The first-ever Gaelic translation of The Hobbit has been released by Moray Watson, Professor of Gaelic and Translation at the University of Aberdeen and a lifelong Tolkien enthusiast.
The university lecturer started working on ‘A’ Hobat’ several years ago, and now, after numerous rounds of editing, the book is ready for purchase – complete with an afterword explaining why Professor Watson chose the word hobat to translate ‘hobbit’ and why it has a’ instead of the more ‘expected’ an.
“Enjoyment of reading is of tremendous importance on many levels when it comes to the esteem and status of a language,” he said.
“Being able to select from a wide range of engaging texts is also extremely important when learning a language or when making the decision to dig in and make that long, sustained extra effort necessary to go from competence in a language to mastery.
“I’ve read the book in at least nine languages so far. Whenever I learn a new language now, I always check to see if there is a translation of The Hobbit. If there is, I buy it.
“That way, I can read a novel early on in the learning process, because I already know the story very well at this point.
“Every single time I read it, in every single language, I get to experience the deep, rich joy of discovering Tolkien’s world.”
The Gaelic translation is supported by the Gaelic Books Council, and joins the classic’s growing list of versions that includes Hawaiian, Esperanto, Breton and Yiddish.
As Director of Ionad Eòghainn MhicLachlainn: the National Centre for Gaelic Translation, Professor Watson champions the adaptation of literature into Gaelic.
A lecturer on the prestigious MSc in Translation at the University of Aberdeen, he holds a unique position as it remains the sole institution offering such an advanced degree in Gaelic.
Complementing the original text, this new edition features all the author’s own illustrations, and Professor Watson relished the opportunity to engage intimately with the maps, runes and pictures during meticulous translation verifications before the book hit the shelves.
“It’s no wonder people fell in love with this book, and continue to do so nearly 90 years after it was first published,” he said with a sense of historical appreciation.
Watson expressed his fortune in working on the project, saying: “I’m very lucky to have had the chance to work with it and I hope that people enjoy it.”
Teasing an upcoming literary feat, he is also nearing completion of a Gaelic version of H. G. Wells’s The Time Machine, accompanied by a scholarly essay discusses how translation theory aids in navigating complex sections of text.