Why Learn Scottish Gaelic?

Let me count the ways. From exploring family heritage to connecting with the deep history of Gaelic music and community, there are so many reasons to learn Scottish Gaelic.

There is a scene in Lord of the Rings, where Aragorn welcomes the Elves to Helm’s Deep and he says “You are MOST welcome.” That’s how I feel when I meet someone learning Gaelic. I love it.

People have many different reasons for learning Scottish Gaelic - connection to place, a love of the music, an interest in place-names, they love learning languages, it gives you an excuse to visit the Isle of Lewis…

The Family Connection

Many people around the world have a connection to the Gaelic language through the Gaelic diaspora. Some people maybe have had Gaelic in their family, and they want to get in touch with that side of their history.

You might be interested in clan history, or belong to a clan (like Clan Macleod, ideally. I hear there are other ones, though. Am joking!)

One of the best writers on the Gaelic diaspora is Michael Newton and his ‘Virtual Gael’ blog. He uncovers fascinating stories and unpacks complex strands of history in an accessible way.

An interesting fact, you can only find certain songs and styles of dancing in places like Canada (Viva Cape Breton), after the emigrants took them with them. They have been re-introduced back to Scotland from North America.

Scottish Gaelic Music and Song

Gaelic music has been an in for many people into the language. In fact, a number of the most revered folklore collectors and musicologists learnt Gaelic.

A singer called Marjorie Kennedy-Fraser had a large influence, she did settings of Gaelic songs (with piano accompaniment, for example) and introduced them to a wider audience.

Margaret Fay Shaw, one of the greatest folklore collectors in the language - made from Pennsylvania steel - cited Kennedy-Fraser as a key influence.

Or of course, Run Rig. I’ll take the… High Road? Low Road? Let’s agree to differ.

If you like singing in a choir, Gaelic is for you.

Gaelic songs are an absolute treasure, and because of the use of vocables, if you like singing, it’s an easy in. Because there are a large number of work songs, it can be a communal activity. There are too many singers to recommend. But here are six - Kathleen MacInnes, Julie Fowlis, Cathie Ann MacPhee, Flòraidh MacNeill, Màiri Smith, Karen Matheson….

And you don’t have to be a singer. If you’re interested in playing tunes on an instrument, the language helps with your “blas”. The word blas means “accent”, you have a speaking one, but you also have a musical one. A good number of tunes come from songs (and vice-versa as in the case of port-a-beul or mouth music) and so learning Gaelic can help with your musical phrasing.

The Joy of Language Learning

A lot of people learn Gaelic because they want the benefits of bilingualism for their own children and take the Gaelic-medium route in school. And then they get into learning it themselves, to support their children, or just because they find it interesting.

Prof. Antonella Sorace has some very interesting writing about this, she is the Director of Bilingualism Matters at the University of Edinburgh.

Does having more than one language help with learning others? People say it does. In my experience, you still have to do the work, but I’m comfortable being in different language settings and giving it a go. On the other hand, I know people who didn’t grow up bilingually and have reached very high levels of fluency, so it’s probably more about how engaged you are and the time you want to spend on it. And these are factors in your control.

Something to be mindful of - some people have had experiences which lead them to having self-limiting behaviours about languages. “I’m no good at languages,” some people say. The fact is, if you had a good route into a language, you’d be as good as anyone.

Being a Part of the Scottish Gaelic Community

Sometimes people use the number of speakers of a language as a reason not to learn it. However, when it comes down to the community you’re part of - I feel learning any language is a worthwhile experience.

There’s a great, active and creative community of Gaelic learners. The Gaelic speaking community is a well connected one, so if you get involved in it, you can make friends easily, and it is geographically widespread. There are poets, singers, writers all expressing themselves in the language.

There’s a YouTuber called Xiaomanyc - he’s from the USA. He learns different languages and travels to where they are spoken. The welcome he gets, even when he knows just a little of the language is phenomenal. He did one video in Sicily and another with the Maasai Mara, which are really great.

Experiencing Scottish Gaelic Culture

This is a many faceted and rich part of learning the language. A lot of hill-walkers, for example, want to learn about the place-names of the places they visit. Some of the place-names on Lewis are older than the settlement of Iceland, so there’s plenty to study. And they contain lots of stories and information about the landscape. There’s an organisation - Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba (Gaelic Place-Names of Scotland) which is the place to go to learn more about this subject.

Places have layers of history that it’s really interesting to dig into - Vikings - Neolithic sites…. speaking even a little of the language allows you to really engage deeply with these places.

In the next post, I’ll be looking at the question - is Scottish Gaelic difficult to learn.

Thanks for reading/mòran taing.

Credits - photo courtesy of VisitScotland.