Nan Meadhanan Ghaidhlig in Alba / Gaelic Media

[Gaeilgeoir2008]

[GA] Dé a smaoineann sibhse mu nan Meadhanan in Alba aig an àm a tha an làthair?

[IR] Céard a cheapann sibhse faoin Méan Cumarsáide in Alban faoi láthair?

[EN] What are your oppinions of Gaelic media in Scotland?

[IR] 'Sé mo thuairim nach bhfuil mórán le fheiceáil in Alban maidir le nuachtáin, suíomhanna idirlíon, cláracha teilifíse nó raidió. Ach cén fáth?
An bhfuil an suim ann sa phobal Ghaidhlig agus in Alban chun Méain Chumarsáide Ghaidhlig láidir a cruthú in Alban.

[EN] There doesn't seem to be much to see in Scotland in the line of Gaelic newspapers, internet sites, tv and radio programmes. But why?
Is there enough interest in the Gaelic community and the wider Scottish community to create a strong Gaelic media in Scotland?

[Seonaidh]

[GA] Dé a smaoineann sibhse mu nan Meadhanan in Alba aig an àm a tha an làthair?

[IR] Céard a cheapann sibhse faoin Méan Cumarsáide in Alban faoi láthair?

[EN] What are your oppinions of Gaelic media in Scotland?

[IR] 'Sé mo thuairim nach bhfuil mórán le fheiceáil in Alban maidir le nuachtáin, suíomhanna idirlíon, cláracha teilifíse nó raidió. Ach cén fáth?
An bhfuil an suim ann sa phobal Ghaidhlig agus in Alban chun Méain Chumarsáide Ghaidhlig láidir a cruthú in Alban.

[EN] There doesn't seem to be much to see in Scotland in the line of Gaelic newspapers, internet sites, tv and radio programmes. But why?
Is there enough interest in the Gaelic community and the wider Scottish community to create a strong Gaelic media in Scotland?

Chan eil Gaeilge agam, tha eagal orm. Dè ur ceist - a bheil inntinneachd gu leòr anns a' Ghàidhealtachd is ann an Alba nas fhaide airson meadhanan Gàidhlig làidir a chruthaich an sin?

Freagairt: Chan eil fios agam. An-dràsta, chan eil ach, 's dòcha, 60,000 a tha Gàidhlig aca an seo - 1% den phoblachd. Tha sinn ag èigheach gu àrd uaireanan, ach chan eil mòran cuideachadh a' tighinn den Albannach eile. Agus 'sann ionnsachadh a tha mise a dèanamh, duine à Sasainn a tha Cuimris aigesan. Càit' a bheil na h-Albannaich? Gun inntinneachd, nas motha.

Answer: Divven't knaa. With just about 1% of the population, we can shout, but we divven't get much help fae the rest. And worsel, chap frov England, Welsh speaker, learning Gaelic. Happen most o the Scots have nae interest.

One is erstwhile left with the impression that one bangs one's cranium against a solid structure of baked clay. O, bydded im fedru dywedyd y fath drysor ieithyddol yn yr Aeleg! Fe ddaw...

[Gaeilgeoir2008]

Maith thú a Sheonaidh !

Aontaím leat ! - I agree with ya

It's strange to think that only 1% of the Irish population is Irish native speakers, the same as the number of Gaidhlig speakers however another 350,000 Irish people can speak Irish fluently both North and South of the border and up to almost 1.8 million people are pro-Irish language.
There's like 1 irish language TV station, 6 irish language radio stations, 1 daily newspaper, 1 weekly newspaper and a 1 monthly newspaper, youth mags, the Irish language rights commisioner, Irish lang. software and you can even get an irish language mobile phone made by Samsung.

Surely in Scotland, since the language was not forced down people's throats like in Ireland, Scottish people might be more willing and open to learn Gaidhlig since it's a big part of their heritage, even in the big cities of Glaschú and Dún Éideann, or do they think Gaelic is just confined to the Highlands.



The Future for Gaidhlig: - An Todchaí

1. I think all Scottish newspapers should have at the very least, weekly columns in Gaidhlig since it's a native Scottish language.

