An Comunn Gàidhealach Publications > Sruth > Volume 2 > No. 94, 29 October 1970

SRUTH, Di-ardaoin. 29mh latha de'n Damhar 1970
SEVEN
Somebody a short while ago
remarked to me that the
trouble with the revival of
the Gaelic and Welsh lan¬
guages was that the move¬
ments were in the main ones
for enthusiasts. I had to agree
with the remark while realis¬
ing that within it there was
embodied only a truism. If
such a remark was meant as a
criticism of the language
movements, and it must be
assumed that it was, since the
speaker stated that it was one
of the troubles of such move¬
ments, then the argument
was misguided. It would in¬
deed be odd if any movement
were not a body of enthusi¬
asts, for by definition that is
what a movement, a club or
a society is—a group of en¬
thusiasts. It does not matter
what the members or suppor¬
ters enthuse about, be it
Celtic football club, the pre¬
servation of Dartmoor ponies
or a society for maintaining
the status (or previous status)
of distressed gentlefolk; by
joining the movement or club
they become enthusiasts. It is
of course a debatable point as
to what else they need to do
to make their enthusiasm
obvious and this is a point I
shall return to later. My point
for the moment is that it is
not a trouble of the language
movements that they are for
enthusiasts, it is the existence
of enthusiasts which accounts
for their being any movement
at all.
The trouble of course really
lies in the fact that we have
language movements at all.
The very existence of move¬
ments implies that there is a
need for enthusiasm to retain
or revive the languages in
question. We do not have
movements for the promotion
of English because it does not
need promoting, it just is a
part and parcel of many
peoples ordinary everyday
life. It is of course true that
millions of pounds are spent
in bringing English language
broadcasts to many foreign
parts of the world. But the
same sort of campaign is not
conducted on the home front
because English is the normal
environment and a campaign
is unnecessary. The trouble
for Gaelic is that a campaign
to bring Gaelic to the Gaels
is necessary, that Gaelic does
need promoting. It is also
difficult to see anything very
sinister in the transmission of
English language broadcasts
to the Highlands, since it
seems that English language
has in general become an
accepted part of the scene
there. It can hardly be said
that an attempt is being made
to impose English broadcasts
on a population which is
generally unreceptive towards
them. English language is
used to too great a degree in
ordinary communication for
that to be true.
It would of course be a
strange thing for anyone to
go round and ask a group of
English factory or office
workers “ What have you
done today for the promotion
of the English language?”
The question would seem
irrelevant and possibly un-
WHY ENTHUSIASM’
partial compromise which
might leave Gaelic as the
normal language with English
- a rather odd and some-
at imperfectly understood
guage in which the High-
answerable. Of course it the General Election this eign ’ language spoken aders do official i.e. public
would be possible for an year, a Labour victory would tourists and by the official business just for the conveni-
English school teacher work- have confirmed among many guides employed to direct enqe of the ‘ illiterate ’ offi-
ing in the slums of East Lon- people the view that ‘ Lab- their activities. Shops might cials. This presumably would
don to say that he had 0ur ’ was the ‘natural ’ ruling have notices outside saying assume economic stability in
worked on the development party. The effect in politics ‘ English spoken here.’ We the Highland areas with em-
of his children's language however is not as great in would also have the spec- ployment available to all the
ability. But I hold that to be this country where a strong tacle of the tourists manipu- young who don’t want to be-
a different case to promoting two party system does al- lating their “ Gaelic phrase come emigrants or go on a
the use of the language at all. ways maintain a viable alter- books for English (or other) Voluntary Service Overseas
The cockney Londoner al- native. In Czechoslovakia tourists.” There would even project to help raise the
ready has command of a the attempts of the ruling be elementary classes in Eng- standard of living of the
form of the English tongue eiite to bring the people of lish for the natives and natives in the under-deve-
even if it is a debased and that country to accept again Gaelic for foreigners featured loped areas of England,
not very efficient form. the pattern of living prior to in the Evening Institute pros- But perhaps even this much
But the question “ What the uprising confirms the pectuses. The children would cannot be relied upon, so
have you done to promote importanqe of establishing walk the streets talking in we shall have to have High-
Gaelic todav7” out to many Gaelic and some would even landers fully literate in Eng-
native Gaelic' speakers would ~ ~ obtain / ordinary level in the lish as well as Gaelic. Note
not be an irrelevant question l gn «mPKhasis ^ 1fracy m
at all. It could provide a use- DY English. There would be Gaelm being taken for gran-
ful answer, by suggesting
There
forms in the post offices in ted. All this so that the Gaels
Gaelic, names and addresses could go and work in Glas-
_ , , nor ^ ^ vjaenc, names ana aaaresses couiu go ana worx in uias-
