Hi, can you clarify the grammar of puirt a beul for me? The spelling puirt a beul is by far the most common in Google, but if I've correctly transferred my knowledge of Irish grammar over to Scottish Gaelic, shouldn't "tunes of the mouth" actually be puirt a' bhèil? I've said so at puirt a beul but the utter lack of Google hits for puirt a' bhèil is making me nervous. —Angr 11:56, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Thanks! But if this weren't a fixed phrase -- if you had never heard of a music genre called "puirt a beul", and were just speaking Gaelic and wanted for some weird reason to say "tunes of the mouth", what would you say (and how would you spell it)? —Angr 12:29, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

But not puirt a' bhèil? I guess Scots Gaelic is less like Irish than I thought and hoped. —Angr 14:55, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Hi - I see you've updated Miller's goals to 6, citing soccerbase.com. I see 5 goals for Miller - see Celtic F.C. season 2006-07. Also, as far as I am aware, the goal tallies in the infobox are supposed to be domestic league only, which would make it 2 goals? Camillus (talk) 20:24, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

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Tha gu math An Siarach? Well that's about it for my gaelic I'm afraid. If you have a moment I wonder if you could look at Dubh Artach#Celtic Name and the associated Talk page (or suggest somone who might). Blisco and I have been having a go at this and may be penning howlers. Ben MacDui (Talk) 18:47, 22 November 2006 (UTC)

Many thanks. Ben MacDui (Talk) 19:28, 22 November 2006 (UTC)

Hello, when you want to link to the article about something British, please do not link to British, as that is a disambiguation page (which nothing should be linked to). Instead link to the one of the options found on that page such as United Kingdom or Great Britain by writing out [[United Kingdom|British]] or [[Great Britain|British]]. Regards, Jeff3000 03:46, 23 November 2006 (UTC)

I have reverted your recent edits in Safavids. We had that discussion long before and - honestly - I do not understand why you reject the authoritative information of the Encyclopaedia of Islam (written by Prof. Roger M. Savory, THE expert on Safavid history).

I would also like to know how the "Turkic origin"-theory supporters explain the fact that Sheikh Safi al-Din Ardabeli wrote his poems in Persian and Old Tati, although he is claimed a "Turk" (see Encyclopaedia Iranica, "Azarbaidjani language")?!

If you do not have access to the Encyclopaedia of Islam, send me your e-mail address and I'll send you the entire "Safawids" article (PDF formate).

So, as you can see, the "Turkic origin" theory is NOT accepted all scholars ... in fact, the LEADING scholars reject it!

Tājik 00:11, 24 November 2006 (UTC)

It is important to keep a cool head, especially when responding to comments against you or your edits. Personal attacks and disruptive comments only escalate a situation; please keep calm and remember that action can be taken against other parties if necessary. Attacking another user back can only satisfy trolls or anger contributors and leads to general bad feeling. Please try to remain civil with your comments. Thanks! Khoikhoi 04:56, 30 November 2006 (UTC)

I read the discussion, and I saw things like:

"Persian POV pushers"

"The shameless way in which you so laughably acclaim any and every source which you abuse to push your POV as "most authoritative" while decrying the huge number which explicitly contradict you as being of no-consequence is really laughable."

I'm not threatening you, I'm just requesting that you will make an attempt to be more civil and not comment on other users in this manner. That's all. Khoikhoi 05:55, 2 December 2006 (UTC)

Ciamar a tha sibh, An Siarach?

I came across Alasdair MacMhaighstir Alasdair today and took a stab at rewriting the first paragraph, since I found it confusing even though I knew who he was. I'm thinking of trying to improve the readability of some of the rest, since part of it seems lifted from slightly fustian sources, but thought I'd leave this note here since you've obviously worked on the page yourself. (I know, that's not that bold.)

Please note that when I say tha facal na dhà agam, that's not understatement; see the userbox on my talk page. — [User:OtherDave|OtherDave] 15:29, 3 December 2006 (UTC)

I have twice removed this term from the Template:English dialects by continent box and will be doing so for a third time after posting this notice.

