Gàidhlig ann an Alba an-diug | Gaelic in Scotland today

-(Duilich, chan eil mi nam neach-labhairt dùthchasach na Gàidhlig. Chan eil mi ach nam oileanach Gàidhlig. Tha mi air bathar-bog eadar-theangachaidh a chleachdadh far an robh e riatanach airson faclan no abairtean fa leth a sgrìobadh anns an artaigil seo.)-

Bha mi a’ dèanamh clàradh a-steach airson an itealain ceithir mìosan air ais ann am port-adhair ann an Sasainn. Bha mi air mo iongnadh gun robh a’ bhean-chlàraidh às na h-Eileanan agus gun robh i a’ bruidhinn Gàidhlig. Bha mi toilichte bruidhinn sa Ghàidhlig an latha sin, ach tha amannan mar sin tearc. Is e an duilgheadas a bh‘ ann gun robh i mar aon de shluagh a bha a’ sìor chrìonadh de luchd-labhairt na Gàidhlig, agus tha mi mar aon de na luchd-ionnsachaidh beaga. An-diugh, tha timcheall air 57,000 neach-labhairt fleanta na Gàidhlig ann an Alba, le beagan àiteachan thall thairis, gu h-àraidh ann an Chanada.

Tha cha mhòr a h-uile neach a bhios a’ bruidhinn na Gàidhlig ann an Alba a’ fuireach anns na h-Eileanan. Is e a’ chiad duilgheadas anns na h-Eileanan gu bheil bailtean mòra leithid Steòrnabhagh a’ sìor fhàs nas Beurla-labhairteach. Is e an duilgheadas eile gu bheil nas lugha de dhaoine òga a’ bruidhinn Gaidhlig agus gu bheil an sluagh a th’ ann mar-thà a’ fàs nas sine. Dh’fhaodadh call air cànan màthaireil na Gàidhlig adhbhrachadh barrachd call air cultar. Mar sin, dh’fhaodadh seo leanntainn gu call air filmichean, ceòl agus sgeulachdan Gàidhlig an-diugh. Ann an tìr-mòr na h-Alba, tha Gàidhlig air a bruidhinn gu math nas ainneimhe, agus mar as trice le daoine fa leth. An sin, ‘s ann air soidhnichean-rathaid no air taobhan chàraichean poileis a chì thu a’ mhòr-chuid den Ghàidhlig. Tha seo mar thoradh air laghan bhon riaghaltas a tha gan sgaoileadh air feadh na dùthcha.

Ged a tha àireamh luchd-labhairt na Gàidhlig fhathast ìosal, tha barrachd dòchais ann an-diugh na bha riamh. Tha seo mar thoradh air oidhirpean thar nan linn gus an cànan a chòdachadh agus a bhrosnachadh, gu h-àraidh anns na bliadhnaichean mu dheireadh. B’ e teacsaichean cràbhach a’ chiad rud a chaidh a sgrìobhadh sa Ghàidhlig. Mar eisimpleir chaidh na Sailm a chlò-bhualadh ann am Baile Chuidir ann an 1684 dìreach tuath air fearann Buchanan. An dèidh sin chaidh an Tiomnadh Nuadh eadar-theangachadh ann an 1767 ann an Chill Fhinn le cuideachadh bho Dugald Buchanan. Chaidh an Seann Tiomnadh a chrìochnachadh ann an Luss ann an 1801. Gu h-inntinneach tha na trì eadar-theangachaidhean tràth seo uile faisg air fearann Buchanan. Chaid a‘ chiad fhaclair Gàidhlig foillseachadh ann an 1828 le Comann Gàidhealach na h-Alba.

