Pronunciation of Chattan?

[JSFMACLJR]

Practice this in private. Place the back of your tongue against the roof of your mouth and force a bit of air out in the form of a "kh". The air should come from the space between your tongue and your throat, not deeply from your lungs.

That will do and is preferable to kattan, shattan or chatton, but if you wish to pronounce it as it is natively pronounced in Badenoch, Strathdearn and Strathnairn you must repeat the "kh" sound immediately preceeding the double "t". The result will be khaakhtun.

Rex

What he said!

[MacBean]

Oh come now Rex, that's impossible!

Can you imagine playing Scrabble in Gaelic - you'd need 10x as many h's!

[Cygnus]

Practice this in private. Place the back of your tongue against the roof of your mouth and force a bit of air out in the form of a "kh". The air should come from the space between your tongue and your throat, not deeply from your lungs.

That will do and is preferable to kattan, shattan or chatton, but if you wish to pronounce it as it is natively pronounced in Badenoch, Strathdearn and Strathnairn you must repeat the "kh" sound immediately preceeding the double "t". The result will be khaakhtun.

Rex

Rex,

The lesson in Gaelic pronunciation is hugely appreciated! After my first year living in Brazil, it finally dawned on me that the key to learning proper pronunciation in Portuguese (and any language) is to learn what is happening where you can't see (e.g., the throat, mouth, tongue). Sadly, I'd already formed plenty of bad habits that I didn't overcome in the other year I spent there, and I still sound like a foreigner when I speak.

Your description was perfect and is something I'll work on.

Thank you, once again.

- Brian

[ThistleDown]

Rex,

The lesson in Gaelic pronunciation is hugely appreciated! After my first year living in Brazil, it finally dawned on me that the key to learning proper pronunciation in Portuguese (and any language) is to learn what is happening where you can't see (e.g., the throat, mouth, tongue). Sadly, I'd already formed plenty of bad habits that I didn't overcome in the other year I spent there, and I still sound like a foreigner when I speak.

Your description was perfect and is something I'll work on.

Thank you, once again.

- Brian

I don't have the Gaelic, Brian, so that wasn't a language lesson. It is, however, how we pronounce Chattan here in Clanchattan country. As you might expect we think we know best how to say our own name, but we are fairly tolerant of those who can't get their throat and tongue around it. If they leave shattan and chatton and kattin over by we'll accept even hattun.

Rex

[bdkilted]

Interesting. The Keith's came for Chattam and we were told it was derived from the Catti celtic tribe from the low country that emigrated to Scotland during Malcohm I time. That said, we always pronouced it Cattam.

[ThistleDown]

Interesting. The Keith's came for Chattam and we were told it was derived from the Catti celtic tribe from the low country that emigrated to Scotland during Malcohm I time. That said, we always pronouced it Cattam.

Stay with The Keiths you have, bdk. There was a family by the name who were tenants at Dunachton a long ways back and, I suspect, were 'captured' by the sept rievers of the 19C; thereafter all of the name became Chattans, according to the plagiarising sept lists. Not true unless you can accurately trace your ancestry to that single family.

As for the tales of origin, it is most likely that the clanchattan descended of local (aboriginal) folk who attached themselves -- in Lochaber -- to an abbot of the old church who called himself Chattan. The other story, descent from the Cattii, is stretching credibility and time-lines to the limit.

That's Chattan with an "n" by the way, bdk, not an "m".

[creagdhubh]

Stay with The Keiths you have, bdk. There was a family by the name who were tenants at Dunachton a long ways back and, I suspect, were 'captured' by the sept rievers of the 19C; thereafter all of the name became Chattans, according to the plagiarising sept lists. Not true unless you can accurately trace your ancestry to that single family.

As for the tales of origin, it is most likely that the clanchattan descended of local (aboriginal) folk who attached themselves -- in Lochaber -- to an abbot of the old church who called himself Chattan. The other story, descent from the Cattii, is stretching credibility and time-lines to the limit.

That's Chattan with an "n" by the way, bdk, not an "m".

Quite right Rex, and correct me if I am wrong, but I believe the tribe of the Catti, originally came from the region in western Europe that is now the country of Germany.

[ThistleDown]

correct me if I am wrong, but I believe the tribe of the Catti, originally came from the region in western Europe that is now the country of Germany.

Yes, originally, but in the first century BCE at least a part of the German tribe moved from the east bank of the Main and settled in what is now Holland. Bdk is referring to the long tale that a detachment of the Hollander Catti bunch emigrated to Britain in the first century CE time of the mythic King Corbred II and settled in its far Northeast which they called after themselves, Caithness.

[bdkilted]

Right you are. That is exactly the story I was talking about. It is the verbal history of my clan, which our 11th chief confirmed.

[Cygnus]

Quite right, Rex.

When I said it was a bit off topic, I was referring to my comment on the pronunciation of Mexico by natives of that country. I have also taken a moment to edit my comment a bit and I hope you'll all forgive my lack of clarity - the oldest person I had spoken to all day was three years old, and that will take its toll on your ability to communicate!