Preserving Gaelic will require gargantuan effort
This year I was studying at level four after completing the level three course last summer. Roughly equivalent to the content of a Gaelic National 5 qualification, the level four course was perfect for me to work on my grammar, expand my vocabulary and most importantly build my confidence in speaking the language that once was dominant across so much of Scotland.
In just the space of five days, I went from speaking in broken sentences and trying desperately to recall words I'd learnt months ago on Duolingo, to being able to converse much more confidently with fellow learners about our experiences on the course, our likes and dislikes, and our plans for the future.
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I get asked a lot why I chose to learn Gaelic. I live in Glasgow where there are a number of languages spoken with a far higher prevalence than Gaelic, and in the grand scheme of things there are a great many languages that I might be more likely to use throughout life.
But I think there's something incredibly important – particularly to me as someone who has chosen to make Scotland my home after growing up in England – about learning the language of the country I call home.
The simple fact is that it took a concerted effort, through the Highland Clearances and horrendous policy-making over the centuries, to try to kill the language – it will take a similarly concerted effort to support it to survive.
My teacher on my short course at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig shared with my class a quote from 19th-century scholar John Stuart Blackie who, refuting the notion that Gaelic culture and language were ostensibly dead, replied that they were rather 'obstinately alive'.
THIS remains true today – though perhaps in a slightly different way. Census data from 2022 shows the number of speakers in traditionally Gaelic-speaking communities in the Highlands and Islands continuing to fall, but the number is rising substantially in places like Glasgow.
Next year, Glasgow will open its fourth Gaelic-medium education (GME) school in the city with a new Gaelic primary school opening in the Calton, and it's clear that the positive measures in the recently passed Scottish Languages Act 2025 to support GME will help more and more young people across Scotland learn Gaelic throughout childhood.
All of this said though, it's quite clear that the support required to keep the language known by learners like me in places like Glasgow is quite different to the support needed to support Gaelic as a living language in the Highlands and Islands.
This is one of the many reasons why Sabhal Mòr Ostaig is such an important institution.
While it has an important role in teaching the language to new learners such as myself and countless others from across Scotland and around the world, it also plays a vital part in training Gaelic teachers, educating the
Gaelic media industry, and vital research into the revitalisation of minority languages.
Sabhal Mòr Ostaig is critical to keeping Gaelic alive, but clearly other support is needed in local communities to prevent further decline of the language.
One such example where support is greatly needed is in tackling the housing crisis, which is often cited as one of the biggest threats to the language, particularly in tourist hotspots such as Skye and the Outer Hebrides.
Simply put, the prevalence of holiday homes and Airbnb-style short-term lets in these Gaelic-speaking areas are driving house prices and rents sky-high.
This is making it impossible for Gaelic-speaking young people to remain in their communities, driving them out and forcing them to live in places where they can't use the language in their everyday interactions.
Homes once occupied by members of the community now sit empty outwith tourist season, presenting not only a challenge for the local economies of these often island communities, but also an existential threat for Gaelic as a living language.
It'a not an unsolvable problem though. An amendment to the Housing (Scotland) Bill by Green MSP Ross Greer will be debated this autumn, and would allow an additional levy to be charged to those buying holiday homes or other additional properties in areas where Gaelic is widely spoken.
It would make it harder for the rich to buy houses for profit, and making it easier for locals to buy homes to live in.
While this needs to be just one part of a wider plan to support Gaelic to not just survive but thrive as a living language, it's a clear opportunity for MSPs to take meaningful action to support the language and culture of these island communities.
It's clear that politicians of all parties need to do more to listen to the needs of Gaelic communities and take the actions needed to help the language thrive.
The recently passed Scottish Languages Act gives Gaelic and Scots 'official status' as languages for the first time, but tangible action needs to back up this otherwise largely symbolic move.
For so many Scots, Gaelic may seem little more than something they see on road signs and at train stations, but the fact is it's a vital part of our culture and the history of our land.
My time at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig taught me so much – not just about grammar and vocabulary but about culture and music, history and tradition. It's a hugely special place, and I can't wait to go back.
It runs short courses every year for learners of all abilities, and I simply can't recommend them enough to anyone wanting to connect with the Gaelic language.
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