Kate Forbes MSP talking about including Scottish Gaelic in UNESCO so that it can continue to be taught in Schools around Scotland. Source: / 833142026886416
@@Oak6 With all languages, hell look at the Hebrew language which today is used as a spoken language in the State of Israel 🇮🇱 along side with it's sister language Arabic who played and still plays a key role in the language especially words used in the spoken language that cannot be found in the literal and biblical grammer since the language is so old.
I am Greek and hearing her fight for her language made me tear up. No language deserves to become extinct. All languages are human heritage and deserve to be preserved.
Don't have Greek characters on my pc keyboard so I'm gonna have to thank you in English as I hate typing Greeklish. Thank you Yiannis! Sincerely from a Scot who learned more Greek from one year in Cyprus than I learned Gaelic my whole life in Scotland. Currently trying to fix this.
Languages become extinct because no one uses them or their language base dies off. Simple social evolution, regrettable maybe, but neither good nor bad. Scots Gaelic is a dead language at this point.
@@andrewelphick2304Languages are brutally suppressed by colonizers who literally beat indigenous children for speaking their own language and practicing any of their culture. They are not “dead” languages. They are suppressed languages.
As a Scot, I don't personally speak Gaelic but I so wish I did. It's such a beautiful language and I'm frankly saddened by the fact that my school neither speaks nor teaches it. I'm attempting to learn via duolingo but it isn't going great so far, haha. I wish more Scottish schools talk Gaelic.
@@DonFlufflesPrime I'm taking the course through Duolingo. I came to this video to see if could recognise any of the spoken language. Now, Duolingo aims to give basic understanding - not fluency - with the completion of the course. I'm around 40% of my way through the course and could understand about 25% of what she said. I think the full course will give a decent basis to understand and speak the language.
@@davidcheater4239 Agreed, Duolingo definitely falls short of full fluency, but it can certainly help as a starting point to get conversational fluency. Also, good luck with Duolingo!
@@DonFlufflesPrime At this point, the Scottish Gaelic course is one of the courses that doesn't check the learner's pronunciation. I use Hebrew liturgically, and used to live in Germany so I have some experience in different grammar/pronunciation. But Duolingo is quite clear that it's no substitute to using a language with fluent speakers.
I’m from Edinburgh but I was luckily brought up fluent in Gaelic as my gran is from Stornaway and it’s good to see how many people are interested in learning it😊
I speak Spanish and I don't know what I would think/say/do if I had to fight for my language to be preserved. This woman's language--Scots Gaelic--is so incredibly beautiful that it makes ME want to learn how to speak it! May she be victorious in her attempts to help the country understand the need to preserve their culture through language.
Unless you plan on moving to the north of Scotland I wouldn't bother learning Gaelic.. I think a total of 70,000 or so in the world can speak it.. It's also becoming an elitist language in some circles only spoken by the ruling elite and their children.
@@drServitis El catalán no está realmente muriendo, lenguas que sí están en peligro son el vasco, valenciano y el gallego. Pero el catalán es súper usado y promovido en Cataluña.
I think my Grandmother would have been amazed by this. She was born on Skye in the 1930s and Gaelic was her first language. She taught me a very little, and I’d have loved to be able to have a conversation with her in Gaelic.
My grandmother was also born on Skye a decade later, gaelic was also her first language. In her final years, she got dementia and started slipping back into it more and more often. So I took it upon myself to learn so I could still communicate with her to some extent and hang on to every last minute with her. Tha gaol agam ort Seanmhair
@@shadetreader I'm advancing through Duolingo's programme quite well. I finished the original programme and then came back to it when they expanded it. Still very basic, but I'm only doing about 15 minutes a day.
As a swiss, I am truly amazed by this. We have four national languages in my country, the smallest one is romansh which is spoken only by 40'000 people these days. Yet it is protected and taught in schools in the regions where it was spoken traditionally. I don't understand why minority languages aren't protected and supported in other countries. It enriches your country so much
My grandmother came from a place in Graubünden where people speak Pus'ciavin. As far as I know, it's not Romansh but rather an Italian dialect. I wish she taught my mom how to speak it so i could learn it to. It would be cool to speak such a not widely spoken "language". But speaking swiss german is already coo/weirdl in its own way :D
@@MisterallstarCH I am not sure, but I think I learned that there are even dialects amongst the romansh language itself. Which makes it, if that is accurate, pretty funny in my opinion. Years ago I heard a nice comparison, putting swiss german and the Scottish english dialect spoken in the highlands together. It's actually pretty truthful since most english speaker dont understand a word when highlanders speak . Kinda like germans with swiss german hihi
Switzerland also has some Celtic history from what I understand. At one time there were languages spoken in the Alps that were somewhat distantly related to those of Scotland, Wales, Britain and Ireland.
@@robwalsh9843 That's true. Ages ago switzerland was one of the core regions of the gaulish culture. But with the conquest of the romans and then the germanic tribes after them, every linguistic/culture roots were more or less wiped out. Don't quote me on that, but what is now called the celtic heartland region (UK and Ireland and Brittany) was once the most remote area of gaulish culture. Time has an interesting effect on things, doesn't it?
In Jamaica, so many people try so hard to make us believe that patois/patwa/Jamaican creole is a language to be ashamed of. Yes, English has it's place, but why should anyone be made to feel that their mother tongue is less important than yours?
th-cam.com/video/EtHShiXxw4U/w-d-xo.htmlsi=otxv_BbIrNh8Ndm9 The National anthem of Scotland, 'The Flower of Scotland', but then in Scottish Gaelic. Enjoy as much as this Dutchman (Saxon) does :)
Will never understand the comments from people against it 😂. What's the actual harm in teaching it as a second language or to people who just want to learn it? None whatsoever
No problem as long as its taught, BUT in context with the many other languages the people of Scotland has spoken over the last x000's of years, or the last 2000 at least.
@@ayrshireman1314 this is the dominant language that we've spoken throughout our history though so it would make sense that this is what we learn as a second language, rather than... I dunno, pictish? If that's a language. Scottish people didn't know/identify themselves as Scottish until much later than the Romans/English did.
I see people against teaching Gaelic and I'm just confused, what's the harm? Being bilingual is only a benefit, and keeping the language of your ancestors alive is very important, especially with most Celtic languages being in the endangered state they are.
C'mon scotland keep your native tongue alive "A nation without it's native language is a nation without a soul" it all begins with you, individual people learning and speaking it every day. From one Celtic brother to another🇮🇪
@@adamfinnegan735 I literally only started brushing up on mine a couple months ago bro Ive got a 1 year old son and I'll be sending him to an irish school when he's old enough..I'm gunna make sure every generation after me is fluent, it all begins with us, the people.🇮🇪
ONE of the languages our ancestors spoke, and as for native, it was transplanted from Ireland. People in what is now Scotland, spoke other Celtic tongues before Gaelic appeared on the scene.
@Sean Richardson Simply to remind people that whilst a great language, Gaelic was/is just one of the great languages, the people of this country have spoken. To celebrate the other languages. To put Gaelic in context historically, esp as a Lowlander. Where the Gaelic had and has never had the same relationship as in the Highlands. To be blunter, to correct the modern and romantic tosh that Gaelic is 'oor language', as if the others have no relevance. I see a Gaelicisation of our culture and lingustic history, and I find it both factually wrong and culturally reductive. I would even argue it been used as a socio-political weapon and imo it deserves better, we all do.
@Sean Richardson Hi, I agree, the Picts are such a huge part of our history, yet we have relatively little of them to look at. And nobody has spoken Pictish for 1000 years at least. Sad. Gaelic appeared in the Lowlands probably around the first millenium, and dies away as a lingustic force 500 yrs later, although it would linger on until about 200 yrs ago. of course it had a big impact, but was far from the first (Brythonic/Cymric, Galloway Celtic). Brythonic and Gaelic probably overlapped for 100-200 yrs until the end of the Kingdom of Strathclyde. Galloway would essentially be independent until the 1300s. So Galldovidian-Gaelic overlap there as well? So even though Gaelic came south, it was always combatting other tongues, firstly Brythonic/Cymric, then most notably Anglo-Saxon/English/its Scots variant.
Wales had a bit of a head start with that but now the native language apparently has 500,000 first language speakers and aims to have a million by 2050 😊 it’s possible for Scotland too and I hope it can happen
@@gamewalkthroughuk8919 Wales has apparently made their optional Cymru language lessons compulsory in secondary education, maybe Scotland will do the same post-independence?
I'm brazilian, so i can't speak for the gaelic speakers and the sadness of having their language undermined, but as a languages lover, i say that a language as old and beautiful and yet survived all the way till these days, overcoming cultural assimilation and cultural oppression, is something that must be protected, and kept alive by their people, please Scots, don't let your language die.
In Dublin, road signs are in Irish first and English underneath. It's like this in many parts of Wales as well, no reason it shouldn't be the same in Scotland.
