Associate Feature: Gaelic in Rural and Island Economy

Government in Scotland has an ambition to increase the number of Gaelic speakers, creating greater sustainability for the language and the communities who use it.  It also, through NSET, seeks to empower rural communities across Scotland. And this year sees the key trends affecting Gaelic speakers and learners in island and rural areas increase in impact and potential.  

On the positive side support for Gaelic has already delivered a range of outcomes and infrastructure - demand for Gaelic learning continues to grow at an unprecendented rate, with some 1.5million people engaging with learning the language through routes such as SpeakGaelic and Duolingo; local authorities are experiencing increasing demand for Gaelic-medium education and the confidence of young people in using our language is more and more evident.

The challenges have also increased.  Key amongst these are sustaining island communities with higher proportions of Gaelic speakers.  These are faced with shortages of housing, ongoing disruptions to ferry services, jobs which can’t be filled, often linked to lack of housing and transport issues, and the need for greater digital connectivity.

Therefore, in looking at the opportunities in the island and rural economies, social and economic developments need to be supported by national and regional policies which consider the community holistically and from our perspective, particularly the impact on Gaelic.

Amongst the key sectors that can positively impact on the economy and Gaelic language use are childcare, Gaelic education from nursery to tertiary level and adult learning, heritage, culture, creative industries, food, drink and tourism and the environment.  

Last month saw the showcasing of projects funded by NatureScot’s Heritage and Cultural Fund.  One of the most striking and inspiring aspects was how communities embraced their Gaelic heritage and ensured that the language was embedded in their developments, reflecting their sense of place in time and geography.  The growing interest in authentic tourism and learning Gaelic demonstrate the potential for these types of development, rooted in and owned by the community, ensuring that employment and revenue has maximum positive impact for their own area.

The benefits of communities controlling their own assets can be seen in estate ownership, regeneration of buildings to provide arts, culture, heritage and community centres, power generation schemes, all contributing to the locality economically, socially and culturally and financing other developments.  Gaelic is embedded in many of these organisations and they are critical in ensuring the greater use of the language in the community.  Such investments in Gaelic language and culture are indeed another form of community wealth building.

The increased focus on the environment - whether through the significant investment planned for re-foresting, marine, land reform and national park policies, or increasing biodiversity - is both an opportunity and a challenge for Gaelic use.  There are many parallels between linguistic diversity and biodiversity across the globe.  As recently stated “Gaelic names carry knowledge and resonance, named by those for whom the living world was more alive and in times when ecologies were far richer.”.  These names should be incorporated into developments to increase biodiversity. Public sector, commercial or community organisations can make a positive difference by showing respect for our Gaelic language, by celebrating its connection to nature and environment and by supporting its use.

Implementing these actions will also contribute to tourism, culture and heritage industries as VisitScotland and others provide evidence of the growing interest in Gaelic from domestic and overseas visitors, particularly those learners who want to see, hear and use the Gaelic they are acquiring,  

We believe it also contributes to wellbeing, a factor increasingly recognised in economy and society. Online meetings in Gaelic during the Covid-19 pandemic demonstrated that wellbeing, inclusion and networking were important and could be enhanced, and made clear the role of Gaelic in increasing wellbeing generally. 

In short, Gaelic is an opportunity for the rural economy but its place needs to be strengthened in the policies that enable communities to thrive.

This article is sponsored by Bòrd na Gàidhlig

www.gaidhlig.scot/en/