The Outlandish Companion

by Diana Gabaldon

  Cha ghabh mi’n cérr, tapa leibh (Gaelic) [Ka gav mi’n co-orr, tahpa leiv]—“I will have no more, thank you.”

  a mhic no pheathar (Gaelic) [A vihc mo feahar]—nephew; literally, son of my sister (vocative) (there is no single word for nephew; you say “son of my sister” or “son of my brother” [a mhic mo bhréthar]). [“ao like ”ue“ in Mueller”]

  taki-taki (pidgin)—term for the polyglot pidgin used for trade in the West Indies, this incorporating words from English, French, Spanish, and several African and Polynesian dialects.

  Saorsa (Gaelic) [Saor-sa]—freedom [“ao” like “ue” in “Mueller”].

  droch aite (Gaelic) [drok aaite]—bad place.

  djudju (African dialect)—evil spirits.

  Bonsoir (French) [bone SWAHR]— “Good evening.”

  Je suis é votre service (French) [zhe swee ah VOTr serVEES]—“I am at your service.”

  a nighean donn (Gaelic) [ah knee-an down]—my brown(haired) lass.

  Tempora mutantur nos et mutamur in illis (Latin)—“The times are changing, and we with them.”

  each uisge (Gaelic) [Eak uishge]—water horse, a kelpie

  Je m’appelle … (French)—“I am called …”

  Grandmére est… (French)—“Grandmother is … ”

  Pas docteur, et pas sorciére, magicienne. Elle est… (French)—“Not a doctor, nor a sorceress or magician. She is …”

  Pierre sans peur (French)—literally, “stone without fear,” though more probably meant to indicate a reassuring talisman.

  1st sie nicht wunderschén? (German)— “Is she not wonderfully beautiful?”

  Blutwurst (German)—blood sausage.

  Comment éa va? (French)—“How are you?

  greet (Scots)—to weep or grieve.

  cack-handed (Scots)—left-handed; also, awkward or maladroit.

  a dhiobhail (Gaelic) [a yeavuil]—you devil (vocative)

  Oidhche mhath (Gaelic) [oyke]—“Good night.”

  meine Dame (German)—my good lady, madame.

  Ist Euer Mann hier? (German)—“Is your husband here?”

  Was ist los? (German)—“What is the matter?”

  Was habt Ihr gesagt? (German)—“What have you said?”

  Masern (German)—measles.

  Flecken, so ahnlich wie diese? (German)—“Spots, that look like these?”

  Ich war dort. Ich habe ihn gesehen. (German)—I was there. I saw it.

  Rache (German)—revenge.14

  Vielleicht sollen Sie gehen? (German)— “Perhaps you should leave?”

  Mein junger Mann ist nicht gut (German)—Claires attempt to say that Young Ian (the younger man on the premises) is ill; Lord John briskly corrects this to “Ihr Neffe ist krank” (her nephew is sick).

  Haben Sie jemals Masern gehabt? (German)—“Have you ever had the measles?”

  Seid gesegnet (German)—“Blessings on you.” (literally, “Be blessed.”)

  Benedicite (Latin)—“Bless you.”

  Fénf! Es gibt fénf! (German)—“Five! I gave (you) five!”

  Danke, mein Herr (German)—“Thank you, sir”

  Wie geht es Euch?15 (German)—“How are you?”

  Mein Médchen. Mein Kind. (German)—“My lass. My child.”

  Gnédige Frau (German)—Kind lady.

  Mein Gott! Er hat Masern! (German)— “My God! He has measles!”

  Gott sei dank (German)—“God be thanked.”

  Balach math (Gaelic) [Balak mah]— “Good boy.”

  coof (Scots)—silly person, idiot.

  Slan leat, a charaid choir (Gaelic) [Slaan leaht, a karaid koir]—“Farewell, kind friend.”

  hough (Scots)—shin of beef.

  a leannan (Gaelic) [A le-anan]—sweetheart (vocative), with the implication of “baby”—addressed to a daughter or other young person.

  lang-nebbit (Scots)—literally, “long-nosed”; an interfering, “nosy” person.

  mo ghille (Gaelic) [mo yille]—my boy, my lad.

  teuchter [teukter]—a (rather derogatory) term used by Lowlanders for Highlanders. Roughly equivalent to “hick” or “hillbilly.”