Ceapaim go bhfuil na focail Gaeilge ró-beag, is maith liom ag léamh na comharthaí bóthar as Gaeilge, ach uaireanta is féidir leis deacair dom a dhéanamh :(
It is like that in parts of Scotland. However, it is also worth remembering that, despite political attempts to give the impression that Gaelic is the natural "our own language" choice for all of Scotland, it isn't. The areas where you are likely to find a Gaelic-first speaker are quite small, and the number of people is also very small. In very large parts of Scotland, no one speaks Gaelic at all, and in many of those areas, no one ever did. Bilingual English/Gaelic signs would be utterly inappropriate for large parts of Scotland where Gaelic simply isn't even spoken at all by anyone. Indeed, in many parts of Scotland, promotion of Gaelic, rather than the more natural local languages and dialects, is regarded as somewhat insulting. In parts of Scotland where Gaelic has never been spoken, we still have ambulances with "Ambaileans" written on them, or police cars with "Poileas" and I've really got to ask why. No one in the area speaks Gaelic and no one, Gaelic speaking or not, needs the "clarification" that the white car with the blue and yellow chequered vinyls, flashing blue lights and sirens is in fact a "Poileas" car. If it only said "Police", it would not be confusing. What's important here? There are millions of £ spent in Scotland propping up Gaelic, and doing so in areas where it is not naturally spoken. You can get significant grants to make your signage and information English/Gaelic bilingual in museums, natural sites (e.g. forestry) etc for... tourists! No tourists needs Gaelic. It's a political initiative, rather than one that is wanted or needed in many areas. I get that it's "part of the experience" but it's not actually readable by the visitors. I'm not saying that Gaelic shouldn't be supported (in areas where it is appropriate to do so), but it is being supported, even pushed, in areas where it is not needed, not appropriate, and large sums of money are being spent on that support. Pet theory: Alec Salmond visited Wales and saw all the bi-lingual signs and thought "I'll have some of that to help me carve out a new Scottish identity" regardless of the cost, or appropriateness of doing so. It's a false political narrative that Gaelic=Scotland's language. Indeed, I live near where the advance of the Gaelic speaking hordes was stopped in battle several hundred years ago. ;)
Mathú Kate. Óráid íontach. Am bhféidir níos mó aontas idir nGael na hÉireann, Alba agus Manna a spreagadh agus a molladh. Le chéile muid. Bídeach in aonar, cúmhachdach le chéile!❤
@@kloewe6069 'Tapadh leat.' Felim was writing in Irish, not Scottish Gaelic btw. Bha e a' sgrìobhadh anns a' Ghàidhlig na h-Èireann, chan e Gàidhlig na h-Alba a bh' ann.
@jamesflemming5182 how different actually is irish and scots gaelic? are they close enough that they can kind of understand each other? or are they too far apart?
I started duolingo course after finding out of this language in danger. It is amazing and I'm so proud to have caught and understood parts of her speech here and there!
I’ve been learning Gaelic on Duolingo and I cannot express how helpful it is to listen to parliament talks spoken in Gaelic with the subtitles. It really helps with cadence and pronunciation. Thank you.
@@Mik1-bf1dt No, I'm in the US. My husband has Scottish ancestry, as well as Irish and English. That's really the only reason I can think of for why I decided to learn Scots Gaelic 😆
Kate Forbes is wonderful. What a display of Gaelic! My family is Mexican-American and my daughters loved hearing songs in Gaelic and tried to learn them. I love how Gaelic sounds :)
We have to keep these languages alive, Welsh sounds wonderful and is quite widely spoken now but Gaelic needs more speakers as does original Cornish and Irish Gaelic. All have a place
While I could not understand any Welsh I could see a striking similarity between Scots Gaelic and Irish, especially the Irish of Donegal. The education system in Ireland has had compulsory Irish for all pupils since 1927, there even being a time when ALL instruction in schools was through the medium of Irish. It has had mixed results. 95% of Irish people do not use Irish in their everyday lives and only 50,000 people are native born Irish speakers who are totally fluent in Irish and use English as a secondary language outside the home. The areas where Irish is still spoken suffer from high emigration and high unemployment and this is leading to a decline in the language.
@@jgdooley2003 Do Welsh come back to school as the language of instruction now? Coz Schools are the biggest influence on children, and children are the future of this culture
@@jgdooley2003the reason for that is language heritage. While Welsh, Cornish & Breton (spoken in Brittany) are 3 of the 6 Celtic languages, they are Brythonic Celtic and so they share similarities amongst eachother. Scottish, Irish & Manx (spoken on the Isle of Man) on the other hand are the 3 Goidelic Celtic languages and derive from Old Irish and therefore have a mutual intelligibility- similar to the three Scandinavian languages or the Slavic or the Iberian lanaguages have shared heritage and are similar looking/sounding.
Scots, take care of your language, this is the most valuable heritage of your ancestors! "Nations don't die of a heart attack. First they lose their language." (Lina Kostenko)
Scottish Gaelic is such a beautiful language! It’s so sad that more people don’t speak it. I’m Ukrainian and Russians tried to extinguish our language, but thank God they were only partly successful and we were able to restore its free usage as official state language. Now, almost all of Ukrainians understand it, 64% give it as their only native language, and 46% speak only or mostly Ukrainian in everyday life. The ongoing hybrid war with Russia only accelerated this process. Alba gu bràth!
@@kyivstuff Official documents are only in Ukrainian, businesses have to operate in Ukrainian, schools are only in Ukrainian and Russian TV channels are banned. Meanwhile, in the Soviet Union, all those things were presented in both languages.
@@stsk1061 Official documents in Ukraine are in Ukrainian and not in the language of a colonizing country that even now occupies Ukrainian territories and wages hybrid war on Ukraine part of which is media propaganda through its TV channels? I guess it was better during the Soviets when the rulers in Moscow could just continue to dictate the colonized peoples of the former Russian Empire what to do and freely kill all those opposed.
I can understand, as a Sardinian, how is really important and crucial to protect and study a minority language. Respect and love for the Scottish culture.
@@62hwvgvekaihvevevj su sardu si arrejonat in Sardigna, ma bisonzat a l'istudiare in iscola Ca venit arrejonatu male. Translation: Sardinian is being spoken in Sardinia, but it needs to be studied in school because we don't speak it properly.
@francescoroych3984 A problem Sardinian faces (which is similar for Scottish Gaelic), is that there is no standardised version. This makes it difficult to educate the language widely in schools, as the dialects can vary quite a lot (especially in Sardinian), and educational materials are sparse and difficult to produce.
Is fìor thoil leam a’ bhidio seo. Tha mi ag ionnsachadh Gàidhlig a-nis, ged a tha mi trì fichead bliadhna a dh'aois. I love this video. It inspired me to learn some Gaelic even though I am 60 years old. We need our younger ones to learn it to keep it relevant to our culture and heritage for many years to come..
I am an American teacher of British Literature, and I find this fascinating. I hope that the UK will promote the preservation of these rich languages. One day, I hope to travel and hear people speaking this language; it is enchanting.
Agreed! The only languages they teach at my school are French, Spanish and German, and sometimes Scots when it comes round to Burns' Day. I wish they'd teach Gaelic.
It should be taught, but this obsession with it as our language/main language/native language is wrong and misguided and actually reductive to our knowledge of our languages, cultures and history. We are fantastically richer than one culture and one tongue. . And English has been the main language of the majority of Scotland for centuries. Highlands yes, but the Lowlands and Borders, Galloway and even the far north, it has not been for equally centuries.
@@ayrshireman1314 what they mean is it should be the main language taught in schools. instead of french, or german, or spanish, or whatever, it should be gaelic.
@@islastorrar why?. Those are major languages spoken by hundreds of millions across the world, they are far more valuable to teach our children than a minor Celtic language. It would be a waste of money and time to choose Gaelic over those languages in schools. By all means, people can learn Gaelic on their own.
@@mmzddx96 No it wasnt. Thats the point I and others have been trying to make. There was no one national language, Gaelic was the language of some of Scotland. My Ayrshire ancestors spoke other Celtic languages for nearly 1000 (+?) years before Gaelic showed up in Ayrshire centuries after Brythonic/Cymric. Same for Galloway/SW Scotland, the Borders and frankly the entire Lowland Scotland. Which were a mix of non-Gael Celtic kingdoms, and Anglo-Saxon kingdoms like Northumbria and Bernicia. Latin and French also spoken, the latter hugely influenced by the Normans marrying into Scottish society. Gaelic, Galldovidian, Anglo-Saxon, Norse, Pictish, Brythonic, Doric.............these are the languages of Scotland, not just one.
As a Scottish American, I find this to be nothing short of a miracle For centuries, the British government has tried to strip everything about the Scottish culture away to to oblivion To be forever lost to the winds of time Our music Our musical instruments Our Clan Tartans Much was outlawed Hearing her fight for the survival of our ancient language is awe inspiring and heroic Ms Forbes I thank you very much for keeping it alive
@@danielcowan87 exactly, I've been learning German since 1st year and Irish since junior infants, to put it into context, I know way more German than Irish (I'm about 60% fluent) and I've been learning Irish for 13 years, last week we needed to write a 4 page essay meanwhile I can barely hold up a conversation in irish, that sums it up
@@adamfinnegan735 I learned more Irish in 3 weeks in the Gaeltacht than in a year or two in school despite the fact that we only did an hours class during the day and spent the rest of the time playing sports, talking as Gaeilge, dancing during the Ceili's, etc. I was asked by my Bean an Ti, is your German as good as your Irish? I replied "Nios Maith". She was surprised and mentioned that I had been doing Irish since I was in Infants!
