UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI Date:___________________ I, _________________________________________________________, hereby submit this work as part of the requirements for the degree of: in: It is entitled: This work and its defense approved by: Chair: _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ SCOTS GAELIC AND WELSH: A COMPARATIVE CASE STUDY IN LANGUAGE SURVIVAL A Thesis submitted to the Division of Research and Advanced Studies of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in the Department of Anthropology of the College of Arts and Sciences 2005 by Lauren A. Matus B.A., Miami University, 2002 Committee: Dr. Joseph F. Foster, Chair Dr. Alan P. Sullivan ABSTRACT Gaelic and Welsh are closely related both linguistically and culturally, yet historical events have placed these languages on diverging paths: one toward death, the other toward revival. According to conventional models of sociolinguistic theory, Gaelic should be a thriving language and Welsh should be imperiled, but, based on recent census figures, the opposite is true. I compare Gaelic and Welsh to present a case that challenges current theoretical frameworks of language change. Through my study, I reveal the nature of social and political pressures on language systems as well as the influence of nationalist ideologies on language survival. The result of this study proves that a national identity that includes language can reverse language shift in endangered or minority languages. One implication for future research includes modification of the current models of language death to account for linguistic nationalism. Lauren A. Matus ©2005 Acknowledgements I would like to thank my parents who have given me the opportunity to pursue my education, Dr. Foster and Dr. Sullivan, without whom I never would have been able to complete my degree, and my husband for his constant support. Table of Contents List of Figures…...…………………………………………………………………..………ii Chapter 1: Introduction……………………………………………………………………...1 Chapter 2: Language Endangerment and Death…………………………………………….7 Chapter 3: Scots Gaelic and Welsh………………………………………………………… 13 Chapter 4: Factors in Language Death………………………………………………………19 Chapter 5: Summary and Conclusion………………………………………………………..36 References …….…………………………………………………………………………….39 i List of Tables and Figures Table 3.1 Percentage of Gaelic and Welsh Speakers by Age Group…………………...………17 Figure 3.1 Map of the United Kingdom Showing the Relative Distances of Wales and Scotland to London……….………………....………………………………………………….19 ii Chapter 1: Introduction “Every language is an old-growth forest of the mind, a watershed of thought, an ecosystem of spiritual possibilities. Of the 6,000 languages spoken today, fully half are not being taught to children. Every two weeks an elder dies and carries into the grave the last syllables of an ancient tongue. Within a generation or two we are losing half of humanity’s social, cultural and intellectual legacy.” - Wade Davis Until recently, the topic of language endangerment and extinction was only discussed within academic circles, but lately it has been showing up in some unlikely places; the above quote, by Dr. Wade Davis, Explorer-in-Residence for National Geographic, is part of Starbucks’ “The Way I See It” campaign. By printing stimulating, and sometimes controversial, quotes on their coffee cups, Starbucks is seeking to “foster philosophical debate in its 9,000-plus coffeehouses” (Cridlin 2005). Such actions by the ubiquitous coffee chain give exposure to some of the more obscure dilemmas that many of the world’s populations face, including the issue of linguistic rights. Following World War II, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was ratified in 1948; it stated that “everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms [regardless of] race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status” (Universal Declaration of Linguistic Rights, http://www.linguistic- declaration.org). However, it was not until much later that the “problem” of language came to the center of debates on what constitutes a violation of inherent human rights. In recent years, identifying linguistic rights has become a cross-disciplinary venture. Educators, lawyers, activists, psychologists, and anthropologists are just a few of the groups who have dedicated years of research to this subject. In order to transmit information, we read, write, speak and think using language. As Kontra, et al. (1999:1), proclaim in their treatise on 1 linguistic human rights, “Language can serve, in all spheres of social life, to bring people together or to divide them. Language rights can serve to unite societies, whereas violations of language rights can trigger and inflame conflict.” I have chosen to use the Celtic experience, particularly that of Scotland and Wales, as the lens through which to examine how linguistic ideology plays a role in nationalistic movements as well as the determination of national, ethnic and individual identity, and vice-versa: how nationalist movements impact the success of language reclamation efforts. “One important contribution of anthropology to debates about history has been illustration of how the past may be constructed in light of contemporary interests” (Macdonald 1997:31). By drawing from various disciplines, yet maintaining an anthropological perspective, I will show that language rights are often an integral part of cultural heritage, and demonstrate why it is vital to survey the damage caused when a language dies. I will examine the key concepts of nationalism, identity, collective ethno-history, government, “Otherness”, among others, in order to explore the various phenomena that contribute to language endangerment and death. I seek to discover more about the external determinants in language death, and am inspired by J.W. Aitchison and H. Carter (2001:246) who state: Language death is a social phenomenon, and triggered by social needs. There is no evidence that there was anything wrong with the dead language itself: its essential structure was no better and no worse than that of any other language. It faded away because it did not fulfill the social needs of the community that spoke it. The central element in this statement, that languages do not die because of their inherent structure (e.g., syntax, morphology, phonology, etc.) or complexity, is echoed in Victoria Fromkin and Robert Rodman’s (2000:26) list of Twelve Language Universals: “There are no 2 ‘primitive’ languages— all languages are equally complex and equally capable of expressing any idea in the universe.” Language death is directly correlated to various social phenomena. Typically, these phenomena can be dichotomized as the conflict between rural–urban, cultural identity–national identity, prestige–mediocrity, high-class–low-class, and so on; in the case of Scotland and Wales, we must include the pair: Britishness–“Otherness.” While considering these “basic oppositions” of French and the Celtic language, Breton, Lois Kuter (1996:76) outlines three such oppositions: (1) “The political symbolism of French as the ‘national’ language, opposed to Breton as a ‘regional’ language; (2) The socio-economic symbolism of French as the language of civilization, progress and the future, opposed to Breton as a language of the past, fit only for backwards peasants; and (3) The cultural symbolism of French as an international, urban language, opposed to Breton as a marker of a uniquely local, rural identity.” Kuter’s paper clearly places one of the surviving Celtic languages, Breton, within the same context that the other Celtic languages face: each hold positions of minority status and are encroached upon by more influential languages, namely French and English. If something is not done soon to preserve and protect these languages, “in the next stage, the younger generation will recognize only a few scattered Gaelic words, usually plants, foods, or town names. At this stage, the language can be said to have died, or, more appropriately, to have been murdered by the influx of another socially and politically dominant language” (Aitchison 2001:246). Language is not only a means of communication, but is an expression of one’s culture. For the purpose of this thesis, I adopt the perspective of Fromkin and Rodman (1998:269): “Each language is a unique vehicle for thought. When we lose a language, we lose an essential part of 3 the human fabric with its own unique perspective. A culture and thousands of years of communication die with that language.” Scotland and Wales are two countries in which a new-found appreciation for a common Celtic heritage has spawned festivals, music, art, literature, tourism and a greater interest (at home and abroad) in all things Celtic. It is through this link to a common identity that language begins to function as more than simply the medium through which culture is transmitted; language provides a viable avenue for social and political mobilization. In the case of both Scotland and Wales, the issue of linguistic rights has become the propellant in a long battle for political independence from the United Kingdom. Those fighting for devolution are also seeking (in the case of Scotland) and have sought (in the case of Wales) official recognition of their native tongues; in these two countries, language and independence