  Cirein Croin16 (Gaelic)—seamonster or sea serpent

  clarty (Scots)—dirty, filthy.

  arisaid (Gaelic) [aarasaid]—a woman’s shawl.

  deamhan (Gaelic) [deoain]—demon or devil.

  a bann-sielbheadair {properly spelt as “a bhan shealbhadair” (IMT)} (Gaelic) [a va-un he-alvadair]—mistress; more literally, owner of a bond of indenture.

  each uisge (Gaelic) [oorusch]—a water horse.

  uisge (Gaelic) [uishge]—water.

  Oreilles en feuille de chou! (French)— literally, “Cauliflower ears!” Meant (obviously) as an insult.

  bawbee (Scots)—a bit of money or a small present.

  bree (Scots)—either a great disturbance, or a soup (e.g., partan bree; a crab soup).

  gowk (Scots)—an awkward, silly person.

  Deo gratias (Latin) [DAY-o GRAH-tseeahs]—“Thanks be to God.”

  Ciamar a tha tu, mo chridhe? (Gaelic) [Kia-mar a haa u, mo crie-e?]—“How are you, my heart (darling)?”

  Tha mi gle mhath, athair (Gaelic) [Ha Mi glay vah, ahair]—“I am well, father.”

  An e ’n fhirinn a th’aqad m’annsachd? (Gaelic) [An e ’n iirin a h’agad. ansakd?]—“Do you tell me the truth, my love?”

  m’annsachd (Gaelic)—my best beloved

  Mo grédh ort, athair (Gaelic)—“I love you, Father”; literally, “My love on you, Father.” [Mo graag orst, ahair.]

  a bheanachd (Gaelic) [a ve-anakd]—my blessing (vocative).

  nighean na galladh (Gaelic) [nee-an na Gallag]—literally, “daughter of a bitch”; a very nasty insult.

  Cours! (French) [KOORs!]—“Run!”

  Yona’kensyonk (Kahnyen’kehakd)—dried fish.

  Kahnyen’kehaka (Kahnyen’kehakd)—the Mohawk, Keepers of the Eastern Gate

  Kakonhoaerhas17 (Kahnyen’kehaka)— dogface.

  Kahontsi’yatawi (Kahnyen’kehaka)— Black Robe; a Catholic priest, specifically a Jesuit.

  Et vous? (French)—“And you?”

  reposez-vous (French)—rest yourself, take it easy.

  C’est bien lé, c’est bien (French)— “That’s good; it’s all right; everything’s all right.”

  Je suis une sorciére (French)—“I am a sorceress.”

  C’est médicine, lé. (French)—“This is medicine.”

  O’Seronni (Kahnyen’kehakd)—a white person, white people

  Hodeenosaunee (Kahnyen’kehakd)—the Mohawks’ term for the Iroquois peoples

  Do mi! Do mi! (Gaelic)—“To me! To me!” (as in, rally round here and lend a hand!) (IMT says: “You probably mean ’To me! To me!’ In which case it should be ”Thugam! Thugam!“ [Hoogam! Hoogam!])

  Parlez-vous franéais? (French)—“Do you speak French?”18

  Qui est votre Seigneur, votre Sauveur? (French)—“Who is your Lord, your Savior?”

  Voulez-vous placer votre foi en Lui? (French)—“Do you have faith (do you place your trust) in Him?”

  Oui, certainement. (French)—“Yes, certainly.”

  cuimhnich (Gaelic) [cuinik (first “I” longer)]—remember.

  an fhearr mac Dubh (Gaelic)—translates more or less to “best of the offspring of the Black One”—general meaning, “(first) Son of the Black One.”

  NB: See also Appendix II: Gaelic Resources

  1 For anyone desiring further information on Gaelic educational programs or materials, please see Appendix II. Gaelic Resources.

  2NB: While they are not strictly speaking foreign, I have also included occasional medical terms or colloquial terms in English that seemed sufficiently archaic as not to be easily understood or likely to be found in a dictionary less comprehensive than my own favorite, the massive Merriam-Webster’s Third New International Dictionary unabridged.

  3NB: “Gaelic” is the usual spelling; “Gaidhlig” is the preferred spelling by many current
students of the language, and “Gaidhlic” is what Iain says it should be. Iain speaks the bloody language and I don’t.

  4Iain MacKinnon Taylor is a native Gaidhlic speaker, born on the Isle of Harris, who has kindly been my main source of information on Gaidhlic (Gaelic) terms for both Voyager and Drums of Autumn, and who has also—with the assistance of his brother Hamish, and his aunt, Margaret Beedie— supplied the pronunciation of approximations for the Gaidhlic terms in the glossary.

