Gaelic

Is mise Kirsty NicDhùghaill, ’s ann às an Eilean Sgitheanach a tha mi agus chaidh mo thogail a’ bruidhinn Gàidhlig na h-Alba.

My name is Kirsty MacDougall, I was born and raised in the Isle of Skye, and I am native speaker of Scottish Gaelic.

The Isle of Skye, situated off the west coast of Scotland, is the largest island of the Inner Hebrides. It is inhabited by approximately 13,000 people. Often referred to as Eilean a’ Cheò (the Misty Isle, in Gaelic), Skye is iconic on the global stage as a world class tourist destination. Home to some of Scotland’s most dramatic scenery, Skye’s rugged coastline attracts thousands of tourists annually. Key features include the Cuillin Range, the Fairy Pools, the Old Man of Storr, the Quiraing, and much more. Skye boasts a vibrant history steeped in legends, along with a wealth of musical and poetic traditions. It is little wonder that our population almost triples in the summer. To me, Skye is not just a tourist destination; it’s home, and has been home to my family for generations. I feel very privileged to live and work on such a beautiful island that boasts such a wealth of history and culture. My first language is Scottish Gaelic, and it is the language I work and communicate in daily. 

Scottish Gaelic, known as ‘Gàidhlig’, is autochthonous to Scotland and belongs to the Q-Celtic, Goidelic Celtic language family. This linguistic affiliation means that it shares more similarities with Irish and Manx than with the other Celtic languages such as Welsh, Breton, and Cornish. During the eleventh century, Gaelic was widely spoken around most of Scotland. At this time, Gaelic became the language of the medieval kingdom of Alba (Gaelic for Scotland) and was spoken throughout Scotland. However, due to a range of economic and political factors, from the fourteenth century onwards Gaelic became predominantly confined to the North-West of Scotland, particularly to the Highlands and the Western Isles. Gaelic belongs to the whole of Scotland and forms an integral part of Scottish history. The language and its culture have played a crucial part in shaping Scotland today, influencing various aspects of its history, music, literature, and identity. 

The 2011 Scottish Census reported 57,375 speakers of Scottish Gaelic, which comprises 1.1 percent of the population of Scotland. Therefore, the situation of Gaelic is precarious, and despite considerable efforts, there are concerns as to whether Gaelic will survive as a community language in the next decade. The socioeconomic structure of Scotland is critical to understanding the decline of the Scottish Gaelic language today. The factors contributing to the decline of Gaelic in Scotland are multifaceted, and several key periods and events played a significant role. Factors such as the anti-Gaelic Statutes of Iona in the seventeenth century, the Jacobite uprisings in the eighteenth century, and the aftermath of the Battle of Culloden in 1746, marked a turning point in Gaelic history, leading to an introduction of harsh measures in the Highlands. The Highland Clearances, which primarily occurred during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, involved the eviction and displacement of Highlanders from their homes and communities by landlords. This was done to make way for large-scale crofting, particularly farming sheep, which was deemed more profitable. The number of people living in the Highlands fell sharply throughout the twentieth century, resulting in the transformation of many formerly Gaelic-speaking regions in the Gàidhealtachd into predominately English-speaking areas. Population displacement through migration has had a profound and lasting impact on Scottish Gaelic, where many Gaels emigrated, and villages throughout the Highlands now remain as deserted settlements. I am always reminded of the impact of the Clearances when visiting the villages of Boreraig and Suisnish in Skye and Hallaig in the Isle of Raasay. In these coastal villages, all that remains are ruined houses, many of whose walls still stand at head height, but with no roof. They are a stark reminder of the harshness and challenges faced by the Gaels who once called these empty villages home. 

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