Peucaig: Coma leinn suidhe air ais

Chruinnich sinne mar Ghaidheil nar deisichean ann an taigh-sda ann an Dun-ideann gus comharrachadh mar a chaidh an lagh r troimhe. Bha ministear na Gidhlig, Peadar Peucaig, ro mhodhail son a' cholbh seo a chineadh, son a chuid briathran chruaidh mu dheidhinn uireasbhuidhean an lagha r. Thionndaidh e gu cuspair a tha mran nas cudthromaiche; na dh'fheumas sinn a dheanamh a nis, agus le teachdaireachd lidir dha na Gaidheil mu dheidhinn na dh'fheumas sinne a dheanamh a nis.

Cha bu chir dha neach sam bith a bhi teagmhach mu dheidhinn eud Peucaig dha adhbhar na Gidhlig. Ged nach buin e fhin dhan Ghaidhealtachd, ged nach bruidhinn e fhin Gidhlig, tha e ag iarraidh gun soirbhich dhan chnain. Tha e air a bhi a' tagradh as leth na cnan mran nas treise na dh'fheumadh e le na h-uallaichean eile a th'aige, agus e a' seasamh ar cirichean le ministearan is oifigich nach eil eagallach bigheil dhuinn. Neartaich e am bile, nuair a bha cuid ann an ghdarras a' feuchainn ri fhaighinn s le muirt, agus tha e a' deanamh oidhirp mhir cuideachadh le fghlam anns a' chnain.

Thathas a' feuchainn ri diligeadh ri na tuill is uireasbhuidhean ann am fghlam. Mar a tha fios againn uile, tha dth eagallach de luchd-teagaisg ann. Tha luchd-teagaisg gu ler ann aig a bheil Gidhlig ach nach eil gan trineadh gu bhi a' teagasg tro mheadhan na Gidhlig, ach a dh'iarraidh an leithid a dheanamh. Ach tha na crsaichean air a bhi anns na h-itichean cerr neo aig amannan m-fhreagarrach. D am feum a th'ann crsaichean ln-thde bliadhna a bhi againn ann an Glaschu ma tha a' mhr-chuid den fheadhainn a bhiodh freagarrach aig ceann eile na dthcha? Beag air bheag, thathas a' diligeadh ri na trioblaidean sin. Thathas cuideachd a' diligeadh ri dth nan goireasan. Thathas a' cleachdadh teicneolas r gus faighinn seachad air cuid de na trioblaidean.

Muirt, nach bi a dh'fhs bog nam mo sheann aois. Sin a bhios duais a' deanamh ort, moladh a' mhinisteir.

Ach feumaidh mi aideachadh gun robh brgh aige nuair a bhruidhinn e ruinn. Dh'innis e dhuinn gu bheil trr againn fhn ri dheanamh a thaobh a bhi a' don ar cnan agus a' cuideachadh leatha fs a rithist.

Chan urrainn dhuinn a bhi a' suidhe air ais. Tha sinne mar Ghaidheil air a bhi ro dhualtach feitheamh gus an tigeadh an stite, neo ghdarras air choir-eigin, gar cuideachadh. Bhiodh cuid a' fanaid oirnn gu robh feadhainn gu bhi cho dna ri na Cuimrich agus a' cur teine ri taighean-saor-lithean nan coigreach, gus am faigheadh sinn sianail telebhisean mar fhuair iadsan.

Ach dh'fheumadh iad cur a steach son taic-airgid bhon riaghaltas an toiseach.

Nuair a thathas a' bruidhinn a nis mu dheidhinn obair a th'againn ri dheanamh, feumaidh sinn coimhead ruinn fhn. Chan eil sinne cho math air a bhi a' bruidhinn na cnan is a bu chir dhuinn a bhi. Chan eil sinn cho math air a bhi ga teagaisg ri daoine ga, chan eil sinn cho math air a bhi a' taghadh goireasan is stuthan air am foillseachadh anns a' chnain is a bu chir dhuinn a bhi.

Nuair a bhios ar n-eaglaisean a' gearradh sos na seirbhisean Gidhlig, a bheil sinn a' deanamh cil ma dheidhinn? Cha ruigeadh sinn a leas cogadh a thiseachadh, ach dreach feuchainn ri dighean a lorg ar cnan a chumail a' dol.

A bheil sinn ro dhenach gabhail ri lethsgeulan faoin son ar cnan a thrigsinn? Cho tric is a chula sinn feadhainn a' cur sos air Gaidheil nan deisichean, ag rdh nach robhas a' deanamh rudan Gidhlig ach gus airgead fhaighinn.

Dragh a' choin. Bha sinn linntinn a' cluinntinn gun fheumadh sinn ar dualchas a thrigsinn gus bith-be a dheanamh. Ma tha linn ann nuair a gheibh cuid againn teachd-a-steach le a bhi a' cleachdadh na Gidhlig, carson a tha sinn cho denach a bhi a' cineadh? Chan eil duine ag rdh mu feadhainn a tha ag obair ann an dreuchdan Beurla gur e adhbhar a tha sin sguir a bhruidhinn Beurla.

A bheil sinn ro fhrionasach? Ag rdh nach fhiach cil idir mura bi e dreach mar an dualchainnt againn fhn. Chan eil sinn pailt gu ler tuilleadh son a bhi a' sabaisd mu dheidhinn c aig a tha an dualchainnt as fherr.