Ach tha a’ mhòr-chuid den leasachadh ann an suidheachadh na Gàidhlig air tighinn o chionn ghoirid. Tha Riaghaltas na h-Alba air a bhith a‘ putadh gu cruaidh airson a’ Ghaidhlig a ghleidheadh agus a leudachadh ann an Alba sna 20 bliadhna a dh’fhalbh. Tha trì prìomh dhòighean air an cleachdadh leis an Riaghaltas, a chaidh a thoirt a-steach leis an Achd na Gàidhlig (Alba) 2005.

1. Chaidh Bòrd na Gàidhlig a stèidheachadh leis an Achd gus cànan na Gàidhlig ann an Alba a chur air ìre. Tha a’ bhuidheann seo a’ cumail suas na “Gnàthasan Litreachaidh na Gàidhlig”. (Ged a chaidh a’ chiad agus an dàrna irisean den Gnàthasan sin a chruthachadh le Ùghdarras Theisteanais na h-Alba ann an 1981 agus 1990).

   B’ e an t-adhbhar a bha an cunbhalachadh cho cudromach gu bheil a‘ Ghàidhlig gu mòr air a roinn ann an dual-chainntean ionadail, o chionn ‘s gun robh na coimhearsnachdan air an sgaradh le gleanntan is eileanan. Airson a’ mhòr-chuid de eachdraidh, b’ e cànan labhairteach a bh’ ann an Gàidhlig, gun a bhith ga sgrìobhadh gu cunbhalach, agus mar sin tha eadar-dhealachaidhean mòra ann an litreachadh – gu h-àraidh ann an ainmean-àite.

   Is e aon eisimpleir de dh’ ainmearachd neo-riaghailteach “Cambusmore” far a bheil an t-eitim-eòlas a’ tighinn bho “Camas” agus “Mòr”. Ach gheibhear am facal “Mòr” air feadh na h-Alba litreachadh ann an diofar dhòighean: “mòr”, “mhòr”, “mor”, “mhor”, “more”, “moir”, “muir”, agus “moran”.

2. Tha an Riaghaltas air foghlam Gàidhlig a bhrosnachadh gu mòr le clasaichean sgoile, goireasan didseatach, cùrsaichean bogaidh, agus taic-airgid.

3. B’ e an treas rud san Achd 2005 gun iarradh an Riaghaltas air buidhnean poblach mòra “Planaichean Cànain Gàidhlig” a chur an gnìomh. Mar thoradh air seo, tha barrachd Gàidhlig ri fhaicinn air feadh Alba - mar eisimpleir air soidhnichean rathaid, càraichean poileis, làraich-lìn, is sgrìobhainnean.

An-diugh, tha cultar agus moit ann a bhith a’ bruidhinn na Gàidhlig, a chithear ann am mòran de luchd-ciùil neo-eisimeileach, barrachd phrògraman air BBC Alba (mar eisimpleir an dràma-crìonaidh sàr-mhath “An t-Eilean”), leabhraichean agus ealain. Mar eisimpleir tha mi an dùil leabhar a cheannach mu mallachdan is mionnanan thraidiseanta Gàidhlig, leis gu bheil iad gu math eadar-dhealaichte ann an tòna is brìgh bhon Bheurla.

Ach an-diugh tha draghan mòra ann mu mar a thathar ga faicinn, a’ Gàidhlig mar “nach eil cho cudromach” an coimeas ris a’ Bheurla. A bharrachd air an sin chan eil mòran theaghlaichean a’ dol air adhart leis a’ chànan da chlann aca, agus tha mòran de luchd-labhairt eilthireach a’ tighinn à sgìrean Gàidhlig. Chì sinn san àm ri teachd am bi an gluasad ath-bheothachaidh làidir gu leòr gus casg a chur air crìonadh nàdarra cànain bheag is àrsaidh agus air a’ chultar gu lèir a tha co-cheangailte rithe.

Four months ago I was checking in for a flight at an airport down in England, yet to my great surprise my check in lady was actually from the (Scottish) Isles and she spoke Gaelic! Whilst I was happy at speaking Gaelic that day, these opportunities are a rarity. She represented one of an apparently dwindling population of native Gaelic speakers and I am one of a few students of the language. Today there are 57,000 native Gaelic speakers left in Scotland and a few enclaves abroad, notably in Canada.

