Gaelic Speakers

[beloitpiper]

Does anybody on the forums speak Scottish Gaelic? I'm looking for somebody to practice with.

The problem with Scottish Gaelic that that there's only 58,000 speakers (according to wikipedia). Maybe I should be learning Irish instead...

[Frank MacDuffy]

I just started to dabble in this stuff over the weekend from a website. Pretty interesting stuff, I'd like to learn more myself, I'm definitely interested to see who all speaks Gaelic here. How'd you learn yours beloit?

[Tattoo Bradley]

I have a strong interest in Scots Gaelic as well, but have the same dillema.

[slohairt]

Dia Dhuit, mo chara!

Conas tá tú? An bhfuil tú Gaeilge nó Gaeilge na hAlban (Gàidhlig)? Is as Contae Dhún na nGall mé, och tá mé i mo chonaí i Ceanada.

Wow, that was really difficult. I think that's the first time I've actually written sentences in Irish since I was in school. Language is one of the most practical things we use in everyday life and unfortunately it has to be practical to use. It's also the medium through which culture flows and once lost it's hard to hold onto the attached culture. Gaelic (whether it be Irish, Scottish, or Manx) is sadly on decline and has been for ages. Manx is practically extinct and Scottish Gaelic is in serious danger of becoming so in a generation or two. (Many of the speakers are elderly already.)
Much of the blame can be laid at the door of the former British Empire but one can't deny the native antipathy towards the language as well. The Irish Republic claims that Irish is its first official language but the reality is that true fluency is limited to those in the Gaeltachtai and the language is somewhat discriminated against elsewhere in the country and abroad.
Many older people still have a stigma about speaking Gaelic if they know it. If they spoke it at school they were often the subject of corporeal punishment. When you are told repeatedly that it is a barbaric peasant tongue I guess you begin to believe it. Thus, it is difficult to engage a Gaelic speaker in a Gaelic conversation if he thinks he can convey it better in English.
The biggest problem of all is that Gaelic has to compete with English, the most widely spoken language in the world. That is a hopeless task. It would be easier if it were up against a different language.
We should all take an interest in our ancestral tongues whatever they are. I actually feel inspired to look up some Irish courses online. Hmmm...

Is mise le meas,

Seán Liosliath Ó hAirt

[McClef]

Scottish Gallic is at a disadvantage in that unlike Ireland there is no official bilingual policy and it is not taught as a language subject in schools.

Outside of the highlands you won't see even bilingual road signs and in Edinburgh the only Gallic I think I have ever seen is a sign at Waverley Station.

There is a Gallic soap opera but it is only broadcast on Grampian TV.

But even where there is a policy like Ireland and Wales it's still hard to compete with English outside of certain areas. Despite the bilingual signs in the highlands I didn't hear any Gallic spoken and was told I would have to go to Skye or the Western Isles to hear it in everyday use.

[MacTavishOfJapan]

I'm hoping to start learning at night school when I move home to Scotland.

[JimB]

I've picked up a CD and book from the library on Scottish Gaelic and I have to keep going back again and again to chapter one. It's awfully hard to learn because of the pronunciation.
I'm trying though!
There is a lady in my church who is from Wales and I understand she speaks gaelic. I haven't had the courage to try to speak it to her yet, but I've heard her say that Welsh and Scottish Gaelic are close enough that the two can understand each other.
When I can get past chapter one, I'll try to say hello (hallo! Caimar a tha thu?) to her in Gaelic.
Jim

[beloitpiper]

New question: are there any good online resources for learning Irish? I'll be living in the Gaeltachtai next year and I'd like to be able to say something in Irish. A friend of mine who studied concertina in the Aran Islands said it is quite common to hear Irish spoken there.

If there are no good websites, I'll just have to go to the library.

[Jimmy the Celt]

Beloit, check out www.daltai.com

[McClef]

There is a lady in my church who is from Wales and I understand she speaks gaelic. I haven't had the courage to try to speak it to her yet, but I've heard her say that Welsh and Scottish Gaelic are close enough that the two can understand each other.

Jim

I only wish it were true but there are very few words in common or similar.

I can only think of aber meaning mouth of river and tigh (Welsh spelling ty) meaning house.

There may be one or two others but basically the languages are unrelated.