2. I know that there is the "An Gaidheal Ur" monthly publication, which should be made a weekly publication, then eventually make it a daily publication depending on demand.

3. There's an Irish language youth magazine "Nós" which has a Gaidhlig section, maybe An Gaidheal Ur should include a Gaeilge section and they could export the publication to Ireland and possible double their circulation.

4. I read that the former CEO of TG4 tv station is going to be in charge of the new Gaelic tv station. Well done on geting him, I'm sure he will have some great ideas and help create a vision of where the Gaidhlig language should be in 20 years time.

5. Make sure that BBC Alba doesn't disappear over night, when the new Gaelic tv station is launched. Remind the BBC they have a "public service" obligation.

[yellow-ceitidh]

Tha mi a'sgriobadh 'sa Beurla...

1. I think all Scottish newspapers should have at the very least, weekly columns in Gaidhlig since it's a native Scottish language.
I once spent two hours tr*nsl*t*ng something in the Scotsman, but that's a nationalist paper (I think). It was only two not very important stories though. They have the Gaelic online news too, but it's not updated very much.

2. I know that there is the "An Gaidheal Ur" monthly publication, which should be made a weekly publication, then eventually make it a daily publication depending on demand.
Great - when my Gaidhlig is up to scratch I'd write stuff for it. They could also write about international news and daily radio/TV prgrammes.

3. There's an Irish language youth magazine "Nós" which has a Gaidhlig section, maybe An Gaidheal Ur should include a Gaeilge section and they could export the publication to Ireland and possible double their circulation.
I read that the other day ... the Gaidhlig bit anyway, it was really good and had a vocab list for any really different words so they can pretty much read it.

4. I read that the former CEO of TG4 tv station is going to be in charge of the new Gaelic tv station. Well done on geting him, I'm sure he will have some great ideas and help create a vision of where the Gaidhlig language should be in 20 years time.
Sounds good. I hope Niall Iain MacDonald will be on the channel too, he's really good, as well as young people bringing in new ideas.

5. Make sure that BBC Alba doesn't disappear over night, when the new Gaelic tv station is launched. Remind the BBC they have a "public service" obligation.
Not everyone has satellite. BBC Alba is also important for non Gaelic speakers who have interest in the language and wouldn't normally tune in to the new channel, like my Grandparents.

There's like 1 irish language TV station, 6 irish language radio stations, 1 daily newspaper, 1 weekly newspaper and a 1 monthly newspaper, youth mags, the Irish language rights commisioner, Irish lang. software and you can even get an irish language mobile phone made by Samsung.

I quite like the idea of Youth Mags - An Gaidheal Ur is a bit heavy for anyone really under 12. As for the phone ... my ICT topic is a billingual (the grammar won't be too good) information system for a mobile phone shop who sell phones with Gaelic software.

[Gràisg]

am faca tu www.tirnamblog.com fhathast a charaid?

[Seonaidh]

I once spent two hours tr*nsl*t*ng something in the Scotsman, but that's a nationalist paper (I think). It was only two not very important stories though. They have the Gaelic online news too, but it's not updated very much.

Chan eil mi cinnteach (cha bhi mi a' leughadh An t-Albannach co-dhiù), ach tha mi a' smaoineachadh gur e pàipear Tòraidh a th' ann.

Is this language progress? One of the Fife locals (Fife Free Press) is now running a column in Polish. Who knows - they may get inspired to have one in Gaelic too...

[neoni]

the Scotsman, but that's a nationalist paper (I think).

the scotsman is very pro-union, and completely undeserving of the name.

[Seonaidh]

the scotsman is very pro-union, and completely undeserving of the name.

A bheil? I was under the impression that The Scotsman had always been very anti-union, just like the Conservative Party.

[neoni]

tories? anti-union?

what?

[Níall Beag]

You mean the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party...?

[Seonaidh]

Indeed I do. In spite of "unionist" in their title, you've only to go back to Mairead Thatcher to see that they're a very union-bashing party. A bheil fios agaibh air stailc nan mèinnear?