Ireland is not a "British Isle." It is an Irish Isle. The term "British" refers to "Britain," the larger island just east of Ireland. Just because the term "British Isles" is more concise than "The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and the Isle of Man" does not make the term acceptable.

Perhaps I can explain why applying the term "British Isles" to Irealnd is so offensive. In past years, Asians were called "Orientals." Oriental means Eastern, and implies that Asian people are defined, not by their own culture, but by their relationship to Europe(ie. they are east of Europe.) The term is Euro-centric and entirely unacceptable. I could point out a litany of such terms to define a people that were once acceptable in polite society but are no longer. (African American wikipedians will instantly recognize the specific term that I am implying.)

Frederick Douglass told us that slaves and dogs are named by others, but that free men name themselves. The Irish, and Ireland, are not defined as a variation on Britain, or by their relationship to Britain.

Please stop reverting to "British Isles." It is offensive.

Go raibh mile maith agat, a cairde.

To debate this issue further, visit Talk:British Isles Windyjarhead 16:28, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

Thank you for your comment on my user page. Although I couldn't disagree with you more, I appreciate the civility in your answer. However, I will, of course, continue to debate the use of the term wherever it appears.

I notice on your user page that you take issue with those who mistakenly refer to Britain or the UK as "England." I find the the parallel between this and our discussion of "British Isles" striking.

I am firmly convinced that neither you nor I shall be able to change the other's opinion on this matter, so I instead wish you good luck and a happy Christmas. Windyjarhead 21:30, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for uploading Image:Dùn Èistean map.JPG. However, the image may soon be deleted unless we can determine the copyright holder and copyright status. The Wikimedia Foundation is very careful about the images included in Wikipedia because of copyright law (see Wikipedia's Copyright policy).

The copyright holder is usually the creator, the creator's employer, or the last person who was transferred ownership rights. Copyright information on images is signified using copyright templates. The three basic license types on Wikipedia are open content, public domain, and fair use. Find the appropriate template in Wikipedia:Image copyright tags and place it on the image page like this: {{TemplateName}}. If you have not already done so, please also include the source of the image. In many cases this will be the website where you found it.

Please specify the copyright information and source on any other images you have uploaded or will upload. Remember that images without this important information can be deleted by an administrator. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me, or ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you. Gay Cdn (talk) (Contr.) 02:40, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Hello! A while ago you signed up to help translate articles from other Wikipedias at Wikipedia:Translators available.

This page has since become obsolete and has been replaced by two userbox templates.

If you are still interested in translating, you may sign up again by using one of the following userboxes on your userpage (while changing, of course, the codes according to the languages you speak):

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WikiProject History of Greece Newsletter - Issue IV - December 2006

The December 2006 issue of the WikiProject History of Greece newsletter has been published.

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Thank you.--Yannismarou 14:58, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

I've make the next step for the deleteion of Baile Ailein. See Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Log/2006 December 28--JBellis 17:05, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

I’ve been wondering as to whether there should be articles written in relation to the dialects of Scottish Gaelic – that is, if there are currently none. To my (limited) knowledge there is one currently in relation to Galwegian Gaelic, but what about the other dialects, Innse Gall, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach etc. (‘s dòcha gu bhfeil ‘’cainiúntí’’ aig na h-eileanan gu lèir – chan eil a fhios a’msa). Something could be created like similar to the Ulster/Connacht/Munster articles for Irish. Chan fhuil sé ach ina smaoineamh go fóilll. GRMA.

