Gaelic and Scottish culture

Contributed by a thoughtful academic to my blogspot:

Of course the use of languages change over time. That is one of the centrepoints of what I have been trying to say.

I have never said "Gaelic was never an important language". On the conterary, I have said that it was the first national language of the Scottish nation (or something like that). But I have gone on to say that it was not the original language of the People living in Scotland and that it has been declining in use since the 1200s, and is now currently irrelevant to most people in Scotland, whose historical and cultural ties are to the Scots language. If you look at the distribution map for 1400 (200 years before any restrictions) in Wikipedia on the Gaelic language page, you see that Gaelic is the main language in the highlands, western isles and Galloway. The central lowlands, Fife, Aberdeen, southeast , Caithness (and I assume orkney and shetland) use Scots primarily (or a dialect of Scots). I know Wikipedia is not the best, but this backs up with an easy, simple to reference picture what I have know for a long time.

I have no objections to Gaelic signposts in Gaelic areas, and would encourage Gaelic teaching. But if that is done then we must also support whats left of Scots and the lowland Scots culture, along with all the other dialects and areas. I object to the hijacking of Scottish culture by the Gaelic language imperialists who want to revise the history of my nation to suit their own political ends.

I will say that as someone who has supported Scottish independance all my life (I first canvassesd in the 1979 elections) that attempts to rewrite the cultural significance of Gaelic into the lives of people in the central belt is probably one of the reasons why so many people in that area appear to fear Scotland becoming independant. They don't want to be turned into failed teuchters, or looked down upon by other as "not scottish" or "Anti-Scottish", just because they don't have ginger beards, wrap themselves in tartan and burst into Gaelic song occasionally. There are many ways to be Scottish. Only one of them is to be a highlander.

Gaelic has its place, and it is an important place, but it is not the only Scottish language/culture that has a place.

John

ps. If you want to know why Scots developed so rapidly in the major population centres, it is because it was used by the merchant classes who looked outwards from Scotland to bring prosperity to this country. That is why Doric has heavy Dutch influences in it. Aberdeen had extensive and important trading links with the Holland.