Category: Naidheachd

Below is my personal response to the consultation on the Scottish Languages Bill. If you haven’t submitted your own response yet, there is still time! The consultation closes on Friday, and you can find the forms here in English and in Gaelic.

Distinguished members of the Education, Children and Young People Committee,

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the current draft of the Scottish Languages Bill. While there is much to recommend in the current draft, I would like to focus on one critical weakness I see in the bill as it stands, and that is that the draft legislation establishes no new language rights for Gaelic or Scots speakers, and specifically, no parental right to Gaelic medium education (GME).

Gaelic is in an enigmatic position in Scotland at this point in its history. In some respects, the language has never been more popular. When asked in Scottish Social Attitudes Survey, 90% of young adults said that Gaelic is an important part of Scotland’s cultural heritage and 59% of young adults said that they would like to speak better Gaelic. With this kind of support, Gaelic should be in rude health, but it is also true that public provision of Gaelic adult and childhood education lags far behind this demand, with less than 2% of Scots reporting any ability in the language in the last census and only 1% of Scottish primary students enrolled in GME.

The provision gap in GME is particularly damaging. While research shows that GME is very attractive to parents throughout Scotland, with 28% of adults reporting that they would consider GME for their children if offered in their area,^† GME is still only available in 3.1% of Scottish primary schools. Given this demand, and after 40 years of pressure from parents and other activists, provision should be much more widespread than it is now, but the growth of GME has been consistently blocked by councils around the country and hindered by a lack of a clear parental right to GME for their children.

A right to GME was a central demand of the campaign for secure status for Gaelic in the 1990s, a campaign that culminated in the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005, but when the final act was passed, to the great disappointment of Gaelic activists and parents, no such right was included. Indeed, the act was so weak that it did not contain any substantive language rights at all. As a result, parents and other Gaelic activists have been left to fight long and exhausting political campaigns to force councils to open Gaelic units and schools again and again for decades. The Education (Scotland) Act 2016 only further enshrined this broken process in law.

A parental right to GME is practical and achievable in a country as wealthy as the Scotland. Of course, such a right would require rapidly growing the supply of Gaelic-medium teachers, but with sufficient political will, this is entirely possible. For example, in the Basque Autonomous Community (BAC) in Spain, a region with a similar per capita GDP to Scotland, through a generous program of language-learning bursaries and sabbaticals, authorities increased the supply of teachers qualified in the Basque language from around 5% to almost 90% in less than 30 years.

As the statistics above show, Gaelic’s support in Scotland is far broader than its small number of speakers might suggest. With the proper educational provision, Gaelic has the potential to grow to be a widely-spoken language again in Scotland, but that provision will only materialize if Gaelic speakers are afforded substantive language rights in legislation. Our experience with the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 has taught us an important lesson: serious language legislation has to confer language rights.

I sincerely hope that this can be achieved. I remain optimistic that political support for language rights can be found in the current parliament, and above all, that this legislation can be strengthened to include a clear right for parents to choose Gaelic education for their children.

Thank you very much for your time and consideration.

Is mise le meas,

Dr Timothy Curry Armstrong

Senior Lecturer in Gaelic and Communication, Sabhal Mòr Ostaig

Bòrd na Gàidhlig. 2023. Gaelic Education Data 2022-23. Inverness.

Mac an Tàilleir, Iain. 2014. Cunntas-sluaigh na h-Alba 2011; Clàran mun Ghàidhlig [The 2011 Scottish Census; Responses about Gaelic]. Unpublished report.

O’Hanlon, Fiona and Lindsay Paterson. 2017. “Factors influencing the likelihood of choice of Gaelic-medium primary education in Scotland: results from a national public survey.” Language, Culture and Curriculum 30 (1): 48‒75.

ScotCen Social Research. 2022. Scottish Social Attitudes Survey 2021: Public attitudes to Gaelic in Scotland – Main report. http://www.gaidhlig.scot/en/news/SSAS/

Zalbide, Mikel and Jasone Cenoz. 2008. “Bilingual Education in the Basque Autonomous Community: Achievements and Challenges.” Language, Culture and Curriculum 21(1): 5‒20.

† Edited, 2/3/24. I got this stat wrong in my actual submission. It should be 28% rather than 27% as I had it in the documant I sent into the consultation.