		The Photographer's Barnstar
		With thanks for your photographic contributions. Timrollpickering 18:40, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

Merhaba geçenlerde Türkiye Portalını seçkin portallara aday gösterdim Wikipedia:Featured portal candidates/Portal:Turkey/archive1. Fakat bir Vikiproje Türkiye üyesi dışında kimse oy kullanmadı. Gelen karşıt oylarla kabul edilmemiş oldu. Lütfen oyunuzu kullanın.--Absar 12:26, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

Hi. Please don't do anything like this again. If you have questions about something labelled a courtesy blanking from the m:OTRS team, please approach one of us to discuss it. Blanking is a compromise solution so that regular editors still have access to old discussions through the history. Please do not convince us that we need to delete old problematic discussions in order to insure that they are not continuing to be republished here. Jkelly 20:03, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

The m:OTRS team are the people who answer the Wikimedia Foundation's email. Some of the email we get are from people who are upset about what is written about them, or people that they care about, either in articles or on talk pages. Insulting comments and unreliable malicious gossip often turn up on talk pages, AfD discussions, and, even worse, in actual articles. This information is routinely removed through deletion or blanking; when we are no longer publishing it here it is no longer spidered through Google and distributed through our reusers. There is another point here that I don't want to get lost, however. When you see an editor make an edit that you don't understand, don't blindly revert. Ask about it. Administrators regularly do things that might be confusing to people who don't know the whole story; removing copyright infringement, reverting what seem like normal edits made by banned users, or in response to many other problems. Assuming good faith is a guideline for a practical reason; one cannot expect that they are going to be informed about everything that goes on at a project as large as en: has become, so we have to trust each other to be doing the right thing. Jkelly 20:37, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

Do you need to hear this from someone other than me? Vandals don't blank talk archives with clear edit summaries and pointers to the history. Vandals don't have admin rights. There is really no cause for concern that the project will be irreperably damaged by kind, thoughtful responses to people with hurt feelings. I'm unclear on what exactly you want to communicate to me by your comment, but you seem to be arguing that blind reverting in such a case is acceptable if you personally don't have all of the information. I really want you to understand that it isn't. Jkelly 21:03, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

Hi there. You told me before that you come from the west side of Lewis and I was wondering what you thought about the Lewis article where it states:

"Historically the island has been a stronghold for the preservation of the Scottish Gaelic language, although the language recently has been dying out, with very few of the island's younger generation being fluent speakers. The main language on the island is English; in 1988 approximately 1/6 of the students at the secondary school who studied Gaelic were native speakers, the other 5/6 were classed as learners."

I didn't realise the language was in such a precarious position in Lewis with very few of the younger generation being fluent speakers. Is this really true? If so, I imagine that most native Gaelic speakers would not choose to study the language at school because they already have it and feel there is no need to study it any further. In Gaeltacht areas of Ireland, young people speak English to each other because it is "cool" but I would say most go back to Irish when they come of age. Teenagers rebel against a lot of things, not just Irish. One thing I do remember from my cycling tour through the Outer Hebrides in 2004 was the number of people from Glasgow and England who have settled in the islands, even more than one would encounter in Irish speaking parts of Ireland. Is there any Gaelic in Stornoway? I heard a lot of Gaelic in the streets in Stornoway but I suspect that they were people from outside the town rather the local inhabitants. I remember the barmaid in one pub deliberately ignoring me when I tried to order a drink in Gaelic, although, maybe she was in the minority. I also remember the lady in the hostel being very bitter about the Free Church, and by extension with Gaelic, which she equated with the Free Church. She softened her tone, though, when I pointed out that for years people automatically equated the Irish language with Catholocism and Republicanism, even if one was neither a Roman Catholic or a Republican. An Muimhneach Machnamhach 12:54, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

The January 2007 issue of the WikiProject Greece newsletter (the first issue after the merger of the History of Greece Wikiproject with the Wikiproject Greece) has been published.

You may read the newsletter, change the format in which future issues will be delivered to you, or unsubscribe from this notification by following the link.

