Gaelic in ScotlandThe Language, Culture and Revival

By Maureen Millward for NAPS, Montreal 2016

Gaelic in Scotland• History and decline

• Revival today in Scotland and Canada

• Gaelic Culture

• Introduction to the Gaelic Language

Gaelic in Scotland• Arrived from Ireland in the 5th century

• First spoken in Argyll in the west, Kingdom of Dal Riata

• Belongs to the Celtic language family along with Irish, Manx, Welsh, Cornish and Breton

The Decline of Gaelic

• In 1800 there were 300,000 monolingual Gaelic speakers.• It is unclear how many bilingual Gaelic/English speakers there were in 1800.• There are 57,000 bilingual speakers today.

Decline of Gaelic - Reasons• 1500 – Gaelic was at its peak

and then started to decline with the emergence of Scots

• 16th Century - King James VI abolished the use of Gaelic

• 1707 – Union of Scottish & English Parliaments

• Late 18th Century – Highland Clearances began

• 1872 – Education Act, promotion of English & punishment for speaking Gaelic.

Revival of Gaelic• Gaelic College Sabhal

Mòr Ostaig in the Isle of Skye opened in the 1970s

• Scottish Parliament introduced the Gaelic Language Act in 2005

Revival of Gaelic• Gaelic Medium Schools

with 3,500 students• Gaelic lessons in school

with 11,000 students• Gaelic nurseries - 989

children• Leisure Activities for

children and adults through the medium of Gaelic

Gaelic Culture• Clans - Mc/Mac

Surnames (mac = son)• McDonald = son of

Donald• Descendants and

tenants could use the name

• Own tartan

Gaelic Culture• Traditional music with bagpipes and fiddles

• Gaelic Psalms Singing. Video Clip

• Ceilidh - Video Clip

Gaelic Culture

• Highland Games

• Whisky• Celtic-inspired

gifts from jewellery to knitwear

• Celtic Music Festivals held every year throughout Scotland

Gaelic Situation in Canada• Highland Clearances

• 200,000 speakers mid-19th century

• Number of speakers has declined to 2,000 today

• Revival through education

Characteristics of the Language• 10 Irregular Verbs• Pronunciation

• Broad (a,o,u) and Slender Vowels (i,e) at either side of a consonant

• Four Cases• Verb – Subject - Object

• No direct translation for yes/no• Lenition

Lenition• Lenition (softening) is a process whereby certain

consonants which appear at the beginning of words are made 'softer'. This is indicated in writing by adding a H after the consonant.

• Usually a preceding word determines whether the following word will lenite.

• Examples:Mac (son) – a mhac (his son) (a vak) - a mac (her son) (a mak)Piuthar (sister) – a phiuthar (his sister) (a few-har)Math (good) - Madainn Mhath (Good morning)

(matan va)

Addressing PeopleIn Gaelic, people's names change when you talk to

them or call to them. This is called the vocative case.

Màiri (Mary) = Halò a Mhàiri (uh Vaari)Seumas (James) = Halò a Sheumais (uh

Hamish)

Note: Non-Gaelic names don’t usually change.

Greetings• Feasgar math. (fesgar mah) = Good afternoon/evening• Dè an t-ainm a th’ort? (jay an ten-uhm a horsht?) = What is

your name?• Is mise + Name (is mishuh + name) = I am ......• Ciamar a tha thu? (kimar a how) = How are you?• Glè mhath, tapadh leat (glay va, tah pa lat) = Very well,

thank you• Ciamar a tha thu fhéin? (kimar a hah oo hane) = How are

you yourself?• Chan eil dona. (han eel dona) = Not bad.• Mar sin leat (mar shin lat) = Goodbye

Weather ExpressionsCiamar a tha an t-sìde? (kimar a ha an tcheeje) = How is the weather?

Tha an t-uisge ann (ha an t-ooshke aon) = It is rainingTha i grianach (ha ee greeanach) = It is sunnyTha i garbh (ha ee garav) = It is windyTha i fuar (ha ee fooar) = It is coldTha i blath (ha ee blaa) = It is warmTha i teth (ha ee chay) = It is hot

A bheil i grianach? (a vel ee greeanach?) - Is it sunny?Tha. Tha i grianach. – Yes. It is sunny.Chan eil. Chan eil i grianach. - No. It is not sunny

Q&A

Link to Resources: http://www.fluentin3months.com/scottish-gaelic/