@@danielcowan87 - Correct, Scots Gaelic today is a blend of Old Irish and Old Norse. Irish Gaelige modernised through the centuries but Scots Gaelic remained stuck in its roots, there's a lot of similarities still between the two, just as there are similarities between Norse and Scots Gaelic. But the language was never really accepted by Scotland, as they had their own (Pictish, as you mentioned), and Scots Gaelic remained consistent amongst the Isles. Quite remarkable really when you think about it, that the small cluster of islands which at times would have had no more than a couple of thousand people living there have managed to keep the language going for over a thousand years.
My great grandfather was treated very badly for being a gaelic speaker when he came to Aberdeen from Caithness. The language was lost to us in the family because of the shame he was made to feel
same both my great grandmother on my mums side spoke it but refused to speak because of how it was presived as being backwards or barbaric unfortunetly one of my great grandmothers could be Argyll elic which is one of the most beutiful dialects of our language which is now barely spoken
Very sad to hear that. It was from time when all the Celtic languages were considered "peasant languages" and looked down on. Ironically when Scots learned English they were often ridiculed for not speaking properly! Nowadays it's "cool to be Celtic" Nowadays there are English speakers who are learning Celtic languages. Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, is the first Prince of Wales, in centuries, who can speaker Welsh and apparently has some skill in Scots Gaelic too.
That's a large reason of why the language died out. During the Clearances most Teuchters ended up living as industrial workers in the Central Belt, and because Celtic culture was seen as synonymous with banditry and rebellion against the crown Gaelic was heavily suppressed. Lots of Gaels learned English and took Anglo-Saxon/Lowland names in order to get on with it. Same thing happened in Ireland but it never got to the same level of suppression as it did in Scotland, largely because the Scots benefited from the Empire more than the Irish did due to larger amounts of industrialization.
Its heartening to see Gaelic making a comeback.Although the official figures still remain 1%..Padraig Pearce said,a people who abandon their language,have abandoned their souls
@@ayrshireman1314 There was no IRA in 1916 and Pearse was widely regarded as one of the leading Irish language academics. It was said he was one of the two main scholars on the history of the language at the time he was executed.
@@ronaldobrien6870 Yes, he was a brilliant man, but also a nationalist blood-obsessed fanatic, the two arent mutually exclusive. And whilst the IRA didnt exist in 1916, the IRB did. Two cheeks of the same arse, to be crude.
@@ayrshireman1314 But his point on language is not an invalid one. He was a linguistics expert and one of the leading figures in the revival of the Irish language (something acknowledged even by the likes of Lady Gregory and WB Yeats after his death).
Yes, but the message is there without translation. Scottish is their own people and the English are controlling and suppressing their language through education.
@@draigporffor3288 English has become the global language!! It was of the greatest English exports!! But it's now the global language of in the world of communication !!!! One kingdom 1 language !! Too many languages just like different tribes/ races in the same country create barriers !!!
@@nigelpilgrim4232 “1 kingdom, 1 language” maybe we’d want to be part of your so-called kingdom if you didn’t rip away our language and belittle our people. Scotland is her own country, yous are just feart of losing the income we generate. Saor Alba! 🏴
Official languages in Canada are foreign immigrant languages, recent arrivals here. For over a century, the Canadians have deliberately tried to eradicate the indigenous Native American languages, and they've succeeded at that for some of them. Even now, Canada puts multi-millions of dollars into universities for language instruction in various languages from around the planet, but comparatively they put a drop in the bucket if it's indigenous languages.
Few people know there is also a Scots language. I like that one but, obviously, it's a very important goal to make these old languages flourish again. In Ireland and Scotland in the first place, also in Orkney
Please keep the language alive. Sadly, many of us born in Australia don't even know we have another tongue, and we are taught nothing, literally nothing, of our ancestors or how we got here. Please, please, protect our heritage!
I live/born in America but my family is Scottish I have never heard Scottish Gaelic this is the first time this is such a cool language I want to learn it and visit Scottland
I am American, and I was in Germany 2 Years.. I cant even catch on but a few words of this, half way in. I like other languages, i know bits of Some. This Gaelic seems very hard. Also yet in NE Scotland there is another difficult language known as Doric .. I applaud this woman for speaking out.
those were your ancestors telling you to preserve that treasure. As a native Catalan speaker from the Balearics i think it is crucial to keep this incredible heritage. it expands your mind heart and soul.
I am learning Scottish Gaelic on duolingo and I am thrilled to hear it spoken by native speakers!!! Please more!!! I have ancestors from Clan Graham but we have been in the US since 1626 by two other ancestors. Wonderful( but only understand a word here and there. Snog
I remember back when I was in high school, and was informed that Fife wasn't on the list of regions that teaches Gaelic, I almost walked out in protest.
I congratulate you good for you you never supposed to lose your mothers language my country was invaded for thousands of years. We still speak are native language everywhere.
@Jake Barton I think we need to restore our Gaelic traditions and culture in UK, instead of voting for independence. Cause if we will join the EU, our traditions will be lost, when people bring their religions and culture in our country
Do you want Scotland to remain majority Scottish/Celtic? Without this, any attempt to preserve Scotland’s culture and heritage is futile and pointless. Scotland should have a nation state law passed. Ensuring a Scottish majority in Scotland. Obviously the rights of minority groups who obey are laws and customs will be respected.
@@yatigrrrrrrr Scotland needs a deal that keeps us separate from Westminster but in the U.K, similar to Guernsey. If this isn’t allowed then true independence from both Westminster and the EU is the way to go.
@@brainwilson7125 I think we need to deal with our culture and heritage at first, then we can think about independence, cause there can be no country without culture and there is no nation without language
@@yatigrrrrrrr I agree, I’ve gone off the SNP for being far to left wing culturally these days. In many ways they’re more of a threat to the Scottish people and culture than the Westminster establishment.
I live in France but I am so in love with the sound of Scottish Gaelic that I’m trying to learn some through Duolingo. I don’t really know how far one can hope to go with Duolingo because I haven’t used it before but I guess any amount of Gaelic that I manage to learn from it will be more than I knew before. I don’t know if I will ever really get to use it because apparently even in Scotland there aren’t a lot of people that speak it fluently. Either way I’m so happy to learn it. I hope the Scottish people don’t let their language die. It is a real treasure.
Agreed. I feel this way about my beloved Cymraeg. Duolingo is great for beginners, and then Glossika is good for intermediate learners, using real speakers instead of synthesized voices. Scottish, Manx and Cymraeg are free on it. The lessons get repetitive however it's nice to learn from a real human's voice, and not a robot.
Anybody find it insane that Scots have to fight for their language's recognition? What an odd and pitiful thing. It sounds beautiful! I am aware of the history of why most Scots can't speak fluently today, but times have changed and this shouldn't even be a fight. It should be a badge of honor and respected.
The major reason why most Scots can't speak Gaelic is that the Gaels stopped passing it on to their kids. I was brought up in Glasgow in the 1960s and could list 100 people (including my own father) with at least one native Gaelic-speaking parent - none of whom can speak the language. The ScotchNats will try and fool you with made-up tales of persecution but it's mostly nonsense. BTW there is no 'fight for their language's recognition' in the slightest. There is, though, objection to it being politicised by a shower of small-minded Anglophobes .
@@Alan_Mac it fell out of use because of systematic "cleansing" and continued prejudices and conditioned social-attitudes that deemed it to be inferior to English or "cringey". Stop with the Unionist shite.
@@bishno6229 I have a hefty wager that you don't speak Gaelic and don't have family from the Gàidhealtachd. Such is so often the case from daft wee Natters.
It is still spoken here in the Highlands and Islands! Unfortunately it’s a hard fight to keep it as one of our first languages as many people move up to here from England and they like to tell us to speak their language and West Minister has no interests in our history or culture. It’s about money and control over Alba.💔 This woman speaking is my local MP and is doing fab in her fight for Scots Gaelic, we have it now on all of our signs and public vehicles and buildings!! Slàinte mhath agus tapadh leibh a charaid💙💙💙
Not a Brit, not an European. But I belong to the nation who's people were shot and martyred for speaking their language. And I respect that all the tounges deserve to be preserved.
I am American of Scottish ancestry (Douglas and Mackay) as well as Welsh. I love how the Welsh have fiercely preserved and promoted the language and the culture. I was nearly in tears watching Kate Forbes speaking Scottish Gaelic (and her colleagues) in the parliament. I remember years ago seeing Gaelic on street signs in Ireland and was delighted to see the language uprising as I know it was suppressed.
Irish, the sister language to Scots Gaelic, is now one of the 24 official languages of the European Union. It's a test of any country the way they treat their minority language speakers, so hopefully Scots Gaelic will thrive in Britain!
Sgoinneil! (Brilliant!) I'm an American of Scottish ancestry who has been learning Scottish Gaelic for over two years, mostly via Duolingo. I sincerely hope that efforts to preserve, promote, and teach Gaelic will continue and grow in Scotland. It's a beautiful language with a wealth of songs, poetry, and literature behind it. The people of Scotland (especially the younger people) deserve to have full access to their ancestral language. Suas leis a' Ghàidhlig! Cleachd i no caill i, a chàirdean! (Up with the Gaelic! Use it or lose it, friends!)