  5 Another Gaelic-speaking friend describes this sound as “the noise made by someone who’s just put their bare foot down on a slug.”

  6Before the welcome advent of Mr. Taylor into my life, I was obliged to resort to such devices as were available for the creation of Gaidhlig terms: dictionaries, historical documents (which often featured highly creative spelling), and imagination. Bear in mind that when I wrote Outlander, I didn’t expect to show it to anyone—let alone anyone who spoke Gaidhlig.

  7This is given as historical usage; however, neither my Gaelic expert nor my Scottish-horn UK editor has been able to discover for me exactly how one carries a small knife in one’s armpit without a sheath or holster—though the editor, Andy McKillop, helpfully suggests that perhaps the oxter hair was knotted so as to secure the knife in place. This would, of course, involve ripping the hair loose when the knife was drawn, but the ancient Scots were tough auld buggers, so maybe so. Maybe no, too.

  8An early Scottish reader, with a smattering of Gaelic, expressed doubt about this expression, which she thought might mean “Yellow horses, my friend.” It isn’t right, but it isn’t yellow horses, either. Iain Taylor notes he recalls an example of Buidheachas on the label of a bottle of Drambuie, the name “Drambuie” being a corruption of “Au dram buid-heach”—“The drink that satisfies.”

  9Fine, thanks. Haa u?

  10I might note that while the Gaelic rendering was given courtesy of Mr. Taylor, the original sentiments expressed in Duncan’s caithris were mine. When I do things like this, I normally write them out and fax them to Mr. Taylor for translation, though on other occasions, I may simply apply to him for a suitable insult or bit of descriptive invective.

  11 Hey, don’t blame me; this was supplied by a helpful French speaker from the Literary Forum.

  12 The usual form of this prayer includes the word “Domine” (God or Lord), following “dona ei,” and when Young Ian repeats the English form, he uses this.

  13See Appendix III, “Poems and Quotations, ”for the complete text and translation of this poem.

  14Claire’s remark—“I know; I’ve read Sherlock Holmes”—refers, of course, to A. Conan Doyle’s “A Study in Scarlet,” in which a man’s corpse is discovered in a deserted house, with the word “Rache” written in blood on the wall above the body.

  15NB: The German translator for Drums of Autumn, Barbara Schnell, took the trouble to use the older forms of some German terms (such as the various forms of “you”), which would have been appropriate to the eighteenth century; hence, some German expressions used in the book will not be exactly the same as modern German.

  16We had quite a bit of difficulty in tracking down this reference. We finally concluded that “Cirein Croin” was originally a big whirlpool or similar such hazard, and that the name had been extended to apply to other seagoing dangers. In the course of the inquiries, though, I received the following message from Iain:

  “Taking one word at a time, ’Cirean is a word used to usually mean a rooster’s comb. I’ve heard breaking waves talked of as ’Cirein (plural). ’Croin is an adjective meaning ’harmful.’ Again we’re left with the possibility of a sea-monster if it had fins or a mane that looked vaguely like a rooster’s comb or a whirlpool—’harmful waves.’ I would suggest you take your choice or explain both possibilities. I doubt if you’re going to find any argument with either.

  Hamish, in his youth (for ’youth’ see the movie My Cousin Vinny), before he went to Radio class, worked on a lobster boat out of Tobermory. On one occasion the boat’s skipper was absent for some reason and Hamish was elected to deputize for him. The young ’acting captain decided he’d make a name for himself. The ground round the whirlpool (’Coire Bhreachdain’) looked like a really good lobster ground and nobody ever fished it. Our hero promptly went there on, of course, a spring tide and laid all the boat’s lobster traps, linked in fleets of twenty, round the whirlpool.

  Next day he went to pick up his gear and pretty soon found out why nobody ever fished ’Coire Bhreachdain. ’It took him several days to get his traps out of there, since he could stay there only at slack tide, and a couple of weeks to repair the damage. It didn’t take him quite as long to figure out why no lobster live there. He did make a name for himself, however. He is still known, some forty years later, as the only man known to be foolish enough to set lobster traps in Coire Bhreachdain.”

  17I unfortunately didn’t have access to a native speaker of Kahnyen’kehaka. I used a rather simple dictionary of Mohawk words and expressions, and therefore some compound terms are my best guess, rather than officially “correct” expressions.