Thug e beagan ùine dhomh faireachdainn deiseil gu bhith sgrìobhadh mun turas agam a Bhaile Átha Cliatha anns an t-Samhainn. Chan eil mi fiù ’s air bruidhinn cus ri Roddy mu dheidhinn fhathast, ged a chaidh sinn ann còmhla. Bha sinn cho sgìth nuair a thill sinn, agus bha an tachartas agus an turas cho craicte, cha chreid mi gun robh fios againn dè bha sinn a’ smaoineachadh mun rud nuair a fhuair sin air ais dhar taighean ann an Slèite anmoch feasgar Didòmhnaich. Bha an dithis againn buileach ann am breislich na dhèidh.

Thòisich a h-uile rud mun àm seo an-uiridh. Fhuair mi brath bho Eoin P. Ó Murchú, eadar-theangaiche ACDD ann an Èirinn, gun robh e am beachd tachartas a chur air dòigh aig an fhèis litreachais Ghàidhlig ann am BÁC, IMRAM 2022, agus e a’ faighneachd an robh mi ag iarraidh pàirt a ghabhail ann. Mhìnich e gun robh e am beachd dealbh-cluiche, no leughadh dramataigeach, a dheasachadh às an nobhail, agus bu toil leis nan cluichinn beagan ceòl na chois. B’ e beachd inntinneach a bh’ ann, agus bha mi a’ caoidh nach robh cothrom againn bogadh ceart a dhèanamh air an eadar-theangachadh nuair a thàinig e a-mach an clò an toiseach, ri linn Covid, agus mar sin, dh’aontaich mi sa bhad.

B’ e an seòl a bh’ agam gun cuirinn còmhla ri chèile le mo charaidean agus gun cluicheamaid cuid dhe na seann òrain againn bhon chaochladh chòmhlan anns an robh sin nar buill rè nam bliadhnaichean: Mill a h-Uile Rud, Na Gathan, Là Luain, agus m.s.a.a. Bhruidhinn mi ri Roddy Neithercut is Kathryn NicAoidh, agus dh’aontaich iadsan, ach gu cearbach, mus robh cothrom againn ruith-thairis a chur air dòigh, fhuair Kathryn ròl anns an dràma Ghàidhlig ùr, an Clò Mòr, agus bha i a’ dol a bhith ro thrang. Bha Roddy is mi fhìn ann an staing. Cha robh sinn eòlach air drumair sam bith eile ann an Slèite a bha a cheart cho ròc-mhòr ri Kathryn.

A’ sporghail mun cuairt, a’ feuchainn ri beachd eile a lorg, thàinig e a-steach orm gum b’ urrainn dhan dithis againn feuchainn ri corra òran hip-hop a chur ri chèile. Cha do rinn sinn a leithid a-riamh, ach bhiodh e a’ dol leis a’ cheòl anns an nobhail fhèin, agus mar sin, gun chothrom eile againn, cheannaich mi Ableton Live, agus thòisich mi sampallan a shadail ri chèile.

Shaoil sinn an toiseach gun sgrìobhamaid mu cheithir no còig òrain dhan tachartas, ach dh’ionnsaich sinn dà rud gu luath: tha òrain hip-hop mòran nas fhaide na òrain punc, agus cuideachd, tha fada a bharrachd fhaclan ann an òrain hip-hop. Uil, duh!, is dòcha, ach thug e mòran na b’ fhaide na bha dùil againn na h-òrain a sgrìobhadh mar sin. Aig deireadh an t-samhraidh, 2022, cha robh ach dà òran deiseil againn, agus dh’fheumadh sin fòghnadh.

Tha mi air a bhith ag èisteachd ri hip-hop on a ràinig a’ chiad chlàran Seattle anns an ochdadan. Tha spèis mhòr agam dhen ghnè-chiùil, agus chan eil mi idir am measg na codach a chanadh, “Its just talking over music.” Thuig mi gu bheil hip-hop a cheart cho doirbh ri stoidhle-chiùil sam bith eile. Tha mòran sgil na luib, agus bha làn dùil agam gum biodh rapadh anns a’ Ghàidhlig dùbhlanach, ach cha robh mi idir an dùil ri cho doirbh ’s a bhiodh e dìreach a’ feuchainn ri na faclan uile a fhaighinn air mo mheòmhair. Fad an fhoghair, suas gu latha na cuirme, bha Roddy is mi fhìn ag obair mar sheillein, a’ dol thairis air na rannan againn aig cothrom sam bith a lorgamaid: eadar clasaichean aig an t-Sabhal, fhad ’s a bha sinn a’ ruith, nar laighe san leabaidh air an oidhche, agus uair is uair is uair, anns a’ char a’ dràibheadh eadar Slèite agus BÁC.