Hearing Kate talk Gaelic reminds me of when my Nanna use to talk and sing to me in Gaelic when I was little. God I miss hearing her talk Gaelic to me. 😔
@@mmzddx96 Thank you, that's so kind of you to say and yes, both myself and my hubby are learning Gaelic. Or in my case, relearning/refreshing my knowledge of it and then we're going to introduce it to our young son. 😁
Make Gaelic strong again!!! Gaelic is also spoken in Canada! we have an entire island here that speaks Gaelic. In Cape Breton, Nova Scotia the signage is in English and Gaelic! I love my ancestral language and I am learning it here in Canada myself. You're a warrior! Tapadh leat agus slàinte!
I’ve recently moved to Ireland from England following Brexit, and I am trying to learn Gaeilge online, so I can speak some at the naturalisation process in about 3 years (not needed, but let’s show some respect and appreciation!). I already speak good Dutch, some French and German, but learning one of the Gaelic languages is the most exciting of them all. Very nice sound. So good to hear someone in parliament speak it too!
Scottish Gaelic is now on Duolingo. I’m American but my dad’s side of the family has Scottish roots. So I’m gonna try to learn it in my free time and someday I’ll save up to go visit Scotland.
That's how you protect your culture: You speak your language you delight your fellow country- women and man so that they fall in love with the music of your words and want to say them with you, want to taste the meal you cooked because it says "sit down, eat and tell a story." You are not convinced? Have you ever wanted to share a meal because someone stood in front of a flag and yelled "I hate other people"?
It sounds so like Irish! Even though I can't understand it past the odd word. I believe the Ulster Irish dialect is a lot closer to Scots Gaelic than standard Irish I would have learned in school.
@@veroniquegiraud624 when the scots speak it's gallic which comes from the frankish regions of europe. the gauls /galls were always at war with the romanns there so they fled to england. then, when the romans invaded england they then fled to and settled in scotland.
@seanhamilton..... the history of the celts in britain and ireland is disputed......the gauls are believed to be a celtic tribe. some say the celts were in ireland in 400/200 bc, and yet they had not started to spread out from europe til the 1st and to the 2nd milliennium. the celtic theory in ireland is fictional.
The language of this silvery tongue is beautiful and it has a musical quality . David Murison once said to me on language either use it or lose it. I had spoken Gaelic and written a song in the old language but because few speak it and prefer Scots or English I have indeed lost it; except for a few expressions. Therefore, use it or lose it!! Well done Kate Forbes. Our local Laird during the 45 was Alexander Lord Forbes of Pitsligo, perhaps a relative and his close friend was Cameron of Lochiel and their Painting with Charles Edward Stuart hangs in Hollyrood Palace.
I grew up in scotland. I havent stayed there for over 20 years but have decided to start learning. Such a shame its not taught in all schools, at least partly. Tha a ghaidlig breagha!
I think the problem in Scotland (unlike Wales with Welsh) is that Gaellic was never spoken in all of Scotland with English always being spoken in the South and East of Scotland. Gaellic was brought over by the immigration of Irish peoples to the highlands and Islands. And before English came in to Southern/Eastern Scotland people had spoken Welsh (or the Northern Brythonic version of the time). Yr Hen Gogledd.
@@aldozilli1293 Rubbish Gaelic was spoken in the south of Scotland. Most definitely in the Dumfries and Galloway area. Please check you comments are correct before posting them.
As a Dutchmen I like the sound of this perfect language, according to some people outside both our two countries Scottish Gaelic and Dutch sounds both very much alike ! In Irish Gaelic: " Is maith liom Gaeilge na hAlban". Tá Gaeilge na hÉireann agamsa ach tá mé in ann a thuiscint beagán "Ghàidhlig" .
I have to disappoint you there my friend. Dutch is a “ bastardised “ language comprised of many elements, its sounds crude, heavy, and I am sorry to say, vulgar. Gaeilge, on the other hand, is NOT a bastardised language. It is an original language. And it is for this reason, that it needs to be preserved. It is the language of poetry, spirituality, music, and the land it has evolved from. Nothing, to do with Dutch! And if I were you, never say this in the company of the Welsh or Irish, or other Celtic nations.
It’s fascinating to watch a governmental body proceeding with respect to each other. Maybe it’s not always like this, but it’s refreshing regardless. This was two years ago, what was the outcome? In my foreign, uneducated opinion, preserving and even pressing to continue using the language of your heritage is a no brainer. Can anybody provide and update?
I've been to Scotland maybe 8 times.Have not heard anyone speak it yet.But hopefully in the future😜The Scottish countryside is truly beautiful.Hope to learn a few more words next time I'm up there.Last time I learned that Dumfries is Dùn Phris. Cyfarchion o Eryri,Cymru. O bydded i hen ieithoedd barhau!😁😜
Don’t stop speaking our minority languages in Europe. It makes us very rich. Don’t let them disappear.
They shall be preserved and kept that way
I'm from America but I couldn't agree more!
@@Oak6
With all languages, hell look at the Hebrew language which today is used as a spoken language in the State of Israel 🇮🇱 along side with it's sister language Arabic who played and still plays a key role in the language especially words used in the spoken language that cannot be found in the literal and biblical grammer since the language is so old.
@@Oak6 Do you know Euskera which is a language spoken in the Basque Country region of Spain, is also spoken in Boise, Idaho?
@@mikhailabunidal9146 You had to ruin it by mentioning thar illegitimate state
I am Greek and hearing her fight for her language made me tear up. No language deserves to become extinct. All languages are human heritage and deserve to be preserved.
Don't have Greek characters on my pc keyboard so I'm gonna have to thank you in English as I hate typing Greeklish.
Thank you Yiannis! Sincerely from a Scot who learned more Greek from one year in Cyprus than I learned Gaelic my whole life in Scotland. Currently trying to fix this.
Languages become extinct because no one uses them or their language base dies off. Simple social evolution, regrettable maybe, but neither good nor bad. Scots Gaelic is a dead language at this point.
@@andrewelphick2304Spart
Are you doing your part in protecting Tsakonian and Aromanian?
@@andrewelphick2304Languages are brutally suppressed by colonizers who literally beat indigenous children for speaking their own language and practicing any of their culture. They are not “dead” languages. They are suppressed languages.
As a Scot, I don't personally speak Gaelic but I so wish I did. It's such a beautiful language and I'm frankly saddened by the fact that my school neither speaks nor teaches it. I'm attempting to learn via duolingo but it isn't going great so far, haha. I wish more Scottish schools talk Gaelic.
Good to see more people are learning the language, good luck with Duolingo!
@@DonFlufflesPrime I'm taking the course through Duolingo. I came to this video to see if could recognise any of the spoken language.
Now, Duolingo aims to give basic understanding - not fluency - with the completion of the course. I'm around 40% of my way through the course and could understand about 25% of what she said. I think the full course will give a decent basis to understand and speak the language.
@@davidcheater4239 Agreed, Duolingo definitely falls short of full fluency, but it can certainly help as a starting point to get conversational fluency. Also, good luck with Duolingo!
@@DonFlufflesPrime At this point, the Scottish Gaelic course is one of the courses that doesn't check the learner's pronunciation. I use Hebrew liturgically, and used to live in Germany so I have some experience in different grammar/pronunciation.
But Duolingo is quite clear that it's no substitute to using a language with fluent speakers.
I’m from Edinburgh but I was luckily brought up fluent in Gaelic as my gran is from Stornaway and it’s good to see how many people are interested in learning it😊
I speak Spanish and I don't know what I would think/say/do if I had to fight for my language to be preserved. This woman's language--Scots Gaelic--is so incredibly beautiful that it makes ME want to learn how to speak it! May she be victorious in her attempts to help the country understand the need to preserve their culture through language.
No cal mirar gaire lluny a Espanya per veure un idioma que es mor i a ningú li importa ............
Speak and teach your children
vamos a aprender
Unless you plan on moving to the north of Scotland I wouldn't bother learning Gaelic.. I think a total of 70,000 or so in the world can speak it.. It's also becoming an elitist language in some circles only spoken by the ruling elite and their children.
@@drServitis El catalán no está realmente muriendo, lenguas que sí están en peligro son el vasco, valenciano y el gallego. Pero el catalán es súper usado y promovido en Cataluña.
I think my Grandmother would have been amazed by this. She was born on Skye in the 1930s and Gaelic was her first language. She taught me a very little, and I’d have loved to be able to have a conversation with her in Gaelic.
My grandmother was also born on Skye a decade later, gaelic was also her first language. In her final years, she got dementia and started slipping back into it more and more often. So I took it upon myself to learn so I could still communicate with her to some extent and hang on to every last minute with her.
Tha gaol agam ort Seanmhair
How's your language journey coming along?
@@shadetreader I'm advancing through Duolingo's programme quite well. I finished the original programme and then came back to it when they expanded it. Still very basic, but I'm only doing about 15 minutes a day.
