Lassies of Lallybroch - SPOILERS

[MistressFraser]

New thread to discuss both the TV series of Outlander and the books by Diana Gabaldon. Discussion of spoilers allowed, if not positively encouraged.

"I only did Gaelic for a couple of years as an elective at uni and that was 25+ years ago. I have tried many times to pick it back up but there is literally no one here to speak to. Gaelic doesn't exist here."

I did it all the way through primary and secondary school...which is why I dropped French for it, I only did 2 years of French and it was hard, lol.

I never get the opportunity to use it either, so I've forgotten most of it, I do listen to radio Alba sometimes though and am always a bit surprised and pleased when I nearly understand a whole segment.

Still better than DG's Gaelic though, rofl.

"in one of the books she tells us that Duncan is a Highland fisherman from ARDROSSAN!"

Lol, I don't remember that one, just the unfeasably fast travel between places...and Fort William being within walking distance of Inverness

I know. Perhaps maps of Scotland don't exist in America. If only you could walk from Inverness to fort William easily, think what that would do for the tourist trade.

Were you educated in Glasgow, tabula, you get Gaelic medium education there. When I was at school with the dinosaurs you could do French or German, then the too 30 in the year in 1st year got the choice of doing Latin or the other modern language as an extra subject, it took time away from some of your other subjects, though. I picked Latin in 2nd year, picked up classical Greek in 3rd year for O grade alongside the other 2 and then picked up German for a crash higher in S6. Would have loved the option of Gaelic, it might have diverted !e from classics though.

As a wee aside, I was taught Gaelic by Anne Lorne Gillies's husband. They were a lovely couple.

Not Glasgow, about a hundred miles north of Glasgow.

It wasn't Gaelic medium, just we got a couple of hours a week at primary and it was one of the options for modern languages at secondary. We had to take 2 for S1-2 then we could drop one of them, the choices were French, German and Gaelic... Gaelic had a fairly big uptake because we'd already done it at primary, it felt like the easier option, lol.

Ah, I see. I would imagine the uptake for French or German would be quite low in S3 in those circumstances. I think I would have gone with Gaelic, too, although, I liked languages and would probably have tried to get all three of them, just like I did with French, Latin and Greek. It wouldn't be allowed nowadays because I did Greek at intervals, lunchtimes and DURING what should have been PE periods, so I didn't do any gym at school after 2nd year!

I've just seen the escape from Wentworth Prison episode

HORRENDOUS

But please tell me it isn't just constant repetition of one or the other getting captured and then getting rescued by the other in Season 2 ??

Are the Gaelic bits supposed to be subtitled because they haven't been on Amazon Prime. Am I missing stuff?

That rape/torture episode is harrowing as fuck. I'll have to skip it if I do a rewatch.

Not all the Gaelic bits have subtitles. In particular Mutargh's argument with Jamie in the last ep of season one is deliberately left to the imagination.
Season 2 has less peril and rescue as its plot devices but there Is still at least one rescue in there.
Circumstances and events always threaten to force C&J apart the books are essentially how they overcome the obstacles life throws at them to stay together.

The Gaelic bits are not subtitled because the programme makers wanted the audience to not understand every word as Claire can't. As the show is primarily from her point of view they wanted us to experience what she is by being an outsider.

Great name Dinna

DoA coming along nicely, not too silly yet. I'm about 1/3 way through. Surprisingly impatient for the next R and B bit.

Which book is the tedious, never ending oath taking thingy ?

Fiery Cross is the one with the gathering, dry. It's good, though. I really like it.

Still not through the interminable gathering. Roger & Bree are at least married now. Admittedly I haven't picked it up in a month.

On me Facebook today an advert appeared for silver jewellery that says Sassenach. Why on earth woukd anyone buy that. Why would you purposely label yourselves as a Sassenach? It's a terrible insult, unless it's used in jest amongst friends. I could not believe it.

Because most fans aren't scottish I suppose....I didn't realise it WS an insult until I found out on here.

Blimey, the books are LONG....I've been reading for hours and only 1/3 way through enjoying it though.mis Fiery Cross after DoA? I love Roger, he's lovely. Bree isn't too bad ....yet.

Fiery Cross is indeed after DoA.
I just can't imagine anyone wanting to label themselves as a Sassenach. It comes up occasionally in the books when Claire hears people use it in the normal way that it's not a nice thing to call someone, but maybe folk aren't looking for that because Jamie has turned it into a cutsie nickname.

Hahahahahaha a Sassenach necklace?.... That's actually hilarious.

I've just seen the episode where she splits up Alex/Mary - RAGING with her

I know,tabula, it's even worse than the T-shirt that pops up now and then with Sassenach emblazoned right across the boobs in a kind of old fashioned script. Why anyone would want to label themselves with such a derisive, contemptuous term is beyond me.
For those who didn't know, it is not a friendly thing to call someone, at all. It's a dire insult, loaded with scorn and all the historical bad feeling between Scotland and England.

"For those who didn't know, it is not a friendly thing to call someone, at all. It's a dire insult, loaded with scorn and all the historical bad feeling between Scotland and England."

Yeah, I always felt like DG never really understood quite how bad an insult it is, though it is mentioned that it is one.

Just for context for non scots, if used seriously it'd usually be followed by scum or bastard...or at least with a mental gap for one of those.

When used less seriously it'd be within the type of jokey friendship where someone would quite happily call their friend a cunt.

It's really not a mild insult.

Agree while with that. There are a few times when she mentions it's use as a derogatory term, but even then, she never seems to give it the full force that it has. And it's never meant in the sense of foreign or stranger, only as English and usually followed by bastard or similar. It's not something you hear very often now where I live, but when you do, it carries the full weight of feeling and history.

So, I have thought of a bit in the books that explains what Sassenach is. You know the bit in DoA where Brianna is at lallybroch and Ian Murray is telling her about the ruined oak panelling? It has been hacked to death by English sabres. He says something like "we keep it this way to show the weans that this is what the English are." That's Sassenach. Something despicable and Despised. That's why Colum was so angry when he found out Jamie had married Claire. He could never name J as his heir because no one would accept him having an English wife.

Yes, I always felt like DG sort of dissasociated the word from the meaning because actually it does get across the feeling behind it in other ways, but then Sassenach is treated like a fairly mild comic word that works as a romantic nickname.

My fav t shirt is the one that says something like "my other husband is a sexy, red haired Highlander", am enjoying SH piping up on my FB modelling the t shirts though.

Am finding DoA quite good. The length if it means that you know you'll have J and C for s long time. But I now see the whole continuous saving each other thing....c saves J when he does his back in in the snow, j saves c after she falls off her horse and spends the night alone with a time travelling skull in a cave...all fairly true to life great stuff.

My life is just like that, everyone's?
I think my favourite T-shirt is the one about having Jamie Fraser speak Gaelic to you all day, every day. Or maybe the some like it Scot one. I'm a hit too old to wear any of them, though. My children would die of shame!