sign in sign up
<<
Home , Hallaig, Languages of Scotland, Scottish Gaelic

Scottish 84 HUGH CHEAPE

A Chlan11a Cuimr Cead-cltathaich Anois uair bhar 17-aitheatlta

Children of Conn of the Hundred Battles, Nmv is the time for you to win recognition! -Battle Incitement by Lachlan MacMhuirich, 141

Scottish Gaelic is one of the of , along with Scots and English. It is closely related to Irish Gaelic, and both belong to the Celtic group of the Indo-European family. Scholars have suggested that Celtic-speaking peoples moved into and Britain some time before 300 ..E. and that the of these British later split into two groups: P-Celtic, including what we know today as Welsh, Breton, and Cornish; and Q-Celtic, including Irish, , and Manx (the Gaelic of the ).

's ge iomadh canain Bho li1111 Bhabeil jlwair A' sliochd sin Adhaimh 'S i Ghaidhlig a th11g buaidh

And though many a language From the time of Babel That race of Adam got, It is Gaelic that won fame. - MacDonald, 1698-1770 A coat of arms welcomes visitors to the Gaelic-speaking community From Ireland (referred to as in ), the speakers of Gaelic, of on the island of Lewis in the Outer . the Scotti, migrated east across the sea sometime in the 5th century C.E. Photo by Paul Tomkins and gave their name to Scotland. They spread north, east, and south to © VisitScotland/ScottishViewpoint achieve in about noo C.E. what was probably the language's greatest extent as the speech of kings and people. Gaelic place-names reflect settlement patterns, and their presence in the Scottish Border country near indicates the extent and status of the Gaelic-speaking settlers of this period. Close association with the Celtic church in Scotland and Ireland in these centuries created a rich tradition of literature. A Gaelic kingdom emerged in the 14th and 15th centuries, as a probable reaction to the Viking invaders of the north and west coasts. Called the Lordship of the Isles, its power and success led, in turn, to its destruction by the Kings

Curator of Scottish Culture in the of Scots. Successive phases of persecution of the language followed, with National Museums of Scotland, laws passed to weaken Gaelic culture and enforce education in English, Hugh Cheape has been involved and with policies that identified the Gaelic language as hostile to church in the creation of a number of and state. The missionary Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, for museums including the new example, pursued a policy in the 18th century of "extirpating the Irish Museum of Scotland in language" (i.e., Scottish Gaelic) from the Highlands and Islands. In spite of . Since joining the service in 197 4, he has published the cultural pressure and political hostility of the Scots and English extensively from his research, languages, the areas of Gaelic speech remained stable and coterminous exhibition, and collecting work. with the Highlands and Islands of Scotland until the 19th century. 85

The prehistoric Stones document the ancient history of the Gaelic-speaking . Scotland's main concentration of Gaelic speakers now live in the Western Isles (), the Western Highlands, and in and around . © VisitScotland/ScottishViewpoint

Following the defeat of the Jacobite communication in family and home, popularity of Scottish Gaelic song Rebellion led by "Bonnie Prince and to a lesser extent in the church. and instrumental music. In spite of Charlie" in 1745, economic collapse The main concentrations of Gaelic a sense of declining numbers, in the and speakers are now in the Western Isles Scottish Gaelic still has a very rich Islands forced emigration on people (Outer Hebrides), the Western High­ published literature, drawing who created Gaelic colonies over­ lands, and in and around Glasgow. strength and confidence from a seas such as in . A sharp decline in the number of "revival" beginning in the 1930s, Gaelic speakers, particularly in the associated particularly with Sorley . Chi thu buailtean a' chruidh-laoigh late 2oth century, has led the govern­ MacLean (1911--96). Gaelic writers Air ,~ach taohh anns a' ghleann, ment to take measures to support have followed the example of the A' toirt taisbean le 'n cuid sgeul Gaelic language, culture, and iden­ literary and political "renaissance" Air na treun-jhir a bh' mm. tity. A Minister for Gaelic has been in Scots as well as movements in You'll see the folds of the milk-cows appointed, and Gaelic is used in contemporary English and European On each side of the , broadcasting and at all levels of poetry in exploring the human Giving witness by their stories education from pre-school to college. condition in a changing and threat­ To the heroes that were there. A Association, An ening world. In the experience of - MacDonald, 1926-2000 Comunn Giidhealach, founded in Gaelic, the sense of place, of ancestry, 1891 to encourage the use of and of the inner strength of the The 1991 population census of Scottish Gaelic, instituted an annual language continues to sustain it. the recorded nearly music festival, the Mod, which is still 70,000 people as being able to speak, celebrated. In recent decades the Fuirichidh mi ris a' bheith read, or write Scottish Gaelic, and Scottish musical scene as a whole Gus an tig i mach an Cam, this represents 1.4 percent of the has been enriched by Gaelic rock Gus arn bi am bearradh uile Scottish population. A hundred years groups such as and 0 Bheinn na Licef'a sgail. earlier, nearly a quarter of Scots were Capercaillie, who have fearlessly I will wait for the birch wood familiar with the language, but transposed traditional modes into Until it comes up by the , official insistence on literacy in modern idioms. Music and arts are Until the whole ridge from Beinn English and statutory prohibition of supported in the community by a na Lice Gaelic in schools under the Edu­ popular movement-Na Feisean­ Will be under its shade. cation Act of 1872 seriously eroded ensuring dedication to and a love of -, "," I970 the language's base. It survived most Gaelic culture and a supply of young strongly as an informal medium of performers to sustain a worldwide •