Bha e 14 uair a thìde a’ siubhal ann. Dh’fhàg sinn mu shia, madainn Dihaoine, agus ràinig sinn BÁC mu ochd air an oidhche air an aon latha. Air an rathad, thog sinn bogsa lèintean-T ann an Glaschu a dhealbhaich Roddy agus a chleachdamaid mar chulaidh air an àrd-ùrlar.  Dh’fhuirich sinn ann an taigh-òsta dìreach ri taobh an ostail-òigridh anns an do dh’fhuirich mi a’ chiad uair a thàinig mi a BÁC ann an 1989, agus bha sin beagan os-fhiorach dhomh.

Chosg sinn mòran dhen ath latha a’ ruith thairis air an taisbeanadh aig an talla, Smock Alley, anns am Barra an Teampaill. Bha Eoin air taisbeanadh gu tur ùr-ghnathasach a chur ri chèile. Bha e air triùir chleasaiche fhastadh gus an leughadh/cleasachd a dhèanamh: Seán T Ó Meallaigh, Hilary Bowen Walsh, agus Eoin Ó Dhubhghaill, agus bha iadsan barraichte. Tha mi a’ smaoineachadh gun do lorg iad an tòna ceart dhan sgeulachd, agus bha mi air mo bheò-ghlacadh a’ coimhead orra ag obair. Cuideachd, bha Eoin air ealantair a chosnadh, Margaret Lonergan, a chruthaich taisbeanadh lèirsinneach a thilg i air a’ bhalla aig cùl an àrd-ùrlair agus a chuir eileamaid inntinneach eile ris an leughadh.

Uile gu lèir, ’s e fiosrachadh neònach a bh’ ann dhòmhsa, feumaidh mi aideachadh, a bhith ag èisteachd ri sgeulachd a chruthaich mi fhìn, ann an uaigneas m’ eanchainn fhìn, a-nis air a h-innse le daoine eile, daoine gu math tàlantach, leis an lèirsinn agus an eadar-mhìneachadh aca fhèin, agus ann an cànan eile cuideachd. Bha e àraid dhomh, agus rud beag òrraiseach, leis an fhìrinn innse, ach gu fortanach, cha robh mi an sin nam aonar. Bha Roddy còmhla rium, agus cuideachd, thàinig seann charaid agam à BÁC, David O’Connor, dhan tachartas, agus chosg sinn mòran ùine an dèidh na cuirme a’ bruidhinn mu na seann làithean mar dhithis bhodach. Thug sin air ais dhan talamh mi.

A thaobh a’ chluiche againn fhìn, saoilidh mi gun deach e glè mhath. Leag Roddy is mi fhìn na comhardaidhean againn gun mhearachd, agus fhuair sinn deagh bhualadh-boise an dèidh gach òran. Bha sinne gu math toilichte leis co-dhiù. San fharsaingeachd, tha mi a’ smaoineachadh gum b’ e mòr-shoirbheas a bh’ anns an taisbeanadh air fad, agus tha mi fhathast a’ gabhail iongnadh air cho ioma-thàlantach ’s a tha Eoin P. Ó Murchú, a bhith ga sgrìobhadh uile agus ga eagrachadh. Chan urrainn dhomh innse cho fortanach ’s a tha mi a’ faireachdainn gun do thagh Eoin an nobhail agam mar thionnsgnadh eadar-theangachaidh. Tha mi fada, fada na chomain.

An ath latha, dhraibh sinn air ais dhan Eilean Sgitheanach airson obair is chlasaichean tràth madainn Diluain. Bha sinn fucte, agus chuir e nar cuimhne a-rithist nach e pucairean òga a th’ annainn tuilleadh. Agus an dèan sinn cuirm rap a-rithist? Chan eil fios agam. Tha mi fhathast feuchainn ri mo cheann fhaighinn timcheall air an rud, ach bha e garbh spòrsail, agus tha mi toilichte gun do rinn sinn e.