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Dè a’ Ghàidhlig air smile? Ciamar a chanas sinn she was smiling? An cleachdadh sibh fhèin ²µÃ ¾±°ù±ð? Bha i a’ dèanamh ²µÃ ¾±°ù±ð? Uill, ’s dòcha gu bheil sin a’ ciallachadh she was laughing. An canadh tu gu bheil am Mona Lisa aig Leonardo da Vinci a’ dèanamh ²µÃ ¾±°ù±ð? Cha chreid mi gun canadh.

            Bha mi fortanach gu leòr a dhol don Louvre ann am Paris turas. Cha robh e cus ro thrang. Uill, bha sin fìor gus an do ràinig sinn am Mona Lisa! Bha an seòmar sin loma-làn daoine agus thug e ùine mhòr fhaighinn faisg gu leòr air an dealbh airson gnùis a’ bhoireannaich fhaicinn. Agus dè an tuairisgeul a dhèanainn dhith?

            ’S iomadh facal a th’ againn airson smile ann an Gàidhlig – mar eisimpleir ´Ú¾±²¹³¾³ó-²µ³óྱ°ù±ð, faite-²µÃ ¾±°ù±ð agus snodha-²µÃ ¾±°ù±ð. Cuideachd, tha mìog, snodha, leamh-ghàire, niamh-ghàire, plìonas agus braoisg ann. ’S dòcha gur e ´Ú¾±²¹³¾³ó-²µ³óྱ°ù±ð a chanadh tu a th’ air aodann a’ Mhona Lisa. Ach, leis an fhìrinn innse, nuair a bha mi a’ coimhead air an dealbh, cha robh mi buileach cinnteach an robh i a’ dèanamh ²µÃ ¾±°ù±ð de sheòrsa sam bith!

            Tha an diofar eadar ²µÃ ¾±°ù±ð agus, can, ´Ú¾±²¹³¾³ó-²µ³óྱ°ù±ð, gu litreachail ‘the hint of a laugh’ agus faite-²µÃ ¾±°ù±ð, gu litreachail ‘a shy or timid laugh’ nam cheann an-dràsta oir chunnaic mi dealbh ainmeil eile o chionn ghoirid.

            Bha mi ann an Cruinneachadh Uallais ann am meadhan Lunnainn. ’S e seann taigh mòr a th’ ann a tha a làn dealbhan is àirneis is buill-airm a tha iongantach fhèin prìseil. Bhuineadh cuid dhen stuth do Mharie Antoinette, banrigh na Frainge aig àm an ar-a-mach. Chaill i a ceann air a’ ghuillotine ann am Paris agus thàinig mòran dhen stuth aice air a’ mhargaidh an dèidh sin.

            ’S dòcha gur e an dealbh as ainmeile anns a’ chruinneachadh fear leis an Dùitseach Frans Hals a chaidh a dhèanamh ann an sia ceud deug, fichead ’s a ceithir (1624). ’S e an tiotal a th’ air The Laughing Cavalier. Cleas a’ Mhona Lisa, thog mi ceist sa mhionaid mu a ghnùis. Chan e lachanaich no ²µÃ ¾±°ù±ð mhòr a tha e a’ dèanamh ach ´Ú¾±²¹³¾³ó-²µ³óྱ°ù±ð de sheòrs’ air choreigin. ’S e The Smiling no The Smirking Cavalier a bu chòir a bhith air, chanainn, seach The Laughing Cavalier. Tha a stais, a tha a’ dol an-àirde aig gach ceann, a’ toirt a’ chreidsinn gu bheil cumadh a bheòil ann an cumadh ´Ú¾±²¹³¾³ó-²µ³óྱ°ù±ð barrachd na bhitheadh e às aonais stais. Ach feumaidh mi aideachadh gu bheil nàdar de dh’fhiamh-ghàire na shùilean cuideachd.