[faoileag]

Ah, tha a h-uile rud soilleir, mu dheireadh thall!

Unions and The Union!

The (Tory UK) Unionists are anti-(TUC)union, ceart gu leòr!

[Níall Beag]

Ah, pro-Union, but anti-unions.

Tha mi a' tuigsinn a-nise.

[Graineag]

Dia dhuit, a Ghaeilgeoir. Conas atá tú?

Gabhaidh mo leisgeul, a h-uile duine, ach tha mi a' sgriobhadh 'sa Bheurla cuideachd...

First off, it's indisputable that Irish is in a much healthier position than Scottish Gaelic is at the moment. Whereas 30 years ago, there was doubt about whether Irish would survive far into the 21st century as a community language, I think it's safe to say that while it's still in horrible shape, it's not going to be dying out any time soon. Ireland boasts several sources of Irish language radio (RnaG, Raidió na Life, plus programming on BBC NI in the North...Gaeilgeoir mentioned six stations. What are the other ones?) and Irish language TV (TG4 and a bit on BBC NI in the North). There's a daily newspaper in Irish, Lá Nua, published in Belfast, and I think the Irish Times does a weekly column. Most importantly, people are clamoring to get their kids into Gaeilscoileanna all over the country.

Scotland, by comparison, has about 60,000 speakers serviced by Radio nan Gàidheal, a bit of programming on the BBC and STV, and regular Gaelic columns in the Scotsman (I think...I haven't been to Scotland in a number of years...Are all of the columns that appear on the website also published in the print editions?). There are only three entirely Gaelic medium schools in the country (and one of those is questionable as it continues to operate an English-medium unit).

All that said, Irish in Ireland still seems to survive in spite of, rather than because of, the benefits of official recognition. Compared with the recognition and respect languages like Welsh and even Romansch in Switzerland receive, Irish is in seriously bad shape. Those who have checked out the wonderful new nós magazine will notice that in issue 1, there is an interview with Manchán Magan, the host of TG4's excellent "No Béarla" program. If you haven't seen it, you can find the entire first series on YouTube and the second series can be seen online at http://www.tg4.ie (click on "Siamsaíocht--Cartlann" and scroll to the bottom). It's a pretty damning indictment of the official and unofficial neglect the language and its speakers have to put up with. For all its talk of creating a bilingual society , the Irish government still spends more of its annual budget on office supplies than it does on Irish. TG4 does do some excellent shows and some of them do have decent viewership, but many of TG4's viewers tune in just to watch sports or late night movies in English (or other languages...I recall watching an exquisitely bad Argentinian horror flick on TG4 when I was last in Ireland). The one daily Irish language newspaper is published in Belfast, not Dublin.

The other crucial problem in Ireland is that Irish speakers have lately been priced out of living in the Gaeltachtaí and English speakers have been moving in (something that natives of the Highlands and Islands can relate to, I'm sure). I spent three months living in Dingle/Daingean Ui Chúis, which is technically in Gaeltacht Chorca Dhuibhne, although you might not know it because you're almost as likely to hear a Dingle resident speaking English with an English or American accent as you are to hear them speak in Kerry Irish. An old friend of mine who grew up near Dingle is a native Irish speaker currently working for BBC Northern Ireland in Belfast doing writing and editing for Irish language programming. She says that she can't imagine ever moving back to Dingle--not so much because she wouldn't like to, but because it's getting too expensive to live there. I've heard that the Dept. of Gaeltacht Affairs has been trying to address this issue and maintain a balance of Irish speakers to English speakers buying property within Gaeltacht regions, but it still seems a bit of a mess.

As for some of the recommendations that have been discussed, I'm all for them. Some Scottish newspapers like the Scotsman and the West Highland Free Press do carry regular Gaelic columns already. More cross-cultural/linguistic ventures like Tim Armstrong's column in nós would be a great idea. Perhaps Colmcille could throw in a few pounds/euros to support that.

I hadn't heard that the former CEO of TG4 (who? Cathal Goan?) had been brought in to help with the new Gaelic station. That's great news. Any links to info online about that?