Thank you.--Yannismarou 20:24, 25 January 2007 (UTC)

Hi An Siarach

Sorry, that was my error. Scandiavians have a tendency to read "Normans" = "Vikings", but that is of course not all of the story. I was thinking about the conquest leading to the establishment of the Danelaw. Valentinian ^{(talk) / (contribs)} 22:55, 25 January 2007 (UTC)

I agree with your comment made last May that it should be the House of Stewart, not Stuart. David Lauder 21:15, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

             (Carson a chaidh a 'chearc tarsainn an rathaid?)

an Siarach, I wasnt intending to be antagonistic about Scottish Gaelic on the Scots language talk page regarding its relationship to Irish Gaelic. I would hate to see Gaelic die out as a spoken language and support all language campaigns in the face of globalisation. But persuading speakers that there is no such thing as Scots is all too easy if they are lead to view it as a lesser form of English (as was the case with Norwegian in relation to Danish a couple of centuries ago). I believe that all language definitions are to a great extent driven by state policy (in the form of standard grammars at school level) and in the case of Scots, this has been its fate since the 19th century, and media pressure to conform to the "right way of speaking". An Afrikaans speaker would have no difficulty in reading and understanding a Dutch text, yet the definition of Afrikaans is not Dutch", and the assertion by a prominent contributer there that Anglic is "biased", when in fact its a more useful linguistic term to define Scots as a language variety, is no less biased than asserting the opposite (IE there was political pressure to ridicule the idea of "Scots as a seperate language" whereas Gaelic could not be assumed to be a form of the state language at variance with Standard English in the effort to create a new state following the Act of Union, so could be left with its definition intact, despite the efforts to get rid of it). I have heard it asserted that there are there are as many differences between "dialects" of Irish as there are between the standard written varieties of Scottish and Irish Gaelic and my point was merely to emphasise the way in which there is an assumption at state level which cannot but influence the assumed "languages" and "dialects" in the general public (which can and do change in line with government language policy...check out the history of Luxembourgish. I dont think I am an anti Gael (though I could be at some sub concious level a Pinkertonian Teuton of some sort, but I wouldnt be aware of this of course:}) I would be objectively interested in your opinion on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_Modern_Irish_language as I think this demonstrates the complexities of defining when a language is a language which at that period effected Scottish Gaelic in paralell with how Scots is effected at present . Cheers:}82.41.4.66 13:40, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

On February 12, 2007, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Duncan Bàn MacIntyre, which you created or substantially expanded. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the "Did you know?" talk page.

Thanks for your contributions! Nishkid64 03:04, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

Hi. You were one of the contributors to Safavids page. We are trying to build a consensus on a new version of the article on talk. You may wish to contribute as well. You may also wish to check my collection of sources on Safavids here: User:Grandmaster/Safavids. Regards, Grandmaster 20:01, 21 February 2007 (UTC)

My lamentably poor grasp of God's own language has caught up with me again and I wonder if you can help? I am writing something about Lunga and its tidal race the Bealach a' Choin Ghlais. This seems to be translated as both 'the Grey Dog' and 'the Grey Dogs' (omitting the Bealach). The associated legend suggests it was just one dog, Can you confirm for me that this is what the original means? Ben MacDui (Talk) 18:58, 25 February 2007 (UTC)

The February 2007 issue of the WikiProject Greece newsletter has been published. You may read the newsletter, change the format in which future issues will be delivered to you, or unsubscribe from this notification by following the link.

Thank you.--Yannismarou 18:21, 2 March 2007 (UTC)

Hi Siarach,

Thanks for creating the article Shigeo Hirose. I've listed it at Template:Newest Japan-related articles for you.

Here's an invitation to visit Wikipedia:WikiProject Japan. There, you can meet other Wikipedians working on articles related to Japan. You'll find lists of new articles, projects, and links to resources such as

• Wikipedia:Manual of Style (Japan-related articles), with decisions the community has made about how to format articles
• Template:Newest Japan-related articles, where you can list the articles you create so the community can see them
• Portal:Japan, a collection of resources on Japan
• Wikipedia:Japan-related topics notice board, for notifying the community of topics of interest

Hope to see you there!

Best regards,

Fg2 01:30, 8 March 2007 (UTC)

I am trying to gather a consensus on whether Orphan tags are necessary on wikipedia.

Please go to the page Template talk:Orphan and fill in you opinion under the heading Please give you opinion on the Orphan tag below area of the page. Thanks Dreamweaverjack 22:33, 15 March 2007 (UTC)