As a swiss, I am truly amazed by this. We have four national languages in my country, the smallest one is romansh which is spoken only by 40'000 people these days. Yet it is protected and taught in schools in the regions where it was spoken traditionally. I don't understand why minority languages aren't protected and supported in other countries. It enriches your country so much
My grandmother came from a place in Graubünden where people speak Pus'ciavin. As far as I know, it's not Romansh but rather an Italian dialect. I wish she taught my mom how to speak it so i could learn it to. It would be cool to speak such a not widely spoken "language". But speaking swiss german is already coo/weirdl in its own way :D
@@MisterallstarCH I am not sure, but I think I learned that there are even dialects amongst the romansh language itself. Which makes it, if that is accurate, pretty funny in my opinion. Years ago I heard a nice comparison, putting swiss german and the Scottish english dialect spoken in the highlands together. It's actually pretty truthful since most english speaker dont understand a word when highlanders speak . Kinda like germans with swiss german hihi
Switzerland also has some Celtic history from what I understand. At one time there were languages spoken in the Alps that were somewhat distantly related to those of Scotland, Wales, Britain and Ireland.
@@robwalsh9843 That's true. Ages ago switzerland was one of the core regions of the gaulish culture. But with the conquest of the romans and then the germanic tribes after them, every linguistic/culture roots were more or less wiped out. Don't quote me on that, but what is now called the celtic heartland region (UK and Ireland and Brittany) was once the most remote area of gaulish culture. Time has an interesting effect on things, doesn't it?
In Jamaica, so many people try so hard to make us believe that patois/patwa/Jamaican creole is a language to be ashamed of. Yes, English has it's place, but why should anyone be made to feel that their mother tongue is less important than yours?
This is the first time hearing my language. It sounds beautiful. Respectful. Honest. I love you all
th-cam.com/video/EtHShiXxw4U/w-d-xo.htmlsi=otxv_BbIrNh8Ndm9 The National anthem of Scotland, 'The Flower of Scotland', but then in Scottish Gaelic. Enjoy as much as this Dutchman (Saxon) does :)
Will never understand the comments from people against it 😂. What's the actual harm in teaching it as a second language or to people who just want to learn it? None whatsoever
If only life was so simple.
No problem as long as its taught, BUT in context with the many other languages the people of Scotland has spoken over the last x000's of years, or the last 2000 at least.
@@ayrshireman1314 this is the dominant language that we've spoken throughout our history though so it would make sense that this is what we learn as a second language, rather than... I dunno, pictish? If that's a language. Scottish people didn't know/identify themselves as Scottish until much later than the Romans/English did.
@@BenjaminMazs It isnt. In parts of Scotland, yes. In other parts, no. I am using Scotland as shorthand.
I see people against teaching Gaelic and I'm just confused, what's the harm? Being bilingual is only a benefit, and keeping the language of your ancestors alive is very important, especially with most Celtic languages being in the endangered state they are.
C'mon scotland keep your native tongue alive "A nation without it's native language is a nation without a soul" it all begins with you, individual people learning and speaking it every day. From one Celtic brother to another🇮🇪
We need our language in Ireland to be kept alive too sadly
@@adamfinnegan735 I literally only started brushing up on mine a couple months ago bro Ive got a 1 year old son and I'll be sending him to an irish school when he's old enough..I'm gunna make sure every generation after me is fluent, it all begins with us, the people.🇮🇪
ONE of the languages our ancestors spoke, and as for native, it was transplanted from Ireland. People in what is now Scotland, spoke other Celtic tongues before Gaelic appeared on the scene.
@Sean Richardson Simply to remind people that whilst a great language, Gaelic was/is just one of the great languages, the people of this country have spoken. To celebrate the other languages. To put Gaelic in context historically, esp as a Lowlander. Where the Gaelic had and has never had the same relationship as in the Highlands. To be blunter, to correct the modern and romantic tosh that Gaelic is 'oor language', as if the others have no relevance. I see a Gaelicisation of our culture and lingustic history, and I find it both factually wrong and culturally reductive. I would even argue it been used as a socio-political weapon and imo it deserves better, we all do.
@Sean Richardson Hi, I agree, the Picts are such a huge part of our history, yet we have relatively little of them to look at. And nobody has spoken Pictish for 1000 years at least. Sad. Gaelic appeared in the Lowlands probably around the first millenium, and dies away as a lingustic force 500 yrs later, although it would linger on until about 200 yrs ago. of course it had a big impact, but was far from the first (Brythonic/Cymric, Galloway Celtic). Brythonic and Gaelic probably overlapped for 100-200 yrs until the end of the Kingdom of Strathclyde. Galloway would essentially be independent until the 1300s. So Galldovidian-Gaelic overlap there as well?
So even though Gaelic came south, it was always combatting other tongues, firstly Brythonic/Cymric, then most notably Anglo-Saxon/English/its Scots variant.
The confidence in her voice when she opens with "Tapadh leibh" is incredible 💙
Wonderful to hear Gaelic spoken in the Scottish Parliament. I wish you the same development
as Welsh enjoys in Wales.
Sylwadau da👍
th-cam.com/video/mRIaLSdRMMs/w-d-xo.html&pp=ygUXZG9uYWxsIGhlYWxsaWEgdGVkIHRhbGs%3D
Cytuno - am iaith hyfryd!
I wish it was taught in schools when i was younger but thankfully now it is and its booming in glasgow there opening new gealic schools
Wales had a bit of a head start with that but now the native language apparently has 500,000 first language speakers and aims to have a million by 2050 😊 it’s possible for Scotland too and I hope it can happen
As someone who lives in Glasgow this isn’t true. There’s only ever been 1 Gaelic school in Glasgow and I’ve been campaigning for more for years
@@gamewalkthroughuk8919 Wales has apparently made their optional Cymru language lessons compulsory in secondary education, maybe Scotland will do the same post-independence?
*Cymraeg
@@niallragnarsson unfortunately I don’t really see if, even if independence comes. Very few people speak the language but you never know.
I'm brazilian, so i can't speak for the gaelic speakers and the sadness of having their language undermined, but as a languages lover, i say that a language as old and beautiful and yet survived all the way till these days, overcoming cultural assimilation and cultural oppression, is something that must be protected, and kept alive by their people, please Scots, don't let your language die.
Could not have put it better my self.
Concordo completamente com você
@aust r not Gaelic then.
'kept alive by the people? Eh? It was the people themselves who abandoned it.
@@Alan_Mac i think you mean they were forced to abandon it by the english
She speaks so clearly it makes it much easier to understand, this encourages learners.
Greetings from Nova Scotia / Alba Nuadh
In Dublin, road signs are in Irish first and English underneath. It's like this in many parts of Wales as well, no reason it shouldn't be the same in Scotland.
Ceapaim go bhfuil na focail Gaeilge ró-beag, is maith liom ag léamh na comharthaí bóthar as Gaeilge, ach uaireanta is féidir leis deacair dom a dhéanamh :(
And in Los Angeles and New York, they’re in Chinese.
The problem is Scots too. Which one should be in top? Maybe in the Highlands Gaelic and in the Lowlands Scots. In either way English is gonna be down
The signs are in Gaelic and English in the Highlands and Islands.
It is like that in parts of Scotland.
However, it is also worth remembering that, despite political attempts to give the impression that Gaelic is the natural "our own language" choice for all of Scotland, it isn't. The areas where you are likely to find a Gaelic-first speaker are quite small, and the number of people is also very small. In very large parts of Scotland, no one speaks Gaelic at all, and in many of those areas, no one ever did. Bilingual English/Gaelic signs would be utterly inappropriate for large parts of Scotland where Gaelic simply isn't even spoken at all by anyone. Indeed, in many parts of Scotland, promotion of Gaelic, rather than the more natural local languages and dialects, is regarded as somewhat insulting.
In parts of Scotland where Gaelic has never been spoken, we still have ambulances with "Ambaileans" written on them, or police cars with "Poileas" and I've really got to ask why. No one in the area speaks Gaelic and no one, Gaelic speaking or not, needs the "clarification" that the white car with the blue and yellow chequered vinyls, flashing blue lights and sirens is in fact a "Poileas" car. If it only said "Police", it would not be confusing. What's important here?
There are millions of £ spent in Scotland propping up Gaelic, and doing so in areas where it is not naturally spoken. You can get significant grants to make your signage and information English/Gaelic bilingual in museums, natural sites (e.g. forestry) etc for... tourists! No tourists needs Gaelic. It's a political initiative, rather than one that is wanted or needed in many areas. I get that it's "part of the experience" but it's not actually readable by the visitors.
I'm not saying that Gaelic shouldn't be supported (in areas where it is appropriate to do so), but it is being supported, even pushed, in areas where it is not needed, not appropriate, and large sums of money are being spent on that support.
Pet theory: Alec Salmond visited Wales and saw all the bi-lingual signs and thought "I'll have some of that to help me carve out a new Scottish identity" regardless of the cost, or appropriateness of doing so.
It's a false political narrative that Gaelic=Scotland's language. Indeed, I live near where the advance of the Gaelic speaking hordes was stopped in battle several hundred years ago. ;)
Mathú Kate. Óráid íontach. Am bhféidir níos mó aontas idir nGael na hÉireann, Alba agus Manna a spreagadh agus a molladh. Le chéile muid. Bídeach in aonar, cúmhachdach le chéile!❤
Even written the language is so beautiful... Tapabh leat..? Is that a correct way to give thanks? I hope to learn this beautiful language now 🙏✨
gu math thuirt!
@@kloewe6069 'Tapadh leat.'