Hopefully BBC Alba will continue to function as a complement to the programming on the new station--and hopefully Nìall Iain Dòmhnallach will cook up some good, new youth-centric programming for both.

Most importantly, though, for both Ireland and Scotland, is the need for more Irish/Gaelic-medium schools and funding for extra-curricular programs to encourage students to use the language after the schoolday is over. Gaelic Medium Education will not save Gaelic by itself, but the language is positively doomed without it. It's great that there will probably be new GME schools in Portree and Ft. William by 2011, but it's shocking that at this point, there isn't a single entirely GM school in the Western Isles. More young people speaking the language competently and confidently means more potential consumers of Gaelic-medium books, radio, TV, movies, pop music, and mobile phones from Samsung.

Whew. Apologies for the long screed. My master's thesis is due next week and I'm trying to find all possible means of procrastinating...

[Seonaidh]

Inntinneach. Chan eil fios agam air an t-situation ann an Èirinn, tha sin cleachdachail. Tha mi duilich, ach bidh mise a' sgrìobhadh mòran Beurla an seo - le beagan Cuimris far nach eil fios agam air facal Beurla airson dè bu toil leam ràdh a ràdh.

Gaelic medium education should not be seen as a "Wow! Isn't this fantastic - we'll have a couple more GM schools!" sort of thing, like some sort of exception, but as the norm. Not all over Scotland, but certainly in those parts where Gaelic is fairly widely spoken - and also, perhaps, much of Highland and Argyll, maybe parts of Moray and Perth, where it's pretty rare. Indeed, rather than having a few language zealots pushing to get they bairns into GME, it should be a few language zealots pushing to get them into EME. It's EME that should be the exception in that part of Scotland.

Take Wales. There are parts where it's all but impossible to get EME at the primary level, though at higher level it's still somewhat too prevalent. So, all the bairns get a good grounding in Welsh, even those who come from English-speaking homes. Surely this could happen in Scotland too. That is, with Gaelic rather than Welsh, of course.

And, just as there should be the odd EM stream in the high school even in the most Gaelic of areas, so there should be the odd GM stream in, e.g., Midlothian (the area with the lowest proportion of Gaelic knowledge in Scotland, according to census figures).

The main problem is not public attitude. After all, consider this. There are not many (any, that I've heard of) people from abroad who have moved to Britain and maybe don't speak any of our languages who object to their bairns being educated in the local language.. Also, while we now look back and cringe at the antics of 19th and 20th century educators who thought addysg had to be in English, there was not much complaint at the time from the non-English-speaking communities about this. So, I don't see a big "backlash" against such a move.

The main problem is logistics. How many of the 60,000 or so Gaelic speakers are available and knowledgeable enough to teach? It needs done by steps, according to what is possible.

On the media, it is now possible to access a wide variety of English language broadcasts to suit all tastes throughout Scotland, 24 hours a day. What is lacking is anything remotely approaching that, either in variety or in actual broadcast time, in Gaelic. Similarly, of course, with newspapers, but I fancy that medium is now somewhat moribund. It should be relatively easy to have round-the-clock Gaelic broadcast - after all, many English-language local radio stations broadcast round the clock and serve less than 60,000 people. For those well-heeled lovers of Gaelic (tha mi' n dòchas gu bheil daoine coltach), set up a "commercial" Gaelic-medium station that broadcasts round-the-clock - that's all it would take to force the Beeb to do likewise.

An e Marshall McLuhan a thuirt "the medium is the message"? Yn achos Gàidhlig, 's e an fhirinn a th' ann.

Cha bu toil leam "gaeltachtai" ann an Alba a dh'fhaicinn - tha sin coltach ris na "bantustans" a robh ann an Afraig a Deas. Ach...

If the government decides to insist (wrongly, in my view, but it may happen) on a "language test" for immigrants, perhaps the same sort of thing could apply to Highland/Argyll/Western Isles, i.e. nobody not already resident there can move in on a permanent basis without passing a Gaelic test. Dè ur beachd?