Revitalising Gaelic in Scotland: Policy, Planning and Public Discourse

This study is an interdisciplinary collection of essays on the current situation of Gaelic in Scotland, including contributions that deal with sociolinguistics and language policy, questions of identity and community, and educational, media, cultural, and development issues. The contributors' academic backgrounds range from Celtic Studies and linguistics to law, education, economics, and anthropology. The book focuses on the evolution of Gaelic policy in recent years (from the mid-1980s onwards, with an emphasis on the post-1997 period) and the diverse challenges that lie ahead for language planners, policy makers, students, and speakers of Gaelic. Central to these is the ongoing, but slowing, decline of the language in sociolinguistic terms: the diminution of speaker numbers and the fragmentation of traditional communities on the one hand, and, on the other, the growth in young speaker numbers as a result of Gaelic-medium education, and increasing opportunities for using the language in work and in public life. Chapters focus on the issues that arise in strategic planning for Gaelic. An important part of this analysis involves the relationship of Gaelic to economic and social development more generally. Central to all these regeneration efforts are the perceptions, ideologies, identities, and discourses that relate to Gaelic in Gaelic communities, in Scottish public life, and in media depictions and discussions.