Felim was writing in Irish, not Scottish Gaelic btw. Bha e a' sgrìobhadh anns a' Ghàidhlig na h-Èireann, chan e Gàidhlig na h-Alba a bh' ann.
@@LW-ng1fl
@jamesflemming5182 how different actually is irish and scots gaelic? are they close enough that they can kind of understand each other? or are they too far apart?
I watched this so many times it gives me so much courage when learning Gaelic.
I started duolingo course after finding out of this language in danger. It is amazing and I'm so proud to have caught and understood parts of her speech here and there!
Try glossika too, for 'mass sentence' learning and pronunciation. It's Scottish Gaelic course is free.
@thebrit2517 Tapadh leat! ^_^ Tha do faclan snog!
I’ve been learning Gaelic on Duolingo and I cannot express how helpful it is to listen to parliament talks spoken in Gaelic with the subtitles. It really helps with cadence and pronunciation. Thank you.
Me too, that was so cool! I understood a lot of words and got a lot of the context.
@@Mik1-bf1dt Tapadh leat, a Mhicheal, agus deagh dhùrachd dhut. (luckily we can translate the Gaeilge and the Gidhlig!)
@@stephro74 Is deas bualadh leat
@@Mik1-bf1dt No, I'm in the US. My husband has Scottish ancestry, as well as Irish and English. That's really the only reason I can think of for why I decided to learn Scots Gaelic 😆
@@Mik1-bf1dt Tapadh leat!
Kate Forbes is wonderful. What a display of Gaelic! My family is Mexican-American and my daughters loved hearing songs in Gaelic and tried to learn them. I love how Gaelic sounds :)
That was amazing to listen to, I loved every moment, from her little pauses to answering questions it was beautiful.
Our race and our language matters.
So join your local organization.
We have to keep these languages alive, Welsh sounds wonderful and is quite widely spoken now but Gaelic needs more speakers as does original Cornish and Irish Gaelic. All have a place
While I could not understand any Welsh I could see a striking similarity between Scots Gaelic and Irish, especially the Irish of Donegal. The education system in Ireland has had compulsory Irish for all pupils since 1927, there even being a time when ALL instruction in schools was through the medium of Irish. It has had mixed results. 95% of Irish people do not use Irish in their everyday lives and only 50,000 people are native born Irish speakers who are totally fluent in Irish and use English as a secondary language outside the home. The areas where Irish is still spoken suffer from high emigration and high unemployment and this is leading to a decline in the language.
@@jgdooley2003 Do Welsh come back to school as the language of instruction now? Coz Schools are the biggest influence on children, and children are the future of this culture
Kernow bys vyken
@@eliyahushvartz2167 👍
@@jgdooley2003the reason for that is language heritage. While Welsh, Cornish & Breton (spoken in Brittany) are 3 of the 6 Celtic languages, they are Brythonic Celtic and so they share similarities amongst eachother. Scottish, Irish & Manx (spoken on the Isle of Man) on the other hand are the 3 Goidelic Celtic languages and derive from Old Irish and therefore have a mutual intelligibility- similar to the three Scandinavian languages or the Slavic or the Iberian lanaguages have shared heritage and are similar looking/sounding.
Scots, take care of your language, this is the most valuable heritage of your ancestors!
"Nations don't die of a heart attack. First they lose their language." (Lina Kostenko)
Exactly-Tir gan Tanga, Tir gan Anam'. a Nation without its own Language, is a Nation without a Soul' Thomas Davis.
Very beautiful language. Regards from EGYPT ❤
Scottish Gaelic is such a beautiful language! It’s so sad that more people don’t speak it. I’m Ukrainian and Russians tried to extinguish our language, but thank God they were only partly successful and we were able to restore its free usage as official state language. Now, almost all of Ukrainians understand it, 64% give it as their only native language, and 46% speak only or mostly Ukrainian in everyday life. The ongoing hybrid war with Russia only accelerated this process. Alba gu bràth!
Well, now you're doing the same thing to Russian speakers in Ukraine.
@@stsk1061 Nope
@@kyivstuff Official documents are only in Ukrainian, businesses have to operate in Ukrainian, schools are only in Ukrainian and Russian TV channels are banned.
Meanwhile, in the Soviet Union, all those things were presented in both languages.
@@stsk1061 Official documents in Ukraine are in Ukrainian and not in the language of a colonizing country that even now occupies Ukrainian territories and wages hybrid war on Ukraine part of which is media propaganda through its TV channels? I guess it was better during the Soviets when the rulers in Moscow could just continue to dictate the colonized peoples of the former Russian Empire what to do and freely kill all those opposed.
@@kyivstuff What does this have to do with your citizens who happen to speak Russian? Shouldn't they be free to speak their own language?
She's a beautiful lady in soul and word.
I can understand, as a Sardinian, how is really important and crucial to protect and study a minority language. Respect and love for the Scottish culture.
Parles del Sard o del Català?
@@62hwvgvekaihvevevj de ambos
@@francescoroych3984 No sabía que el sardo estava en desuso en Serdenya...
@@62hwvgvekaihvevevj su sardu si arrejonat in Sardigna, ma bisonzat a l'istudiare in iscola Ca venit arrejonatu male.
Translation: Sardinian is being spoken in Sardinia, but it needs to be studied in school because we don't speak it properly.
@francescoroych3984 A problem Sardinian faces (which is similar for Scottish Gaelic), is that there is no standardised version. This makes it difficult to educate the language widely in schools, as the dialects can vary quite a lot (especially in Sardinian), and educational materials are sparse and difficult to produce.
Is fìor thoil leam a’ bhidio seo. Tha mi ag ionnsachadh Gàidhlig a-nis, ged a tha mi trì fichead bliadhna a dh'aois.
I love this video. It inspired me to learn some Gaelic even though I am 60 years old.
We need our younger ones to learn it to keep it relevant to our culture and heritage for many years to come..
Be proud of this aboriginal beautiful languace
I am an American teacher of British Literature, and I find this fascinating. I hope that the UK will promote the preservation of these rich languages. One day, I hope to travel and hear people speaking this language; it is enchanting.
Well done Kate as one of the clan I am proud of this it should be taught in our schools as our main launguage
Agreed! The only languages they teach at my school are French, Spanish and German, and sometimes Scots when it comes round to Burns' Day. I wish they'd teach Gaelic.
It should be taught, but this obsession with it as our language/main language/native language is wrong and misguided and actually reductive to our knowledge of our languages, cultures and history. We are fantastically richer than one culture and one tongue. . And English has been the main language of the majority of Scotland for centuries. Highlands yes, but the Lowlands and Borders, Galloway and even the far north, it has not been for equally centuries.
@@ayrshireman1314 what they mean is it should be the main language taught in schools. instead of french, or german, or spanish, or whatever, it should be gaelic.
@@islastorrar why?. Those are major languages spoken by hundreds of millions across the world, they are far more valuable to teach our children than a minor Celtic language. It would be a waste of money and time to choose Gaelic over those languages in schools. By all means, people can learn Gaelic on their own.
@@mmzddx96 No it wasnt. Thats the point I and others have been trying to make. There was no one national language, Gaelic was the language of some of Scotland. My Ayrshire ancestors spoke other Celtic languages for nearly 1000 (+?) years before Gaelic showed up in Ayrshire centuries after Brythonic/Cymric. Same for Galloway/SW Scotland, the Borders and frankly the entire Lowland Scotland. Which were a mix of non-Gael Celtic kingdoms, and Anglo-Saxon kingdoms like Northumbria and Bernicia. Latin and French also spoken, the latter hugely influenced by the Normans marrying into Scottish society.
Gaelic, Galldovidian, Anglo-Saxon, Norse, Pictish, Brythonic, Doric.............these are the languages of Scotland, not just one.
As a Scottish American, I find this to be nothing short of a miracle
For centuries, the British government has tried to strip everything about the Scottish culture away to to oblivion
To be forever lost to the winds of time
Our music
Our musical instruments
Our Clan Tartans
Much was outlawed
Hearing her fight for the survival of our ancient language is awe inspiring and heroic
Ms Forbes I thank you very much for keeping it alive
This is one of the most beautiful languages I have ever heard😍
I've been doing the Scottish Gaelic course on Glossika and I'm absolutely stoked how much of this I could understand already
Started to learn scottish gaelic on duolingo its fun to be able to suddenly recognize some words.
Great Kate! I understood nothing, but I loved your passion! Cheers from Italy!
After I get fluent in learning German I'm planning to learn Gaelic! It's such a pretty language
In Ireland, everyone has to learn Irish from Junior infants (age 4/5) to 6th year (age 17/18)
And it's taught awfully, it's taught like a subject and not like a language
@@danielcowan87 exactly, I've been learning German since 1st year and Irish since junior infants, to put it into context, I know way more German than Irish (I'm about 60% fluent) and I've been learning Irish for 13 years, last week we needed to write a 4 page essay meanwhile I can barely hold up a conversation in irish, that sums it up
@sarah lilburn Yeah Gaelic wasn't even the original Celtic language of Scotland, it was a Brythonic language like Pictish if I'm not mistaken
@@adamfinnegan735 I learned more Irish in 3 weeks in the Gaeltacht than in a year or two in school despite the fact that we only did an hours class during the day and spent the rest of the time playing sports, talking as Gaeilge, dancing during the Ceili's, etc. I was asked by my Bean an Ti, is your German as good as your Irish? I replied "Nios Maith". She was surprised and mentioned that I had been doing Irish since I was in Infants!