  18Ha.

  PART FIVE

  OUTLANDISH WEB SITES AND ONLINE VENUES

  Since my writing career has been inextricably involved with the Internet (so to speak), it seems only right to make note of a few of the current Web sites that deal with the Outlander novels.

  The nature of the Internet is infinitely flexible; this means not only that specific sites will change in nature and design over time, but that new ones will pop up and older ones will disappear. Therefore, this section is brief noting only those sites that have been in existence for quite some time, and that look likely to remain extant in the near future. However, I can’t guarantee the existence of these sites; still less, exactly what you will find on them.

  Still, America Online and CompuServe are likely to be around for a while, and I am fairly sure that if you do an Internet search on the name “Gabaldon, ”you’ll turn up a lot of interesting sites—many of them actually having something to do with me and my books.

  —D.G.

  THE WEB SITES

  THE DIANA GABALDON HOME PAGE

  www.cco.caltech.edu/~gatti/gabaldon/gabaldon.html

  wo or three years ago, I received an E-mail from Rosana Madrid Gatti, who told me she had read and enjoyed all my books. Further, she said, she had some expertise at Web page design, and if I would allow her, she would be pleased to construct a Web site featuring me and my books.

  This definitely came under the heading of Offers One Can’t Refuse, and the result—and Rosana—have been great blessings ever since.

  Rosana does a beautiful job with both the design and management of the site; in fact, I believe she’s won awards for the design, and well-deserved, too! Whenever time and material permit, I send her a chunk of assorted material (excerpts from work in progress, tour schedules, information on ordering books and book plates, assorted rants, and the like). She then releases this material, in neatly organized bits, to the Web site.

  She also goes beyond the call of duty in helping to answer questions that people address to the Web site—and in passing on messages addressed to me.1

  Like all Web sites, this one undergoes occasional redesign and reorganization. Constant features, though, include the excerpts—this is the only Web source that has excerpts of my work in progress2—and personal appearance schedules, plus links to various other online sites (Web pages, Web forums, list-serves, newsgroups, etc.) that feature material on or discussions of the Outlander novels. Rosana has also managed to find entertaining collateral material, such as the Clan Map of Scotland, which is available to those who are browsing.

  The Web site offers me not only the chance to share work and news with the readers, but also an invaluable venue for communication—a way to let people know of changes in publication dates and tour schedules, and also a way to quash some of the persistent rumors3 and misinformation that circulate constantly about the books.4
I’m more than grateful to Rosana for suggesting it—and especially for running it!

  THE LADIES (AND LADS) OF LALLYBROCH

  www.lallybroch.com

  The Ladies (and their consorts) are a worldwide (and rather extensive) group of fans who maintain a Web forum; that is, a site where members can exchange messages, bulletin-board-style. It’s a very lively site, with a good deal of book discussion, including a regular “Quote of the Day” feature, in which a short passage from one of the books is chosen for discussion.

  I’ve met a few of the Ladies in person, and very nice they are, too. Now and then one of them pops up unexpectedly at a book signing, to present me with the Order of the Golden Thistle, a collection of thoughts and poetry assembled by the Lads and Ladies, or some other token of esteem.

  Since we were acquainted collectively, if not individually, one of the Ladies whom I did know personally wrote to me in the fall of 1998, saying that she understood I would be doing a writers conference in Vancouver, and that since several of the LOL members hailed from that neck of the woods, would I consider meeting with them sometime during my stay?

  I said I should charmed to do so, and arranged to meet with them in their hotel suite (they being in the same hotel as myself) after an evening book signing, to be held the day of my arrival in Vancouver.

  First off, though, I spent about ten hours in the airport trying to get to Vancouver. My husband dropped me off in the morning, and I strolled up to the gate for a 10:45 flight, only to discover it had been delayed to 12:25. They handed out lunch vouchers and told everyone to go and eat. Came back, the plane had come in from Houston, they were busily vacuuming and restocking—then they announced the mechanics had found something they were “looking at” in the cockpit, mechanics’ advisory due at 1:40.1 went and had a Coke, came back to discover they’d canceled the flight, and were handing out boarding passes for the 6:00 P.M. flight to Vancouver.

  Given that I was meant to be doing a book signing at a store in Surrey—an hour’s drive from Vancouver—at 7:00 P.M. … I called the store, and—to be sure I’d got the right one—asked, “Are you having the book signing for Diana Gabaldon tonight?”