P ® ronversafion norms behaviour. It is not wouy be in Gaelic and the gow or Liverpool or Edin-
with other Gaelic sneakers is sug§ested that the "orms are odd attempts of the foreigners burgh or London not so that
ri /-'t a Paeiie in the necessarily acceptable ones, to pronounce Creag an lubhar English should become the
Hishlands GaeHc I suiest is at least ,0 WeSt,e™ as Crai8"“re »OTld be of the Highland
naraii^r of FnEhch in Shared and accepted beha- smiiecj at by the locals, community. The language of
f i Ftv. a a ttiatVaelir vi°ur patterns are then I Societies such as An Comunn home and community in the
Englan • f e 1 ^ suggest most influential in and Commun na Canain Al- Highlands must be as natur-
might jus e _ P maintaining the particular banaich would be non-exist- ally Gaelic as having only one
or everyday t-Ug . 'd _ attitudes of large groups of €nt because irrelevant. There wife, or drinking beer from a
and leave i a t a i ug- pe0pje ancj are not less effec- may 0f course be a snob glass or any one of the other
gest a naive one r , t.ve for being only partially value club, probably called accepted patterns of be-
1Sf y f-°v.a Fthp consciously recognised. The the Gaelic Speaking Union haviour to which people have
We theretore nave o western man who only has with headquarters in the just as uncomplicated a men-
aim of promoting ae ic Qne wife is hardly conscious fashionable area of Inverness, tal attitude. This would deter
that as 1 se® Il: 15 our °n y 0f the fact until he realises but it would be a minority those returning to the High-
trouble i.e. mat we neea that a Mohammedan man has body and unknown to the lands, after a period away,
langimge movement at al . m0re than one wife, such a ‘normal ’ citizen. There would from using English. If in
The fact that a language practjce js to him ‘ natural ’ of course be a society to run some way those who live in
nmvement exists means mat ^ would never have even a folk song festival and the Highlands can become
efforts are being made to Q0Ilsidere(j adopting the poetry recital competition Gaelic speaking communities
maintain and promote me |iarem SyStem in his house (unnecessary to describe it as this would give Gaelic its
use of Gaelic. In what direc- a * Gaelic ’ folk song festival), self promoting environment,
tion are the efforts being nrocesses of establish- But of course most of this is Tourists would find English
made? There are various ^^^rShaviour have terribly obvious to all Sruth as foreign to the Highlands
Gaelic musiq and song festi ingtimes been achieved readers I presume, and many as it is to Italy and Spain in
vals and these no doubt jn ^aTher ^leorou^action on will probably thank the gods the sense that it would not
occasion the use of Gaelic Y certain ruling that it is unlikely to happen, be the ordinary language of
as a language by Gaelic the ^ i ^ ^ the
speakers. I am considering g P ^ the^other hand elusion that there are going If anyone thinks this atti-
however if such promotions . fY- f bpViavj0.]r and to be societies, clubs or what tude to a Gaelic revival to be
could assist the maintenance Pf , developed have You for the promotion trifling, I think it would be
of Gaelic speaking. It is in ^ "rmrmkfes wffW of Gaelic for the rest of time, true to say that to establish
the everyday life of homes j pressure In either or at least theY wil1 not die Gaelic as the language of
and communities that Gaelic ^ , out because of the normaliza- those who remain in the
will live or die. So it must be - behaviour develop tion of Gaelic. But I must Highlands would be an im-
the attitude to Gaelic in the . , of accentance which here ask there is not some provement on the status quo.
Wn*»c anH communities £U111UUC:> u f .
which still speak Gaelic that ^^^Twhlch'^
wtll eventually count. What / (h mej£/of
can be done by movements obtaini ,e.s acquiesc.
“ “JLefte? °(n !h°f ence in certain behavioural
attitudes. What in fact the forms b external pressure
movements must be aiming does not'have t0 be by dis.
at is really already laid out tastefu| or violent measures
in that question. What has on the rt of the pressuriz.
to be done is to effect atti- j group. One has only to
tudes at the grass roots or ]ook carefully at the effects of
Gaelic. What can be said to a(jvertising goods to find a
make this aim somewhat more case in It may be more
obvious? Are there any para- difficult to seii ideas in the
llels in our ordinary experi- same way especially where
ence which could show the the new jdea [s ijable to
language movements what conflict with established atti-
affects the attitudes of tudes.
people. I suggest the greatest if we may revert to the posi-
influence is that of accepted tion in Czechoslovakia where
ways of behaving. If the Eng- the authorities are attempting
lish language becomes the t0 re-establish attitudes and
main vehicle of communica- patterns of activity which
tions it becomes self promot- were once prevalent, the pro-
ing. Similarly if Gaelic is the cess has been termed one of
ordinary speech form, it normalization. I want to re¬
becomes self promoting, fleqt on what life in the
This process is not only Highands might look like
effective with language, it from the linguistic angle if
affects attitudes in all of our normalization were to take
activities. This is why Mr place in favour of Gaelic.
Wilson was so keen to win English would then be a ‘ for-
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