A study of Gaelic language and culture in Cape Breton's Barra Gaidhealtachd
Loading...
Date
2009-04-09T16:56:13Z
Authors
MacNeil, Vincent
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
The purpose of this study of Gaelic language and culture in Cape Breton's
Barra Gaidhealtachd is to discover trends in the loss of the Gaelic language and culture
in this community and to identify what will be lost as a result. While estimated numbers
of Gaelic speakers indicate that in the 1800s there were approximately one hundred
thousand speakers, today there are few living people for whom Gaelic is a first language
in Nova Scotia. The type of Gaelic most commonly spoken in Cape Breton is Scottish
Gaelic which is currently an endangered language. This study focuses specifically on
communities in Cape Breton which were settled by people from Barra, Scotland, but the
research has implications for the Gaelic community of Nova Scotia as a whole. For this
investigation, five Gaelic speakers from Cape Breton's Barra Gaidhealtachd were
interviewed and extensive archival research was conducted at the Beaton Institute in
Sydney, Cape Breton. Four trends that contributed to the decline of the Gaelic language
include: government policies towards Gaelic language, depopulation of rural areas, the
movement of English into Gaelic communities, and the passing of the last Gaelic
monolinguals. Much more then a language stands to be lost if the Barra dialect dies out
in this community. For example, language loss is connected to the loss of worldview and
culture and also to the blas (taste) of the language. The impact of the outside English
world on Gaelic speakers' confidence in the language is explored, as is the role of the
Nova Scotian government, in terms of its support of the language and lack thereof at
different historical moments.
Description
Keywords
Social life , Study and teaching , customs , Dialects , Intellectual life , Cape Breton Island , Scottish Gaelic language , Scots , Nova Scotia