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Opinion of Gaelic in Scotland? | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| orion Senior Member United States Joined 7021 days ago 622 posts - 678 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: German, Russian | Message 1 of 38 23 November 2006 at 7:14pm | IP Logged | ||
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I am curious how the Scottish people view Gaelic. Is it a source of national pride, or a chore that must be endured in school for a couple of years? Are the numbers of speakers really increasing? On a side note, one reason I listen to "Thistle and Shamrock" on NPR is to hear Fiona Ritchey's lovely Scottish accent!
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| Paul Tetraglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 7121 days ago 114 posts - 124 votes Speaks: English*, French, Spanish, German Studies: Italian | Message 2 of 38 23 November 2006 at 7:36pm | IP Logged | ||
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I don't really see it as anything, i never studied it in school. It's a rare
language in Scotland, and nowhere near as common as welsh is in Wales. Personally however beautiful a language it may be, i don't see the point in learning it (except for historical purposes), since so few people speak it, and it'll never supplant english as the dominant language. Sad as it is to say, it doesn't have a use other than as a cultural artifact being forced upon a people who don't really want to learn it. They'd sooner learn a more useful european language. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| chipile Diglot Newbie United Kingdom Joined 6582 days ago 21 posts - 24 votes Speaks: English*, Swedish Studies: French | Message 3 of 38 23 November 2006 at 10:23pm | IP Logged | ||
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I agree with Paul. I view it as a pretty pointless language to learn. Mainly due to the fact that it is pretty difficult to learn, having hardly any native speakers.
I hardly know anyone who studied it at school. Most schools offer French, and then either German or Spanish. Some offer Italian and other languages, but this is becoming increasingly rare. On a positive note though, if you are half-decent looking and can speak fluent Gaelic, it's relatively easy to get a job presenting a Gaelic-language programme. So I've heard, anyway. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| orion Senior Member United States Joined 7021 days ago 622 posts - 678 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, Russian | Message 4 of 38 24 November 2006 at 12:35pm | IP Logged | ||
This is kind of what I suspected. I *briefly* toyed with the idea of learning it, but changed my mind for the reasons you gave. It IS hard. The spelling alone was enough to put me off. I hate to see the language go extinct, but I can understand why people are hesitant to take it up. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| FuroraCeltica Triglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 6865 days ago 1187 posts - 1427 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, French | Message 5 of 38 24 November 2006 at 2:45pm | IP Logged | ||
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In urban Scotland its not very widely seen or used. Its spoken mostly in the Western Islands of Scotland and also in the Highlands. However, a lot of place names are in Scottish Gaelic.
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| olps Newbie Canada Joined 6698 days ago 24 posts - 24 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French, Czech | Message 6 of 38 05 December 2006 at 10:44pm | IP Logged | ||
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I was wondering this myself. Being part Scottish I was toying with the idea of
learning it (that and Irish too). I got to thinking about how if I were Scottish, I'd probobly view the language very differently. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| GibberMeister Bilingual Pentaglot Groupie Scotland Joined 5808 days ago 61 posts - 67 votes Speaks: Spanish, Catalan, Lowland Scots*, English*, Portuguese | Message 7 of 38 08 February 2011 at 5:59pm | IP Logged | ||
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I can speak it, although not totally fluent. I think few people see the point of learning it it in the lowlands, but it's generally viewed sympathetically, as part of our cultural heritage.
I like it personally. It also has a practical value for me as a folk singer, with the gems of song in Gaeldom. I only wish I had been brought up with the language. More's the pity. Anyone interested in that should youtube Julie Fowlis to see what I mean. 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Cainntear Pentaglot Senior Member Scotland linguafrankly.blogsp Joined 6011 days ago 4399 posts - 7687 votes Speaks: Lowland Scots, English*, French, Spanish, Scottish Gaelic Studies: Catalan, Italian, German, Irish, Welsh | Message 8 of 38 08 February 2011 at 6:34pm | IP Logged | ||
Who is Gaelic being "forced upon"? It's not available in most mainstream schools, and I'm not aware of any school where Gaelic is a compulsory subject, except specialist Gaelic-medium schools which are opt-in anyway. Even in Gaelic-speaking areas, Gaelic is not a compulsory subject, which I think is a bit messed up. If you think there's no point or no use to Gaelic, ask yourself why you're learning languages in the first place. If you can rule out any language as useless, I don't think you have the correct mindset to be a successful language learner. 12 persons have voted this message useful |
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