, the way he can just zone out and churn for hours in complete silence, but his beloved knows that, yep, that’s just him relaxing! He’s probably thinking about his favorite cow, or what he’s going to eat for dinner, or about how nice it’ll be to cuddle tonight when he gets back to bed and is able to rest with his lovely one.

I like to think that the days he takes “off” (in quotes because, really, you can’t take a real holiday from a farm, since those animals need feeding and watering and walking and milking, and there are always daily chores) are Sundays and church holidays, but, every now and then, he can be convinced to get all his chores done early in the morning, leaving a day for him and his sweet one to do anything they like, whether that’s going into town (very rare, since David isn’t very fond of town) or just having a stroll together through the hills, through the fields, off in their own little world.

David likes when she talks as they walk, letting her just chatter and following the drift and flow of her thoughts, streaming like a pleasant, bubbling river that carries them both along. They walk arm in arm, and every now and then, David will stop and point at something-- a bird, a stone, a tree, a wandering deer-- and raise an eyebrow at his sweetheart, which she knows is his wordless probing to ask her to tell him the name of the object in Irish Gaeilge.

She’ll pause and chew her lip, looking at where his large finger is pointing, and take a moment before giving her answer-- éan, cloch, crann, or fia, for example-- and if she has answered correctly, he’ll give her one of his sweet, shy smiles, the ones that crinkle his eyes and hide his lips behind his beard, cheeks rounded up, eyes reflecting just a light glitter of happiness. If he’s in an especially good mood or she’s answered a particularly obscure question, he might bend down and kiss her temple, beard tickling her face as he nuzzles into her hair.

David likes to help her climb up the hillside, since so many can be so dreadfully steep, and it’s so cute to see her try to scrabble her way up the side of the hill and then need to hold onto him for support. Once they’re both safely at the top, David will sit himself down in the tall grass, guiding her to sit on his sturdy lap and gaze out over the countryside, all verdant and sprawling. The wind will whistle through the trees and past their ears, and David might find himself humming along, his voice low and rumbling in his chest and carrying into her back as she leans against him.

He holds her hand and waits, resting his chin on her shoulder, keeping her held warm and cozy against his large form. He doesn’t always know what he’s waiting for, but he waits, regardless, and something lovely always shows itself, reveals in response to his patience.

Sometimes, it’s a sudden burst of sunshine-- the clouds parting overhead, showering glowing light down on the shimmering green hills and fields-- or a flock of birds tittering out in the fields, or her, his love, turning around in his lap and burying her face in the crook of his neck, or gazing into his eyes and playfully rubbing her nose against the lumpy, broken bridge of his, hovering her warm lips over his to ever-so-sweetly tease him into leaning forward and giving her a kiss, hungry and impatient, in contrast to his usual self-control.

Once in a while, they’ll bring along a basket of food, often much larger than what would normally be brought on a picnic due to David’s ravenous appetite, and a book for her to read aloud, perched on David’s knee as he chews on a sandwich and listens intently.

He likes for her to read fairytales or stories from the countryside, but doesn’t mind, the occasional turn of something dramatic; he’s let her read him ghost stories or tales of woe, though he sometimes gets bored of the dull and dreary tone and waits for an especially tense moment of the story and scares her by grabbing her waist abruptly and going “boo!” in her ear in that deep voice of his, making her shriek and flap around in his lap (which, of course, leads him to letting out a rough, heavy laugh and squeezing her close, kissing her cheeks in apology).

But when she reads stories of princesses and noble knights, or maidens fair and lovely, he looks at her with adoring eyes and knows that the holds his own little princess on his lap, and that he’d slay any dragon, swim any sea, trick any fae to be able to come home to her every single day.

He’s always proud of her, always.

I love this idea and I do hope you send in more adorable things like this!

#long post #gif warning #messages #anonymous #the mute #sorry if this is WAY TOO LONG i just wanted to clarify the details and not get the countries confused ghdkghg #im absolutely not calling you out anon (it's a totally normal mistake and i have VERY LIKELY made it myself before)!!#i just know i have at least a few followers who ARE from either nation and from my own experience w being there IRL people care abt #not getting them confused!!

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