Gaelic –is it necessary?
The majority of Highlanders and a growing number of people in Southern Scotland want to keep Gaelic Language and culture alive. At the same time some would say it was a waste of money and resources when money could be spent on music, sports and basic education in these difficult economic times. Should Edinburgh Council be thinking of building a new Gaelic school? Gaelic is important for tourism and promotes an aspect of national identity. There is undoubtedly growing interest in Gaelic, with the introduction of BBC Alba, and “Radio nan Gaidheal”. This essay, through the discussion of these issues will demonstrate the need to encourage and make available Gaelic learning to the general population. This will, of course, require continuing investment.
In the Western Isles during 1940-1970’s children were discouraged from speaking Gaelic. In some cases, children were “belted” if they spoke Gaelic. Most of these youngsters couldn’t speak English when they reached school age. The majority of them got a rude awakening on their first day when they were told they could only communicate in English as educationists believed Gaelic was a “second class language”. Sandra O’Dwyer, one of these children and bilingual, says “I was often belted in primary for answering my teacher in Gaelic. It made me turn my back on Gaelic for many years, and only now, I feel the language should be preserved.” Fortunately, Gaelic heritage has witnessed a comeback over the last twenty years with money being poured into Gaelic education.
The Essay on Bilingual Program: Children Language Development
This paper discussed on bilingual program that become one of the reasons parents choose schools for their children and its effect on children language development. As the impact of globalization English become a necessity for everyone in exploring and finding new things across the globe. Educational institutions see this as an opportunity to introduce bilingual program as a respond to the demand ...
Lowland Scots would argue that Government money should not be spent on Gaelic Education as it was never their language. The general opinion is that Gaelic is “elitist”; being available to a small section of the community through Gaelic Medium Schools(G.M.S), where pupils are taught in Gaelic, with English as a secondary language. Some would see the irony of calling Gaelic “elitist” nowadays, if you recall how in the 1950’s it was a “second class language”. A major issue seems to be how the Highland Council and Scottish government co-ordinate according to last year’s budget report, of the six hundred million pounds spending, five hundred million pounds of that was provided by the Scottish Government, with the rest made up from council tax; which tax payers say is not fair to those who have no interest in preserving what is a “dying language”. According to Chris Rouse, a member of the public, interviewed by the Northern Times “Gaelic may be part of our heritage but it is not a route to a successful life and will always remain a minority language”.
During the Scottish Parliament Debate, 25th of November 2010, the point was raised by Rob Gibson, SNP, that there has been a failure of local authorities to meet demands of parents for providing enough places in G.M.S., Michael Russell (The cabinet Secretary for Education) replied “If local authorities, parents, Bòrd na Gàidhlig and the Government work together, we will continue to meet the demand”. Rob Gibson gave examples that local authorities are certainly not meeting the demands of parents. “In Thurso, there has been a failure to set up a Gaelic medium unit, and in Edinburgh there is the rumoured threat to cap the number of students at Tollcross, where demand outstrips supply.” As a result of many meetings and lobbying, parents were delighted about the news report on Edinburgh council website on 27th October 2011.
Council approves recommendation
27 October 2011
The Director of Children and Families’ recommendation that a dedicated Gaelic primary school should open in the former Bonnington Primary School in August 2013 was approved by Edinburgh Councilors today.
The Essay on School Choice: Public Education Vs. Home School
School Choice: Public Education vs. Home School When Americans think of education, they almost automatically think of public education. Through the years, it is slowly changing. Many parents today are deciding to home-school their children. Although most people think that a public education is better, most statistics and facts tend to show that home schooling is beneficial in more ways. It is ...
These facilities do not come cheap; the cost of the new Gaelic school will be in the region of three and a half million pounds but, as Tollcross Primary School is no longer able to accommodate the increasing number of children seeking Gaelic education something had to be done.
G.M.E is becoming more popular throughout Scotland. The number of pupils has risen from twenty four pupils in two schools in 1985 to over two thousand in sixty two schools in 2007, the largest being Glasgow Gaelic School, catering for pupils aged three to eighteen and with a roll of eight hundred pupils – hoping to increase to twelve hundred by 2012.
Sabhail Mòr Ostaig is a college on the Isle of Skye. Founded in 1973, it is the only college providing education and research facility through the medium of Scottish Gaelic. Approximate student numbers is eleven hundred – full time and short courses throughout the year – open to national and international students.
The November debate also recognised there are not enough Gaelic graduates entering Gaelic medium teaching. This would suggest that G.M.E needs to be promoted / extended to secondary schools and further education. At the moment, in Edinburgh, James Gillespie is the only school offering Higher Gaelic this need to be addressed.
Resources for teaching Gaelic in schools are very limited.
Jayne Shaw a primary school teacher said, “I love to do studies on ‘The Hobbit’ and Roald Dahl but they are not available in Gaelic – also it would be very difficult to teach more ‘technical’ subjects unless you were a native speaker.”
BBC Alba has brought Gaelic to thousands of homes since it started two years ago. Initially it was only available on Satellite and Cable but even then it boasted an audience of two hundred thousand people. There are fifty eight thousand people in Scotland who speak Gaelic, so obviously the station attracted a large number of non-Gaelic speakers as well.
Caledonian MacBrayne, the largest ferry company in Scotland, is actively promoting Gaelic and Celtic tourism. In their Gaelic Language Plan 2005 they reiterated the importance of Gaelic language. Tourists who flock to the Islands during the summer months expect to hear Gaelic and ferries are usually their first exposure. CalMac is keen to increase usage of Gaelic among staff and all employees have being given the opportunity to learn Gaelic as beginners or to refresh their language skills.
The Dissertation on Linguistics and Language Teaching.
Introduction Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication. The scientific study of language in any of its senses is called linguistics. Linguistic theory has traditionally considered native speakers as the only reliable source of linguistic data (Chomsky ...
The evidence I have gathered throughout this essay has brought me to the conclusion that Gaelic is important and worth the time and money being spent. According to Professor Antonella Sorace of Edinburgh University, “Gaelic can open doors to many career opportunities such as media, arts, business, management, teaching, local and national government.” This is especially so in geographical areas where there are Gaelic-speaking populations; such as Ireland, Scotland and parts of Canada. Sandra O’Dwyer is now teaching adults, where demand outweighs supply. My findings have shown the main problem is accessibility; one solution could be, if Gaelic was taught instead of, or alongside, a foreign language, more students would learn, making sure the language was kept alive.
Although funding is a big issue in this economic climate we must preserve our heritage and the beauty of Gaelic at all cost.
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Bibliography
Jayne Shaw Primary School teacher (Gaelic speaker)
Sandra O’Dwyer Ulpan tutor of adults (Native Gaelic Speaker)
The Northern Times Newspaper
Websites
Sabhal Mòr Osataig Isle of Skye
Evening News
Scottish Parliament debate 25 November 2010