@@danielcowan87 - Correct, Scots Gaelic today is a blend of Old Irish and Old Norse. Irish Gaelige modernised through the centuries but Scots Gaelic remained stuck in its roots, there's a lot of similarities still between the two, just as there are similarities between Norse and Scots Gaelic.
But the language was never really accepted by Scotland, as they had their own (Pictish, as you mentioned), and Scots Gaelic remained consistent amongst the Isles.
Quite remarkable really when you think about it, that the small cluster of islands which at times would have had no more than a couple of thousand people living there have managed to keep the language going for over a thousand years.
Very similar to our ulster dialect of Irish Gaelic in Donegal! Great to see! Hopefully it can grow even more in both countries 🇮🇪🤝🏴
Beautifull language. Please preserve and spread it!
My great grandfather was treated very badly for being a gaelic speaker when he came to Aberdeen from Caithness. The language was lost to us in the family because of the shame he was made to feel
same both my great grandmother on my mums side spoke it but refused to speak because of how it was presived as being backwards or barbaric unfortunetly one of my great grandmothers could be Argyll elic which is one of the most beutiful dialects of our language which is now barely spoken
This is so weird to my brain.
Very sad to hear that. It was from time when all the Celtic languages were considered "peasant languages" and looked down on. Ironically when Scots learned English they were often ridiculed for not speaking properly! Nowadays it's "cool to be Celtic" Nowadays there are English speakers who are learning Celtic languages. Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, is the first Prince of Wales, in centuries, who can speaker Welsh and apparently has some skill in Scots Gaelic too.
That's a large reason of why the language died out. During the Clearances most Teuchters ended up living as industrial workers in the Central Belt, and because Celtic culture was seen as synonymous with banditry and rebellion against the crown Gaelic was heavily suppressed. Lots of Gaels learned English and took Anglo-Saxon/Lowland names in order to get on with it. Same thing happened in Ireland but it never got to the same level of suppression as it did in Scotland, largely because the Scots benefited from the Empire more than the Irish did due to larger amounts of industrialization.
@@eloise919 Tha am Bìoball Gàidhlig lan den chanain muinntir Earra-Ghàidheal
My Grandfather Hugh Macdonald who was born in Polin, near Kinlochbervie, spoke Gaelic to me when i was a child in Cellardyke.
Its heartening to see Gaelic making a comeback.Although the official figures still remain 1%..Padraig Pearce said,a people who abandon their language,have abandoned their souls
Not sure I would use an IRA fanatic as a reference point.
@@ayrshireman1314 There was no IRA in 1916 and Pearse was widely regarded as one of the leading Irish language academics. It was said he was one of the two main scholars on the history of the language at the time he was executed.
@@ronaldobrien6870 Yes, he was a brilliant man, but also a nationalist blood-obsessed fanatic, the two arent mutually exclusive. And whilst the IRA didnt exist in 1916, the IRB did. Two cheeks of the same arse, to be crude.
@@ayrshireman1314 But his point on language is not an invalid one. He was a linguistics expert and one of the leading figures in the revival of the Irish language (something acknowledged even by the likes of Lady Gregory and WB Yeats after his death).
@@ayrshireman1314 ..its important to keep our language alive,no matter what you say
Kate Forbes should be the Scottish CEO of Scotland!!!
English subtitles are awesome
Yes, but the message is there without translation. Scottish is their own people and the English are controlling and suppressing their language through education.
@@draigporffor3288 Drivel.
@@draigporffor3288 English has become the global language!! It was of the greatest English exports!! But it's now the global language of in the world of communication !!!! One kingdom 1 language !! Too many languages just like different tribes/ races in the same country create barriers !!!
@@nigelpilgrim4232 not the point
@@nigelpilgrim4232 “1 kingdom, 1 language” maybe we’d want to be part of your so-called kingdom if you didn’t rip away our language and belittle our people. Scotland is her own country, yous are just feart of losing the income we generate. Saor Alba! 🏴
I'm on my second year. I live in Oklahoma but I'm incredibly passionate about the preservation of the language.
Official languages in Canada are foreign immigrant languages, recent arrivals here. For over a century, the Canadians have deliberately tried to eradicate the indigenous Native American languages, and they've succeeded at that for some of them. Even now, Canada puts multi-millions of dollars into universities for language instruction in various languages from around the planet, but comparatively they put a drop in the bucket if it's indigenous languages.
of course you should preserve and protect your language
Few people know there is also a Scots language. I like that one but, obviously, it's a very important goal to make these old languages flourish again. In Ireland and Scotland in the first place, also in Orkney
Very amazing listen that woman speaking in Scottish Gaelic! 😃
I'm russian and i find Scottish Gaelic very beautiful!
I‘m not even from Scotland. I just like how this language sounds and hope it doesnt disappear
Lovely, really lovely. Such a great language. Love from 🏴
Please keep the language alive. Sadly, many of us born in Australia don't even know we have another tongue, and we are taught nothing, literally nothing, of our ancestors or how we got here. Please, please, protect our heritage!
I'm Canadian and I agree with you on this.
All for them speaking it! Why not, it is their historical language.
Even as far down as Ballater in the shire the gaelic was spoken over doric
I live/born in America but my family is Scottish I have never heard Scottish Gaelic this is the first time this is such a cool language I want to learn it and visit Scottland
I am American, and I was in Germany 2 Years..
I cant even catch on but a few words of this, half way in. I like other languages, i know bits of Some. This Gaelic seems very hard. Also yet in NE Scotland there is another difficult language known as Doric ..
I applaud this woman for speaking out.
A very fluent and lovely speaker. Comhghairdeas leat, a Kate!
This made me cry and I don't know why. I really wish I'd learned gaelic in school now.
Duolingo! I understood a lot of what she said and picked up on a lot of words and context, just with 15 minutes a day or so for the past few years.
those were your ancestors telling you to preserve that treasure. As a native Catalan speaker from the Balearics i think it is crucial to keep this incredible heritage. it expands your mind heart and soul.
I am learning Scottish Gaelic on duolingo and I am thrilled to hear it spoken by native speakers!!! Please more!!! I have ancestors from Clan Graham but we have been in the US since 1626 by two other ancestors.
Wonderful( but only understand a word here and there. Snog
Wow! A striking and beautiful sounding language. Why don't they teach schools in Gaelic-medium throughout all of Scotland?
I remember back when I was in high school, and was informed that Fife wasn't on the list of regions that teaches Gaelic, I almost walked out in protest.
I read that there is a shortage of teachers! :( Maybe if enough people learn it, they can get a job teaching it.
I congratulate you good for you you never supposed to lose your mothers language my country was invaded for thousands of years. We still speak are native language everywhere.
As a Scot/Celt, I want to teach all Celtic languages and I will teach my children Gaelic at first
@Jake Barton I think we need to restore our Gaelic traditions and culture in UK, instead of voting for independence.
Cause if we will join the EU, our traditions will be lost, when people bring their religions and culture in our country
Do you want Scotland to remain majority Scottish/Celtic? Without this, any attempt to preserve Scotland’s culture and heritage is futile and pointless. Scotland should have a nation state law passed. Ensuring a Scottish majority in Scotland. Obviously the rights of minority groups who obey are laws and customs will be respected.
@@yatigrrrrrrr Scotland needs a deal that keeps us separate from Westminster but in the U.K, similar to Guernsey. If this isn’t allowed then true independence from both Westminster and the EU is the way to go.
@@brainwilson7125 I think we need to deal with our culture and heritage at first, then we can think about independence,
cause there can be no country without culture and there is no nation without language
@@yatigrrrrrrr I agree, I’ve gone off the SNP for being far to left wing culturally these days. In many ways they’re more of a threat to the Scottish people and culture than the Westminster establishment.
I live in France but I am so in love with the sound of Scottish Gaelic that I’m trying to learn some through Duolingo. I don’t really know how far one can hope to go with Duolingo because I haven’t used it before but I guess any amount of Gaelic that I manage to learn from it will be more than I knew before. I don’t know if I will ever really get to use it because apparently even in Scotland there aren’t a lot of people that speak it fluently. Either way I’m so happy to learn it. I hope the Scottish people don’t let their language die. It is a real treasure.
Agreed. I feel this way about my beloved Cymraeg. Duolingo is great for beginners, and then Glossika is good for intermediate learners, using real speakers instead of synthesized voices. Scottish, Manx and Cymraeg are free on it. The lessons get repetitive however it's nice to learn from a real human's voice, and not a robot.
Katy is my local msp! Legend!
Most beautiful language I've ever heard. Sounds like the language of faeries
Anybody find it insane that Scots have to fight for their language's recognition? What an odd and pitiful thing. It sounds beautiful! I am aware of the history of why most Scots can't speak fluently today, but times have changed and this shouldn't even be a fight. It should be a badge of honor and respected.
