Tha Murray MacLeòid a’ faighneachd: Eil duine ann a dh’èisteas ri cùis na Gàidhlig?

‘S dòcha g’ eil e nàdarrach gu leòr gun dèanadh Humza Yousaf bochd mearachd no dhà, leis na h-uallaichean a tha ma choinneimh.

Tha an Riaghaltas seo gu mòr air an tarraing bho thimcheall Dhùn Èideann. (Dealbh: Russell Cheyne/Getty Images)

[English-language version below]

Tha am preas aige làn ghnothaichean èiginneach, bha iomairt a’ cheannardais gu math sradagach, le càineadh gu leòr ga dhèanamh air a fhèin, agus a-nis, air ceann a h-uile càil a tha sin, chaidh àrd-oifigear a’ phàrtaidh a chur fo ghrèim nam poileas. Chan eil fhios agam a bheil am facal bùrach fhèin a’ dol fada gu leòr.

Am measg na tha sin, ‘s dòcha g’ eil na draghan a tha aig luchd na Gàidhlig a’ coimhead rudeigin faoin agus gun bhrìgh ‘S cinnteach dìreach gu bheil e furasta gu leòr dhaibh dleasdanas na Gàidhlig a thoirt do mhinistear a choireigin agus leantainn mar a bha.

Ach, sin dìreach an duilgheadas. Agus a bharrachd air sin, tha a’ mhì-chinnt mu chiamar a thig dèiligeadh leis a’ Ghàidhlig anns an Riaghaltas na shamhla air draghan eile cuideachd.

Chan e caibineat a tha seo as urrainn dhut a ràdh a tha a' riochdachadh Alba gu lèir agus, leis gun robh a’ mhòr chuid ann an dreuchdan ron seo, chan urrainnear fiù ’s a ràdh g’ eil iad a’ tuigsinn an t-suidheachaidh air an iomall.

Tha an Riaghaltas seo gu mòr air an tarraing bho thimcheall Dhùn Èideann agus ‘s iongantach fiù ‘s mura h-eil Màiri Gougeon fhèin a’ faireachdainn mar srainnsear nam measg, ‘s i a' tighinn bho cho fada air falbh ri 80 mile suas costa an ear!

Nam biodh Ceit Fhoirbheis air dreuchd nan cùisean dùthchail a ghabhail, bhiodh e a’ coimhead gu math diofraichte, ach cha robh sin a’ dol a thachairt agus ‘s math fios a bha aig an fheadhainn a thabhainn sin dhi.

Bha Ceit Fhoirbheis a’ smaoineachadh gum feumadh i a thighinn a-mach gu poblach airson a dhol às aicheadh an sgudail a thàinig bho Shona Robasdon gun do dhiùlt i e airson barrachd ùine a chur seachad còmhla ri leanabh. Mar a mhìnich Ceit, bha i deònach a bhith na Prìomh Mhinistear agus bhiodh sin air a bhith tòrr na bu dhuilghe a thaobh ùine.

Mar chuideigin aig a bheil Gàidhlig, bhiodh e nàdarrach gu leòr dhi uallach a choireigin a ghabhail airson na Gàidhlig anns an Riaghaltas, ach às a h-aonais, chan eil air fhàgail ach beàrn mhòr, fhalamh, ann am barrachd air aon dhòigh.

Ann am brath oifigeil, thuirt a’ bhuidheann iomairt, Misneachd, agus an fheadhainn a tha a’ strì airson Albais, Oor Vyce, gu bheil “feum aig an dà chànan air gnìomh deifreach gus cur an aghaidh tuilleadh crìonaidh”.

“Tha sinne den bheachd gu bheil fastadh Ministear airson nan Cànan Albannach na cheum riatanach ann a bhith a’ dèanamh cinnteach gu bheil ar dualchas cànanach air a ghlèidheadh do na ginealaichean ri teachd,” thuirt iad.

Tha faisg air trì bliadhna ann a-nis bho thàinig aithisg bho eòlaichean a-mach a bha ag ràdh mura tigeadh atharrachadh gu math luath air cùisean, gun rachadh a’ Ghàidhlig à bith mar chànan coimhearsnachd anns na h-eileanan ann an deich bliadhna. An uair sin, thàinig co-labhairt ann an Steòrnabhagh a bha a’ moladh slighe ùr a thaobh poileasaidh.

‘S dè tha air tachairt bhon uair sin? Chan eil func, mar a chanadh am bodach eile.

Thuirt Iain Caimbeul, fear dhe na h-eòlaichean a sgrìobh an aithisg, nach eil na molaidhean aca ach air èisteachd suarach fhaighinn, gun guth a ràdh air gnìomhan ceart a chur an sàs.

Ach, mar gu leòr eile nuair a thug e dèiligeadh le cùisean ann am poileataigs na h-Alba, eil duine ag èisteachd?

English-language version:

Given the daunting challenge that lies ahead, Humza Yousaf can probably be forgiven for the odd oversight. An overflowing in-tray of major issues all marked “urgent”, a bruising leadership campaign and now, of all things, a party chief executive who was arrested by police. As crises go, it’s on a pretty monumental scale.

So, in that context, the complaints of Gaelic campaigners may seem somewhat trivial. Surely, it should be straightforward enough for responsibility over the language and the national agency Bord na Gaidhlig to be delegated to some junior ministerial portfolio and it’s a case of as you were.

But that’s exactly the problem. And the lack of clarity over who in the new Cabinet will be responsible speaks to a wider concern – one of representation and marginalisation. This is not a Cabinet that speaks for all of Scotland and it’s debatable, given the previous record of most of them in government, whether it’s one that can in any way get to grips with understanding the requirements of the rural periphery.

As has been stated before, the Cabinet is incredibly Central Belt and even Edinburgh centric. Even Mairi Gougeon must feel like a relative outsider, coming from all of 80 miles up the east coast. Of course, had Kate Forbes accepted the rural affairs brief it would have provided an altogether different picture, but that was never realistic and was simply a disingenuous sop.

The nonsense coming from Shona Robison that she declined on the grounds of wanting to spend more time on her motherly duties was, tellingly, something that Forbes herself felt needed addressed in public, making the obvious point that she had been prepared to take on the rather more onerous post of First Minister. As a Gaelic speaker, Forbes would have been an obvious conduit for Gaelic policy-related matters and the fear now is that her retreat to the back benches has left a vacuum in government, in more sense than one.

In a joint statement, Misneachd, who describe themselves as a grass-roots Gaelic movement, and their Scots language counterparts, Oor Vyce, said that “both languages require immediate action to prevent further decline”. “We see no clear accountability for Scots or Gaelic, and this lack of clarity does not provide our communities with confidence that concerns around preserving and developing our unique linguistic heritage in Scotland will be sufficiently addressed,” they added.

Quite. It’s now nearly three years since the publication of “The Gaelic Crisis in the Vernacular Community” which warned that unless urgent action was taken the language would disappear in the islands as a community language in a generation. That was then backed up by a conference which called for a new policy direction. And since then? Well, to coin a phrase, diddly squat.

Co-author of that report, Iain Campbell, a research fellow in the languages sciences institute of the University of the Highlands and Islands, said there has been “scant acknowledgement” of the situation and “even less consideration has been afforded to meaningful actions”. But like so much else surrounding Scottish politics in the current time, is anyone actually listening, or even who cares?