Exclusive:New Gaelic legislation will outlive dying communities, warns expert

Professor Conchúr Ó Giollagáin said Gaelic-speaking communities ‘will soon experience societal collapse’ unless action is taken

New legislation to support Gaelic in Scotland is "devoid of vision" and "will outlive the remaining Gaelic-speaking communities", the expert behind a landmark study has warned.

Professor Conchúr Ó Giollagáin said the Scottish Languages Bill "continues to avoid the clear evidence that the remaining Gaelic-speaking communities, under current circumstances, will soon experience societal collapse".

He accused the Bill, which is currently making its way through Holyrood, of promoting "a more anaemic and bureaucratic continuation of the status quo".

Gaelic road signs in the Western Isles | Getty Images

Researchers warned in 2020 that Gaelic-speaking communities could die out within a decade without radical action.

The findings were contained in a book, The Gaelic Crisis in the Vernacular Community, which was co-authored by Prof Ó Giollagáin of the University of the Highlands and Islands.

Writing in The Scotsman, Prof Ó Giollagáin said: “The Scottish Languages Bill, if enacted as currently drafted, will outlive the remaining Gaelic-speaking communities.

“It is not legislation for a living language, and ignores day-to-day efforts to maintain Gaelic as a community language, opting instead for a perception of Gaelic as a second language that has passed from society.”

He said amendments had failed to address criticisms of the Bill. “Unfortunately, the amended second draft has compounded the original limitations of the proposed Bill,” he said.

“It continues to avoid the clear evidence that the remaining Gaelic-speaking communities, under current circumstances, will soon experience societal collapse.

“In failing to prioritise the challenges of sustaining Gaelic communities, the Bill lacks strategic relevance, evades real-world concerns, and is devoid of vision.”

The expert added: “In short, the Bill proposes a more anaemic and bureaucratic continuation of the status quo which engendered the current Gaelic societal crisis.”

Prof Ó Giollagáin said the last four years had demonstrated “that complacency and evasiveness about the issues driving language loss have become institutionalised”.

He continued: “The legislation as it stands is unlikely to reverse the ingrained trajectory of social decline in Gaelic communities. The denialist public debate about Gaelic social reality benefits nobody, including the denialists.

“Despite notable contributions from tenacious individuals, we could be forgiven for concluding that the erasure of the remaining native-speaking Gaelic communities is a non-issue in academia, in the arts and in Gaelic promotion.

“It is to be hoped that the Scottish Parliament uses its influence during the third stage of the Bill to encourage all well-meaning and interested parties to face reality and initiate a process leading to relevant and dynamic engagement with sustaining Gaelic as a lived language and culture.”

Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said: “The Scottish Languages Bill presents us with a major opportunity to grow Gaelic, enhance provision of Gaelic medium education, introduce standards for teaching Scots and Gaelic in schools and improve access to Gaelic early learning and childcare services.

“I am working on a cross-party basis to progress the Bill and strengthen it to meet the needs of Scots and Gaelic speaking communities. We have also allocated an extra £5.7 million for Gaelic language initiatives in our budget for 2025-26.”