GAELIC

Many people believe that Gaelic Medium Education is the answer to reversing the decline of Gaelic speakers across Scotland. As a former Gaelic Medium pupil I thoroughly agree. This type of education provides pupils with the opportunity to learn our country's language whether or not their parents speak Gaelic. My parents didn't speak Gaelic and it did not hinder our education.

By being educated through the medium of Gaelic at a young age pupils are being given the opportunity to become bi-lingual, therefore helping them with languages when they choose to take them later in their education. To most people the thought of learning a new language would be very daunting but their young brains act as a sponge, soaking the language in and amazingly, they don't even know they are learning. Over the years I have come across many people with a very anti-gaelic medium education attitude and I really do not understand it. I wonder sometimes if their child was being offered the chance of a bilingual education in a European language, would their attitudes differ greatly?

My experience and that of my siblings and fellow pupils has been nothing but 100% positive and I thoroughly recommend Gaelic Education to everyone in a position to do it.

I also know of friends who did not go through Gaelic Medium Education but have gone on to learn our language after leaving school - they are now fluent speakers! There are many courses available to those and Sabhal Mor Ostaig the Gaelic College in Skye would be an ideal place to start looking.

If anyone has any questions, expriences or comments that they would like to add - please let me know.

The 2001 UK Census showed a total of 58,652 Gaelic speakers in Scotland (1.2% of population over three years old). Compared to the 1991 Census, there has been a diminution of approximately 7,300 people (an 11% of the total), meaning that Gaelic decline (language shift) in Scotland is continuing. To date, attempts at language revival or reversing language shift have been met with limited success.

Considering the data related to Civil Parishes (which permit a continuous study of Gaelic status since the 19th century), two new circumstances have taken place, which are related to this decline:

No parish in Scotland has a proportion of Gaelic speakers greater than 75% any more (the highest value corresponds to Barvas, Lewis, with 74.7%).
No parish in mainland Scotland has a proportion of Gaelic speakers greater than 25% any more (the highest value corresponds to Lochalsh, Highland, with 20.8%).
The main stronghold of the language continues to be the Western Isles (Na h-Eileanan Siar), where the overall proportion of speakers remains at 61.1% and all parishes return values over 50%. The Parish of Kilmuir in Northern Skye is also over this threshold of 50%.

Proportions over 20% register throughout the isles of Skye, Raasay, Tiree, Islay and Colonsay, and the already mentioned parish of Lochalsh in Highland.

Regardless of this, the weight of Gaelic in Scotland is now much reduced. From a total of almost 900 Civil Parishes in Scotland:

Only 9 of them have a proportion of Gaelic speakers greater than 50%.
Only 20 of them have a proportion of Gaelic speakers greater than 25%.
Only 39 of them have a proportion of Gaelic speakers greater than 10%.
Outside the main Gaelic-speaking areas a relatively high proportion of Gaelic-speaking people are, in effect, socially isolated from other Gaelic-speakers and as a result they obtain few opportunities to use the language.