Almost all Gaelic speakers in Scotland live in the Isles yet there are a few issues with this. The first problem for Gaelic in the Isles is the large towns i.e. Stornoway are increasingly English-speaking. The next issue is that less and less young people are speaking Gaelic while at the same time the remaining population that speaks it is ageing. The loss of these mother tongue Gaelic speakers obviously leads to a potential loss of associated culture. This could hypothetically be noticed in the loss of Gaelic film, music, and stories. At the same time in mainland Scotland, Gaelic is spoken much less frequently and usually by isolated individuals. On the mainland, Gaelic is relegated to mostly being seen on road signs or on the sides of police cars. (This is only due to government laws rolling Gaelic across the country.)

Although the number of Gaelic speakers is still low, there is more hope today than ever for its’ future. This is the culmination of continual efforts over the centuries to codify and promote the language, these have intensified in recent years. Religious texts are among our first examples of properly written Gaelic. For example, one of the earliest texts was the Psalms which were printed in Balquhidder 1684, just north of Buchanan lands. This was followed by the New Testament translated in 1767 Killin (interestingly co-written by a Dugald Buchanan). The Old Testament was then completed in Luss, 1801. Interestingly, all three of these earliest Gaelic texts/translations are immediately bordering Buchanan lands. One of the first non-religious Gaelic texts was the Gaelic dictionary which was finally published in 1828 by the Scottish Highland Society.

Beyond these earliest written Gaelic texts, most of the improvement in the situation of Gaelic has been recent. The Scottish Government has been pushing hard to preserve and develop Gaelic in Scotland for the past 20 years. There are three main approaches used by the Government, which were mostly introduced by the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005.

1. The Act established the “Bòrd na Gàidhlig” to standardise the Gaelic language across Scotland. This body currently maintains the third edition of the “Gnàathasan Litreachaidh na Gàidhlig” or Gaelic Literary Conventions. (Although the first and second editions of these conventions were actually produced earlier by the Scottish Qualifications Authority in 1981 and 1990 respectively).

   The reason why formal standardisation has been so important for Gaelic is that historically the language has been divided into local dialects, by communities separated through mountains and islands. For most of its history, Gaelic has been a spoken language, not a written one, so there are significant variations in spelling – particularly in place names.

   One example of irregular nomenclature is “Cambusmore” where the etymology is from the words “Camas” and “Mòr”, meaning “(river) meander”/“curved body of water”/“(coastal) bay” and “big”. However, the simple word “Mòr” is found throughout Scotland spelled in various ways: “mòr”, “mhòr”, “mor”, “mhor”, “more”, “moir”, “muir”, and “moran”.

2. The Government has greatly promoted Gaelic education with school classes, digital resources, total immersion courses, and financial support.

3. The third major provision of the 2005 Act was that the Government would require large public bodies to implement “Gaelic Language Plans”. As a result, Gaelic is increasingly visible across Scotland - for example on the aforementioned road signs, police cars, websites and documents.

Today, there is a growing culture and pride in speaking Gaelic, which is reflected in many independent musicians, programming on BBC Alba (for example the excellent crime drama “An t-Eilean”), Gaelic books and art. I personally am planning to buy a book on traditional Gaelic swear words and insults, as they are very different in tone, meaning and origin to English.

Yet despite all this, today there are serious concerns about Gaelic being viewed as “less important” than English. Additionally, many Gaelic-speaking families fail to pass on the language to their children, while at the same time many emigrate from Gaelic-speaking communities. We can but look to the future to see whether the revival movement will be strong enough to prevent the natural decline of what is admittedly a small and ancient language. Such a decline would inevitably lead to the loss of the storied culture associated with the clans’ indigenous language.