The major reason why most Scots can't speak Gaelic is that the Gaels stopped passing it on to their kids. I was brought up in Glasgow in the 1960s and could list 100 people (including my own father) with at least one native Gaelic-speaking parent - none of whom can speak the language. The ScotchNats will try and fool you with made-up tales of persecution but it's mostly nonsense. BTW there is no 'fight for their language's recognition' in the slightest. There is, though, objection to it being politicised by a shower of small-minded Anglophobes .
@@Alan_Mac Well what a pity😑. This is part of your heritage. I don't understand 😔
@@Alan_Mac it fell out of use because of systematic "cleansing" and continued prejudices and conditioned social-attitudes that deemed it to be inferior to English or "cringey". Stop with the Unionist shite.
@@bishno6229 I have a hefty wager that you don't speak Gaelic and don't have family from the Gàidhealtachd. Such is so often the case from daft wee Natters.
It is still spoken here in the Highlands and Islands! Unfortunately it’s a hard fight to keep it as one of our first languages as many people move up to here from England and they like to tell us to speak their language and West Minister has no interests in our history or culture. It’s about money and control over Alba.💔 This woman speaking is my local MP and is doing fab in her fight for Scots Gaelic, we have it now on all of our signs and public vehicles and buildings!! Slàinte mhath agus tapadh leibh a charaid💙💙💙
That is absolutely beautiful. What a wonderful language.
Not a Brit, not an European. But I belong to the nation who's people were shot and martyred for speaking their language.
And I respect that all the tounges deserve to be preserved.
Very interesting to hear it spoken.
Whoah.. really cool.. glad of the subtitles but this lingo's well easy on the old lugs.. x
I've never heard this before...well done all n may it continue.
I’m lost but this shit cool, I can relate with Italian dialects that are dying and we really should be trying to saves these languages
yes dialects are very important, but this is a completely different language, similar to Irish but also completely unique
Italian onés are languages. Old like italian and with the same identical dignity
I speak lombard language (a separate language from Italian) and we are reviving the language to some extent!
I’m British and I stand with the people of Veneto and their fight for the beautiful Venetian language! ✊🏻
@@JillyMacKenzie We all stand for an independent Veneto, from Lombardy, another oppressed nation
I am American of Scottish ancestry (Douglas and Mackay) as well as Welsh. I love how the Welsh have fiercely preserved and promoted the language and the culture. I was nearly in tears watching Kate Forbes speaking Scottish Gaelic (and her colleagues) in the parliament. I remember years ago seeing Gaelic on street signs in Ireland and was delighted to see the language uprising as I know it was suppressed.
Irish, the sister language to Scots Gaelic, is now one of the 24 official languages of the European Union. It's a test of any country the way they treat their minority language speakers, so hopefully Scots Gaelic will thrive in Britain!
Sgoinneil! (Brilliant!) I'm an American of Scottish ancestry who has been learning Scottish Gaelic for over two years, mostly via Duolingo. I sincerely hope that efforts to preserve, promote, and teach Gaelic will continue and grow in Scotland. It's a beautiful language with a wealth of songs, poetry, and literature behind it. The people of Scotland (especially the younger people) deserve to have full access to their ancestral language. Suas leis a' Ghàidhlig! Cleachd i no caill i, a chàirdean! (Up with the Gaelic! Use it or lose it, friends!)
Hearing Kate talk Gaelic reminds me of when my Nanna use to talk and sing to me in Gaelic when I was little. God I miss hearing her talk Gaelic to me. 😔
@@mmzddx96 Thank you, that's so kind of you to say and yes, both myself and my hubby are learning Gaelic. Or in my case, relearning/refreshing my knowledge of it and then we're going to introduce it to our young son. 😁
Make Gaelic strong again!!! Gaelic is also spoken in Canada! we have an entire island here that speaks Gaelic. In Cape Breton, Nova Scotia the signage is in English and Gaelic! I love my ancestral language and I am learning it here in Canada myself. You're a warrior! Tapadh leat agus slàinte!
I’ve recently moved to Ireland from England following Brexit, and I am trying to learn Gaeilge online, so I can speak some at the naturalisation process in about 3 years (not needed, but let’s show some respect and appreciation!).
I already speak good Dutch, some French and German, but learning one of the Gaelic languages is the most exciting of them all. Very nice sound. So good to hear someone in parliament speak it too!
Scottish Gaelic is now on Duolingo. I’m American but my dad’s side of the family has Scottish roots. So I’m gonna try to learn it in my free time and someday I’ll save up to go visit Scotland.
That's how you protect your culture: You speak your language you delight your fellow country- women and man so that they fall in love with the music of your words and want to say them with you, want to taste the meal you cooked because it says "sit down, eat and tell a story."
You are not convinced? Have you ever wanted to share a meal because someone stood in front of a flag and yelled "I hate other people"?
Using Gaelic protects Irish culture.
People like Kate will keep Scothland Scottish. We need more of this in Ireland. From Israel.
The Celtic languages needs revival like Hebrew
It sounds so like Irish! Even though I can't understand it past the odd word. I believe the Ulster Irish dialect is a lot closer to Scots Gaelic than standard Irish I would have learned in school.
It is Irish. As my Irish friend tells me, "When the Scots speak English, they call it English but when they speak Irish, they call it Gaelic."
@@veroniquegiraud624 when the scots speak it's gallic which comes from the frankish regions of europe. the gauls /galls were always at war with the romanns there so they fled to england. then, when the romans invaded england they then fled to and settled in scotland.
@@brucecollins641 The Celts were in Britain long before the Romans invaded Gaul
@seanhamilton..... the history of the celts in britain and ireland is disputed......the gauls are believed to be a celtic tribe. some say the celts were in ireland in 400/200 bc, and yet they had not started to spread out from europe til the 1st and to the 2nd milliennium. the celtic theory in ireland is fictional.
Kate Forbes is amazing.
Brilliant let’s see more of this Gaelic language in Alba 🏴
But this is only one of the Gaelic dialects.
The language of this silvery tongue is beautiful and it has a musical quality . David Murison once said to me on language either use it or lose it. I had spoken Gaelic and written a song in the old language but because few speak it and prefer Scots or English I have indeed lost it; except for a few expressions. Therefore, use it or lose it!! Well done Kate Forbes. Our local Laird during the 45 was Alexander Lord Forbes of Pitsligo, perhaps a relative and his close friend was Cameron of Lochiel and their Painting with Charles Edward Stuart hangs in Hollyrood Palace.
I wish the scottish language stays alive and thrives. And I wish you become independent, as the Irish did a century ago.
Please keep your beautiful culture. Do not let Gaelic wither away. You sing. You sing. You sing.
She's lovely.
I'm learn gaelic scottish, i loved this language and who speak , beatiful!
I grew up in scotland. I havent stayed there for over 20 years but have decided to start learning. Such a shame its not taught in all schools, at least partly. Tha a ghaidlig breagha!
I understood everything except the last bit. Im guessing "have a nice day".
@@gavinmcinally8442 I started learning not long ago it means Gaelic is beautiful
I think the problem in Scotland (unlike Wales with Welsh) is that Gaellic was never spoken in all of Scotland with English always being spoken in the South and East of Scotland. Gaellic was brought over by the immigration of Irish peoples to the highlands and Islands. And before English came in to Southern/Eastern Scotland people had spoken Welsh (or the Northern Brythonic version of the time). Yr Hen Gogledd.
@@aldozilli1293 Rubbish Gaelic was spoken in the south of Scotland. Most definitely in the Dumfries and Galloway area. Please check you comments are correct before posting them.
Sounds like music in my ears. I have to hear it over and over again.
As a Dutchmen I like the sound of this perfect language, according to some people outside both our two countries Scottish Gaelic and Dutch sounds both very much alike !
In Irish Gaelic: " Is maith liom Gaeilge na hAlban". Tá Gaeilge na hÉireann agamsa ach tá mé in ann a thuiscint beagán "Ghàidhlig" .
Eerder Scandinavisch..
I always thought it sounded like double-Dutch!
@@joemdee 🤣👍
I have to disappoint you there my friend. Dutch is a “ bastardised “ language comprised of many elements, its sounds crude, heavy, and I am sorry to say, vulgar. Gaeilge, on the other hand, is NOT a bastardised language. It is an original language. And it is for this reason, that it needs to be preserved. It is the language of poetry, spirituality, music, and the land it has evolved from. Nothing, to do with Dutch! And if I were you, never say this in the company of the Welsh or Irish, or other Celtic nations.
@@wolfa5151 I always thought it a poor language almost as boring and repetitive as the music and song that goes with it.
It’s fascinating to watch a governmental body proceeding with respect to each other. Maybe it’s not always like this, but it’s refreshing regardless. This was two years ago, what was the outcome? In my foreign, uneducated opinion, preserving and even pressing to continue using the language of your heritage is a no brainer. Can anybody provide and update?
🇮🇪🏴
Keep on keeping on Gaelic whenever it is possible! By doing so your identity will grow stronger and stronger! Alba deserves it by all means! ❤❤❤
as an irish speaker i can kinda understand some of this which is cool
I've been to Scotland maybe 8 times.Have not heard anyone speak it yet.But hopefully in the future😜The Scottish countryside is truly beautiful.Hope to learn a few more words next time I'm up there.Last time I learned that Dumfries is Dùn Phris.
Cyfarchion o Eryri,Cymru.
O bydded i hen ieithoedd barhau!😁😜