It's been an extraordinary day. As well as participating in one of the best Gàidhlig/Gaelic study class sessions in a long time, taught as part of a three-day course through Sabhal Mòr Ostaig (www.smo.uhi.ac.uk), my SQA Gaelic Higher for Learners result has also finally come through. Not only did I get an A, but I have been notified by the school (eSgoil) that I got an A1, which basically means more than 97 marks out of 120, which is simply ridiculous (it's just li'l ole me, like!). To put this in context for those outside Scotland, the Higher in Scotland is the equivalent of an A-level in Northern Ireland, the exam level you achieve before applying for university.
I first started to learn Scottish Gaelic thirty years ago in Bristol, that well-known hotspot of Gaelic life! I would meet up with a small group of friends, Andar, Colin, Sile, and Ray to plough our way through courses such as Teach Yourself Gaelic, Can Seo, and Abair, and regularly attended ceilidhs in London and Cardiff, where I managed to meet several emigrant native speakers. I kept written diaries to help me practice the language, and when I moved back to Scotland in 1997 (I had been here for 4 years as a kid also), I worked at the BBC and STV, occasionally on projects involving the language. But when I left telly-tubby land in 2006, that was it. There were few folk around in Ayrshire who could speak the language, and most of those who I knew who could were on a constant recruitment drive for a choir. Regrettably, I let it slip.
As they say in Gaelic - foghnaidh na dh'fhoghnas! (enough's enough!). When the pandemic started in early 2020 I decided to pick it up again, chastising myself for leaving it so long, and setting myself a personal target of five years to try to get to a degree of fluency. I started with Duolingo, revised Teach Yourself Gaelic, started reading my old diaries, and watched a lot more BBC Alba. Never in a million years did I think I would go back to school, but last year I applied to do an SQA National 5 in the language through eSgoil (www.e-sgoil.com), but was advised I should set my goals higher, so I went for the Higher.
As a learning experience, it was different this time. There is so much available online for learners. There are regular conversation classes around the country - I meet up with folk every fortnight in Glasgow at different levels of fluency, and every time I leave a meeting I end up with more words and more confidence. There has never been a better time to pick up some of the language.
The Gaelic language in Scotland is under threat, but it is only threatened if we do nothing to stop its decline. Every word learned brings you closer to understanding how a significant part of this country has existed for centuries, shows solidarity with those speakers who believe in its value, offers another reason to make the politicians listen, provides a means to convince those using the language that it is worth holding onto, and creates another reason for the next generation to be inspired to push further. And it's just a bl**dy gorgeous language, spoken by many of my ancestors from Invernesshire and Perthshire! Gaelic is, and has been, a major part of the fabric of Scotland (as is the Scots language), and the more we digress from our own culture the more we lose a bit of ourselves as a nation, all of which equally applies to the Scots language. The English language is also a major part of our life and culture, but it can look after itself!
Whether through ignorance or bigotry, there are those who will attack the Gaelic language, as if something is being taken away from them - but nothing is being taken away from them. I have never met someone learning Gaelic who did not feel that they have gained something from doing so, no matter how far or little they have progressed. It literally surrounds us in our placenames, our family names, our forenames. If you are interested in learning some Gaelic, it has never been easier to do so, and there is so much support out there. It's not a competition, take it at your own pace - "beag air beag", a little at a time. There are plenty of free resources to help you to do so:
Take it from me. If this Irish protestant muppet can do it, anyone can. I hope you might give it a go, and perhaps find it to be as rewarding an experience as I have over the last thirty years.
And I'm only getting started - the Advanced Higher starts in 2 weeks!
Suas leis a' Ghàidhlig!
(A huge thanks to my tutors Julie-Ann and Eoghan, and to my fellow classmates, who made the last year such great craic!)
Chris
Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.