A bheil sinn ro dhenach dmeas a dheanamh air ar cnan air sgth is gu robh aon mhionaid nar beatha nuair nach robh na goireasan neo seirbhisean Beurla buileach cho math is a bhiodh feadhainn Beurla?

Tha fios againn gu bheil cuid de rudan nach gabh a leasachadh ann am bith. Chan eil digh air thalamh anns am bith leabhraichean is stuthan-teagaisg cho math neo cho pailt is a th'aca ann am Beurla. Tha rudan aca-san a' tighinn a mach gach l, cha mhr. Cha bhi na h-aon ghoireasan aig Frngaich, Gearmailtich, is Ruiseanaich agus a th'aig muinntirr na Beurla, gun luaidh oirnne.

Ach tha na rudan a tha rim faighinn ann an Gidhlig an diugh a' fs nas fherr agus tha trr dhiubh mran nas fherr na na rudan Beurla a bh'againn anns an sgoil.

Tha piseach a' tighinn air an samhail sin.

Ach ged nach tigeadh gu buileach, an dil an cuireadh Sassanach neo Frngach, neo Cuimreach cl air an cuid chnan air sgth is nach biodh na leabhraichean aca buileach cho faileasach, neo r, neo cho sgiobalta a thighinn agus a bhiodh feadhainn ann an cnan eile?

Aig amannan, tha thu a' gabhail ris gu bheil sinn ann an saoghal far nach eil cisean furasda dhan bheag-chuid. Feumaidh muinntirr nan cnan beaga stri son cisean a bhi nas fherr, agus chan e cantainn gu bheil a' chis seachad.

Peacock: Don't sit back

You will get a rest from the election in this column, but there will be no let-up from the matters arising from the Gaelic Bill.

We gathered as Gaels in Suits last week in an Edinburgh hotel to mark the passing of the Gaelic bill through the Scottish parliament. The minister for Gaelic, Peter Peacock, was too polite to criticise this column for its words on the weaknesses of the new bill. He instead dealt with the much more important subject of what do we do now for the language.

People should not doubt Peacock's support for the language and its case. Although he does not come from the Highlands, or speak the language himself, he does want the language to succeed. He has been fighting and lobbying for the language much more than he would strictly need to, given his other roles and responsibilities, and sticking up for the language amid ministers and officials who are not always supportive of us. He did strengthen the bill, while some in the establishment where trying to get off with murder, and he is trying to deal with the problems in Gaelic education.

There is an effort going on to get to grips with the holes and needs in education. As we all know, there is a damaging lack of teachers. There are a good number of teachers who have the language but who are not qualified to teach through Gaelic, but who would like to be able to do so. But many of the courses have been in unsuitable locations or times. What was the point of year-long fulltime courses in Glasgow when many of those who would want to make use of them lived at the other end of the country? But, bit by bit, we are managing to get to grips with the problems and the holes in the system. New technology is being used in order to get around some of the problems.

Dear oh dear. I am going soft in my old age. I am praising the minister. Must be one of those award-related things.

But one must admit that he had a few points when he addressed us. He made the point that we have a lot to do in order to protect the language and get it growing again.

As he said, we can't sit back. We as Gaels have been too willing to sit back and wait for the state, or some kind of authority, to come along and help us out. The mocking tale is told about the two militant Gaels who wanted to emulate the Welsh and set fire to outsiders' holiday homes as part of their fight for a TV channel in our language.

But their plan came to nothing because they wanted to apply for a government grant.

When people talk about a lot needing to be done, we have to look to ourselves. We are not as up for speaking our own language as we should be. We are not good at making sure we teach to younger people, we are poor when it comes to choosing resources and books published in our own language.

When churches cut back on Gaelic services, what do we do about it? I'm not calling for wars to be started in communities, but are we trying to find ways to keep things going in the language? Aren't we just too willing to roll over and give in to the other language, and assume that we must speak English to everyone under 10 years of age?

Are we too willing to accept pathetic excuses to dutch the language? How often have we heard sniping at the "Gaels in Suits", saying they were only into the language in order to get money out of it.

But so what? We spent decades being told that we had to give up on our heritage in order to make money in this world. If am age has now begun where some people are able to make a living for the language they why criticise them? No-one cites the example of some people who make a living from the English language as some kind of reason for the rest of us never to speak English again.

Are we to fussy? Are we too ready to say that certain things are worthless unless they are in our own dialect? There are not enough of us around any more to battle about who has the best dialect. Are we too ready to forsake the language just because there was one moment in our lives when something available in Gaelic was not quite as good as something in English might have been?

We have to acknowledge that some things just cannot be addressed. There is no way on earth that all the Gaelic books and school materials will be as good or as plentiful as they are in English. They have new materials coming out almost every day. But the same problem applies to the French, the German, and the Russian languages, let alone Gaelic.

But what is available nowadays in Gaelic is getting better and a lot of it is much better than what we had in English in school.

These things are getting better. But even if they never become as good as the English stuff, would any English-speaker, French-speaker, or Welsh-speaker abandon their language for ever just because a few textbooks were not as shiny, or new, or as fast to arrive as those in other languages?

Sometimes we have to live with the fact that things will not be on tap for the minorities. That is an argument for minorities to battle for things to become better and not to give up on the fight.