            Chan eil fios le cinnt cò e am fear anns an dealbh. Ach chanainn gun robh e beartach. Tha a chuid aodaich, a th’ air a dhèanamh de shìoda, dìreach àlainn. Anns an dòigh sin, tha an dealbh nas tarraingiche na ’m Mona Lisa. Ach tha aon rud sa chumantas eadar an dà dhealbh. Co-dhiù tha na cuspairean ri ´Ú¾±²¹³¾³ó-²µ³óྱ°ù±ð gus nach eil, tha na sùilean aca a’ coimhead gu dìreach air an neach-amhairc eadhon nuair a ghluaiseas e bho thaobh gu taobh, no suas is sìos. Tha iad le chèile nan sàr-dhealbhan le sàr-dhealbhadairean.

±è±ôì´Ç²Ô²¹²õ: smirk; braoisg: contented smile; tarraingeach: attractive; Cruinneachadh Uallais: The Wallace Collection; stais: moustache; beartach: ·É±ð²¹±ô³Ù³ó²â.Ìý

An canadh tu gu bheil am Mona Lisa a’ dèanamh ²µÃ ¾±°ù±ð?: would you say that the Mona Lisa is laughing/smiling?; cha chreid mi gun canadh: I don’t think so; cha robh e cus ro thrang: it wasn’t too busy; faisg gu leòr airson gnùis a’ bhoireannaich fhaicinn: close enough to see the face of the woman; dè an tuairisgeul a dhèanainn dhith?: what description would I give of her?; buileach cinnteach an robh i a’ dèanamh ²µÃ ¾±°ù±ð de sheòrsa sam bith: entirely sure that she was making any sort of a smile; làn dealbhan is àirneis is buill-airm a tha iongantach fhèin prìseil: full of paintings and furniture and weaponry that is amazingly valuable; bhuineadh cuid dhen stuth do X: some of the stuff belonged to X; banrigh na Frainge aig àm an ar-a-mach: the Queen of France at the time of the Revolution; thog mi ceist sa mhionaid mu a ghnùis: I immediately raised a question about his expression; ´Ú¾±²¹³¾³ó-²µ³óྱ°ù±ð de sheòrs’ air choreigin: a smile of some sort or other; a’ dol an-àirde aig gach ceann: going up at each end; gu bheil cumadh a bheòil ann an cumadh ´Ú¾±²¹³¾³ó-²µ³óྱ°ù±ð barrachd na bhitheadh e às aonais stais: that the shape of his mouth is in the form of a smile more than it would be without a moustache; gu bheil nàdar de dh’fhiamh-ghàire na shùilean: that there is something of a smile in his eyes; tha a chuid aodaich, a th’ air a dhèanamh de shìoda, dìreach àlainn: his clothes, which are made of silk, are very beautiful; tha na sùilean aca a’ coimhead gu dìreach air an neach-amhairc: their eyes look directly at the observer.

Puing-chànain na Litreach: ³Òྱ°ù±ð is sometimes used for ‘smile’ when it really means ‘laugh’. Lachan, lachanaich (borrowed into Gaelic from Scots) is unequivocal – it’s a proper laugh, with noise and can be extended in duration. ³Òྱ°ù±ð is more subtle and can be combined with many other words to make a range of compound nouns. Lachan-²µÃ ¾±°ù±ð is a noisy laugh; ³¦°ù²¹´Ç²õ-²µ³óྱ°ù±ð is a hearty, noisy laugh with wide-open mouth; ²µÃ ¾±°ù±ð-fanaid is a scornful laugh. But ²µÃ ¾±°ù±ð compounds can also mean slight smiles, without any laugh eg ´Ú¾±²¹³¾³ó-²µ³óྱ°ù±ð, snodha-²µÃ ¾±°ù±ð, faite-²µÃ ¾±°ù±ð.

Gnàthas-cainnt na Litreach: Cleas a’ Mhona Lisa: like the Mona Lisa.